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#1
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Buffalo grass woes
I moved to Austin 9 years ago and at the advice of this group had my
back yard (about 4000 sq.ft.) sodded with 609 Buffalo grass. I fertilize it on May 1st and Oct 1st with a ratio of 3/1/2 (15/5/10). I put Amaze pre-emergent on it on Feb 1st and Sep 1st. Each spring I get a bumper crop of weeds and have to hose them down with herbicide - and I get plenty of weeds the rest of the year. The areas along the fences and house and under my small trees have all died off since Buffalo grass needs so much sun. On the other hand I have had no weed or disease problems with my St. Augustine grass in the front yard. And I don't water it very often - ranging from every 10 days in the spring/fall, every 7 during the Summer, and every 6 for a few weeks at the peak of Summer, so the water bill is not that bad especially compared to the weed headaches of the Buffalo grass. (However, the St. Augustine does need to be cut every weekend when it growing.) I suspect the primary issue is that Buffalo grass may need very deep soil like that found in the plains - not often the case in the Austin area. So moving forward, what would you recommend? If replacement is the recommendation I'd like to try something that does not need to be cut every week during the growing season. If over seeding is recommended I'd like something that does not have much of a different look compared to the 609 since the two grasses would co-exist. I'd consider completely replacing the original 609 if needed but would like to keep the cost of the project down if that is possible. Thanks, Pete |
#2
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Hi Pete, See if these sites help with understanding what buffalograss needs. http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/TOOLS/TUR...S/buffalo.html http://www.turf.uiuc.edu/turfSpecies...armFrames.html Newt
__________________
When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant. |
#3
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Pete Wrote: I moved to Austin 9 years ago and at the advice of this group had my back yard (about 4000 sq.ft.) sodded with 609 Buffalo grass. I fertilize it on May 1st and Oct 1st with a ratio of 3/1/2 (15/5/10). I put Amaze pre-emergent on it on Feb 1st and Sep 1st. Each spring I get a bumper crop of weeds and have to hose them down with herbicide - and I get plenty of weeds the rest of the year. The areas along the fences and house and under my small trees have all died off since Buffalo grass needs so much sun. On the other hand I have had no weed or disease problems with my St. Augustine grass in the front yard. And I don't water it very often - ranging from every 10 days in the spring/fall, every 7 during the Summer, and every 6 for a few weeks at the peak of Summer, so the water bill is not that bad especially compared to the weed headaches of the Buffalo grass. (However, the St. Augustine does need to be cut every weekend when it growing.) I suspect the primary issue is that Buffalo grass may need very deep soil like that found in the plains - not often the case in the Austin area. So moving forward, what would you recommend? If replacement is the recommendation I'd like to try something that does not need to be cut every week during the growing season. If over seeding is recommended I'd like something that does not have much of a different look compared to the 609 since the two grasses would co-exist. I'd consider completely replacing the original 609 if needed but would like to keep the cost of the project down if that is possible. Thanks, Pete Hi Pete, See if these sites help with understanding what buffalograss needs. http://tinyurl.com/3bzjm http://tinyurl.com/5ed3x Newt -- Newt ----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==---- http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups ----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =---- |
#4
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I planted some dwarf buffalograss (sod) in a less used area a few
