Bermuda seeding results, one year later
It’s been over a year since I decided to completely nuke my backyard and start fresh. I was never pleased with what the backyard looked like and knew with some time and effort that I could get it into a serviceable yard. Nothing like carpet, but something worth being proud of.
The Texas Panhandle can be unforgiving at times with dust storms and lack rainfall, so Bermuda was the only real choice here. I didn’t spring for anything crazy, just common Bermuda (it’s really the only thing you can get as seed for Bermudagrass anyways) and the Scott’s rapid grass was my choice. Glyphosate was relatively cheap and easy to use to kill off the weeds. I bought some basic fertilizer and weed n feed too. Total amount was just shy of $150 for all products needed.
First three photos are of what the yard used to look like. A ton of weeds, possibly some grass but not much. I wish I still had a photo of how badly overgrown it used to be, some weeds were at least three feet tall! I mowed it all down as low as it would go.
I nuked it with the glyphosate in late March, then raked it all up about a week or so later. Seeded in Mid-April according to the instructions as if it was a brand new lawn, and raked back over it. Set the watering schedule on my automatic hose timer to do 45 minute waterings three times per day. The soil here needed moisture badly. I’d have to manually turn it on occasionally just to make sure it would stay damp enough.
Photo four is two weeks after that watering schedule, and each consecutive photo is one month progress reports. I applied fertilizer every other week at half the monthly recommended rate (essentially spoon feeding it) and used the weed and feed about one month after seeding just to make sure it wouldn’t harm anything. Some well timed rain storms helped out in May and June and really helped accelerate that growth. I used Spectracide Weed Stop when needed to curb any broadleaf weeds when they cropped up.
The last photo is from a couple of weeks ago. I decided to throw it in as a comparison to see how it ended from last year and to the start of this year. It has been exceptionally dry this spring, but I am hoping to catch up a bit on watering and fertilizing to get it going again.
Just wanted to share this with you guys. It is possible, even in an area that doesn’t see a ton of rain. Just have to be diligent with watering, and be out in your yard often to check on issues. Biggest expense is the water bill, but honestly not by that much more than what I spent on all the supplies plus other yard stuff like trimmer line, blade sharpenings, etc.
If you guys have questions, let me know. Hope someone finds some inspiration out of this!