Where did you hear/read this? There is no real benefit seeding rye in Bermuda besides the green lawn all winter which is a nice look but that's about it. Most people that rye will spray and kill it off in early spring, then scalp and let the bermuda come in. And you're going cheap annual, so you're creating more work for yourself as it grows faster, blades hold more moisture. By no means am I saying don't do it. Do it. But I don't think you'll get the spring results you think you'll get with a bermuda getting started without spraying it out if you're waiting on the rye to die and bermuda to come out of dormancy. It's kinda of a fine balance. If your cultural practices are on point which is mowing, watering, NPK then rock on. FAFO. Bermuda will recover and be fine. If your practices are sus then I would tread lightly. JMO

If I came off as an a hole and a know it all on that post I'm sorry. Don't mean to/be. We all learn and share our experiences and keep learning and losing from our gains and losses. But I can tell you straight up cultural practices are 1 -2--3. Everyone needs to dial those in and you'll see impressive gains.

no ahole thoughts here. i did say "thats what they say". i figure its the rye grass people putting out that propaganda. i do it cause i like the green in the brown, drab winter months. and i like to burn gasoline!

mowed today , gonna seed the rye grass tomorrow.

Hey Derek would you be willing to level my yard this early spring or winter?

Pm me please.

No thanks. I don't even want to do my own.

I have used atrazine twice this year. We had recent rain after being on strict water restriction. A number of weeds have started to grow since the rains. would you atrazine again or skip it being so late in the growing season?
Thanks!

Granted it depends on the type of weeds. With the cooler temps and St Aug I would probably roll with Image Southern. How’s your pre emergent program look like?

Pre-emergent down in September and February Usually.

I’m giving up on the Mclane Reel mower. I believe my yard is not leveled for the perfect cut. I keep getting gouges and wearing through blade sharpness and belts. On belts I average 2 a year plus keeping it sharpened and backlapping is a pain (2 times a year).

I bought a Honda HRX217 today. I hope it will help, not a cure but maybe a rotary will not gouge my lawn. We will see.

What height of cut were your maintaining with the reel? Reel mowing and not being on a growth regulator is tough. Speed is a factory too. Lots of people run wide open and it can affect the cut quality. Needs to run 1/4 to 1/2 throttle. I've never burned up a belt. Only thing I could think it that Zoysia was thicc and probably cutting off too much at once make the belt work harder. That's where the growth regulator comes. If you're a one a week mow guy like most and no regulator then rotary is a better way to go and that Honda was an excellent choice.

I was mowing at 3\4”, 2 and sometimes 3 times a week. I am type A about my lawn. I always mow when dry.


You could probably twist your ankle in my yard, had two massive oaks removed and their roots are rotting below the surface and making pits. I need to have someone come out and level with sand, but hopefully this rotary mower will help until then.

I remember those big oaks post now. Yeah you're going to have some rotting for a bit. Sand the hell out of it. I'm willing to bet you have a decent thatch layer. I'd have that mechanically removed before sanding. You don't want to make a layered lasagna lawn per say. From your prior pic of your lawn it really looks good. Keep up the great work. You'll dominate it 2024

I was advised to use Celsius for spot treatining the Oxcilas that is hitting my St.Agustine and Bermuda. Works good but it still isnt doing anything about reinfestation. What is a good pre emergent and when should I apply. I don’t have any other weed issues just this.

Prodiamine and Isoxaben(Gallery). The rate of Prodiamine will vary depending on the exact product you buy. The % of active ingredient is different between brands. You want to look for the 0-0-7 like Barricade. Lesco has one too and a few others. Galley is 5lbs per 1000. I’d do a 6 month app of Prodiamine Feb 15th and August 15th. Galley Feb 15th, May 15 and Aug 15. Feb and May are the critical time apps.

don't forget to tend to your sprinkler system prior to the hard freeze forecast!

Other than turning it OFF, what do you do. Mine survived the arctic blast from 2 years ago and the other cold spells since it was installed in 2017 and all I`ve done was make sure it was turned off. I`ve had no problems when spring rolls around with leaks or breaks.

You can drain your lines. Honestly I don't know anyone here that does it. Very common to drain/vacuum lines in the colder/northern climates. I've never had an issue either.

I thought Lowes had dropped Lesco. They hadn't had the Stonewall in stock in forever. Looks like they are restocking now. For granular Prodiamine this is the product I like the best. I need to reread the label but I believe it's 2.5-3lbs per 1000 per app. At that rate one bag would last the avg homeowner lawn a while.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Lesco-LESCO-Stonewall-Crabgrass-Preventer-0-0-7/5001213041

My live oaks had a mast year for acorns - any suggestions on how to get the acorns up? Plain old leaf rake seems useless. In the city so leaving them for deer ain't happening either.

I use my bag attachment on my mower. Works at about a 50% rate.

Derek when do we put out our pre emergents?

Within the next week or so. I plan on doing it Saturday morning.

Went to spray my preemergent and my Chapin 24-volt backpack sprayer battery is dead and will not take a charge. Tried several different hacks but nothing worked so I`m waiting for and new battery and charger to be shipped from Ebay. They ranged from 35-59 with free shipping on Amazon and Ebay. Chapin wanted 105 plus shipping and tax. Nothing like sticking it to your customers. It only lasted 2 seasons

looking for suggestions ...

last summer we went under stage 3 watering restrictions early-mid July (no system or hose end sprinklers, only hand watering trees), so needless to say, my front yard (St. Augustine) was toast. I don't think it will recover ... and I fully suspect we will be in watering restrictions again unless the El Nino kicks in to fill the lakes where we get our water. Only thing is weeds coming up and pretty sparse with even those.