years ago, and it ended up getting hosed by bermuda grass. Completely taken over. Suggestions from this group were to stop watering, which I hadn't done since getting the buffalograss established, which would supposedly hammer the bermuda, but which the buffalograss would come back from. Even after some scrochingly hot, dry summers, the bermuda took it over, I am convinced you just can't kill that stuff. Buffalograss just doesn't seem to be able to stand up to weeds and beating from what I have seen and read. On my main lawn I have El Toro Zoysia grass. It stays very thick and keeps the weeds at bay, although there are a couple of spots where the bermuda has been trying to get established over the past couple of years, gonna have to deal with that soon. I usually pull weeds in the spring, they pop up in the winter and spring, and then very little during the growing season. I can do my yard, 7000-8000 sq ft I think, in a few hours, so the number of weeds is well below herbicide level, whcih I would hesitate to use regardless. However, it is very thick grass, and if watered a lot it will require mowing weekly. It is a very nice grass though. If you don't water, it goes dormant, or so it appears. I recommend sod. I am not sure if anything you'll put down will coexist with buffalograss. It also gets thin in the shade, but still grows, just not as thick as in the sun. It isn't as noticeable at a distance, but when you are walking in the shady areas you'll see it is thinner. It has, in the past, run about $150/pallet, so it isn't cheap. I like the look of the zoysia much more as well. To me the St. Aug. is less "native" looking, if that is the term I am looking for, it is fine in many settings, especially in polished, in-town type yards, especially shady ones where it is probably the best choice, but out of town I don't like the look as much. The zoysia is great stuff, thinner leaved, a different green than the St. Aug. Sends roots down two feet, so it is very drought-resistant. andyd On Wed, 2 Mar 2005 02:54:40 +0000, Newt wrote: Pete Wrote: I moved to Austin 9 years ago and at the advice of this group had my back yard (about 4000 sq.ft.) sodded with 609 Buffalo grass. I fertilize it on May 1st and Oct 1st with a ratio of 3/1/2 (15/5/10). I put Amaze pre-emergent on it on Feb 1st and Sep 1st. Each spring I get a bumper crop of weeds and have to hose them down with herbicide - and I get plenty of weeds the rest of the year. The areas along the fences and house and under my small trees have all died off since Buffalo grass needs so much sun. On the other hand I have had no weed or disease problems with my St. Augustine grass in the front yard. And I don't water it very often - ranging from every 10 days in the spring/fall, every 7 during the Summer, and every 6 for a few weeks at the peak of Summer, so the water bill is not that bad especially compared to the weed headaches of the Buffalo grass. (However, the St. Augustine does need to be cut every weekend when it growing.) I suspect the primary issue is that Buffalo grass may need very deep soil like that found in the plains - not often the case in the Austin area. So moving forward, what would you recommend? If replacement is the recommendation I'd like to try something that does not need to be cut every week during the growing season. If over seeding is recommended I'd like something that does not have much of a different look compared to the 609 since the two grasses would co-exist. I'd consider completely replacing the original 609 if needed but would like to keep the cost of the project down if that is possible. Thanks, Pete Hi Pete, See if these sites help with understanding what buffalograss needs. http://tinyurl.com/3bzjm http://tinyurl.com/5ed3x Newt |
#5
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Hi Andy, Here in the Mid-Atlantic states and in the north, zoysia grass goes dormant for six months of the year and is an ugly tan color. Does it do that for you as well? Newt
__________________
When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant. |
#6
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Andyd Wrote: I planted some dwarf buffalograss (sod) in a less used area a few years ago, and it ended up getting hosed by bermuda grass. Completely taken over. Suggestions from this group were to stop watering, which I hadn't done since getting the buffalograss established, which would supposedly hammer the bermuda, but which the buffalograss would come back from. Even after some scrochingly hot, dry summers, the bermuda took it over, I am convinced you just can't kill that stuff. Buffalograss just doesn't seem to be able to stand up to weeds and beating from what I have seen and read. On my main lawn I have El Toro Zoysia grass. It stays very thick and keeps the weeds at bay, although there are a couple of spots where the bermuda has been trying to get established over the past couple of years, gonna have to deal with that soon. I usually pull weeds in the spring, they pop up in the winter and spring, and then very little during the growing season. I can do my yard, 7000-8000 sq ft I think, in a few hours, so the number of weeds is well below herbicide level, whcih I would hesitate to use regardless. However, it is very thick grass, and if watered a lot it will require mowing weekly. It is a very nice grass though. If you don't water, it goes dormant, or so it appears. I recommend sod. I am