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NEW BERMUDA GRASS

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palominoaz



Joined: 11 May 2008
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Sun May 11, 2008 1:36 pm    Post subject: NEW BERMUDA GRASS Reply with quote

I planted winter rye on my bare yard last fall and would now like to overseed the rye with bermuda. Any suggestions on the best way to do this? My rye is still green. Thanks.
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phoenixtropicals
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Joined: 06 May 2008
Posts: 1207
Location: Mesa Arizona

PostPosted: Mon May 12, 2008 2:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'd recommend digging up the rye and putting in bermuda sod. The sod varieties are much nicer than the seeded sod, and once you seed with the coarser bermuda you will have a hard if not impossible time getting rid of it. Yes, its more expensive, but if I had a new yard with a clean slate like you do, that's the way I'd go. You can always hire professionals to do this for you. Put some thought into what kind of bermuda you want. Check out the article on this web site for more info.
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psimitry



Joined: 22 Sep 2009
Posts: 75
Location: maricopa

PostPosted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 3:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm having a similar issue with my place. There was previous bermuda sod laid down (as I'm finding the green mesh as I'm raking the dry brown rock that I call my lawn), so I'm not sure if I should completely remove the previous bermuda (because as far as I know, it might be a decent variety if sod was laid down before), or if I should just lay down new sod on top of it.
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phoenixtropicals
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Joined: 06 May 2008
Posts: 1207
Location: Mesa Arizona

PostPosted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 8:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Fall is the wrong time to put in Bermuda grass. Wait until May. If you still have decent coverage and the grass looks like it has a fine blade then it might be the good stuff. When you start watering it in late spring it will take off. Otherwise, if it doesn't look like a good variety or is just too patchy and more or less gone, till your yard and put in some high quality sod in May.
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psimitry



Joined: 22 Sep 2009
Posts: 75
Location: maricopa

PostPosted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 10:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Any problems then with throwing down rye grass seed so that I can have a lawn through the winter and then lay down new sod in the spring?
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phoenixtropicals
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Joined: 06 May 2008
Posts: 1207
Location: Mesa Arizona

PostPosted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 2:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Putting down ryegrass shouldn't be a problem. Just be sure to stop watering it a couple of weeks before you put down the Bermuda in the spring so that it dies off. The middle of October is the ideal time to plant the ryegrass. I recommend perrenial rye. Annual isn't near as nice.
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psimitry



Joined: 22 Sep 2009
Posts: 75
Location: maricopa

PostPosted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 12:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Was planning on throwing down seed October 11, since I have the day off work. I haven't watered in about a week (and only then to soften the ground so I could rake it and try to de-thatch the grass that was there), should I water before I plant or do I want it as dry as possible?

Also, when I go to lay down sod in the spring, should I try to remove as much of the previous sod dirt that was laid before? (some of the patches came up when I was raking, so I think this would be possible) Or should I just roto-till (or verticut) the whole thing and mix it all up before laying sod on it?
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phoenixtropicals
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Joined: 06 May 2008
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Location: Mesa Arizona

PostPosted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 10:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You don't need to water before putting down the rye. Just water aftewards. You can just break up the ground before putting down the sod in the spring. The ryegrass dies when it gets hot, and will make good mulch for the bermuda.
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psimitry



Joined: 22 Sep 2009
Posts: 75
Location: maricopa

PostPosted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 6:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

When you say break it up, do you mean to simply deep rake it? Or does it need something more extreme like a till?
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phoenixtropicals
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Joined: 06 May 2008
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Location: Mesa Arizona

PostPosted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 8:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A shallow till will most likely do it, but it depends on the state of your soil to begin with. Check with the company you buy the sod from to see what they recommend.
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psimitry



Joined: 22 Sep 2009
Posts: 75
Location: maricopa

PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 6:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE - INTERNET NECROMANCY IN HERE...

So yeah - my winter lawn did not live up to hopes. I pretty much screwed it up in every possible way. I waaaaaay overwatered it once it started sprouting, making for an overly moist soil. Then I unthinkingly let my parents' dog play with mine on it. So not only do I now have divots all over the place, but a lot of the shoots that came up were torn right out of the ground by the dogs sliding all over the too wet soil. Then I let it grow too long as my brother told me to start mowing ONLY when all of the bare patches have filled in (it got like a foot high before I finally mowed it). Then I continued to over water.

Yeah. It was a mess. Scratch this winter lawn. Hope for better next year.

BUT, onwards and upwards. It's not like I didn't learn anything from this year. Among the things I DID learn: my backyard gets VERY little sunlight. A good 1/2 of my lawn (divided north south) is shaded completely by my house in the winter. Then in the afternoon, the 1/2 that isn't shaded by my house is shaded by the two-story next door.

