seed first or topdress first?

[ussoldierforhire]

Well? I have a bermuda lawn at my house that is less than two years old. The builder obviously didn't care about the lawn and I think he just threw seed out and hoped for the best. The lawn is very bumpy, uneven, patchy, and has a lot of rocks throughout. I want to start the first of many topdressing applications this spring and want to overseed as well to start to thicken the lawn up.

Should I seed first then topdress or topdress then seed? Doesn't seed need about 1/4" soil on top to germinate?

[dave k]

First, what type Bermuda do you have, was it sod? if it was than its probably Tiftway 419, don't put Bermuda seed on 419, unless its Princess 77 which is close to being like the 419.
2. Bermuda seed needs to be HOT to germinate, like in June.
3. What you need to do is get a soil sample and take it to your Co Op for testing, they have bags with instructions on how do do it, it cost 6 bucks, well worth it.
When you top dress I would wait until its hot so you have a quick recovery, end of May beginning of June is good.
Get some riversand mixed with Erth food, most places that sell mulch/topsoil/etc have a lawn mix for top dressing.
scalp your yard to 1/2" or 1", core aerate your yard, top dress, drag it out or use a landscape rake, aerate it again, top dress it and drag it out, do this until you have about 1/4" or so on top of your lawn. You can use a stiff broom to push the sand around as well.
Its better to topdress with less sand and do it a few times to get desired results than to put it to heavy, the purpose of aerating and draging the sand is to get the sand in the holes so it improves your soil.
You can use white sand if you don't or can't get river sand.
I would also put a high N fertilizer down to get that Bermuda of and running.
I think you just need to improve the Bermuda you have and forget the seed part, were you planning om using a reel to cut it
check this site out. www.sandmantopdressing.com

[dave k]

Well? I have a bermuda lawn at my house that is less than two years old. The builder obviously didn't care about the lawn and I think he just threw seed out and hoped for the best. The lawn is very bumpy, uneven, patchy, and has a lot of rocks throughout. I want to start the first of many topdressing applications this spring and want to overseed as well to start to thicken the lawn up.

Should I seed first then topdress or topdress then seed? Doesn't seed need about 1/4" soil on top to germinate?


Post some pics if you can or send them to me so I can see what type og grass you have if you're not sure. PM me

[ussoldierforhire]

thanks, lawn was originally seeded. i have half my back yard sodded.

[ussoldierforhire]

O.K. Here's the pictures you requested. The first picture is of Sod. (1/4 of my lawn), the second picture is of seeded area. The last picture is a shot of part of my back yard (left is seeded, right is sod) with crabgrass everywhere (not worried about right now.)

I'm sure it's all bermuda but i'm not sure if it's all the same kind.

[greendoctor]

Bermuda does not need to be overseeded. If you feed it 3/4-1lb of N per month of growing season, bare patches soon are covered by stolons running in from surrounding areas. That lawn looks something like the ones I get called in to maintain. A good fertilizer program, mowing with a reel mower at 3/4" or less every week and deep watering will get the lawn thick in no time.

[ussoldierforhire]

Why mow so close? Should I keep it high around 2" to help starve out the weeds?

[greendoctor]

Bermuda grass grows tighter and thicker when it is cut short. When allowed to get long, it grows all stems, with the leaves only at the very top giving space for weeds to grow. Also, many of the weeds are discouraged by frequent low mowing.

[hmartin]

US,

I am about as far north as you are. Bermuda lawns are just starting to grow a little bit around here. The bermuda, not the weeds, has only needed cutting about once. We have have had some upper 30's at night in the last few weeks.

In a few weeks, when it turns warm and the bermuda starts growing, start with the fertilization like Greendoctor said. In the abscense of a soil test, I'd recommend a balanced fertilzer for a newer lawn that was probably laid on some poor soil. Good ole triple 13 or similar would be great. Most soils in the southeast are low in P, so don't worry about not needing the P. Bermuda will spread like crazy with mowing and fertilization.

A few weeks after you fertilize and as you mow frequently like mentioned, do the areation and top dressing. Keep fertilizing every month. You can switch to a higher N fertilizer later in the summer.

Since this is your lawn, a frequent small dose of ammonium nitrate would be a great way of helping your lawn grow. You might want to buy some hose end fertilizers from Home Depot or Lowes if you don't have a fert spreader.

The seed and sod will alway look a little different, but over time the lines will get blurred as to exactly where the sod was laid.

You received some good advise already. Spend the $6 on the soil test. Just knowing your PH and whether you need lime is worth alot. If you need lime, add it before you areate so that is gets down in the soil.
]

[ussoldierforhire]

Thanks for the info. I did the soil test and everything was low except for potassium. I aerated my lawn yesterday. I did it early because i'm having some drainage problems. I will probably aerate again later this summer. I have some test pots with bermuda seed. As soon as they start to germinate I plan on overseeding some bare spots and topdressing the whole yard.

US,

I am about as far north as you are. Bermuda lawns are just starting to grow a little bit around here. The bermuda, not the weeds, has only needed cutting about once. We have have had some upper 30's at night in the last few weeks.

In a few weeks, when it turns warm and the bermuda starts growing, start with the fertilization like Greendoctor said. In the abscense of a soil test, I'd recommend a balanced fertilzer for a newer lawn that was probably laid on some poor soil. Good ole triple 13 or similar would be great. Most soils in the southeast are low in P, so don't worry about not needing the P. Bermuda will spread like crazy with mowing and fertilization.

A few weeks after you fertilize and as you mow frequently like mentioned, do the areation and top dressing. Keep fertilizing every month. You can switch to a higher N fertilizer later in the summer.

Since this is your lawn, a frequent small dose of ammonium nitrate would be a great way of helping your lawn grow. You might want to buy some hose end fertilizers from Home Depot or Lowes if you don't have a fert spreader.

The seed and sod will alway look a little different, but over time the lines will get blurred as to exactly where the sod was laid.

You received some good advise already. Spend the $6 on the soil test. Just knowing your PH and whether you need lime is worth alot. If you need lime, add it before you areate so that is gets down in the soil.
]