Can you post some photos? What is your watering schedule? I am not a big fan if aeration especially on relatively new lawns. I find it harms new root systems. Did you apply a pre-emergent in the Fall? I am in the Houston area so i know we have experienced a record setting warm May. Takes some photos of lawn and problem areas and take to a Extension office near you and they can help you diagnose the situation.

It looks like it has been cut too shirt and is very dry. Bermuda needs less water once well established but this has not developed a strong root system and ground looks like it might need amending. What is your watering schedule? I had to really increase our watering schedule in May due to such high temps. Our grass isn’t Bermuda but St. Augustine but our soul is very sandy so our water bill is higher than normal.

I really upped my watering last week and im watering once a week in 15 minute intervals at about an inch total. Now that San Antonio is on water restrictions, I can only water once a week.

You might benefit by running your system twice in one day. Once early starting at 5:30 am and second about 30 min after the first cycle finishes. The yard will have less runnoff and once wet tends to absorb next round better and you get deeper soaking. Reduce time to 10min each station. Your yard looks like it is on slope? Also, check your sprinkler heads and make sure all areas are getting coverage. I think i would also not mow for around 10 days. Longer grass shades blades and helps keep root system cooler. Then on next mowing make sure setting is as high as you can go. Take photos so you can assess progress. Good luck.

So mow high? I though Bermuda was supposed to be short? Currently, I’m cutting it at 1.25 inches

Again, you are correct when established. When fully established it will squeeze out everything. You have weak growth. In this heat, just do best you can on watering so roots don’t get dried out and let them grow more new roots where aerating holes are. I wonder if you need some top dressing? Talk to local folks to be sure. I have had Bermuda in fact specialized type used on golf course greens. It was hard to keep going well. I sure would water the heck out of it as soon as you can. Good luck.

I just watered a section of my lawn for 10 minutes and this is how it looked. It seems like the ground isnt absorbing the water

Looks like you have a soil problem. Do you have a lot of clay? Sometimes people throw a bunch of Bermuda seed down but do nothing to prepair the soil. Looks like a soil test is in order. Water shouldn't sit like that. Did it absorb in the next 15-20 min? This is a good piece of information though. And it guides your watering scheme. So you might need to cut back to say 6 min. per station until you understand what is going on. Check to see if this water soaks in and watch the timing. Then you can assess how much time between double waterings so the soil gets water. Also, sometimes when soil gets this dried out, it is resistant to absorbing water. So, get a soil test and modify that watering scheme and see what happens.

Too much shade & tight soil are a bad combo. Get some organics down on it & address the shady spots by trimming trees or finding something else to plant there. Don't grow it long, it needs the heat & sun on bare ground to spread

Those are actually pretty sunny spots. I cut my Bermuda to about 1.25 inches. I’m nervous about going shorter as that height is 1 above the lowest setting my machine goes.

Its short enough, I didn't mean go lower just don't go higher because that's not your problem. If you have good sun in those areas & still getting algae/moss growth, you do have soil drainage issues. Can you get some organics locally to break that up? I would definitely recommend a hose end sprayer & some jet dry or baby shampoo STAT. You need a surfactant to get all that water absorbed.

I reread your original post & you are in what I call the "teenager grass" time period. Keep the faith & do what we suggest but keep in mind that your grass is between the sod stage & established stage this Year. Next year will be much better

There's nothing teen aged about 2-year old bermuda. It should be fully mature by now. Hard and tight soil does seem to be an issue.

reeljake mentioned a surfactant. The popular lawn forums will recommend spraying with any clear shampoo (not cloudy). The stuff you find at Dollar Tree is fine. The application rate is anything higher than 3 ounces per 1,000 square feet. That means apply at 3 and if you don't see the water penetrating more easily, then go ahead and spray it again. You cannot damage anything with shampoo (it's been tried). Apply the shampoo and follow up with water until you have standing water. Let that soak in and turn on the sprinklers again. The goal is to be able to apply 1 inch of water all at one time without runoff.

San Antonio, by the way, has what I consider to be enlightened water restrictions compared to many other communities around the country. I moved away in about 2012 but always had excellent looking St Augustine. I used oscillating sprinklers with an Orbit digital programmable hose bib timer to get the oddball hours they allow. Are you watering with a programmable timer?

There are puh-LENTY of feed stores in the SA area to get organic fertilizer materials.

I think FloMan is trying to help you with St Augustine advice. With St Aug you would mow high (very high) and you would never use a slicer. Even an aerator might cause issues cutting the grass stolons. But with bermuda cutting high hurts it, and clipping the stolons stimulates new growth. So your instincts are correct.

Here is a general plan for bermuda. I think you have the gist of this but in case you doubt yourself, here goes:

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.

Mulch mow at the mower's lowest setting (assuming rotary). Your 1.25 inches is fine. When the grass is growing fast then mow 1 or 2 times extra per week as needed.

Fertilizer: Start in the spring after you have mowed real grass for the second time to ensure the roots are awake. Then fertilize with a high N fertilizer every 4-6 weeks until the grass stops growing in about November. Never use weed n feed products, because straight herbicide will give you better results.

Herbicide: Spot spray weeds in mid April.

I have had numerous experiences with both Bermuda and St. Augustine as well as other forms of grasses. I find the "watering" general schedules don't work in every situation. You have to use your own common sense and my experience is especially in hot weather like we have had in the East Texas area, cutting grasses of any kind too short is not helpful. But I think you can assess as you go along and see what works best in your area.

