I'm posting this on behalf of my brother. all you "ags" chime in.

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I am trying to get rid of my burmuda grass 1) in my front yard and 2) in my back yard.

1) This next Spring (2010) I'm wanting to replace the bermuda I have with St. Augustine sod. Do you know of anything in particular that I should use to kill the bermuda so that is stays gone, but will not inhibit the St. Augustine growth, or would it be best simply to till the land up and lay St. Augstine back down?...or do both? Should I apply this "-cide" this Fall or winter, or wait until spring? Any recommendations or directions?

2) Also this Spring (2010), I'm wanting to get rid of some bermuda in the back yard, but instead of grass, I'm going to put some plants, flowers and ground cover in that area. Same questions...any recommendations that will kill the bermuda and not risk plant or ground cover growth.

If it matters at all, the total amount of bermuda grass in the front and back yards I'm trying to get rid of is about a third of an acre.

Thanks for your help.

Salt works really well.

Killing it with fire will probably make it grow back stronger than ever.

Captain, you aren't shaving against the grain.

I emailed Scotts about the same problem. They said to use round up to kill everything. Break up the top soil with a rake then lay the St. Aug.

Kill, till, and sod.
I would start the round up now. It will probably take more than one application.

what lar said.

Scalp at lowest mower setting, bag scraps, kill with roundup, till, rake what you can, burn the rest, sod. That's what I did and it worked great.

I removed bermuda and put in a Jamur Zoysia. Greatest grass I have ever seen. It thrives in sun, shade, rain, drought...pretty much anything you can throw at it.

I found it at www.grassrunners.com in san antonio. This was about 8 months ago or so and there were only a handful of farms in the state that grew it then. It looks like a miniature st. augustine.

Mix a double rate of RoundUp with Fusilade and spray. Wait two weeks and do it again.

DO NOT TILL AS THIS WILL BRING MORE BACK.

Sod as needed.

FYI-

Zoysia is the best grass.

why the hell would you WANT st augustine?? st augustine < bermuda < zoysia

St Augustine is more shade tolerant...and as long as you don't walk on your lawn, it's perfect for lawns with big trees. If you have a lot of traffic on your lawn, go with Zoysia for the wear tolerance, as it's still pretty shade tolerant.

</RecTurf>

unimpossible!!!!!!!!!!

Trying to Kill Bermuda Grass is like trying to kill Keith Richards with alcohol....

Doesn't St. Augustine suck up water like no one's business?

Oh, and to answer the topic on hand, I would suggest a non-selective herbicide (Ala RoundUp)...see what lives, and reapply appropriately. By the time spring rolls around, you should be ready to sod.

I'm scalping my yard tomorrow, planting rye grass for the winter to kill out the augustine creeping into my yard and strengten my bermuda roots.

I'd love to get to Zoysia, but not in the cards at this house. Bermuda is nice, thick and lush. No reason to change it out.

I WILL be planting Zoysia when I build a house in the future...

Had St Augustine for years at my old place and I'd rather stay with a less course, more fine alternative... my personal preference.

quote:

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st augustine < bermuda < zoysia

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wow that is a major fail.

Zoysia is a winter grass, while bermuda and st. a are warm weather grasses.


Most places overseed their summer grasses with zoysia.

I am assuming the OP wants StA over Bermuda for the decrease in maintenance or just likes the extra thatch...

duble would be so proud.

agro 302 representing.

It's SCSC 302, now, but still.

And whoever told you that Zoysia was a winter grass should be fired, Robert. It is a warm season grass, in the same category of St Aug and Bermuda. It is really cold tolerant, though...

The overseeding example I remember is with ryegrass.

tell your brother he is an idiot and that his wife is not nice and his dog is a Bi!@#.

and then tell him if he needs help tell him to call his brother that didnt move to california. jerk

quote:

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wow that is a major fail.

Zoysia is a winter grass, while bermuda and st. a are warm weather grasses.

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Negative ghost rider. Zoysia is a warm season turf that does very well in almost ALL climates.

Lots of major fail on this thread. Troutslime is the only voice of reason.

The the correct answer on the Outdoors board.

use diesel

WTT: St. Augustine yard for Bermuda yard. Will send my guys to cut the Bermuda out and replace it with the St. Augustine they cut out of my yard. You provide the beer. Reply to post.

Answer is here.

Kill (Roundup)
Till
Fill (add any fill dirt/soil you need to add)
Sod

It's been said on this thread and I have heard it elsewhere too.

Don't till the "dead" bermuda, it's pretty much like defibrillating it, just brings that crap back. When I was removing bermuda for mulch beds, I sprayed with herbicide, waited two weeks, sprayed again, waited again, then cut as short as possible, put down a thick layer of newspaper and covered with topsoil/mulch.

haven't had a problem with it returning.

if you are looking to replace bermuda with St. Auggie, just put some plugs out in your yard, the Auggie will eventually overtake the bermuda. I did this in the shady parts of my yard, as the shade has grown, the St. Auggie has grown with it and also into the "sunny" areas.

If your Roundup did its job, the tilling won't hurt, plus it goves you an oportunity to incorporate the greensand and fertilizer. With sod slapped over the top, anything coming back or sprouting will be hard pressed to make much of a showing.

B1,

Does Corpus have the same type of soil that Galveston does? I've got such a hard pack now that my St. Aug is having trouble propagating in some areas, any ideas on this?

I'm thinking of core aerating in the spring, but even that may not be enough....

quote:

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They said to use round up to kill everything. Break up the top soil with a rake then lay the St. Aug.

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We did this and it worked great.

quote:

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Does Corpus have the same type of soil that Galveston does? I've got such a hard pack now that my St. Aug is having trouble propagating in some areas, any ideas on this?

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We have black gumbo. The core aerator works great if combined with 1/4 - 1/2 inch of good compost.

Trouts: unless you are saying that Dr. Duble and the turf management team on campus are wrong, I think you are mistaken.

Zoysia can survive ice b/c of its deep root system, but considering it is an invasive grass, it will be destroyed by the warm season grasses.

[This message has been edited by Robert Loblaw (edited 11/3/2009 10:00a).]

question:

are fecues a viable option here in Texas?

Ask this guy:

Sandy's idea FTW!