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New construction yard weeds

1.7K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  fyrefightr  
#1 ·
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New construction Tifton Bermuda sod in Northern Alabama. Sod laid in December. Weeds have popped up like crazy. Applied blanket coverage of speed zone 2 weeks ago but not doing anything. Any advice please
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#2 ·
Speedzone is the right thing to do this time of year. I'd give it a little more time to work. I'd go ahead and scalp your grass as low as you can go and start feeding it nitrogen. Once you scalp on your lowest setting, bump it up and mow twice a week whether it looks like it needs it or not. Most weeds hate the low HOC and the bermuda loves it. Be sure to catch all your clippings on the scalp.

On another note, you will most likely need to create a mulch bed up along the house where the bermuda will struggle with shade.
 
#4 ·
If this were my lawn, I wouldn't really worry too much about these weeds. In fact, if it were me, I would probably avoid the potential stress of herbicidal treatments given that the sod was only laid in December, although I realize that the Speedzone label seems to say it's alright. In any case, more frequent, low mowing will remove the bad appearance of the weeds, and may cause them to die out on their own. Start to ramp up your nitrogen feedings to get your turf more activated so the roots have enough energy to start expanding down into the soil.
 
#6 ·
Nothing is jumping out at me from your soil test other than maybe your pH is a little low. Sometimes (most times) those results don't really show what is available to the plant. You could have high P and K but none of it is available to the grass. You could have low P and K but the grass is getting what it needs. The actual Bermuda in your yard looks great so I would just stick with straight nitrogen fertilizer. I'd go with Urea instead of Ammonium Sulfate since you have a lower pH. You can find it super cheap locally. I get mine from Site One. You could add routine lime applications but I honestly wouldn't worry about it. Water, mow, nitrogen, mow again. Treat for weeds and insects as needed.
 
#7 ·
I had the same dilemma of a new construction lawn laid in November and I had no issues the following spring laying down a granular pre-emergent and using a 3 way post to kill off existing weeds. Mind you, this was based off a few YT videos research and before joining this forum. Bermuda is super resilient and came out fine and thick that summer.