Dchall- so I can go to dollar tree and buy knock off baby shampoo, put it in a hand help sprayer and spray the dirt and turf and it will loosen up?? Then once it’s loose, I should use organic fertilizer as like a top soil?

As for watering, I use a rainbird irrigation system and timer. Those pictures I just put up are from this morning and about 7 minutes of watering.

I am currently cutting my yard 3 times a week, for my grass and that’s my exercise. My goal, along with a bunch of people is sure, is my lawn to be mistaken for a golf course but it’s really sparse.

I have a huge tree in the front, which my wife loves, so I know I am fighting a shade battle and a wife battle, so I found a type of Bermuda called TifTuf that’s supposed to be great in the shade but don’t know if I want to resod a 1500sq ft lawn that can be beautiful

Spraying the shampoo allows water to penetrate the soil better. Once you have water penetration to a deeper level, then the beneficial fungi in the soil will loosen the soil creating a capillary structure. That structure allows both water and air into the soil.

Organic fertilizer is used like fertilizer. Not sure what you mean by using it like top soil. The application rate for all the grain type organic fertilizers is 15 - 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. You can apply the fertilizer now before the water penetration improves. It may not go to work as fast as if you have better water penetration, but it will get there.

If you have flooding after 7 minutes, you may have a high flow system. Going to a lower flow heads may improve that. My buddy in Phoenix changed his heads so he applies .75-inches in 99 minutes. 99 minutes is the limit of his system, so he adjusted the heads to maximize the water but minimize the rate. The Phoenix soil is notorious for impermeability, but with shampoo and slow application he gets no runoff.

There is no way you should have that much standing water after 7 minutes, you need the surfactant yesterday! For shade tolerant Bermuda, use celebration it's much easier to get in Texas

I am going to cut my grass in the morning and put some surfactant (baby soap) down. Good thing I have a newborn and 3 year old running around and that stuff is everywhere.

Hahahaha. That's exactly how I got started spraying baby shampoo. It was the only clear shampoo in the house.

reeljake, I have seen some massively high flow water systems. He might have one of those...or just have really tight soil.

Here's the deal with hard soil. The hard soil I'm talking about is different from compacted soil. Compaction is caused by mechanical squeezing of the soil when it is saturated. Walking on soggy soil squeezes the air pockets (capillary structure) and they refill with muddy water. When that dries the air pockets are gone. That's compaction. The hard soil I'm talking about is biologically deficient. I'm sure you've seen a bag of bread full of green mold. You may have noticed that the mold can fill a bag just a few days after the black spots form on the bread. That's not good in bread but it's not bad in soil. Those billions of filaments of mold will penetrate all through your soil to provide a biological structure in the soil. When those filaments (technically called hyphae), get wet, they expand ever so slightly. That pushes the soil minerals apart ever so slightly. While that is happening, the bacteria in the soil are at work producing slime. Slime hardens into a stiff material which holds the soil together. Soil crusts and clods are caused by this biological activity. When the mold filaments dry out they shrink ever so slightly. That allows air into the soil and opens pores for water to come back in the next time it gets wet. This is how the soil softens. You should notice the soil becomes extremely soft after a rainstorm or after deep watering. Then it will firm up again in the days after the water stops. It only took mine one application of shampoo to make all this happen. The effect shows up after about 3 weeks of regular deep watering, and mine in SA (south of the Quarry Market) lasted for years. The shampoo will allow the moisture to penetrate deeply and keep the soil cooler down deep. That's what these fungi need to create the biological structure. That and food from organic fertilizer.

Milberger's Nursery on 1604 north is the place to get grass. Shades of Green on Sunset is the place to get organic anything, plants, and some tools. Feed stores are the place to save money on organic fertilizers once you know what you want (alfalfa pellets are everywhere). Fanick's Nursery inside SE Loop 410 is the place to get trees, plants, tools, and the best advice (Mike or Mark) on plants. Keller Materials (out by Retama race track in Selma) is the place to get sand, gravel, stone, etc. Stone and Soil Depot (1604 west, north of Culebra) is the place to get mulch. New Earth (I-10 east of town, Foster Road exit) is the place to get compost.

Thanks for the information. Turns out where the bulk of my algae has formed, I had a major leak in that zone. Actually, 4 leaks to be exact. How should I go about growing that grass back or will it naturally grow back?

It should come back by itself, although...if you have a hybrid bermuda you might want to resod (Milbergers) so the common bermuda does not jump in. If it is already a common form of bermuda, then you could reseed it. It is finally hot enough in SA for seeding bermuda. Don't rototill. Just scratch the surface and seed. Then walk on all the new seed to press it to the ground.

You can get all the bermuda seed you want at any box store. Or you can customize a mix at Douglas King Seed on the southeast side of town (I-10 just inside Loop 410 on the north side. I don't think they front onto I-10 but I think you can see their building from the freeway. The finest and deepest green of the seeded bermuda is Princess. If you can find that in any bag that's a good one. When you see about 80% germination on the bermuda, use a starter fert on the seed. After that go to full N with urea or a very high N organic like corn gluten meal. CGM is available in SA while soybean meal is not. Cost might be $30 for 50 pounds. Or you can just see what you get with alfalfa pellets ($12). There's a member here getting good results with alfalfa on bermuda.

Hot dry soil will recover the Bermuda quickly, assuming you fixed the leaks