Grass

jeepinmatt

jeepinmatt

#1 WEBWHEELER
Moderator
Joined
Mar 24, 2005
Location
Stanley, NC
No, not that kind. Need to put some seed out in my yard. Gets full sun pretty much all day during the summer. Traffic level is medium to low. Main thing is that it stays green during the summer and beats out the crabgrass and weeds that currently dominate the yard.

Here's a few pics from 3-4 years ago when it was still majority fescue:
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And what it looks like after 2 years of construction and tractor traffic:
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So should I go with fescue again? Or is there something else that is better suited? It's about 1/3-1/2 an acre. I do have sprinklers, but I don't like running them because I feel like they wear my well pump out.
 
Fescue or Bermuda. If you have a mild winter (good sun, no snow or sub freezing temp) go Bermuda. If it’s questionable, it’s hard to go wrong with fescue. If you wanna get fancy and have money to burn, there’s plenty of options.
 
Drunktaco said:
Fescue or Bermuda. If you have a mild winter (good sun, no snow or sub freezing temp) go Bermuda. If it’s questionable, it’s hard to go wrong with fescue. If you wanna get fancy and have money to burn, there’s plenty of options.
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Not that I have money to burn, but what are those other options? Id at least like to be armed with the knowledge.
 
jeepinmatt said:
Not that I have money to burn, but what are those other options? Id at least like to be armed with the knowledge.
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Centepede or zoysia and stuff. They're high as hell. I seeded my yard with 50lb of Bermuda this summer and it was high enough, $250ish
 
awheelterd said:
Centepede or zoysia and stuff. They're high as hell. I seeded my yard with 50lb of Bermuda this summer and it was high enough, $250ish
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Whether its $100 or $1000 doesn't really matter as much as it being something I can put down and be done with it and it look good. This is the first time in the 13 years we've owned the property that I haven't had an imminent construction project that was going to inevitably destroy the yard.
 
jeepinmatt said:
Whether its $100 or $1000 doesn't really matter as much as it being something I can put down and be done with it and it look good. This is the first time in the 13 years we've owned the property that I haven't had an imminent construction project that was going to inevitably destroy the yard.
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That's why I went with Bermuda. It's supposed to choke out weeds for the most part. Good drought tolerance (I'm not going to irrigate). Green in summer, brown in winter. Doesn't grow too tall too fast. Holds up well to traffic, in my case the tractor and my wife and boys on the four-wheeler.
 
So what about Bermuda and then throw out some winter rye every fall?
 
The only way fescue will be green is with significant input every year. Overseeing, fertilizing, watering, and pre emergent.

for the size yard you have And the fact it’s already scalped and no weed to kill I’d call and have either Zoysia or Bermuda sod laid.

there is a company in clover that just did my neighbors yard they look real professional and were apparently reasonably priced
 
Fuck Bermuda. That stuff is invasive as hell. If you plant Bermuda, you'll be out there every other week with the sprayer killing it in the driveway, mulch beds, and everywhere else. It doesn't choke out weeds, either.
 
Newly seeded fescue is pretty resilient and hardy. As time goes by insect, weeds, and disease attack from all angles. Grubs, moles, fungus, crabgrass, etc., None of those are hard to control but you do have to take preventative measures for each. There is no ''Easy button" for turf, so you have to decide what level of maintenance and care that you choose and what fits your lifestyle. The bermuda, zoyzia, centipede all require good amounts of sunlight. One of my customers converted to centipede several years ago and he has a great lawn. He has full sun and not many problems.
All of the yards that I maintain are fescue and they require a lot of input and definitely a fall aeration, seeding, and fertilizing yearly as well as two fert and pre em apps each year, soil tests for pH every two to three years (and corrective input as needed), grub preventative, fungus control on some, etc. If you are mowing your own then your weed and fungus issues can be much less than a professionally maintained turf because mowers carry disease and weeds to each yard.
If you are looking to revamp your turf now, fescue is the way to go. Aerate well, or slit seed, add starter fert, and water it. If you are considering a warn season turf, now is not the time, that's next spring unless you do a total reno and sod it all.
 
