how to with doc on youtube.

A lot of folks knock him, but he can get the brainstorm going. Not saying you should buy everything he's hawking on Amazon, but he gets you thinking.

To what CAR said, there's a whole YT community devoted to excessive lawn care. I've watched a variety between GCI Turf, Connor Ward, The Lawn Care Nut, etc - there's plenty of coverage for every topic you might not even think about.

But to your questions - yes, Bermuda in N TX will grow great and I've seen well irrigated and leveled lawns mowed down below 1" with reel mowers. Most, however, are mowed around 2-1/2" to 3" because it's easier to sustain in heat/drought.

If you fertilize regularly and irrigate, the Bermuda will do pretty well at taking over anything but St Augustine. For quicker results, research selective herbicides or just carefully nuke the area (small spray wand or hand paint the "weeds) with RoundUp Red (the stuff that the label says can be planted on top of in a week) and live with the bare area until the Bermuda can fill in.

Irrigation coverage should be 100% overlap. Once you're trying to put down 1/2 - 1" of water, you'll be thankful you have so much coverage you don't need to run your zones for an hour.

Mowers - run what you've got but make sure the blade is sharp and level. If you're looking to upgrade, I think the general consensus is a Toro Recycler with the Honda engine or Honda HRR (now HRN series) for a rotary mower. But you'll need to research reel mowers if you want a fairway cut below 2".

Start with soil. It all starts with the soil.

If you wanted to be healthier, the first thing you would change is your diet. Same with your lawn.

Yea golf courses use reel mowers... there are probably threads on here you could look up discussing reel mowers, getting a roller for striping, etc.

From a maintenance standpoint, find the closest SiteOne, follow their recommended schedule for pre-m, fertilizng, etc... tough to beat on quality, knowledge, etc... it seems to be where all the landscaping crews go to get their stuff.

Depending on the type of bermudagrass, mow at about 3/4 inch at least 4 times a week, more if you can. This trumps anything else you can do.

I also think frequent mowing makes a huge difference

To get serious golf course quality grass takes a lot of commitment and time.

I'm a yard nut and have no where near that level of turf, but I'd say I'm better than about 98% of the neighborhood.



This is my new house, sod is about 8 months old. It's a hybrid Bermuda, probably TIF 419. Never bothered to ask the builder. Still using a rotary mower since its way too bumpy for a reel. I plan to level with sand in the future. Lot is a 0.25 acres, takes me 1.5 hours to mow, edge and weedeat.

I mow 2-3x a week as low as I can go without scalping too much on the bumps. Bermuda grows fast in the heat. Any longer than three days right now and I'll take way too much off the blades. Could use Primo to slow the growth, but I like the exercise.
Pre-em 2-3x a year.
Slow release high nitrogen fert every month from May to September.
Milorganite every month (two weeks after fertilizer application). Good for the soil.
Deep watering once a week when temps are high 80s low 90s. Move to 2x a week when we are high 90's and above. Much better to water deeply once or twice a week than to water shallow 5-6 days. You want to promote deep root growth.

Life has taken me to a different part of the country, and I have Kentucky blue grass, so my formula is slightly different. The principles are still largely the same.

It takes time. Those with nice lawns likely spend more time and effort to get it that way. There is no secret fertilizer that does the work for you. It's a combination of several factors.

1. Nutrition. Get on a good fertilizer schedule. Some time on the internet/ YouTube will tell you all you need and more. I am a big fan of milorganite, which I use in conjunction with my normal fert. Timing, proper amounts, and frequency are key. Again... YouTube. ( I'd start with the lawn care nut)

2. Watering. Pretty simple and straight forward. Longer watering, less frequently is better than short and often. The idea is long watering promote deep root growth. Always start your watering early in the morning. Never start watering at night, where the water sits over night on your lawn.

3 mowing. The more you mow the better. They say never cut more than 1/3 of the grass length in any given mowing. Mowing every Saturday won't cut it. Every 3-4 days, depending on where you live is probably more appropriate. Those lawns that are crazy short, using a reel mower could be mowing much more.



I'd start there, which are the basics. I wouldn't worry about mowing super low until you get a good foundation going. Also, in my experience mowing that low requires a level lawn ( few uneven bumps, not necessarily no slope). It seriously ups the time commitment level. That's all fine and good, but my recommendation is to start with those three key principles I listed Above and go from there. That will get you 80% there. The other 20% you can chip away at.

Just throw down Zoysia Palisade and never look back!

howitzercannon said:

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thanks for the replies.

the biggest hurdle for me is the frequent mowing. It takes a 1.5 hours just to mow the front and back, since all I have is a push mower. I do need a riding lawn mower, but with a 20 degree slope halfway in the back yard and the entire front hard being a 20 degree slope, I haven't been able to find if this is too steep for a riding mower, or can they even move well up and down the slope.

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Have you looked into robot mowers? They work like a Roomba. You can mow everyday if you're so inclined

LOL, even the dog knows better than to step on the grass?!

Take pictures at an angle (never straight down) so you can't see how thin the grass is in some places. That's my secret. And pay someone to mow so you can deal with all the other stuff like water, fertilizer, weeds, etc.

howitzercannon said:

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That is a good looking lawn.

