Howdy Home Improvement, I recently bought a house in Tomball and had Bermuda Grass put in the backyard.

It appears some St. Augustine is mixing in with it, and while that's not a terrible thing because I plan on keeping the grass short back there, is there something that can be done to kill off St. Augustine without killing Bermuda?

Thanks for any advice.

Cut at a height good for Bermuda, don't water too much, and the Bermuda over time should take over the St. A. I wouldn't use any chemicals.

since msma is no longer available then there is really nothing that will kill it off other than roundup. Mow it short and it will stress out the St. Aug

Is there any reason to stick with a single type of grass other than personal preference and a uniform look?

I prefer Bermuda over St. Augustine and that is what covers 100% of my front yard. My backyard used to be 95% Bermuda with a tiny bit of St. Augustine but now it is more like a 70/30 split as the St. Augustine has spread over the past 5 years.

I figure the St. Augustine is winning over the Bermuda because my neighbor's trees have grown quite a bit over the past 5 years and provide a good bit of morning shade to the backyard. I usually only water once a week so I'm pretty sure I'm not overwatering to favor the St. Aug.

quote:

---

Mow it short

---

Let's define 'short.' My mower has 4 settings.

quote:

---

Is there any reason to stick with a single type of grass other than personal preference and a uniform look?

---

No.

quote:

---

I prefer Bermuda over St. Augustine

---

As do I, but the builder put St. A in front yard, and I put Bermuda in back, we plan to spend more time there as we are on the corner of a loop, and our front yard angles to a point (ish) but our backyard widens from our house.

quote:

---

I usually only water once a week so I'm pretty sure I'm not overwatering to favor the St. Aug.

---

Backyard was put in 2.5 weeks ago, and I've been watering 3x a week. Front yard is no longer an issue, it is older and growing fine. Backyard has slight yellowish spots and there's still some gaps in the squares of grass, but it seems to be taking some root, which is good. THERE IS NO SHADE in my back yard, and so from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. the grass is getting its azz kicked.

Should I water more or less? PS if I don't "water" the lawn, I try to just lightly soak it almost every day, especially because there's been no clouds lately. EDIT: "lightly soak" means walk around backyard with hose for as long as it times to drink 2/3 a beer.


Continue with advice por favor.

[This message has been edited by XpressAg09 (edited 6/26/2012 2:43p).]

Common bermuda should be cut in the 1-1.5" range. If you have a standard rotary mower, your lowest setting is likely somewhere close to/higher than that. If you are watering that often, you'll probably need to mow twice per week.

Mowing tonight. (but for the first time...)

Never had Bermuda, so I wasn't sure what height signified mowing time...

Like any grass, you don't want to cut more than 1/3 of its height at a time. So, if the grass is tall, mow it twice to get it down to the proper height a few days apart.

Thanks for the tip.

I'm about to tinker with a relatively new herbicide called Solitaire that is labeled as safe for bermuda and not for st. aug. Might be worth a look if this is really an issue for you.

quote:

---

Might be worth a look if this is really an issue for you.

---

Like I said up yonder ^^^ really no other reason to choke out the St. A other than simply personal pride...but I could get over that.


ANOTHER QUESTION FOR THOSE INTERESTED: I mowed a small piece (like 3 sq. feet) to see if I had the lawn mower set on the right height (2 of 4 on my mower settings).

The mower cut grass, but the remaining grass was light green/yellow and not the same color as the greener grass on top. I wish I'd have taken pics, but what say you about that?

Best I can describe it, the top 1/4 of each piece of grass is a good green, but the bottom 3/4-ish is not as green...to the point of not attractive.

Is this just simply a new-Bermuda-recently-installed-during-the-summer-and-hasn't-had-a-chance-to-root-yet problem?

Your yard is less than 3 weeks old, you probably are not watering enough right now. Once established you can cut way back.

Bermuda is a grass that can be "trained". It will get used to being cut short and then it will grow accordingly. If you ever let it get too tall, the first time you mow, it will take all the green tops off the blades and it won't look very good for a few days. It'll kinda have a scalped look. Also, if you want to get technical, you should not mow in the same pattern every time as you will "train" the grass. St. Aug doesn't work this way.

quote:

---

If you ever let it get too tall, the first time you mow, it will take all the green tops off the blades and it won't look very good for a few days

---

This is what happened.

So mow anyways, and keep watering...(more)?

in the dead of winter when your bermuda is dormant you could spray the st. augustine with roundup

Mowed yesterday. Some green was taken off, but the yard looks a LOT better and more uniform! I sprayed down the grass immediately after mowing (not really "watered," just "wet down") and it had that morning dew look...quite beautiful.

Then my dog took a dump on it...

Thanks for all your help Home Improvement!

Mix up a homemade batch of beer ingredient liquid fertilizer, spray the yard and watch the awesome green-up color transformation!

Google "homemade lawn fertilizer with beer" for various sites full of info and ingredients or check out this one:

http://www.wisebread.com/secret-lawn-tonic-recipe-from-golf-course-groundskeeper

Spray on your lawn and any other plants you have growing in or around your yard as well.

You can thank me later.

But...why waste good beer?

Oh wait, I'll use Miller Lite.

Sorry XA, but it specifically notes No Light Beer!!!

...but those are the worst kinds...

It doesn't explain what the beer is used for. Why not light beer?

It has the same ingredients as regular beer (just more adjuncts like corn and rice), but I fail to see what the problem is. Is it the alcohol? Light beer still has 4.5%, which is in the normal range.

GARY

It says to put the mixture in a ten gallon hose end sprayer, but do I need to fill it up with water to top off the sprayer? Or do I just start spraying?

EDIT: Nevermind. I read further and it answered my question.

[This message has been edited by XpressAg09 (edited 6/28/2012 3:28p).]

helgs, I'm not an expert but this is what I found on another website regarding the ingredients:

quote:

---

Beer. This is considered a source of carbohydrates for the microbes in the soil. Microbes are the necessary link for converting food matter in the soil to food elements that plants can utilize.

---

My current house has a mixed lawn. The SA will overtake the B if there is some shade, and enough water. SA tolerates shade better, but B will tolerate the stress from drought better. Won't look good, will go dormant, but will not die as easily. So last summer, my SA died back and the B held on. This year, the opposite is happening.

I have a slope that I think will probably stay B, because the sun is always on it and it is hard to get the water to stay on it long enough for it to soak in. The SA grows right up to the edge, but will not grow over. However, in the backyard, now that we have gotten rain, and I am watering, and there is shade, the SA will probably soon outgrow the B.

So look at your "microclimates" in your yard - the drier sunny areas will probably stay B. The damper shadier areas will stay SA. After 3 years of fighting it (I dont like B), I am coming to accept it since a mixed lawn is better than no lawn. Now if only I could find a grass that will live under the dense shade of a live oak - neither the B or the SA want to live there. So far the only thing is rye grass, and only for the winter.

I have a new lawn in East Texas. Lots of pine trees. Way too much shade. I sodded new yard with Palmetto San Augustine and it has died on one side of the yard do to shade (and too much water from drainage). I really need to plant some other grass that is deep shade tolerant on that side. Any suggestions?

Only thing with more shade tolerance is fescue. Unsure how well it does in the sandy soil of east texas