Bermuda seed depth

18 years ago

Good afternoon.

I recently had my lawn graded and added about a ton of top soil; it looks nice (for dirt)!

So, I seeded the sunny areas of my yard with Princess 77 Bermuda and the partially sunny areas with Tifblair Centipede. I took care to gently rake the seed into the soil to get a 1/8 to 1/4" soil cover.

However, after watering for a few days, i can now see a bunch of the seeds at the dirt's surface. They appear to be embedded in the dirt, but not covered. They are also now white (i.e., they no longer have Pennington's green coating).

Should I be worried about the seeds I can see? In other words, should I buy some dirt or something to sprinkle over them? Should I let the dirt dry out and rake again?

Also, the seeds I purchased were mixed with mulch. Does anyone know what that stuff is and what it's supposed to do?

Thanks!

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Comments (4)

dchall_san_antonio
18 years ago
I wish you had asked that question before doing anything. The problem I see is that unless you live in the warmest Mexican desert, it is not nearly warm enough yet to be seeding bermuda. In South Texas it is not warm enough to seed bermuda until late May. The soil should be above 70 degrees F and more like 80 degrees F to get good germination from bermuda. What are your current night time low temps? I don't know about centipede seed, but hopefully it will come in an keep the crabgrass at bay until you get some bermuda germination. I thought centipede needed full sun, too.

Grading was probably a good idea if you did not rototill it. But raking the seed is not a good idea. Grass seed likes to be right on the surface of the soil and pressed down into it as if a bison had just kicked it off the stem and stepped on it. As it turns out, the bison's foot pressure (weight per square inch) is just about the same as every other animal on the earth, so if you wanted to you could go out and step on the soil to ensure you have good seed-to-soil contact. Normally for large areas a water-filled roller is used immediately upon seeding.

The mulch is there to improve the moisture retention around the seed after sowing.
texas_weed
18 years ago
I agree you planted at least a month maybe two months too soon. You run a very high risk of all the seed rotting on the ground. Good luck.
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golfcourselawn
Original Author
18 years ago
Timing aside, any suggestions TW? I've got a soil temp thermometer and the soil's been right at 68 degrees.

I did it last year about two weeks later and had no problems, but I don't remember seeing the sees (I moved!).
texas_weed
18 years ago
Really depends on exactly where you are at with respect to soil temps and area weather conditions. Texas has had one of the coldest longest winters in decades and our area is way too soon. Mr. Hall is in San Antonio 400 or so miles south of me and he stated it is too cold there. At 68 you should be OK unless the weather pattern stays cool.

Bermuda seed is very fine like sand. For planting only requires loose soil on the surface, broadcast, and then rolled with one of the water rollers.