I got rid of my lawn but my replacement solution would not work for you. However, there are two up the street that would. Both are planted in buffalo grass. Its mowed once a year. There is no easy fix, like planting fescue among bermuda and hoping it will crowd it out. It will not solve the weed problem either. You have to get rid of the bermuda. You can either have it scraped off mechanically or use roundup. Then you need to take all the steps involved in starting a new lawn from scratch until it is established. Even so, there is no way to prevent weeds from invading it. A perfect weed free lawn is by its very nature an artificial situation demanding constant attention.

Thanks, I'm not overly concerned about a weed-free lawn, I was just adding the info to help describe the current situation. If my yard was mostly clover I'd be a happy camper, lol! I'm just sick of the Bermuda grass crowding into every garden and flower bed I clear out, and I won't waste water to keep it green in the summertime. Thankfully this summer has provided more than enough rain to keep everything green. There's no way on God's green earth I'll buy Round Up, and I've done a month's worth of digging to clear a garden area so I know the sweat that goes into doing that manually :-) . Maybe in the future I'll look into a mechanical scraper, and I'll just deal with it until then.

We had to put in a new driveway a few years ago and we had the guy just scrape the top off the whole front yard while he was at it. I did use roundup in the back but the grass there was scraggly and it was pretty easy. I do not condone the use of herbicides for the most part either. We did the back in late August and got it all in one application (no dogs, cats or kids here) during a non rainy period so it wouldn't wash down. I wouldn't have tried it in front yard where it was thick and drains off into a stream in the park down the block. Partly my beds just kept getting bigger and bigger so the lawn size had really shrunk anyway. The stuff is a chore to dig out, I always did it in rows and tediously shook it out with each shovelful.

The only time I like bermuda is when its dormant in winter and light cream colored. I like it OK in dry summers when left to go dormant too. My understanding is that this characteristic was what made it popular way back when before the day of sprinkler systems and constant watering people do now. Otherwise, I consider it one of the ugliest worst, most offensive weeds in America. I am constantly on it to keep it from invading my yard from the west and east lawns.

There are some new no mow lawn seed mixes available online. They are supposed to perform very well and are low water users, better than buffalo grass but still, you have to get rid of the bermuda first.

Just joking here but crabgrass is a good way to choke it out. Weed vs Weed.

A great way to restart is during the fall, lay out a rhick layer of newspaper and put mulch on top throughout your yard. (you can typically find free mulch from lumber yards or even some landfills. then either remove the mulch once spring comes around and you have plain dirt (may have to let it go an extra round of seasons, ) or you can simply apply leaves and such during the fall (on top of the mulch) and then when Soring comes, plant creeping thyme.

What about a gas blow torch to kill weeds or lawn. I bought one about 5 years ago but was afraid to use it. Maybe this winter when everything is wet.

I like killing weeds and grass with a large propane torch. I use one most often in the garden. My newer trellises are cattle panels, and a torch is easier to clean the panels, and under the panels. A younger person may not want to use this method, but may change their mind when task become more difficult.

I had some lawn to reclaim this year and used glyphosata on one area, and a torch on the other, I was happy with both. I reseeded with Ladino clover ( that was all I had ). The dry summer may have killed the clover out. I do not water my lawn.