[Munnster006]

I have been working on this yard all year (bought house in March) and the front looks pretty amazing. The back, on the other hand, keeps giving me grief after I mow. I use a normal Honda mower (rotary) and water 40 min per station twice a week. The back tends to sprout up higher and faster than the front so even when mowing twice a week at my current setting (notch 3 gets it to about 1 inch from the soil), the back ends up looking like this. Any thoughts on a remedy or potential cause?

 

[Munnster006]

Here is the front

 

[Ware]

For starters, I see a lot of blade tearing in the close-up photo (notice all the jagged brown/tan blade tips). Sharpening the mower blades would improve the quality of cut for the entire lawn.

If I read your post right, and the growth in the back is outpacing the front, I think you're probably just scalping a little. The solution would be to increase mowing frequency or raise the HOC (height of cut).

 

[Munnster006]

Given that the mower was brand new in March, would you expect that is required already? How can I get the back to go as low as the front without this issue (or am I sunk for this season?)

Edit, just saw your frequency note, could I also reduce to water once a week to slow down growth?

 

[Ware]

Given that the mower was brand new in March, would you expect that is required already? How can I get the back to go as low as the front without this issue (or am I sunk for this season?)

Edit, just saw your frequency note, could I also reduce to water once a week to slow down growth?

Yeah, it's definitely possible with your mowing frequency. Feel free to post a photo of the blade. Here is a recent thread about sharpening rotary mower blades.

The 40min per station really doesn't tell the whole story. I wouldn't mess with the watering frequency until you know what your precipitation rates are. You can verify that with a set of these gauges, or any shallow straight wall containers like tuna cans. Scatter the gauges or containers around the zone and run each zone for a known length of time and record the results. For example, if you run a zone for 15 minutes and you get 0.10" in the gauges, your precipitation rate would be 0.40" per hour. This will let you know how much water each zone is getting and you can adjust your run times accordingly. Precipitation rates can vary by zone - and even vary within a zone if it wasn't designed well. The rule of thumb is bermuda needs about 1" of rainfall or irrigation per week during the growing season, but that's just a guide - it can need more when it is very hot outside.

I don't want to lead you down a rabbit hole, but "the best" way to reduce mowing frequency with bermuda is to utilize a plant growth regulator (PGR). It's not required, but makes life a lot easier when trying to maintain bermuda at a low HOC. You can read more about it here, but it is basically a chemical you spray on the lawn about every 3 weeks that will reduce your mowing frequency by up to 50%. Again, not required, but something to start reading/thinking about in your free time.

By the way, welcome to TLF! We're glad you're here. Where in KS are you?

 

[Bunnysarefat]

I use a rotary on Bermuda and St. Augustine and I agree with Ware about your blade, definitely appears it needs to be sharpened. You'll see an immediate improvement and reduction in the frosty white "glaze" for lack of a better term, that sits on top of your yard after you mow, the torn white tips being replaced with a cleaner cut and more solid green at the end of the blade.

To sharpen my blade I use a Dremel ($30-40) and a special sharpening kit they sell (~$15) for lawnmower blades and chainsaw sharpening. It works fairly well and it's very simple because the angle of the sharpener is set at a fixed angle so it's consistent.

Because St. Augustine shows the effects of a dull blade so prononcedly, I usually sharpen my blade every 2 weeks or sooner. You can probably go longer with Bermuda. Once you do it a few times, it literally takes about 5 minutes to sharpen the blade and get it back on the mower. Besides something to sharpen with, you just need the right wrench and something to stop the blade to add resistance so you can loosen and tighten the blade back fully. You can use a block of wood, I use a section of schedule 80 pvc pipe about 24 inches long or so that I keep for just this purpose.

Does your backyard get the same kind of sun exposure as the front? I can't tell from the picture on the back but the front looks like it's pretty much all day sunrise to sunset.

 

[Munnster006]

I'm in Wichita! Sun is another factor, that back side is under tree coverage so it probably gets direct sun from 10 to 2, then then the tree on the other side of the fence does work on it.

Luckily I impulse bought a Dremel a few years back so I will check out that kit.

I also noticed my back grass isn't as dark of a green as the front, and feels almost like walking on a cushion(thicker). Do you think it is a different type or is it just the different conditions making it look and feel unique?

Really appreciate all the help, I have been checking random sites and Google searches for a while to bring this yard to life, when I started it was half fescue and half dead so good progress has been made!

 

[Colonel K0rn]

I'm in Wichita! Sun is another factor, that back side is under tree coverage so it probably gets direct sun from 10 to 2, then then the tree on the other side of the fence does work on it.

Luckily I impulse bought a Dremel a few years back so I will check out that kit.

I also noticed my back grass isn't as dark of a green as the front, and feels almost like walking on a cushion(thicker). Do you think it is a different type or is it just the different conditions making it look and feel unique?

Really appreciate all the help, I have been checking random sites and Google searches for a while to bring this yard to life, when I started it was half fescue and half dead so good progress has been made!