not sure if anything you'll put down will coexist with buffalograss. It also gets thin in the shade, but still grows, just not as thick as in the sun. It isn't as noticeable at a distance, but when you are walking in the shady areas you'll see it is thinner. It has, in the past, run about $150/pallet, so it isn't cheap. I like the look of the zoysia much more as well. To me the St. Aug. is less "native" looking, if that is the term I am looking for, it is fine in many settings, especially in polished, in-town type yards, especially shady ones where it is probably the best choice, but out of town I don't like the look as much. The zoysia is great stuff, thinner leaved, a different green than the St. Aug. Sends roots down two feet, so it is very drought-resistant. andyd On Wed, 2 Mar 2005 02:54:40 +0000, Newt wrote: - Pete Wrote:- I moved to Austin 9 years ago and at the advice of this group had my back yard (about 4000 sq.ft.) sodded with 609 Buffalo grass. I fertilize it on May 1st and Oct 1st with a ratio of 3/1/2 (15/5/10). I put Amaze pre-emergent on it on Feb 1st and Sep 1st. Each spring I get a bumper crop of weeds and have to hose them down with herbicide - and I get plenty of weeds the rest of the year. The areas along the fences and house and under my small trees have all died off since Buffalo grass needs so much sun. On the other hand I have had no weed or disease problems with my St. Augustine grass in the front yard. And I don't water it very often - ranging from every 10 days in the spring/fall, every 7 during the Summer, and every 6 for a few weeks at the peak of Summer, so the water bill is not that bad especially compared to the weed headaches of the Buffalo grass. (However, the St. Augustine does need to be cut every weekend when it growing.) I suspect the primary issue is that Buffalo grass may need very deep soil like that found in the plains - not often the case in the Austin area. So moving forward, what would you recommend? If replacement is the recommendation I'd like to try something that does not need to be cut every week during the growing season. If over seeding is recommended I'd like something that does not have much of a different look compared to the 609 since the two grasses would co-exist. I'd consider completely replacing the original 609 if needed but would like to keep the cost of the project down if that is possible. Thanks, Pete- Hi Pete, See if these sites help with understanding what buffalograss needs. http://tinyurl.com/3bzjm http://tinyurl.com/5ed3x Newt- Hi Andy, Here in the Mid-Atlantic states and in the north, zoysia grass goes dormant for six months of the year and is an ugly tan color. Does it do that for you as well? Newt -- Newt ----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==---- http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups ----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =---- |
#7
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You have to use the logic tree. Do you want a green lawn in the summer with
no water? If so you don't go down the buffalo branch. When you water and fertilize you encourage weeds and Bermuda. Do you want a grass that will go dormant and survive the most severe drought? Don't go down the St. Augustine branch. Do you want a lawn that feels good to the bare feet, doesn't have chiggers, grows in the shade and sun, responds well to proper care, requires a reasonable amount of irrigation, then go down the St. Augustine branch. If you water it only when it needs water to survive during the hottest part of the year, every 10-14 days, it will live but not require mowing every week. During the spring when and if we have a bunch of rain you will have to cut it every 4-6 days. It is the best grass for our area despite what the nay sayers say. "Pete" wrote in message k.net... I moved to Austin 9 years ago and at the advice of this group had my back yard (about 4000 sq.ft.) sodded with 609 Buffalo grass. I fertilize it on May 1st and Oct 1st with a ratio of 3/1/2 (15/5/10). I put Amaze pre-emergent on it on Feb 1st and Sep 1st. Each spring I get a bumper crop of weeds and have to hose them down with herbicide - and I get plenty of weeds the rest of the year. The areas along the fences and house and under my small trees have all died off since Buffalo grass needs so much sun. On the other hand I have had no weed or disease problems with my St. Augustine grass in the front yard. And I don't water it very often - ranging from every 10 days in the spring/fall, every 7 during the Summer, and every 6 for a few weeks at the peak of Summer, so the water bill is not that bad especially compared to the weed headaches of the Buffalo grass. (However, the St. Augustine does need to be cut every weekend when it growing.) I suspect the primary issue is that Buffalo grass may need very deep soil like that found in the plains - not often the case in the Austin area. So moving forward, what would you recommend? If replacement is the recommendation I'd like to try something that does not need to be cut every week during the growing season. If over seeding is recommended I'd like something that does not have much of a different look compared to the 609 since the two grasses would co-exist. I'd consider completely replacing the original 609 if needed but would like to keep the cost of the project down if that is possible. Thanks, Pete |