My two cents:

Fescue requires work all year long, every year to stay weed free and look good. Pre-emergent in the early spring, fertilizer multiple times a year, weed killer a couple of times a year, and then aerating, and reseeding every fall.

My FIL converted his front lawn from fescue to Zoysia about 5 years ago. It was expensive, but it doesn't require fertilizer, weed killer, or reseeding every year. It DOES require constant maintenance for trying to spread into the natural areas and everywhere. The biggest downside in my opinion is it looks white instead of green for half the year.
 
shawn said:
Fuck Bermuda. That stuff is invasive as hell. If you plant Bermuda, you'll be out there every other week with the sprayer killing it in the driveway, mulch beds, and everywhere else. It doesn't choke out weeds, either.
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This.
Bermuda is great if you have no neighbors to piss off, solid surface drives, and no landscaping to keep it out of.

All that fancy work you judt did will look like shit in 2 years unless you fight it constantly.
 
RatLabGuy said:
solid surface drives,
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The runners grow about 2ft/wk, and will grow under a 12ft driveway and appear on on the other side and at any cracks or control joints in the concrete. They'll also grow across the surface of a gravel or concrete drive.
 
Ron said:
The only way fescue will be green is with significant input every year. Overseeing, fertilizing, watering, and pre emergent.

for the size yard you have And the fact it’s already scalped and no weed to kill I’d call and have either Zoysia or Bermuda sod laid.

there is a company in clover that just did my neighbors yard they look real professional and were apparently reasonably priced
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So whats the going rate for a half acre of said sod? I called and they wouldn't even talk to me because i "didn't sound rich enough" :D
 
jeepinmatt said:
So what about Bermuda and then throw out some winter rye every fall?
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That's what I do. I'll agree the bermuda can be invasive and doesn't necessarily stop weeds. About 1/3 of my acre lot is landscaped...once a year new wood chips, during the spring/summer about every 6-8 weeks bust out the weed killer when you notice encroachment. In over a decade of using this combo across hundreds of homes, I've yet to see it cause any concrete damage. If you like hunting during the winter, hire someone to cut your grass...I know a guy.
 
I just called Supersod in Charlotte and got pricing for Zenith Zoyzia. It's a thicker blade grass. There are a couple more and they are finer blade but they aren't cutting/selling them again until spring. And there is a waiver to sign when purchasing warm season grass sod in winter months, meaning if it don't grow it's on you.
Also asked about Bermuda and was recomended TifTuf Bermuda because it is more drought and shade resisitant than the Zoyzia and other Bermudas and required 60% less water...supposedly.
So for 20,000 sq ft of the Zoyzia you're looking at $about $10k delivered and then you'll have to pay to have it installed.
The bermuda is about $8K delivered and still need to have it installed.
And by installed the soil needs to be prepared just like you would for seeding and then install the sod.
 
R Q said:
I just called Supersod in Charlotte and got pricing for Zenith Zoyzia. It's a thicker blade grass. There are a couple more and they are finer blade but they aren't cutting/selling them again until spring. And there is a waiver to sign when purchasing warm season grass sod in winter months, meaning if it don't grow it's on you.
Also asked about Bermuda and was recomended TifTuf Bermuda because it is more drought and shade resisitant than the Zoyzia and other Bermudas and required 60% less water...supposedly.
So for 20,000 sq ft of the Zoyzia you're looking at $about $10k delivered and then you'll have to pay to have it installed.
The bermuda is about $8K delivered and still need to have it installed.
And by installed the soil needs to be prepared just like you would for seeding and then install the sod.
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I'll speak for @jeepinmatt and say go ahead and give them a PO. He basically said money was no object for a nice looking, weed free yard. I'm sure he is good for the cash in that case. Better go ahead and issue yourself a PO on his behalf for the installation.
 
I really appreciate yall doing this. I was pretty confident it wasn't worth my trouble, but now I'm 100% certain I was right :D
 
awheelterd said:
I'll speak for @jeepinmatt and say go ahead and give them a PO. He basically said money was no object for a nice looking, weed free yard. I'm sure he is good for the cash in that case. Better go ahead and issue yourself a PO on his behalf for the installation.
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For the record I said $100-1000 :p
 
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