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Shade... What to do?

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D

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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
In short of knocking down my house.. I have a 3 foot band on the North side that gets maybe 2-3 hours of sun a day, and it varies slightly based on the time of year, obviously.

The common Bermuda doesn't want to grow. What other grasses would work with so little sun, cut short? My HOC is 3/4" and would need to match that.

I was considering just having PRG on that strip, as I won't notice the year around green on that unused side of the house. And I don't want something that's gonna compete to much... Anything short of magic...

Any suggestions?
 
K

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#2 ·
Honestly, with bermuda there isn't much you can do. I have the same exact problem. Some people have mentioned that PGR would help with dealing with lower light but I'm not sure of the extent of what to expect from that. Others might chime in and give more information in that regard.
 
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#4 ·
2-3 hours @ .750" is most likely not sustainable with any bermuda cultivar. Your best option (with the current sward) is to raise the hoc (adding more light absorbing material = more carbohydrates) and incorporating a PGR program to shutdown vertical growth (metabolic resources aren't wasted on top growth that will get mowed all the time). You'll also want to reduce inputs such as water and fertilizer (fertilize will use up valuable carbs, and water needs altered because ET rates will not mirror that of a plant in full light).

A lot of sports stadiums are incorporating portable light banks that supplement PAR (photosynthetic active radiation) light to turf - I often wonder if you could find a flood light (on the side of the house...perhaps you already have lights in place, just not with a PAR lightbulb) that emits PAR light. If you could run these lights at night, your turf would surely get enough PAR light to sustain the current mowing program. This is totally a shot in the dark, I'm not sure they make such light bulbs for the side of a house, but you may want to look into it. If you can't, perhaps I need to start making them!
 
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#6 ·
DC3 said:
@viva_oldtrafford I'm intrigued by this idea. I have been wanting to put in soffit lights, I wonder if those par38 lights would be enough at around 8'...
Click to expand...
Home depot appears to have quite a few "grow light bulbs". You'd definitely be the first on this forum to experiment with such a program. I say go for it. I'd buy a light meter from spectrum tech. and place it in the area during the night to record any increase in PAR light to get immediate feedback.

The stomata will close at sunset. The light may not be enough to make it open up, and you may waste the energy. Perhaps try it during daytime hours, when the plant is actively trying to catch light. When the stomata open/closes is well out of my area of expertise, but something that we would need to find out. If you had 2 light meters, you could use one until, say 8pm, remove it, and use a new one from 8p-8am and see if it registers anything.
 
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#7 ·
viva_oldtrafford said:
DC3 said:
@viva_oldtrafford I'm intrigued by this idea. I have been wanting to put in soffit lights, I wonder if those par38 lights would be enough at around 8'...
Click to expand...
Home depot appears to have quite a few "grow light bulbs". You'd definitely be the first on this forum to experiment with such a program. I say go for it. I'd buy a light meter from spectrum tech. and place it in the area during the night to record any increase in PAR light to get immediate feedback.

The stomata will close at sunset. The light may not be enough to make it open up, and you may waste the energy. Perhaps try it during daytime hours, when the plant is actively trying to catch light. When the stomata open/closes is well out of my area of expertise, but something that we would need to find out. If you had 2 light meters, you could use one until, say 8pm, remove it, and use a new one from 8p-8am and see if it registers anything.
Click to expand...
The light meter will show you in real time what level it's receiving and also give you a cumulative after 24h.

My point is that 2-3hours might involve a bunch of partial light and 2-3 hours of full sun, hence suggesting the meter. Good suggestion on the supplemental light.
 
V

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#8 ·
Movingshrub said:
viva_oldtrafford said:
DC3 said:
@viva_oldtrafford I'm intrigued by this idea. I have been wanting to put in soffit lights, I wonder if those par38 lights would be enough at around 8'...
Click to expand...
Home depot appears to have quite a few "grow light bulbs". You'd definitely be the first on this forum to experiment with such a program. I say go for it. I'd buy a light meter from spectrum tech. and place it in the area during the night to record any increase in PAR light to get immediate feedback.

The stomata will close at sunset. The light may not be enough to make it open up, and you may waste the energy. Perhaps try it during daytime hours, when the plant is actively trying to catch light. When the stomata open/closes is well out of my area of expertise, but something that we would need to find out. If you had 2 light meters, you could use one until, say 8pm, remove it, and use a new one from 8p-8am and see if it registers anything.
Click to expand...
The light meter will show you in real time what level it's receiving and also give you a cumulative after 24h.

My point is that 2-3hours might involve a bunch of partial light and 2-3 hours of full sun, hence suggesting the meter. Good suggestion on the supplemental light.
Click to expand...
Not all light is the same, you're right. He could be at full sun from 8-10am - in which case, just 35 minutes of full sun from 11:00 to 11:35 could be more PAR than the 2 hour windwow from 8-10. PAR is peak from 11:00a-3:00pm +/- a few minutes...the light could also be filtered light and consist of far red light (not nearly as efficient).
 
V

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#10 ·
DC3 said:
I'll have to find a light meter and start from there. I was thinking Bermuda wouldn't even be an option!
Click to expand...
Please move forward with this plan. I'm eager to see if it works. I know it works on a larger scale (youtube stadium grow lights), but on a smaller scale, I have reservations....though the science is all there.
 
D

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Discussion Starter · #11 ·
viva_oldtrafford said:
Please move forward with this plan. I'm eager to see if it works. I know it works on a larger scale (youtube stadium grow lights), but on a smaller scale, I have reservations....though the science is all there.
Click to expand...
I'll see what I can do. Gotta research that more...

Here's the spot I'm talking about... I threw down some zoysia seed early in the year.. and haven't treated for weeds or PGR'd because of my seeding attempts.

 
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jonthepain
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