What are my odds?

[bigslick7878]

Originally Posted by muddstopper

Avguy, dont pay those northernfolks any attention, they dont know squat about growing bermuda since all they fool with are cool season grasses.

Buy a premium hulled and coated bermuda seed such as Yukon for the cold tolerance in your area. Seed at the 4lb per 1000sqft rate. Dont use any fertilizer when you seed. Set irrigation timers to water for 5 minutes, 6 times a day in each zone, Less if you start seeing puddeling, making sure you have even coverage and you will see green in about a week. Fertilize at two weeks using about 1/4lb N per 1000sqft and adjust irrigation to longer times and less frequently, but still not to the point of puddeling. Repeat fertilization at 4 and 6 weeks and then set up a regular fertilization schedule to reflect the growing needs of the grass. Mow when grass reaches 3 inch in height to a finished cut height of about 2 inches. With proper mowing and fertilization, you will have a sod quality lawn in about 8 weeks, just in time for the wedding, but it will go dormant when the weather starts to frost.

Sounds easy.

Go for it.

[avguy]

Thanks for all the replies! GF says thank you as well. Lol...the way she's worrying about everything you would think the Pope was going to show up here!

I'm headed to Lesco this morning and will be tilling & spreading top soil this afternoon. I'll update this thread in about 10 days or so. Hopefully the next pic will be green instead of brown

Thanks again......Scott

[bigslick7878]

Originally Posted by avguy

Thanks for all the replies! GF says thank you as well. Lol...the way she's worrying about everything you would think the Pope was going to show up here!

I'm headed to Lesco this morning and will be tilling & spreading top soil this afternoon. I'll update this thread in about 10 days or so. Hopefully the next pic will be green instead of brown

Thanks again......Scott

You will need about 60 pounds of seed to start,and then another 15 to go over it again in a few weeks to fill in some spots when it doesn't come in perfectly.

Its going to take every bit of the 2 1/2 months you have til the wedding to get it established on that hill.Average full coverage and maturity time for Bermuda is 8-10 weeks.

I would water about 5 times a day.

Make sure you use starter fertilizer when you seed the first time.

You MUST roll it after you seed to make sure it is firmly in the soil and not just laying on top so it can wash away.

Good Luck,you will need it.

[muddstopper]

If you are going to use a starter fert at the time of planting, make sure it doesnot contain any Urea Nitrogen. Urea will convert to ammonium really fast in all this heat. The N conversion and resulting gassing off will result in a seed kill off situation. An ammonium Nitrogen based fertilizer would be a much better choice, but make sure it is well watered into the soil after application. Hulled seed is much more succeptable to the the gassing off effects of the N conversions, hince my recommendations to not use fert for the initial seeding.

[avguy]

Originally Posted by muddstopper

If you are going to use a starter fert at the time of planting, make sure it doesnot contain any Urea Nitrogen. Urea will convert to ammonium really fast in all this heat. The N conversion and resulting gassing off will result in a seed kill off situation. An ammonium Nitrogen based fertilizer would be a much better choice, but make sure it is well watered into the soil after application. Hulled seed is much more succeptable to the the gassing off effects of the N conversions, hince my recommendations to not use fert for the initial seeding.

Went to Lesco today & all they had was hulled seed. Called a few other places & they either didn't know what they had or it was hulled. The Co-op had a brand called Laredo @ $6.19/lb or hulled @ $2.50/lb. Because I'm so late in getting this in the ground I don't think I have much of an option on the seed. Asked all three places about a coated seed & specifically the Yukon & all I got was a constipated look on their faces.

I did get the yard tilled today & got my top soil this afternoon. The top soil was very wet...took the guy 20 minutes to get it off the dump truck as it just stuck to the bed of the truck. To make matters worse I'm moving this stuff around with a compact utility tractor & it doesn't take much of that wet top soil to over load the front end loader. Small scoops & many many trips back to the pile.

I'm going to try to get this wrapped up by tomorrow eve as we are expecting rain here on Fri. Thanks again to all for your help! Scott

[bigslick7878]

Originally Posted by avguy

Went to Lesco today & all they had was hulled seed. Called a few other places & they either didn't know what they had or it was hulled. The Co-op had a brand called Laredo @ $6.19/lb or hulled @ $2.50/lb. Because I'm so late in getting this in the ground I don't think I have much of an option on the seed. Asked all three places about a coated seed & specifically the Yukon & all I got was a constipated look on their faces.

I did get the yard tilled today & got my top soil this afternoon. The top soil was very wet...took the guy 20 minutes to get it off the dump truck as it just stuck to the bed of the truck. To make matters worse I'm moving this stuff around with a compact utility tractor & it doesn't take much of that wet top soil to over load the front end loader. Small scoops & many many trips back to the pile.

I'm going to try to get this wrapped up by tomorrow eve as we are expecting rain here on Fri. Thanks again to all for your help! Scott

Bermuda seed is very expensive per pound(the seed is microscopic and there are way more seeds per pound than other grasses).That seed you are getting for that price is garbage and you are wasting your money.

The kind that was recommended earlier (Yukon) should run about $500 for 25 pounds.DO NOT cut corners when picking a seed and settle for a cheap one,it makes a HUGE difference.You get what you pay for,and every seed has a different genetic makeup to combat weeds and all types of other issues that could arise down the road.

http://www.bermudagrass.com/info/yukon.html

You can order it here...

http://www.seedland.com/mm5/merchant...ory_Code=YUKON

$529.00 for a 25 pound bag,You will need 3 when its all said and done.

I'm telling you don't waste your money with that cheap stuff,you will regret it later.

[avguy]

Originally Posted by bigslick7878

Bermuda seed is very expensive per pound(the seed is microscopic and there are way more seeds per pound than other grasses).That seed you are getting for that price is garbage and you are wasting your money.

The kind that was recommended earlier (Yukon) should run about $500 for 25 pounds.DO NOT cut corners when picking a seed and settle for a cheap one,it makes a HUGE difference.You get what you pay for,and every seed has a different genetic makeup to combat weeds and all types of other issues that could arise down the road.

http://www.bermudagrass.com/info/yukon.html

You can order it here...

http://www.seedland.com/mm5/merchant...ory_Code=YUKON

$529.00 for a 25 pound bag,You will need 3 when its all said and done.

I'm telling you don't waste your money with that cheap stuff,you will regret it later.

I think I'm going to have to settle for the Lesco @ $4.30/lb. I'm renovating 15k sq ft now but have to address the rest of the lawn next spring. It's a little over 2 acres.
Are you saying the inexpensive Bermuda will always look bad? Or will I just have to seed more often to get it to fill in?

[alltoroformetwo]

Put down sod. Between the slope the heat and likely water restrictions you are fighting a losing battle.

[bigslick7878]

Originally Posted by alltoroformetwo

Put down sod. Between the slope the heat and likely water restrictions you are fighting a losing battle.

"Losing battle" is a good way to put it.

If he doesn't want to spend the extra $1000 for some quality seed I doubt he is spending 5 grand (and a hell of a lot of labor) to put down sod.

[avguy]

Wanted to update this & thank everyone again for their input. The lawn was seeded on 6/28 so it's been about 18 days. I had some real concerns about possible erosion but with the exception of the first night we had very little rain for the first 8 days or so which allowed me to control the amount of water it received. Had a 2' x 40' area in front of one of the downsputs that empties into the yard wash out the first night. Repaired it the next morning & ran a temporary drain line to divert the water after that. Lesson learned on that one.

While the yard hasn't filled in as much as I would have liked I do think it will eventually. Going to evaluate this weekend if I should go ahead & slit seed it again now or just wait till next year?