From what I can see, the first picture you posted looks like bermuda. It's a bit difficult to tell from the distance it was taken.


This photo appears to be St. Augustine.


The best way to tell is if you can get the leaves side by side, and make a size comparison. They both have a creeping type of stolon, which is the horizontal stem that runs across or just underground. The runner is the portion above ground, the rhizome is the same thing, but underground. Pull a few up, and compare the sizes. The smaller one will be your bermuda, and the larger one will more than likely be St. Augustine.

My grandpa had a thick and lush St. Augustine yard in East Texas. It always felt cool even in the sun, and really great in the shade. I think they're great to play on, and have picnics on. Bermuda, on the other hand, is what you'll usually find on football fields, and golf courses. If you've been on either, you'll recognize the grass type.

 

[Ware]

I think Wichita is too far north to see St. Augustine. Some would even say it's borderline for Bermuda adaptation.

 

[Munnster006]

Left is implanted grass from back in front and right is normal front



This is just the front up close, which has proved to be much more resilient



Does this help?

 

[Spammage]

I'm thinking bermuda back and zoysia front.

Edit - I don't know. That front doesn't really look like zoysia, definitely doesn't appear to be bermuda, and probably resembles St Aug the most. Like Ware though, I can't think St Aug would survive those Winters.

2nd edit and a question - does carpetgrass have cold tolerance??

 

[Munnster006]

This all was dead in March and didn't begin to green until early April. Also I have a section of fresh grown Bermuda (Scott's) and it is just growing straight up. How long does it take to look like the rest?

 

[Colonel K0rn]

I'm thinking bermuda back and zoysia front.

Edit - I don't know. That front doesn't really look like zoysia, definitely doesn't appear to be bermuda, and probably resembles St Aug the most. Like Ware though, I can't think St Aug would survive those Winters.

2nd edit and a question - does carpetgrass have cold tolerance??

Re:carpetgrass, yes, it's pretty damn resilient. Most of the carpetgrass requires very low maintenance, but you'd find it being more utilized along the right of ways along the roads. It does throw up some nasty seed heads if it's not mowed pretty regularly, and it can be confused with St. Aug. I didn't think about the location of the lawn being a factor with the grass type. I'm inclined to agree with you that it's looking more like carpetgrass. I can tell you that it dies quickly with a medium rate application of Celsius WG. Ask me how I know :lol:

 

[Munnster006]

Definitely get seed heads after 4 days of not mowing. You think it is all carpet grass in the front? If i aerate and overseed the Scotts bermuda (or if there is a better recommendation here for seed I will take it), will it crowd out, or should I let this be a free for all between the front and the back? Ha!

 

[Colonel K0rn]

Definitely get seed heads after 4 days of not mowing. You think it is all carpet grass in the front? If i aerate and overseed the Scotts bermuda (or if there is a better recommendation here for seed I will take it), will it crowd out, or should I let this be a free for all between the front and the back? Ha!

When it comes to seed choice, it's a matter of what you can afford. I'm evaluating seeds right now (spent the past few hours researching), and you can go with whatever is available at the store, or go with a seed vendor and buy based on availability. I will say that if you pound the ground with fert, the bermuda will use it vigorously, and over time, it'll eventually overcome the carpetgrass. However, if you desire to give the bermuda the advantage, you can spray the carpet grass with Celsius, and it is very effective.
Here's a shot of carpet grass prior to application of Celsius WG

This is 6 days later

42 days after application, the carpet grass is dead, and the bermuda that was on the property line is thriving, and the green kyllinga that wasn't killed is being killed. There's a couple of clumps that I missed in my first round, but I'm working on them. It was all over the lawn.


Aeration and overseeding will always give your turf the best chance to excel. If it hasn't been done, it's always a good idea to do so. I did my lawn for the first time in 6 years, and I probably hasn't been done since the property was built.

 

[Munnster006]

One other question. Mulch or bag? I have been bagging, usually gathers about 3 bags on my self propelled Honda mower from Sam's.

 

[Ware]

One other question. Mulch or bag? I have been bagging, usually gathers about 3 bags on my self propelled Honda mower from Sam's.

I don't collect clippings unless I am anticipating a lot of them.

 

[Colonel K0rn]

One other question. Mulch or bag? I have been bagging, usually gathers about 3 bags on my self propelled Honda mower from Sam's.

Definitely mulch, if you have your weeds under control. You're returning organic material back to your soil that will be broken down by the bacteria in your soil. I look at it as a way of prolonging the fertilization of your yard. For me, bagging was always a chore; got dusty, covered in clippings, finding a place to put them or bagging them up... just a pain in the ***. I finally got a mulching kit for my mower, and it makes the job SO much faster.

 

[Munnster006]

So I was gone for ragbrai for a few days and here is what I come back to in the front. Does this help ID it?

 

[J_nick]

....Does this help ID it?

Yep, it's Bermuda