[Gibby]

Well not quite goodbye. I have 10,000sq/ft with about 2,500sq/ft being the front and side and 7,800sq/ft being the backyard.

Lived with crappy centipede for 8 years at the old house and for about 9 months at our new house.

I am definitely not going to touch the backyard yet as the wife wants to get a put in a pool in a couple years and no use putting a new grass in if it will just get dug up and tore up for now, well that is unless I decide to plug or sprig it cheaply for an experiment. Plus we are installing a 16x16 patio and adding 12x16 on to our deck, so probably not a good year for a backyard reno, probably will just arerate and level. The builder did a horrible job with the sod install.

For the front and sides I would definitely like to replace it. My first thought was St. Augustine as I really don't want to go on the hunt for a decent used reel, so I will be sticking with my riding rotary. But the more I look at Bermuda the more I think I really like it. Plus I just found http://prairieturfequipment.com/product/2011-john-deere-220sl-walking-greens-mowers/ Spending anymore than a $1,000 and my wife would make me get rid of my current mower which I could probably sell for $1,500.

I read all of @J_nick Reno thread were he used seed and that is very encouraging, but I think I would like to go with Tiftuf or Tifgrand. I have requested a quote from SuperSod for 2,500sq/ft.

I am thinking about trying to plug the parkway portion of the front yard which is only maybe 300sq/ft and see how it goes from there.

I also have about 450sq/ft in the back that the builder did not sod, was thinking about maybe sodding it and then using it as my source for plugs/sprigs. How quickly could I rob plugs from it? How long would it take before I could take plugs from it again?

I keep dreaming of someone coming up with a seed for bermuda that you can overseed centipede with and have it take over.

This has to pass the WAF(wife accept factor) and that mainly being $$$$

 

[Mightyquinn]

Welcome to TLF!!!

I would go with the sod (TifGrand, I'm biased ) and do the parkway with it too while you are at it since it's not much more. I would say you could probably start pulling plugs from the new sod once it has all grown together and you no longer can see the seams of the individual sod pieces. You might be able to get away with it a little sooner if the need arises. After filing the donor plugs hole with sand, you could probably take new plugs every 3-4 weeks if you are feeding and watering properly.

 

[Gibby]

Been calling around and haven't found TifTuf or TifGrand yet, did find some L36 @ $165/pallet which covers 375sq/ft. I could easily get 2 pallets and the wife wouldn't care.

I have to check with the neighbors since about 20-30sq/ft of the parkway is on their side, but I maintain it, I am sure they won't care that I replace all of it.

Will bermuda overtake centipede?

 

[J_nick]

Whatever Bermuda cultivar you plan to use make sure you like it and want to stay with it. It could take a full growing season to kill it off if you want to switch later on.

 

[Greendoc]

Centipede is not hard to get rid of if you do not want it. It struggles if the soil pH is too high, Phosphorus levels are too high, and there is too much Nitrogen applied per month. It has a hard time with a HOC less than 1/2". In other words, what you are supposed to do to make Bermuda shine, is opposite of how Centipede is supposed to be handled.

I have had to plug areas of lawn totaling about 2000 sq ft getting it done in one day. What I used was a 3" soil auger like this one

I drilled holes in the ground about 3" deep and 6" apart. I used the spoils from the drilling to cover over the plugs completely. Avoiding having them sticking up. Planting plugs that way guarantees you will scalp those plugs at every mowing. It is easier to fill up the slight depressions left if needed.

Once the lawn is composed of mostly Bermuda with some Centipede contaminating it, you can chemically injure the Centipede. Quinclorac(Drive) is not to be applied to Centipede. Neither is Monument or Revolver.

I have done this kind of no till, no re sod kinds of renovations in cases where the original grass was not appropriate for the area and budget was an issue. It only took time and some work.

 

[Gibby]

If I do just the 2,500sq/ft for the front and sides it would only be about $1000 in sod, which is not an issue at all. I just think if I plug it and do it the hard way it would feel more of an accomplishment. lol

 

[Gibby]

Whatever Bermuda cultivar you plan to use make sure you like it and want to stay with it. It could take a full growing season to kill it off if you want to switch later on.

