Bermuda Tools

 

Core Components:

Granular Lawn Fertilizer:  We're looking for a chemical lawn fertilizer with iron and possibly micronutrients; a "complete" fertilizer.  Examples are Andersons PGF complete 16-4-8, Scotts Max Green 27-0-2, Flagship 24-0-6.  This product does not have any herbicide, and is not a "weed and feed". This allows us to make an application without worrying about herbicide loads.  This needs to be applied every two months, starting in April.  Then, mid May, June, and September.

Pre Emergent:  This prevents weeds from developing.  Examples are Andersons Barricade, Scotts Weed EX, Yard Mastery Prodiamine.  This will be applied three times a year to make sure its protective properties are always at work:  In February, June, and late October.  

In addition to the granular product, a "split application" follows three weeks after the granular, with a liquid pre-emergent called Season Long Weed Control.

Herbicides:   

Once the core nutrients are provided, were looking at applying weed killers to keep the lawn healthy.  These are liquids that are sprayed on the lawn.  

The primary is Season Long Weed Control, sprayed in March.  This contains a pre-emergent as well as an herbicide.

The major weed killers for Bermuda grass are Q4 and Bioadvanced Lawn, Weed, and Crabgrass killer.  Both of these are mixed with water and sprayed as needed.  They can be used sparingly as a spot treatment or as part of the Rescue Program as an entire lawn treatment.

Booster Components

These are products that make the structure of the lawn better, outside the regular regimen of the core components.  

Liquid Fertilizer:  These are typically mixed with water and sprayed from a sprayer.  They are used to supplement the granular fertilizer on an as-needed basis.  Examples are Miracle Grow lawn fertilizer, or Super Juice.  Liquid fertilizers are very fast acting, working both as a foliar feed as well as feeding the soil.  They are used to green up areas of the lawn that might be struggling, without needing to put down heavy granular fertilizer over the entire lawn.

Kelp micronutrients:  With the liquid fertilizer, I like to mix in a seaweed micronutrient concoction to improve the overall nutrient profile of the soil.  This is mixed at something like 1 Tbsp per gallon so it is not a heavy component of the program, but I've noticed that over time, a sterile chemical fertilizer program tends to lead to sterile soil, that seems to lack vigor.

HumiChar :  This product combines humic acid with biochar to support the structure of the soil and make nutrients more readily available. 

Organic Fertilizer:  This is typically delivered in the form of alfalfa pellets or organic chicken feed.  Like all organics, this is a very slow release fertilizer that needs to be digested by the microbia before it is available.  However, it does build up the soil over an extended period, particularly in combination with HumiChar and Kelp micronutrients.

Specific Solutions:

These are specific solutions to problems in the lawn.

Fungus control:  The lawn is prone to fungus problems often caused by high nitrogen combined with warm humid days, an environment that might happen in a warm April or May.  Once these fungal infestations take hold, they can carry on through the summer, creating weakened patches of the lawn.  There are specific anti-fungal treatments that can address these situations.  It is often a good plan to put down a single granular treatment as a preventive if your lawn is subject to these kinds of diseases.

Look for Bioadvanced Fungus Control for lawns (Propiconazole). The Scotts fungal control uses Azoxystrobin so after three treatments of the Bioadvanced, switch to the Scotts to avoid disease resistance.  Both of these are granular.   Spectracide Immunox uses Myclobutanil and is a spray that can be used on shrubs and trees for fungal prevention or infection.

Insect control:  The lawn can be infested with a handful of insects that can be a serious problem. Grubs eat the roots of the lawn; armyworm caterpillars eat the blades of grass.  Ants, and particularly fire ants, can make mounds that cause major disruptions.   Common problems are grubs, ants, ticks, termites.

There are two types of insect problems in the lawn.  The most insidious problem is with grubs that live inches deep in the soil for much of their life cycle.  Like a pre-emergent herbicide program, you have to apply specific types of grub killers at certain times to prepare for grubs later in their life cycle.

The first of these is the preventive product, applied in June to kill newly hatched bugs in July.  This will disrupt the lifecycle of the grub to prevent infestation the following spring.  These chemical agents are imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, clothianidin or chlorantraniloprole.  These will kill nearly 100% of grub larvae at their earliest stages.  Applied at other stages, they will be less effective.  Because Chlorantraniloprole doesn't dissolve as easily as the others, it stays in the soil longer and can provide longer protection.

When these problems appear use Anderson DuoCide or BioAdvanced  Complete Insect Killer.  If your lawn is prone to these insects, then a preventive treatment may be warranted.  If your area is prone to termites, then treating the 6 feet around the house may be beneficial as a preventive.  If you have bare patches possibly due to grub damage, BioAdvanced has a Season-Long Grub Killer that will help with lawn restoration.