Wanting to start over

[wallyandcass]

I purchased a fixer upper about a year ago and I am getting around to the yard work now. My yard consists of weeds, bermuda and patches of St. Augustine. I would like to try and make the St. Augustine spread but I am not patient enough. I think I have decided to go with bermuda. Is this a good idea? If so, how should I go about it.

[cupcakedude]

I live near you, in Wortham, and have the same combination- San Augustine in the shady areas, and Bermuda in full sun. The Bermuda that I have (and I suspect this is true of them all) is such an aggressive spreader, that likely all you'll have to do is follow the basic organic lawn program, basically giving the soil some type of mulch to feed on, and occasional water, and the Bermuda will take over. If it's spotty now, take advantage of the opportunity to mark off any flower beds or other non-grass areas and get ALL the roots/ rhizomes out and put down either concrete or steel edging to a depth of 3 or 4 inches. Once you get one little runner of Bermuda in an area, it seems nearly impossible to get rid of it, and there goes your garden. Good Luck!

[Dchall_San_Antonio]

If all you do is occasionally mulch and water, the bermuda is sure to take over. However, if you fertilize at least once a year with corn meal or alfalfa pellets or other organic source of protein, the grasses will compete and the winner will prevail. At least you're giving your St Aug a fighting chance. The application rate is 10-20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. You get these products at a feed store. They are generally marketed as animal feed and the cost is around $5 for 50 pounds.

[rcraigcarter]

I also have a mix of bermuda & St. Augustine grass in my back yard. The lawn is about 80% St. Aug. and I want it to be 100%. Currently I mow at the highest setting, water deep & infrequently, and use an organic fertilizer. Is there anything else I can do hasten the bermuda's demise?

[Kay Young]

This is really a personal preference question. However, since bermuda will spread voraciously whether you want it to or not, you might think about your choices a bit. I happen to love St. Augustine grass. I, too have a mixed grass yard. I. too am trying to encourage the St. Augustine at the expense of the bermuda. If I had it to do over again, I would NOT plant bermuda. You can always do that later, if you decide to.

[cupcakedude]

I'm convinced that the only way St. Augustine will "win" over Bermuda, at least in the hot/dry areas of North Central Texas, is in areas of abundant shade and water. I've done all the fertilizers, and other organic treatments, both moderate and intensive. I'm thinking the Bermuda just doesn't like shade and moisture. St. Augustine clearly does- when I lived in the Houston area, it was almost the opposite effect. Because of constant rain and humidity, and lots of shade trees, the yard was almost all St. Augustine.

[dcluck]

My experience supports the water and shade helping st. augustine significantly. Watering deeply and infrequently encourages bermuda's deeper root system. I've been having some success in encouraging st. augustine (two mixed areas in my back yard) by lightly hand watering the border where the two meet. I give the st. augustine side of the border the water and leave the bermuda side alone. When applying my weekly deep water I minimize the water on the bermuda in order to further discourage itl. Leave the bordering st. augustine unmowed is helping too. I've already seen the bermuda area reduced compared to last year, but it is a slow process. I'm guaging that in two more years I'll be bermuda free.

My parents' house of 25 years or so had bermuda planted when they bought it. Their neighbor's st. augustine lawn completely took over the adjecent side of my parent's lawn, so now they have one side that's bermuda and the other a pristine, lush st. augustine. However, I can't honestly say how long it took for st. augustine to fully take over. I can tell you that the side where it happened was fairly well shaded.

~Dave Cluck