So this presents an interesting problem when it comes to my summer lawn. I'm not anticipating that much more sunlight, but obviously I am anticipating much more heat. I'm going to go ahead and re-sod, so I guess I need to know if there's a grass hybrid out there that can grow in low-sunlight or indirect sunlight as well as tolerate direct light?

I also got my orange trees planted. I got a trovita sweet, and a moro blood tree. The trovita IS planted in the section that gets a decent amount of sunlight, and the blood is planted in a section that is largely shaded most of the day. I'm hoping that they'll do well. So far, they seem to be doing... ok. I haven't really had to water them much at all due to all the rain we've been experiencing this year. I am watering them once a week, but I reset said week every time we get a good soak from the rain. Time will tell how they go I guess.
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phoenixtropicals
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Joined: 06 May 2008
Posts: 1207
Location: Mesa Arizona

PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 6:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bermuda grass: While not having much direct sun in your yard is not a problem with rye grass, with bermuda it is a problem. Talk to the people that sell sod and see what they recommend. I'm curious to see what they tell you. I don't know if there is a "low sun" bermuda grass.

Watering citrus: Once a week in winter is too often. That is how often I water them in summer. I recommend once every two to three weeks in the winter. See the citrus page in the website for more info. If we get heavy rains you can skip a watering altogether.

Very Happy
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psimitry



Joined: 22 Sep 2009
Posts: 75
Location: maricopa

PostPosted: Sun Mar 28, 2010 6:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well the bermuda grass question is a moot point right now, because I'm very likely going to be having foot surgery in early may (this is a good thing - very good). Sadly though, it means that my only options for lawn care at that point will be to either hire a lawn service (which I can't afford) or ask my parents to do it (which I won't do).

So the issue will be tabled until next year when I lay sod down with two freshly corrected feet.

Fall will be nice though since I should be healed up enough to take another swing at a winter lawn. This year turned out AWFUL, but I learned a ton from the experience.

I did have one more question about my orange trees though. Shockingly, the one I expected to have a hard time due to shade (the blood orange tree) is growing like a damn weed. The other (the one that I had been overwatering) is growing, but not nearly as fast. This is the one that I am inquiring: it has sprouted flowers, and while it looks nice, I am under the belief that a flowering citrus will soon produce fruit. I read somewhere (here or perhaps on the Greenfield citrus site) that fruit should be clipped early in young trees to get them to focus their resources in growing the tree rather than the fruit. Should I clip the flowers as well?

Finally, I am kicking around the concept of planting a peach tree back there as well. My issue is something my father brought up. He is under the impression that a peach tree will only produce fruit if there is another peach tree near to provide pollen. Is this true? I can probably do one peach tree in my yard, but I doubt I have the square footage to support two.
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phoenixtropicals
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Joined: 06 May 2008
Posts: 1207
Location: Mesa Arizona

PostPosted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 12:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sorry to hear about your feet. I hope everything goes well.

I never prevented my trees from fruiting and never had any problems. Your tree will naturally limit itself. If its not ready, it will either produce very small fruit, or very few fruit. I never thin my citrus, although my peach tree always has be thinned because it gets so loaded that the branches start to break.

Most peach trees that I know of are self fertile.
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psimitry



Joined: 22 Sep 2009
Posts: 75
Location: maricopa

PostPosted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 1:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Actually, the feet thing is a very good thing. I've had horrifically flat feet as long as I can remember. My doctor, before referring me to the orthopedic surgeon I go to see in about... 7 hours, said that my feet were by far the worst case he's ever seen. Before I popped my shoes off, he was like "Ehhh flat feet are no biggie. I've got 'em, hell they're even letting flat feet into the military now." He changed his tune as soon as he saw them.

Back on topic though, I'm gearing up to rig something up to protect my orange trees from direct sunlight for the summer. One thing I'm curious about is exactly how much I need to shade them. I know the trunk needs to be shaded, but what I'm considering doing is getting a set of four 1x2 pieces and sticking them into the ground at four points around the tree. On two sides (where the direct sun would be coming from), I will stretch window screen material so that most of the sun is blocked, but some still gets through. Then when the sun is directly overhead (and not hitting the trunk), the tree is able to get direct sunlight, before being shaded again in the evening.

Would this work? Or do I need to go with a zero light penetration material (something like cardboard), and for that matter, do I need to put the shade material on the top, or could the trees potentially take a little bit of direct sun?

I think the only other question I have is when to remove the stake that is tied to the trunk for support. At present, it's tied relatively loosely with plastic, so it's not like the tree is being strangled, but as I found that the previous owners of my house managed to kill a tree by strangling it with support wire, I'm leery about doing that with my new orange trees.
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