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kathy_bochonko

CGM and leveling/top dressing bermuda

Kathy Bochonko
16 years ago

I have a downward sloping lawn of bermuda grass that has never looked good. I stopped chemicals in fall of 2006, in spring of 2007 I started a haphazard organic program. I applied CGM, then some alfalfa based fertilizer whose name escapes me, I then applied the Scott's oprganic fertilizer 2 more times that summer. This year all I have done so far is CGM at 20 lbs per 1000 sqft about 3 weeks ago. I now know I should have applied it at no less than 30 lbs per 1000, but should I bother to apply more? I have a huge problem with annual bluegrass (poa annua) and realize I should probably apply the CGM in Sept to prevent such an extreme crop next year, but should I put more down this spring? If so how much?

Also my yard is very uneven and I have heard of applying sand, top soil or compost to level it out. What would be best? I also realize I have not been cutting the bermuda short enough, so I will change that as well.

So questions are top dress to level out with what?

Apply more CGM or not? if so how much more, can I just add the extra 10 lbs per 1000 sq ft or is it too late? Will the pre-emergent have that cumulative effect?

thanks in advance for the help.

Comments (4)

  • dchall_san_antonio
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Personally I don't think any of the preemergents work, but that's up to you. CGM makes a good fertilizer whether you think you are preventing weeds or not.

    Bermuda is a nitrogen hog. Many here who have tried to keep their bermuda looking dark green have run a gamut of monthly soy bean meal feedings. Is that what you are after? If not then any organic feed applied at 10-20 pounds per 1,000 will be great for the health of the plant. You can use any organic fertilizer any time of day/night or any day of the year - or every day of the year.

    Mowing lower will expose your issues with the level of the lawn. Use sand or top soil. Compost will only fill temporarily. You can fill up to about 1/3 inch per week, but be sure you sweep it in and down below the surface of the grass blades.

  • kmnhiramga
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Kathyga,
    Thanks for posting in response to my questions and concerns of the weeds, they are out of control.
    Kathy, please tell me where you picked up the corn gluten and how much you paid. the weeds in my yard are giving me nightmares, and I've had a long week work wise then the rain. ARRRGGH! But, alas, today I had a glimer of hope. I was coming from a business related trip from callaway gardens and stopped at "Country Garden Farms" in Newnan on my way home. i found it as an organic distributor online. I picked up two bags of "Nature Safe 10-2-8." It is feather meal, bone meal, blood meal, Potash, and i can't remember what else. It also has Calcium and other elements/minerals? (I'm not a scientist!) which I have heard is good for our kind of red clay soil and that weeds like calcium deficient soil (I'm gonna try to find info on that so that I know it to be true).
    The other reason that I'm excited is because I see the bermuda coming out of dormancy, much more than 2 weeks ago. So I will mow my weeds down and bag them at least the next two times I mow until the bermuda gets thick and tall enough that I'm mowing it also. Then I will go back to mulch mowing (grasscycling). I will also sharpen my blade befor e I mow the bermuda.
    So I'm just hoping I will get my lawn thick enough to impede the weeds. My bagging the weeds I'm mowing right now is to keep the seeds from spreading. Oh, I'll also spot treat the perennial weeds and the dandelions.
    I'm just trying to encourage you, don't fret over those annual weeds, it will soon be too warm for what is blooming now and as the bermuda grows it will begin competing with these weeds. That's my plan for now, don't know what I'm gonna do for fall and winter next year yet, guess it depends on what things look like around August / September.
    One more thing, I don't think your plan from last summer sounds so haphazard, I've read on here where guys just get something organic and put it out and they say things are working. And these guys that are putting out 20 or even 30 pounds of fert per 1000 sq feet either have tiny yards or fat wallets. I have roughly 8,000 to 10,000 sq feet of lawn.
    Ok one more thing. the guy at Country Gardens and Farm in Newnan, I think he was the owner, he knew a lot abou organic lawn care, he said that they can do a soil test that gives you not only the PNK, but also a breakdown of percentages of calcium, and other things that are in there as well as how many microbes etc. you have. it is much more in depth than what you get at the county extension. It's like $25 but he also said you might be able to do it directly with the lab which is in Memphis, I think. If you give them a call, ask for Mike. He was very helpful to me on the phone for about 20 minutes, I'm sure he could tell you how to get the soil sample. If you are ever on that side of town check the place out, it was very nice, loads of shrubs, trees etc, and it was rustic and nice. It was pouring down rain today but still loads of people there. Here's the link: http://www.countrygardensfarm.com/
    In a month or so I will post how my lawn is looking after the Nature Safe has had time to work. Let's keep each other encouraged and informed. So I'll let you know how I like the Nature Safe, it was $35 a #50 bag. I needed more than one bag so i got 2, which gives me a little more than #10 pounds per 1000 square feet. Ok, enough for now I'm rambling. Let me know how its going and where you got the corn Gluten.
    Kevin