I just measured my back yard, it is roughly 11,500 sqft. There is a 100'-0" x 20'-0" rectangle right in the middle that is on a 15 degree slope, and the lawn is uneven all throughout along with a nice gentle slope from left to right that is right in the middle of the slope I walk up and down on.

1.5 hrs each mow for 2 to 3 times a week? if I could have it take 30mins for front and back or at least take that long without the effort, i'd be fine with it. But walking 3 miles in the heat pushing a lawn mower is insane to me right now. I know i need to upgrade to a reel mower, and I can't seem to find one that makes sense that is a riding version.

How do you edge along the fence without eating up the fence itself?

What are some places you would go to for the lawn supplies? I'd like to figure out how to find local specialists that sell the supplies and equipment needed instead of using Home Depot or Lowes.

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Just got done mowing, yea its hot. I actually only edge and weedeat once a week. If I'm just mowing its probably about 45-60 mins. Problem is, even mowing this often the grass is tall and thick so I have to go over it a few times to mulch up the clippings. However, you can put down a growth regulator that will slow it down and probably make it 1x a week. Like I said, its my way of getting exercise. I'd love a reel mower, but you will have to mow even more often with one of those and you can't have hardly any bumps.

For pre-em and herbicides, I use Solutions Pest and Lawn online. For fertilizers, I just go to Lowes. I use Sta-Green 29-0-5 42 lb bag and they also have Milorganite. Milorganite is some good stuff, it will really get things greened up. You could find some local stores, but Lowes is more convenient for me since I'm in there all the time.

Luckily the guys who did the fence raised the pickets a couple inches off the ground so I'm not tearing up the fence.

howitzercannon said:

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That is a good looking lawn.

I just measured my back yard, it is roughly 11,500 sqft. There is a 100'-0" x 20'-0" rectangle right in the middle that is on a 15 degree slope, and the lawn is uneven all throughout along with a nice gentle slope from left to right that is right in the middle of the slope I walk up and down on.

1.5 hrs each mow for 2 to 3 times a week? if I could have it take 30mins for front and back or at least take that long without the effort, i'd be fine with it. But walking 3 miles in the heat pushing a lawn mower is insane to me right now. I know i need to upgrade to a reel mower, and I can't seem to find one that makes sense that is a riding version.

How do you edge along the fence without eating up the fence itself?

What are some places you would go to for the lawn supplies? I'd like to figure out how to find local specialists that sell the supplies and equipment needed instead of using Home Depot or Lowes.

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This is a good point about watering early in the morning. I set mine to start at 3am and I have 8 zones. Not having the water sit all night helps prevent fungal diseases. It also helps because its typically less windy and not hot which prevents wasted water and evaporation.

TX AG 88 said:

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LOL, even the dog knows better than to step on the grass?!

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Damn dog and his piss stains though.

I get that it's better to water longer than more often, but when you first lay new sod I'm being told to water a couple times per day for a couple weeks. Is that not correct?

In Colorado if that makes a difference

agdaddy04 said:

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I get that it's better to water longer than more often, but when you first lay new sod I'm being told to water a couple times per day for a couple weeks. Is that not correct?

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Yes, that is correct, you need to water a couple of times per day for a couple of weeks to get the root system to take hold into the soil that has been sodded. Then you can cut back after that.

howitzercannon said:

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I measured out my lawn, and I have a 10 degree slope that is 20 feet long over from side to side. I have read up on top dressing, but I can't seem to find how to level a bumpy lawn (I mean really bumpy, practically dune mines lol) on a slope.

I've also been having issues figuring out the best way to set up a drainage and sprinkler system. My current back yard of a 100 x 100 has around 8 zones, but I have seen online 50'-0" sprinkler heads and in my math, I should only need about 9 total heads which could be 1 zone or split into 3 zones. Am I missing something here?

My front yard is a 20 degree slope from top to bottom. I think it drops 7 ft over 60 feet from front door to street. it's in rough shape.

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Pipe size and pressure at your water meter. Really doubt you could run 50' sprinklers if you already have pipe in the ground.

howitzercannon said:

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I have been graced with the coming of age to wanting to improve my lawn. I am now getting old where I want to figure out how to have the best lawn in the neighborhood. Woe is me.

How do you get the lawn that looks like a fairway? I have been doing research, but nothing seems to particular confirm that it is the right thing for my situation.

I have 100' x 100' back yard with a 5'-0" elevation change at 50'-0" on a 15 to 20 degree slope.

I can't seem to find anything that is a guide to correcting the grass on this part of the hill from the crappy Purple top grass to the Bermuda I want. I'm also having issues finding a good guide on how to determine the best layout for a sprinkler system since, I have a total of 10 zones in the back yard, which seems a bit excessive.

What are some good mowers that can easily handle the hill? What are some good guides to follow for the North Texas climate? How do you mow along fences? I seem to just unevenly eat the grass and take the paint off the fence.

Any good ideas out there?

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Where do you live? I am moving back to Frisco in a couple of weeks. I am a "turfgrass professional" and would be happy to help you.
PM me and I'll give you a little background.

getting south of Fort Worth is a haul for me, but if you want to take some pictures and send them to me, I can give you some recommendations.
Tim dot Muench at sbcglobal dot net