Need help with Lawn, Please.

[mjlcare2]

Yep, found a dozen or so local companies for you who have sod for around $.25 a sq ft without install so either that $.97 is for a premium install or somebody was trying to rip you off.. might have worked if you listened to your pop's lawn advice

[Patriot Services]

That's still 5 grand to sod the yard. You guys are real good at spending other peoples money. You also miss the point about having grass for the kids to play on. How many SA sports fields have you seen? How wear tolerant is SA?
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[mjlcare2]

round-up and renting a tiller? Are you kidding? Are you trying to harvest weeds or get rid of them.. Round-up doesn't kill the seeds and by tilling them up you are more or less planting them under the soil allowing them to easily germinate again especially since your yard stays pretty "soggy" as you said. If your gonna do it, do it right! proper chemicals, sod cutter, etc.. or just hire the pro who knows what he is doing.

[Landscape Poet]

Originally Posted by RoboMike

I think I already mentioned that sod is out of my budget. I have 21,780 sq feet of yard.

Bermuda seed is not cheap these days. Have you checked into that yet? It is risky vs knowing that sod will give you a instant lawn and the seed may or may not germinate.

One last thing about Bermuda - does your entire property receive enough light to support Bermuda?

I am all for Bermuda myself - but also know that there are often limitations that keep it from being the appropriate turf for a property.

Things to think about - Bermuda has the deepest roots of any of our southern turf grass, it really needs to be mowed lower and more often during the growing season to ensure apical dominance does not occur and that your turf can get as dense as it can, this will mean most likely that you will be mowing that 21K at least twice a week to ensure you are not removing more than 1/3 of the blade and unless you have the perfect flat lawn - you will be doing this with a reel mower or possibly a push mower.
Also - do you have neighbors that live directly by you? If so they will not appreciate you installing Bermuda most likely as it commonly moves into SA lawns and is not commonly able to be removed without damaging the SA.

[Landscape Poet]

If Bermuda seed is to be used - My suggestion at min is - Spray with RU - Ensure everything is dead - Rake off old dead debris. Rent Slit seeder from rental store. Plant seed. Pray.

[mjlcare2]

Originally Posted by Landscape Poet

Bermuda seed is not cheap these days. Have you checked into that yet? It is risky vs knowing that sod will give you a instant lawn and the seed may or may not germinate.

One last thing about Bermuda - does your entire property receive enough light to support Bermuda?

I am all for Bermuda myself - but also know that there are often limitations that keep it from being the appropriate turf for a property.

Things to think about - Bermuda has the deepest roots of any of our southern turf grass, it really needs to be mowed lower and more often during the growing season to ensure apical dominance does not occur and that your turf can get as dense as it can, this will mean most likely that you will be mowing that 21K at least twice a week to ensure you are not removing more than 1/3 of the blade and unless you have the perfect flat lawn - you will be doing this with a reel mower or possibly a push mower.
Also - do you have neighbors that live directly by you? If so they will not appreciate you installing Bermuda most likely as it commonly moves into SA lawns and is not commonly able to be removed without damaging the SA.

I bought a 5lb bucket of bermuda seed for $130 a couple of weeks ago.. covers 5k sq and an over seed will only yield a 20-30% yield if done right.. at least what I've seen and heard.. so do the math.. pretty expensive and a pretty big gamble.. Landscape Poet is right

[RoboMike]

that's the lot size. small front yard, huge back yard.

[greendoctor]

The mower for that much bermuda is not cheap. Landscape Poet makes some very good points about bermuda vs st augustine. I am a bermuda guy myself, however I do not like to see it used where it does not get 8 hours of full sun per day, 1 lb of Nitrogen per month of growing season and a reel mower cut every 3-7 days.

In my state, sod is expensive. I am talking about $5-7 per sq ft not including the irrigation system the installer will want to install. Conscientious contractors will not touch the job without verifying and ensuring good irrigation coverage. It is a frequent situation for me to take a lawn that is 50% or more weeds and convert it back to one species of grass. Only thing I require is a working, properly adjusted irrigation system and cooperation from whoever is mowing the lawn.

In your case, a good CPO or learning how to manage this yourself is the best option.

[fl-landscapes]

Originally Posted by mjlcare2

I bought a 5lb bucket of bermuda seed for $130 a couple of weeks ago.. covers 5k sq and an over seed will only yield a 20-30% yield if done right.. at least what I've seen and heard.. so do the math.. pretty expensive and a pretty big gamble.. Landscape Poet is right

You must have bought the most expensive Bermuda seed on the planet. Here is a link to a seed supplier I use. Keep in mind Bermuda seeds are very small and go a long way. Aprox. 1.5 million seeds per pound. Rates 1-2 pounds per 1000 square feet so seed is by far cheaper than sod, if you deal with Bermuda encroaching in a St Augustine lawn you know it's not much of a gamble, Bermuda is a prolific germinater. http://www.hancockseed.com/seed-vari...rass-seed-364/ and over seeding by throwing seed on the ground may yield only20-30 percent that's why you do it with proper equipment and slit seed it in.

[RoboMike]

Originally Posted by mjlcare2

I bought a 5lb bucket of bermuda seed for $130 a couple of weeks ago.. covers 5k sq and an over seed will only yield a 20-30% yield if done right.. at least what I've seen and heard.. so do the math.. pretty expensive and a pretty big gamble.. Landscape Poet is right

That seed still cost a lot less than sod. And you can over seed the weeds out.

My neighbors and I are separated by Ficus hedges,that we keep grass and weed free around the entire perimeter.

Poet makes some good points, I will follow those directions if the Pro tomorrow doesn't work out. Thanks poet, thanks Patriot.

If Patriot wan't 4 hours away he'd probably have my business by now.