Hi all, I've been visiting this site for a couple of months now and I think I've learned a lot...thank you....just don't know if I'm going about it the right way. Here's the situation...(sorry, this is a long post)about three years ago, we moved onto a big lot on the outskirts of town that used to be just some kind of field..lots of weeds of all kinds..lol. Having never taken care of a lawn before, my first response was..'oh, well...it's all green'....and let the weeds have their way with my poor bermuda (at least I think that's what the grass is...grows in long runners?) I actually thought the dandelions were kinda cute..lol. Well, this year I realized that the crab grass has taken over huge portions of my yard! And the mower hardly touches them since they grow out like some big alien spiders that have landed on my lawn!! So, a few months ago my sister-in-law directed me to the Dirt Doctor!! This is what I've done so far...Garrett Juice as a folier feed and root drench every other weekend for my baby crepes, one small live oak and a couple of baby mystery trees that were given to us, a a couple of boxwood hedges (they are all loving it), CGM spread out in June, corn meal and coffee grounds just spread all over occasionally. I know ya'll say bermuda likes to be mowed short but when I go up to 2-3 inches, I don't have near as many of those skinny weeds that shoot up right after you mow. (We also bought a reel mower when we had to replace our mower in July) Vinegar works good around the house and by the curb but the only thing that looks worse than crab grass is dead/dieing crab grass so I started pulling the crab grass in the yard by hand...buckets and buckets of it! Now I have these gapping holes in my lawn (every once in awhile, I find some grass in there). I'm thinking of filling in with plugs of grass from the back yard..this is how my Mom fills in her yard when an area needs it. But. she's got sandy rich soil in Falls county. I've got that black, rocky stuff in Temple.
And, after all this, that is my question; Seed or Sod (is that squares or plugs of already growing grass?) the holes I'm creating with my weeding? I plan to put down more CGM in the late fall so I wasn't sure about seeding. Or is this the wrong time of year to do either? I'm sure the best advice is 'yank it all out and start over' but that's not an option. I know there's no 'quick fix' but I don't want to waste my limited amount of energy doing the absolute wrong things. Oh, and I've also dabbled with the compost tea, but only around the plantings...should I spray the lawn? Sorry to ramble on..just trying to get it all in. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Sod is the big flats of turf about 18x24 inches that you lay down on bare soil. Was that your question?

How would you describe the amount of weekly water you've gotten this year with the rains? Would you say you got 10-20 minutes every other day or more like 2 hours once a week?

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David Hall
Moderator
Dirt Doctor Lawns Forum

We've gotten quite a bit of rain...I've only had to water twice. When I do, I water once a week for a couple of hours in the morning to 1-2 inches.

The bermuda seems to be doing well where it wasn't taken over by crabgrass. Will it naturally fill in the bare spots I've created pulling out the huge patches of crabgrass? Or do I need to fill it in to keep the weeds from taking it back? I'd like to fill it in just by tossing seed in the bare spots. Would it grow enough to not be affected by the CGM I plan to put down in October? Or should I put sod down in the bare spots?

Thanks for your help

Either sod or seed should work for the next few weeks. Assuming the seed germinates before you apply the CGM, you'll be okay.

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David Hall
Moderator
Dirt Doctor Lawns Forum

Thanks, I think I'll try seeding. It's just that, having never done this, I wasn't sure seed would have time to get started good before I put down more CGM.
Thanks for the help and all the good advice we get from these forums.