Growing Bermuda Grass From Seed (Week 1)

Week 1: Growing Bermuda Grass (see below) (Seeds planted June 16, 2011) ...

Weather: Low in the 70's. High in the 90's.
Seed: Brand: Top Notch (hulled) Bermuda Seed by bwi (from local garden center). Was not coated like some seeds that I see in big box stores. Coated seeds received mixed reviews so I went with plain common bermuda seed.

When I purchased my house a few months ago the front yard was just hard dirt. There was some grass near the street and weedlike growth on the north side of the house. However, most of the yard had been bare for several years according to the neighbors.




I don't know much about soil types, but I think the dirt in the yard was too hard to successfully grow Bermuda grass. Even when tilled up, when it rained it would compact and become brick hard once again.

So this is what I did.



1. I purchased a promix blend from a local mulch/dirt supplier. It contained mostly sand and compost. Was told sand was good for Bermuda and also my thinking was that the sand would also help to break up that hard dirt and make it less likely to settle again like a brick.

I ordered 8 cubic yards of this promix and had it delivered. (should have purchased 10).

2. Rented a tiller from Home Depot for 4 hours. We tilled yard to depth of about 4-6 inches.

3. Added promix. I used most of the promix on the southern part of the yard to level it. The yard had uneven areas and the yard/ground near the driveway was about 3 inches below the driveway. So I used a lot of this promix to build up that area and also to mix in with the tilled dirt.

4. After adding the promix, I tried to level all of this out as best I could, but was not very successful. Not only did the tilling reveal lots of rocks, but the promix that was delivered also had mulch-like twigs and rocks in it as well. (I think I got a bad mix, as the promix I saw at the supplier had no rocks, etc. It looked like rich black soil. However the mix that was delivered was full of chunks of everything that shouldn't have been in a mix that was supposed to be for planting seed.)
However, we commenced putting it down. I was determined to finish this project that day.

5. Hand cast 4 lbs of seed. Two (2) lbs. were added to sand, but the sand made it difficult to throw. So the final 2 lbs. I did not add sand. I found this the easiest way to control where the seed landed.

6. Then I just waited patiently. It rained 2 days in the first week and I thought it would affect the seed causing run off. But I didn't notice any displacement of the soil at all after the first rain.

7. I have been watering daily, however my schedule doesn't allow watering 3-4 times a day like I know I should. I skipped one day of watering. I suppose this experiment will also determine just how forgiving Bermuda seed is!

Note: If the Bermuda seed does not grow well under the trees my plan B is to plant zoysia seed -- in the areas that does not take well to the Bermuda. But looks like the Bermuda is doing just fine, even under the trees.


Week 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzRa1wz88GU
Week 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XueQhrHlapk

Category:

Education

Tags:

• bermuda seed
• bermuda grass
• how to grow grass
• growing grass
• how to grow bermuda grass
• from seed
• planting
• germination
• germinating
• growth