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#1
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winterizing Bermuda
I maintain a small well-used athletic field in the Austin area that is
mostly common Bermuda. Soil is somewhat clayey. Is there value in applying a winterizer fertilizer to it? A TAMU ag website says that fall feedings of turf are more important than spring feedings, but I can't help wonder whether since Bermuda is about to go dormant I'm just going to end up feeding weeds (like Dallis) especially using the time-release stuff, which seems to be the norm these days. A "can't hurt" from folks selling fertilizer doesn't make it, as my turf dollars are fixed. If it goes to winterizing, not as much goes to summerizing. Experience appreciated. |
#2
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winterizing Bermuda
winter fertilizer makesw for strong roots. The roots store the nutrients
for a quick greenup in the spring. fall feedings are the most important. "Doug Lassiter" wrote in message om... I maintain a small well-used athletic field in the Austin area that is mostly common Bermuda. Soil is somewhat clayey. Is there value in applying a winterizer fertilizer to it? A TAMU ag website says that fall feedings of turf are more important than spring feedings, but I can't help wonder whether since Bermuda is about to go dormant I'm just going to end up feeding weeds (like Dallis) especially using the time-release stuff, which seems to be the norm these days. A "can't hurt" from folks selling fertilizer doesn't make it, as my turf dollars are fixed. If it goes to winterizing, not as much goes to summerizing. Experience appreciated. |
#3
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winterizing Bermuda
Fall feeding is not so much for the top of the plant, rather it is important to
the root system of the plant. In this case, bermuda. Even though it goes dormant on top, the roots continue to develop and when the moment soil warms in the spring, there is plenty of fertilizer there to get it through the early months of February, March and some of April. To maintain turf which is trampled or walked on consistently, I would suggest you either pay someone or rent a core aerator and do two passes with this equipment. I use a man with a small business. His name is Mike Stangle and it's Aeration King, Inc. 619-5302. It truly is the best thing you can do in the fall for turf which is used a lot. I also recommend you use a slow release, fertilizer. You can either use LadyBug Brand sold at Home Depot or Many other garden centers, or if you want less expensive, Milorganite which is a sludge product, stinks, but is a very effective turf fertilizer. TAMU is correct, fall feeding is the most important, and they also tested best fertilizers for Austin and LadyBug Brand outperformed all the synthetic fertilizers. Particularly the 8-2-4 formula. Victoria On 15 Oct 2003 19:30:40 -0700, (Doug Lassiter) opined: I maintain a small well-used athletic field in the Austin area that is mostly common Bermuda. Soil is somewhat clayey. Is there value in applying a winterizer fertilizer to it? A TAMU ag website says that fall feedings of turf are more important than spring feedings, but I can't help wonder whether since Bermuda is about to go dormant I'm just going to end up feeding weeds (like Dallis) especially using the time-release stuff, which seems to be the norm these days. A "can't hurt" from folks selling fertilizer doesn't make it, as my turf dollars are fixed. If it goes to winterizing, not as much goes to summerizing. Experience appreciated. |
#6
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winterizing Bermuda
(Joe Doe) wrote in message ...
In article , (Doug Lassiter) wrote: I maintain a small well-used athletic field in the Austin area that is mostly common Bermuda. Soil is somewhat clayey. Is there value in applying a winterizer fertilizer to it? A TAMU ag website says that fall feedings of turf are more important than spring feedings, but I can't help wonder whether since Bermuda is about to go dormant I'm just going to end up feeding weeds (like Dallis) especially using the time-release stuff, which seems to be the norm these days. A "can't hurt" from folks selling fertilizer doesn't make it, as my turf dollars are fixed. If it goes to winterizing, not as much goes to summerizing. Experience appreciated. As you know Bermuda is a summer grass and puts on most of its growth when soil temperatures are above 60-80 F. As others have pointed out, fall offers a window when top growth is slowed and root growht can occur at the lower temperatures. This allows the plant to store food reserves, which will allow a faster greenup and winter hardiness. Since you are managing a "well-used" athletic field however your real problem is letting the grass recover from the intense use. Bermuda is well suited for this because it responds fantastically to fertilizer (it can tolerate and responds to phenominal amounts of Nitrogen). So you really need to fertilize heavily in the summer months too when your field will be used heavily, so that the grass can recover from use. This brings its own problems (susseptibility to disease and insects) but given its use, you may not have much of a choice. A very good book is Title: Turfgrasses : their management and use in the southern zone / by Richard L. Duble. This has extensive chapters on all common grasses we encounter and a lot of scientific background on their management. It is available at the Austin Public Library: https://library.ci.austin.tx.us/web2...r=1home&item=5 Roland Excellent. Thanks much. I look forward to getting the Duble book. The winterizers tend to be kind of pricey compared with the nitrogen-knockout summer mixes, but it sounds like a good plan. Getting speedier greenup in the Bermuda is actually useful, as it makes for better competition with the Dallis grass. With regard to Dallis, which is a problem, my understanding is that mowing short in the spring is helpful in getting the Bermuda to overrun it. I'm not ready to bite the bullet and MSMA the whole place. |
#7
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winterizing Bermuda
On 16 Oct 2003 17:36:20 -0700, (Doug Lassiter) opined:
"WSZsr" no wrote in message ... winter fertilizer makesw for strong roots. The roots store the nutrients for a quick greenup in the spring. fall feedings are the most important. "Doug Lassiter" wrote in message om... I maintain a small well-used athletic field in the Austin area that is mostly common Bermuda. Soil is somewhat clayey. Is there value in applying a winterizer fertilizer to it? A TAMU ag website says that fall feedings of turf are more important than spring feedings, but I can't help wonder whether since Bermuda is about to go dormant I'm just going to end up feeding weeds (like Dallis) especially using the time-release stuff, which seems to be the norm these days. A "can't hurt" from folks selling fertilizer doesn't make it, as my turf dollars are fixed. If it goes to winterizing, not as much goes to summerizing. Experience appreciated. I think I now understand that while the tops are dormant in the winter, the roots actually are not. They are still sucking up the good stuff all winter long. So that's consistent with the point you make. Thanks! All perennials do that. |
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