#8
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Not for 6 months, but probably for 3-4 months. And yes, it is an ugly
tan, dormant/dead looking color. Mine is just starting to color up now. I have to overseed with rye grass in the winter for my septic drainfield. andyd On Fri, 4 Mar 2005 22:59:35 +0000, Newt wrote: Andyd Wrote: I planted some dwarf buffalograss (sod) in a less used area a few years ago, and it ended up getting hosed by bermuda grass. Completely taken over. Suggestions from this group were to stop watering, which I hadn't done since getting the buffalograss established, which would supposedly hammer the bermuda, but which the buffalograss would come back from. Even after some scrochingly hot, dry summers, the bermuda took it over, I am convinced you just can't kill that stuff. Buffalograss just doesn't seem to be able to stand up to weeds and beating from what I have seen and read. On my main lawn I have El Toro Zoysia grass. It stays very thick and keeps the weeds at bay, although there are a couple of spots where the bermuda has been trying to get established over the past couple of years, gonna have to deal with that soon. I usually pull weeds in the spring, they pop up in the winter and spring, and then very little during the growing season. I can do my yard, 7000-8000 sq ft I think, in a few hours, so the number of weeds is well below herbicide level, whcih I would hesitate to use regardless. However, it is very thick grass, and if watered a lot it will require mowing weekly. It is a very nice grass though. If you don't water, it goes dormant, or so it appears. I recommend sod. I am not sure if anything you'll put down will coexist with buffalograss. It also gets thin in the shade, but still grows, just not as thick as in the sun. It isn't as noticeable at a distance, but when you are walking in the shady areas you'll see it is thinner. It has, in the past, run about $150/pallet, so it isn't cheap. I like the look of the zoysia much more as well. To me the St. Aug. is less "native" looking, if that is the term I am looking for, it is fine in many settings, especially in polished, in-town type yards, especially shady ones where it is probably the best choice, but out of town I don't like the look as much. The zoysia is great stuff, thinner leaved, a different green than the St. Aug. Sends roots down two feet, so it is very drought-resistant. andyd On Wed, 2 Mar 2005 02:54:40 +0000, Newt wrote: - Pete Wrote:- I moved to Austin 9 years ago and at the advice of this group had my back yard (about 4000 sq.ft.) sodded with 609 Buffalo grass. I fertilize it on May 1st and Oct 1st with a ratio of 3/1/2 (15/5/10). I put Amaze pre-emergent on it on Feb 1st and Sep 1st. Each spring I get a bumper crop of weeds and have to hose them down with herbicide - and I get plenty of weeds the rest of the year. The areas along the fences and house and under my small trees have all died off since Buffalo grass needs so much sun. On the other hand I have had no weed or disease problems with my St. Augustine grass in the front yard. And I don't water it very often - ranging from every 10 days in the spring/fall, every 7 during the Summer, and every 6 for a few weeks at the peak of Summer, so the water bill is not that bad especially compared to the weed headaches of the Buffalo grass. (However, the St. Augustine does need to be cut every weekend when it growing.) I suspect the primary issue is that Buffalo grass may need very deep soil like that found in the plains - not often the case in the Austin area. So moving forward, what would you recommend? If replacement is the recommendation I'd like to try something that does not need to be cut every week during the growing season. If over seeding is recommended I'd like something that does not have much of a different look compared to the 609 since the two grasses would co-exist. I'd consider completely replacing the original 609 if needed but would like to keep the cost of the project down if that is possible. Thanks, Pete- Hi Pete, See if these sites help with understanding what buffalograss needs. http://tinyurl.com/3bzjm http://tinyurl.com/5ed3x Newt- Hi Andy, Here in the Mid-Atlantic states and in the north, zoysia grass goes dormant for six months of the year and is an ugly tan color. Does it do that for you as well? Newt |
