reseeding bermuda

[kcameron]

I have a customer that has a thin lawn of Bermuda. I currently cut it at 3" b/c cause I think this leaves it looking fuller. I have hd no noticable signs of desease or the like. We want to thicken it up to make it look richer and fuller. I have read several posts about the proper cutting height, but how would I go about "reseeding" the yard? I plan on aerating and sowing winter rye b/c he likes the year round green look. Can I sow the two seeds at the same time? If so, do I just mix them together? Would a broad cast spreader do the job after aeration, or is an overseeder the best thing? What about fet.? When does this come into play? I know these are alot of questions, but alot goes into making the yards look good. Thanks in advance, Kevin Cameron

[A CUT ABOVE]

:) You could put out your bermuda at the same time. We can only use rye when it starts cooling down a lot for the winter in South Georgia, so by that time it is to cool for bermuda to germinate. In this case we would use unhulled bermuda rather than hulled bermuda.

[65hoss]

The problem I see is the time of year. The hot temps will start to slack off soon and bermuda seed as well as plants love heat. You will have a hard time getting it started good before it goes dormant for the winter. I would wait until next year to seed it.

[KirbysLawn]

Here in NC it's best to seed bermuda in the spring with a slit seeder. Applying seed now would be a waste, it will not germinate and mature in time and will probably just wash off. Wait til spring.

http://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/pubs/ag431.html

[Southern Lawns]

Kevin,
As Kirby stated, it's too late to seed Burmuda. When where you planning on seeding with Rye?

[A CUT ABOVE]

It is too late to overseed hulled bermuda. If you will wait until you start to put out your ryegrass, you can use unhulled bermuda which will lie dormant until the weather warms up in the spring time. You should not have to worry about it washing away. We hydroseed bermuda year round. We use hulled seed in the warmer months, and unhulled seed in the cooler months.

[kcameron]

I am looking to overseed around the middle of this month. The research that I have done says that this is about the best time for the soil temps. I also would like to aerate right b4 I over seed in order to give the seedlings some deeper penatration into the soil. Is this a good idea?

[Southern Lawns]

If that is the case, I think it is still too early to seed with Rye. Needs to be much cooler (late Oct/Nov) than this NC heat. The rule of thumb on aerating I use is : warm season grass in the spring and cool season grass in the fall. I do add a booster fert. when I overseed and that always does the job.
Raymond

[65hoss]

Bermuda is a warm season grass!!!

We are going into the cooler months. Bermuda will start to go dormant soon. In about 2 weeks or less we will start seeding fescue. Lesco already has the seed on the way. They will tell you its too late for bermuda. It will not have time to establish before the cold.

[KirbysLawn]

Originally posted by kcameron
The research that I have done says that this is about the best time for the soil temps. Is this a good idea?

Are you still talking about bermuda? If so what research, now is the worse time to reseed bermuda!

I must disagree with any that say now is. Here in NC it's cooler than Ga and the seed will not germinate, therefore it sits on or just under the soil. One good heavy rain or hurricaine and it gone, waste-o-money. If the seed can't germinate and establish a root system in at least 3 weeks it's my opinion you are wasting the customers money and your time.

My suggestion is overseed with rye now and cross slit-seed in the spring.

[Southern Lawns]

Rye now?
Haven't seen much luck with it surviving an average Sept/Oct much less a very hot one.
Interesting! Different zones different results......

[yardmonkey]

It seems like there may be another question hiding in here. Why is the bermuda grass thin? Since bermuda spreads easily by roots and runners, will it make any difference to reseed? Is there maybe some condition of the soil to be addressed? Does it make sense that if conditions are favorable, bermuda will grow in as thick as it can once it is established? In other words, why would it be thin now and why won't it thicken itself without seeding?

[KirbysLawn]

Maybe I should have worded that differently, I meant this fall as "now" and bermuda seed next spring, not right now this month. Sorry for the confusion.

[williamslawn]

It is thin because he is cutting it too high. It needs to be cut at 11/16" or max 1". Also needs to be cut twice a week. If he will lower his blade he will see it will become thicker and healthier.