Just closed on my house and need to know about Bermuda. We are currently restricted to twice per week for watering (which should be plenty). We have a sprinkler system, so how should I set it up? Never had a sprinkler system before so I need a brief idiot-proof overview of what my schedule should look like.

TIA

Since its dry, set it twice on one day. 2-3 minutes the first round, then right after 15 minutes should do it.

Soil is like a dry sponge, it needs some water in order to retain moisture.

Bermuda needs 1" of water a week during most normal active seasons. Fertilize at least 3x a year with at least one application of preemergent. Cut to a 3-4" height if it's common Bermuda. If its hybrid 2-3" height. Now every week during active season.

It will take trial and error. the grass should be able to tell you however. If it looks a little dry, it probably is. However, it will not die if you skipped water regiments the way the water regulations sound.

Where are you located and what type of sprinklers do you have?

Runtime is essentially a function of location and sprinkler type

Spray for crabgrass now. Or get Round Up ready.

If it's a new house/new lawn you should be able to get a variance for watering a new lawn (I know that I have gotten mine). new house/old lawn follow instructions above.

Google "bermuda bible." Follow those guidelines. Bermuda is pretty simple to take care of once established. Give it an inch of water once a week around 4-6AM, cut it low (lowest setting on a rotary mower), fertilize every 6-8 weeks during growing season with something like 24-0-0, pre-emergent for the crab grass and a spray for clover if you have it.

And for the record, bermuda > > > > > > > > > > > st. a.

As for setting your sprinkler, like Jonatron said, have all zones run twice so that the total watering is 1". Use a tuna can or the like to figure out when you've hit 1". Make sure all areas of your lawn are getting water, if not, adjust your heads.

Everyone here pretty much has it nailed.

1" a week is plenty... break each watering into two segments for a total of 1".

Not sure what zone you're in... but pre-emergent applied in early March and early September here in DFW.... fertilize with high nitrogen fertilizer (24-0-0), as mentioned already.

You're golden.

Should I go 1/2, 1/2? 1/4, 3/4? 2/3, 1/3?

Thanks for the responses.

Since I don't have an automated system, I do my full 1" at one time with a tractor sprinkler. Running yours half then half would probably work just fine.

The key to green grass is replacing the ET (evapotranspiration) lost from the previous days. Daily for this time of year is .4 inches. Newly laid sod should be watered pretty frequently (3-5 times a week). What kind of Bermudagrass do you have and what height cut are you at?

"cut it low (lowest setting on a rotary mower"

I could be wrong for Bermuda, but cutting it that low in San Antonio would burn it up. You want it to be at least 2.5 - 3 inches in this weather.

^^^I do setting 3 of 5 on the mower.

It seems that going shorter is an issue, but a) I just planted the sod 2 months ago and b) I have no trees back there yet, so take that with a grain of salt.

2.5-3" for bermuda? Negative. The low height is the #1 way to keep other grass and weeds out and bermuda grass thrives in the full sun.

I cut mine on the lowest setting and my bermuda is doing great in Austin. I'm actually looking to pick up a used commercial reel mower to get it a bit lower after I get everything leveled out nice and even.

Xpress - part of your problem may be if you only mow once a week. Some people that try and keep their bermuda low end up hurting the grass by cutting off too much growth at one time.

Taco,

Should I cut more or less often?

Again, thanks for all the advice.

It isn't a new house so the Bermuda (and dallisgrass) have been there for a while. I set my sprinklers for two rounds of 12 minutes this morning starting at 5:30. I did a test run yesterday and it seemed like 15 minutes gave about half an inch based on how full my Tupperware got, but 30 minutes seemed like a long time so I figure I could work my way up. I wasn't staying there last night so I'll have to do another test at the beginning of next week to see how much water I'm providing. Does 30 minutes (total) per zone seem like too much or is that within a reasonable amount of time? Again, first time sprinkler system owner here so sorry for the stupid question.

Secondary question: there is a big patch where the previous homeowner had a play set and there is no grass. It is surrounded on two sides by Bermuda and two sides by fence. Should this be seeded or should I lay down sod? What is the best time of year to do this?

Thanks in advance.

Bagger,

If you are getting .5 inches in 15 minutes then you have a precipitation rate of 2.0 inches per hour, common for a spray type head under high pressure conditions as I find in the Dallas area.

At this rate, you dont need very long runtimes as you are not watering a golf course or a football field. Homeowner turf has a lower water requirement. If you site was an example in one of my classes I would tell my students to water 20-30 minutes per week total. To determine how often you should run your system, take a shovel in your yard and just measure how deep your turf roots are, however you are in restrictions so the science of irrigation schedule kinda goes out the window. So this means 15 minutes-2days a week will suffice. If you observed water running off when you did your 15 minute test then you should split it into 2 cycles per day (8 minutes twice a day, 2 days a week).

If your really interested in saving water (and money) and maintaining a healthy lawn, check out my website http://TexasET.tamu.edu . You can see how many inches of water your lawn needs a week and sign up to receive weekly emails for irrigation recommendations.

Xpress - hardcore bermuda owners will say that you should mow more than once every 7 days, mainly because bermuda can grow quickly with the right conditions and again, you aren't supposed to cut more than 1/3 of its length at one time. Depending on how busy I am at the office, I try and mow once every 5 days, which usually has me mowing in the evenings on week days. If I let my back yard go more than 7-9 days, I cut it in two stages, a day or two apart.

Bagger - to answer your second question, if you are providing plenty of water (1"+ per week) and the spot is in a full sun area, it probably won't take more than 4-6 weeks for that area to fill in on its own. If you must, you can seed the area to help it along, but make sure you match the species you already have growing.

Thanks taco. The "soil" in the area with no grass is pretty poor. Should I remove the bad stuff and replace with any topsoil? If so, what kind?