#9
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Good grief, what do you mean "it is the best grass for our area
despite what the nay sayers say." What kind of statement is that? There really is no such thing as a "best" grass for our area when talking about landscaping, there are too many factors in the equation to come up with a "best" grass. If you don't have shade, as I would venture to say a lot of our area doesn't, then I'd put several other grasses as better choices. "Feels good to the bare feet". That is an opinion, and believe it or not some people, myself included, don't share it. I like the feel of my thick zoysia much more than St. Aug, and most people who visit my yard agree. And no, St. Aug. doesn't seem to have a chigger problem, from myexperience bermuda holds that honor, but I can personally vouch that St. Aug is a pretty good grass for harboring fleas. And many people I know have problems with brown spot or other issues with their St. Aug, something I haven't had with zoysia, although perhaps I have been lucky, I don't know. So trying to portray St. Aug, or any other grass for that matter, as "best" is just ridiculous. On Sat, 05 Mar 2005 02:43:31 GMT, "Red" wrote: You have to use the logic tree. Do you want a green lawn in the summer with no water? If so you don't go down the buffalo branch. When you water and fertilize you encourage weeds and Bermuda. Do you want a grass that will go dormant and survive the most severe drought? Don't go down the St. Augustine branch. Do you want a lawn that feels good to the bare feet, doesn't have chiggers, grows in the shade and sun, responds well to proper care, requires a reasonable amount of irrigation, then go down the St. Augustine branch. If you water it only when it needs water to survive during the hottest part of the year, every 10-14 days, it will live but not require mowing every week. During the spring when and if we have a bunch of rain you will have to cut it every 4-6 days. It is the best grass for our area despite what the nay sayers say. "Pete" wrote in message nk.net... I moved to Austin 9 years ago and at the advice of this group had my back yard (about 4000 sq.ft.) sodded with 609 Buffalo grass. I fertilize it on May 1st and Oct 1st with a ratio of 3/1/2 (15/5/10). I put Amaze pre-emergent on it on Feb 1st and Sep 1st. Each spring I get a bumper crop of weeds and have to hose them down with herbicide - and I get plenty of weeds the rest of the year. The areas along the fences and house and under my small trees have all died off since Buffalo grass needs so much sun. On the other hand I have had no weed or disease problems with my St. Augustine grass in the front yard. And I don't water it very often - ranging from every 10 days in the spring/fall, every 7 during the Summer, and every 6 for a few weeks at the peak of Summer, so the water bill is not that bad especially compared to the weed headaches of the Buffalo grass. (However, the St. Augustine does need to be cut every weekend when it growing.) I suspect the primary issue is that Buffalo grass may need very deep soil like that found in the plains - not often the case in the Austin area. So moving forward, what would you recommend? If replacement is the recommendation I'd like to try something that does not need to be cut every week during the growing season. If over seeding is recommended I'd like something that does not have much of a different look compared to the 609 since the two grasses would co-exist. I'd consider completely replacing the original 609 if needed but would like to keep the cost of the project down if that is possible. Thanks, Pete |
#10
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"Andyd" wrote in message ... Good grief, what do you mean "it is the best grass for our area despite what the nay sayers say." What kind of statement is that? There really is no such thing as a "best" grass for our area when talking about landscaping, there are too many factors in the equation to come up with a "best" grass. If you don't have shade, as I would venture to say a lot of our area doesn't, then I'd put several other grasses as better choices. "Feels good to the bare feet". That is an opinion, and believe it or not some people, myself included, don't share it. I like the feel of my thick zoysia much more than St. Aug, and most people who visit my yard agree. I hate St. Augustine, I won't even go barefoot in the yard. If it weren't my entire lawn, I'd be trying to kill it. Can one overseed Zoysia and have it take over the St. Augustine?? Cindy |
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