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kingstretch

Need help prioritizing - bermuda issues

kingstretch
10 years ago

First I'll cover the vitals outlined in the FAQ:

Location: Upper SC
Grass Type: Bermuda
Recent Products: 10/10/10 fertilizer, spread fairly thin (I know this isn't very precise, but the bag didn't have a spreader setting on it, so I just spread it at a 5 on my Scotts Speedygreen which was a pretty slow broadcast)
Irrigation: Every few days, 30 minutes "per zone"
Lawn Age: Sod was put installed around 4/10/2013
Mow Height: ~3 inches, weekly (now)
Soil Test: none

Now for the problem(s):

I've got a few different problems that I know of (and probably more that I don't yet know of), and I need help coming up with some sort of game plan to remedy them.

1) When the sod was installed, the ground wasn't particularly smooth, so I've got some peaks and valleys that "cause me" to mow on a higher setting than I probably should be with the bermuda. I understand I should be 2" or less, but if I try that I end up scalping the lawn in places. I'm thinking that once the summer is over I should scalp it and undertake some sort of leveling - either through topsoil or through targeted sod removal and reinstallation.

2) Within about a week of the sod installation, weeds started cropping up. I left them alone until the grass seemed like it had rooted and was growing, then I hit it with a round of Orth Weed-B-Gone to try and eliminate some of these weeds. Most of the weeds are gone now, but there are some sorts of grasses mixed in that I can't figure out the best way to kill.

3) In my front yard, I've got these larges patches of grass that "look" like they're dying - brown stalks of grass. I can't decide if this might be some sort of fungus, or if indeed the grass is dying, or if it's something else entirely.

4) In the back yard, the grass looks to be dead in spots - again I'm not sure if this is fungus, or from where I've scalped it in the past and it hasn't grown back completely, or something else entirely.

That covers what I know about the yard. I'd really like some help identifying what the problems might be with portions of the yard looking like they're dying, as well as the "other grass" issue. Any help would be VERY appreciated.

I'll try and follow this post up with some pictures.

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