what grass

[momo]

Okay I'm not a green thumb, and need some lawn help.
My parents lost their bermuda lawn after a series of poor care. Leaves from fall, freeze from winter, then this summer drought.

My plan was to drop Bermuda and water accordingly. Till the really bad spots.
My concern is it is fall now... should I just winterize now and begin early spring? If I seed now will I be wasting my cash? Do I do just Bermuda or do I mix with fescue?

I don't need it to look amazing, just don't want it to look like dirt crap.

Thanks!


photo by momostallion, on Flickr

[momo]

Oh also as you cab see there is a lot of shade.

[LANTIRN]

With all the shitty weather we get I would just do a native landscape for your region. This drought and the watering restrictions has killed the shit out of my lawn; not to mention my tree is dying. The only thing I can't seem to kill are the fucking rose bushes next to my gate. If the tree dies then I will go back with some kind of native landscape that doesn't have to be tended to / watered as much. As for the rose bushes, I stopped watering them for a solid month and I swear they got bigger. Fuck roses.

[zemog]

going to agree with the above post, until we start getting some wet weather, which isnt looking too likely thru next year according to experts, unless you are able to water without restrictions, i would be conservative on the grass planting, and do some native grasses and shrubbery, it you just need some cover for the winter though, you can go ahead and put down some rye seed or a rye/fescue combo to keep the mud down

[Lone Sailor]

Sounds like a simple annual seed mix is your best bet for a temporary fix. As zemog stated, until we get some H20 resources built back up in either our soils or our reservoirs, or both, it will be tough to keep a good grass alive through the gentler months let alone the scorching heat of the Texas summers.

[momo]

Sounds like a simple annual seed mix is your best bet for a temporary fix. As zemog stated, until we get some H20 resources built back up in either our soils or our reservoirs, or both, it will be tough to keep a good grass alive through the gentler months let alone the scorching heat of the Texas summers.

thanks for bringing the post back up, talked to a very knowledgeable guy at lowes who gave me a plan, i modifed it a bit to give it an even better chance of working. best part is i managed to do this under $100.

got some ironite and all purpose fertilizer in the soil for and gave it a few days. had a nice huge rain storm so seeded and tilled with a mix of bermuda and fescue and scotts starter mix.

here is a picture of before:


here is a picture after seeding and tilling:



here is a picture at day 15, 10 days after seeding and tilling:





i only have pictures till day 15. i think it's day 21 now and it looks a bit more full. it's all fescue, hopefully the bermuda comes up in spring. luckily we've had a fair amount of rain and were able to do this within the water restrictions. unfortunately stage 3 water restriction goes into the effect november.

[BajaBob]

With all the shitty weather we get I would just do a native landscape for your region. This drought and the watering restrictions has killed the shit out of my lawn; not to mention my tree is dying. The only thing I can't seem to kill are the fucking rose bushes next to my gate. If the tree dies then I will go back with some kind of native landscape that doesn't have to be tended to / watered as much. As for the rose bushes, I stopped watering them for a solid month and I swear they got bigger. Fuck roses.

Dead trees will screw your foundation up big time if they are near the house. Roots = soil displacement, dead roots eventually cave and then the foundation cracking begins. 30 minutes of slow drip a day around the base will keep it from dying. Just do it in the evenings inconspicuously. The issues generated from dead trees are much worse than a 200 dollar fine IMO.

[momo]

Dead trees will screw your foundation up big time if they are near the house. Roots = soil displacement, dead roots eventually cave and then the foundation cracking begins. 30 minutes of slow drip a day around the base will keep it from dying. Just do it in the evenings inconspicuously. The issues generated from dead trees are much worse than a 200 dollar fine IMO.

most restrictions still allow you to water by hand and use soaker hoses still.

[BajaBob]

most restrictions still allow you to water by hand and use soaker hoses still.

I'm in College Station. Still no restrictions... mostly because everyone around here is in older homes without automated irrigation.