  • Kathy Bochonko
    Original Author
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Kevin I purchased "Weed Preventer" from Espoma which is pure CGM and sold in 25 lb bags. I bought mine at Scottsdale Farms in Alpharetta--if they don't have more they can order it. I don't recall the exact price but I think it might have been $22.99 a bag. I purchased 4 bags, so I don't want to have to do that very often. I think my biggest problem is that we have not leveled and we are not mowing often enough and low enough. Then DH doesn't want to leave the clippings because they get tracked into the house because moving bermuda once a week there is too much left behind. So I know that is a big problem as well. I think he is starting to come around. We haven't mowed at all yet this spring, but I think we will scalp the bermuda any day now. DH has been mowing the one side where the poa annua has taken over in an attempt to get rid of the seeds. DH is having a hard time with not just spraying all the weeds. I haven't bothered with the soil test as I think the bermuda will need tons of organic matter regardless of what it says about my soil.

    Let me know how you like the Nature Safe. I haven't heard of that one.

  • kmnhiramga
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Kathy,
    I've mulch mowed my lawn for the past 7 years and have never had trouble tracking in clippings, except in the fall after it goes dormant, and even then I'm not convinced it was grass that was cut but just brown pieces that break off when we are playing soccer, or whatever in the yard. but, either way, only have that problem in the fall, and unless it's a whole football team, tracking it in isn't that big of a deal.
    I hope the hubby will come around. Do you have a mulching blade? If you are attempting to mulch (grasscycle) the clippings without a mulching blade and a mower that has that feature, it won't work like it should. When I learned that grass is 80% water and that grasscycling was putting not only organic matter and nutrients back in the lawn but also water, I was sold on it. It is actually less work than raking or bagging and better for the lawn. Grasscycling actually provides a good percentage of the water, nutrients and organic matter your lawn needs, thus it is cheaper in the long run and less work.
    These are all different methods from how my dad made us do it when we were kids. We bagged it all and piled it on the compost pile, we had an awesome compost pile!
    I have a regular push mower and I mow mine at the second from the lowest setting, It ends up being about 1 and 1/2 to 2 " tall. that's the lowest I can do with my bumps and dips in my yard. But that setting is still pretty low and plenty of folks suggest that's a good setting for lawns. Take a look at a golf course, bermuda can be anywhere from 1/8" on the tee box to 4" in the rough. The shorter you keep it the more you will have to mow it. The 4" rough may get mowed ever three days or four, the tee boxes and greens every day.
    I mow mine in the summer about every 4 or 5 days. Sometimes after a bit of rain and a trip out of town I might have to jack the height of the mower up a setting or two, and if I do it carefully can get back down to original height by mowing every three days for a while, but then some summers I just leave it higher until it goes dormant. My neighbor has a nice lawn and he has always kept his bermuda at least twice as tall as mine.
    I'm rambling, I will let you know how I like the results of the Nature Safe 10-2-8.

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