Question
I got my yard 2 years ago.  It was bare in alot of spots and just in awful shape.  So for 2 seasons I really put alot of work into it just to get it to look semi good and green.  I fertilized and raised the mower and watered when it needed it. And it looked good at the end of this summer. (Oct of 2003). Now it is March 2004, and my grass looks awful.  Brown patch all over the place and now, some other type of grass seems to be invading my bermuda.  It is real thin blades and not really green.  It has always been in the yard but not as much as there is now.  Some patches of it are as big as 5ft by 5ft, with no real grass mixed in. Weed and feed does not get rid of it.  I live near the Houston area.  So we just came through 2 months of solid rain, but weather is perfect right now.  Just not sure if I should fertilize or hold off?  So my question is, did I maybe over fertilize my yard to make it look so pitiful, and how do I get rid of the other grass.

Thanks

Answer
Hi Melissa,

>>"...should fertilize or hold off?..."

In the Houston area, you should be able to EASILY have an excellent BERMUDA GRASS lawn with the basics provided.

You need so-much sun-light and good enough soil.  Add and some extra watering,... and some TLC and extra fertilizing and you should have an excellent lawn. Bermuda grass is about the hardiest and easiest to grow plant there is,...and you have a climate it thrives in.

A brand-new house on 'wild top-soil' will have to be domesticated.  This can require several years.

It is possible your 'brown-patches' and appearance problems are due to a turf-grass FUNGUS DISEASE.  To diagnose this, you need to simply take a closer look at the grass foliage.  If you see any indication of a mold, smut, rust, powdery-mildew fungus,...then this could be killing areas of the lawn.  Your local lawn and garden store should sell FUNGICIDE CHEMICALS you can use to control this type of lawn appearance problem.
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Turf grass FUNGUS outbreaks are relatively common and often fast spreading.
Work fast to avoid losing large areas infected with the phytopathogen.

Visit this website and link to "Lawns" for IMAGES of many turf grass diseases and their diagnosis:

http://plantpathology.tamu.edu/Texlab/index.htm

BROWN-PATCH DISEASE Website: http://plantpath.unl.edu/peartree/homer/disease.skp/Hort/Turf/Tubrnpt.html

Weed-and-Feed chemicals usually do not contain any fungicide chemicals to cure or prevent 'Brown-Patch' turf grass diseases.
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If you are not accustomed to Bermuda Grass lawns,...you may not realize the cyclic nature of its growth.  I think only farther south of Houston and in the Gulf areas, do the Bermuda lawns stay healthy green ALL YEAR LONG.

If there has been any freezes this past winter in the Houston area, all Bermuda grass lawns   should have become variously blah looking and dormant.  The Bermuda should perk-up as soon as night temperatures hover around the mid-fifties and when the soil has warmed-up good.  

WEEDS:

You need to identify the nuisance weed you are having trouble with and then find an herbicide which will target this weed to be rid of it.  If it is a 'grassy-type' weed versus a 'broad-leaf weed', your local lawn and garden center should have a chemical you can spray to kill it.

Sometimes a neighbor or someone at the garden center can identify an unknown weed.
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Use these WEBSITES with IMAGES to help identify common weeds:

http://www.rce.rutgers.edu/weeds/index.html
http://www.psu.missouri.edu/fishel/ornamentals.htm
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/county/smith/tips/turf/summerweed.html
http://www.weeds.iastate.edu/weed-id/weedid.htm
http://www-aes.tamu.edu/mary/Wdid.htm

There are two-types of 'Weed-and-Feed' products.  Some are touted to 'Prevent weeds' and these will have a PRE-EMERGENT CHEMICAL In the formula.  These are usually the more expensive products at the lawn and garden center.  The other types have a post-emergent chemical.  Depending upon the formula type you are using, an existing and emergent patch of a weedy plant may not be affected at all by the chemical.

If your weed problems can be controlled by a post-emergent chemical, I recommend keeping the fertilizer and the weed-fighting chemicals separate.  Use something like ammonium nitrate to feed the lawn and keep it deep-green.  And then spray a separate and appropriate chemical for the EXISTING grassy or broad-leaf weeds.

 Every so often you can use a pre-emergent chemical for its preventive power if you think this will help.  This method has worked for decades and costs less and gives great results.  Again, a brand-new lot on wild-soil is a special case scenario for greens-keeping, so you may not obtain some of your goals for several seasons.


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Once you can get any and all weeds under control,...start using a PRE-EMERGENT HERBICIDE regularly and weeds will become history.  This type of chemical will keep all of the zillions of weed SEEDS that get blown into the lawn from ever getting started.  It is the most efficient way to become weed-free.

 Otherwise, you will have to use the POST-EMERGENT chemicals as stated to kill weeds that have already started to grow from seeds.  Keep a single weed from making seeds and you will have prevented hundreds of new weeds in the future.
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Do not fertilize your Bermuda lawn until it has started to metabolize from the root-zone.
You should be able to discern if and when the Bermuda is actively trying to green-up.

Again, this is usually around the time the night temps are in the 50s and about the time you can safely put tomato plants out.

Never apply the salty fertilizers during temperature extremes or in times of drought.
To feed a lawn in the late fall may be conducive to fungal diseases, and this may be a factor in your case.

Always follow directions that come with the chemical to know what to expect.  Remember that 'TOO LITTLE is always better than TOO MUCH fertilizer!!!'
Too much salty fertilizer can kill the lawn.
Time and watering and all the microbes in the top-soil will cure this problem, but it may take a long-time depending upon the other soil conditions.  To be safe, with a fertilizer event, you can easily just 'test an area' and see how the grass responds.

FERTILIZERS AND SOIL:

Ammonium nitrate is a good way to test your soil's natural greening efficacy.

This is a simple nitrate-nitrogen resource should provide maximum and rapid greening.  If this seems less than satisfactory,...then your may need the more expensive fertilizers that have other MINERALS your soil may need.  Most soils are not deficient in these minerals, however.

Ammonium nitrate requires lots of post-application watering!

Use commercial and/or home-made composts to keep your soil optimized and to help re-cycle minerals you remove in mowing.

Every summer, look for the 'Hot-Spots' in the lawn that are weakening and looking blah and un-healthy.  You can easily add an inexpensive bag of commercial rich potting soil/compost to  these problem areas. In time, this procedure can make your top-soil and root-zone optimized for a constant and healthy green-lawn.

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In summary, check for a FUNGUS problem and then be patient for the Bermuda to get active before fertilizing things.

Every weedy plant has a common name and also a technical 'botanical' name.
Once a weedy plant is identified by name, you can web-search for all sorts of facts and eradication data about it.

Try to get your weeds identified for targeting them with the proper chemicals.  Use a  weed-preventive chemical to make the war with  weeds a much easier task.
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With a good fertile-loamy well draining top-soil, best quality hybrid grass type(s), 1-3 inches of water per week, plenty of sun-light, ...almost anyone can have an excellent lawn with a minimum maintenance effort.
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I Hope this has answered your question(s)!

Visit my Lawn & Gardens webpage for more Tips, Facts and Links:
http://hometown.aol.com/eilatlog/lawnol.html

Your Questions and Comments are welcome at ALLEXPERTS.com
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