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jeremyengland

Need help on my lawn

9 years ago

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw82Fjzmr0K2d3ZiWmx4eGpfUzZ5VDNwZE81WDB5ZGJ6N3Fz/view?usp=sharing

New to me house, old lawn. Its weedy, mixed grasses, dead spots. Pic is attached

I've had a soil test but they say no additives are needed.

Rye grass was seeded over the winter and did well. Now spring is here, its hot in Florida, and the rye is all but dead. I can see the weeds and mixed grasses again.

I was thinking of raking, seeding with Bermuda or centipede, then composting over it.

What say any of you? Thanks

Comments (3)

  • 9 years ago

    Sod it with Bermuda, warm weather grasses are difficult to seed successfully

  • 9 years ago

    First of all, what happened to your sago palms? Did they freeze?

    Looks like not all the rye is dead yet. What happens with overseeding rye is the shade from the cool rye grass shades out the bermuda and delays the awakening by several weeks.

    You don't need seed. You need patience. Any bermuda, centipede, or St Augustine you already have in there will come back once you start watering properly. If you have any St Augustine it will dominate the other grasses. Here's how to water.

    Watering: Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. This is for all turf grass all over the place. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. Put some cat food or tuna cans around the yard, and time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill all the cans. Memorize that time. That will be the time you water from now on. My hose, sprinkler and water pressure takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your time will likely be less. I like gentle watering. As for watering frequency, that depends on the daytime air temperature. With temps in the 90s, deep water once per week. With temps in the 80s, deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 70s, deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps below 70, deep water once a month. Note that you have to keep up with quickly changing temps in the spring and fall. This deep and infrequent schedule works in Phoenix and in Vermont, so it should work for you. The reason for deep and infrequent is to grow deeper, more drought resistant roots and to allow the soil to dry completely at the surface for several days before watering again. If it rains, reset your calendar to account for the rainfall.

    So if your temps are in the 80s now, then you should be watering deeply once every 2 weeks.

    Bermuda needs fertilizer every month to make it look good. Are you willing to do that. St Augustine needs fertilizer in late spring, early fall, and late fall. Centipede needs fertilizer every few years.

    Mowing: if you mow low it will discourage the St Augustine and encourage the bermuda and centipede. The mix of those three grasses will always look weedy. If you mow at the mower's highest setting it will encourage the St Augustine which will completely wipe out the other grasses. All three need the same amount of water.

  • 9 years ago

    Thanks for the replies. As for watering, it has been watered twice a week over the winter. I see that is too often however that entire middle area appears brown and the rest is sporadic with weeds. I dont think the little grass that is there is going to take over. We've always mowed high.

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