I just noticed your kill count!!! What are you using on the gopher and moles? They are tearing up my backyard, I think I have a whole family of them.

 

[Greendoc]

If I do just the 2,500sq/ft for the front and sides it would only be about $1000 in sod, which is not an issue at all. I just think if I plug it and do it the hard way it would feel more of an accomplishment. lol

Sod is not that expensive in your area. The fact that you have Centipede, albeit looking horrible makes me pay attention to your soil conditions. Centipede existing suggests an acid, low Phosphorus soil to begin with. Failure to address those conditions will most likely lead to Bermuda not looking good either. A soil test costing about $60 will tell you exactly what you have and how to treat it.

 

[J_nick]

For moles I use a Victor Out O'sight trap and for gophers I use a Trapline Gophinator. You can check them out in the separate Mole and Gopher threads.

 

[Gibby]

Here is my soil test from the end of August last year done by Logan Labs.

 

[Greendoc]

If you want the Bermuda, that calls for some Calcium, Magnesium, and Phosphorus. The fact that some areas are at pH 6 are the reason why the Centipede is even hanging on. The areas that are higher in Calcium and pH can probably be explained by construction. Concrete, stucco, and plaster alter soil chemistry. Did you sample very close to the foundations of the house?

 

[Gibby]

If you want the Bermuda, that calls for some Calcium, Magnesium, and Phosphorus. The fact that some areas are at pH 6 are the reason why the Centipede is even hanging on. The areas that are higher in Calcium and pH can probably be explained by construction. Concrete, stucco, and plaster alter soil chemistry. Did you sample very close to the foundations of the house?

No I did not sample close to the house, but I have found lots of concrete rubble in the buried in the front yard. What I did was take 6 sames with https://smile.amazon.com/Advanced-Simplicity-120607-Sampler-Probe/dp/B01M7RDBXD/ from the area and then used the 3-4" from that and added it to a baggy.

 

[Greendoc]

Got it. Bermuda is fairly tolerant of high Calcium soils. Grows well here, where most yards are constructed of a little bit of inland soil pasted over coral. The coral is used as fill material prior to constructing a house or entire neighborhood. Centipede only exists here where that construction practice was not done.

 

[TC2]

TifTuf goes for $160 per pallet/500sqft from Supersod.

 

[Gibby]

TifTuf goes for $160 per pallet/500sqft from Supersod.

It is actually cheaper than I was thinking. Makes me want to go pick some up this weekend.. After I run to lowes and buy a trailer that they have on sale.

On another note, has any used a sod cutter and sold it prior to doing a reno?

 

[Gibby]

So I went and measured then geeked out inputting my numbers into my plot.



~2500 sq/ft is definitely want I want to reno this year, the sides will be going back to where our fence will be.

Front:



Side 1:


This area will need grading better as you can see where I scalped last July and it never grew back.


Side 2:


Have a quote request in to SuperSod for TifTuf and TifGrand. Might have to find some to go look at as I am having trouble deciding between them.

 

[Greendoc]

If you scalped with a rotary mower, any high spots are immediately dug out roots and all. I do not see any kind of extreme irregularity in the lawn. All things being equal, a reel mower would scalp a lawn far less during routine mowing. I remember maintaining a 1/2 acre Centipede lawn with my GM 1000 at 5/8". No scalping. When it was done with rotary mowers at 2-3", plenty of scalping all over the place. Looked hideous, never mind it being in a neighborhood where each property was worth over a million.

 

[Gibby]

While we aren't worth a million lol the wife probably wishes, there quite a few homes in here that are, plus the golf course. I want dominate them all.

 

[Greendoc]

Ok, then the rotary mower is gone, a retired greens mower comes in and the grass replaced with Bermuda. I know most people are not that well off, nothing is more horrible to me that being worth that much and the lawn looking like garbage. I see it all the time in my state.

 

[Gibby]

How hard is it on a greens mower to mow a yard(my back yard) that is not smooth at all... tons of bumps and dips everywhere.

Would the mower I linked in first post be a decent choice?