Just bought first home and this is what I have in my yard. They said it was Bermuda. I'm wanting to make my lawn great and not mess it up. Have not taken care of a lawn before, so looking for advice on how to take care of it. Other than watering a lot right now, what else can I do to prevent weeds, etc. South Texas lawn.
by invisibletruth4
12 Comments
The common lawn pre-emergents (prodiamine, pendimethalin, and dithiopyr) work to help reduce the germination of certain seeds… Mostly grasses and only a handful of broadleaf weeds. The labels will list which weeds are targeted. To prevent more broadleaf weeds, a specialty broadleaf pre emergent like isoxaben is required.
Pre-emergents work by preventing the germination of seeds of the target species. So in order to be effective, a pre emergent needs to be applied BEFORE those seeds germinate. For winter annual weeds (annual weeds that are present in the fall, winter, and spring, like poa annua), a pre emergent needs to be applied in the fall before soil temps fall below 70F. In order to prevent summer annual weeds (like crabgrass), a pre emergent needs to be applied in the spring before soil temps reach 55F. (In very southern areas, timing can be more closely tied with periods of higher moisture AND climbing soil temps. Consult your state extension service for more specific guidance)
Pre emergents will not kill existing weeds. Pre-emergents alone will rarely control a weed problem. Pre-emergents are tools to **reduce** the need for post-emergents. They rarely eliminate the need for post emergents.
The labels of pre emergents have many important instructions and use restrictions. ALWAYS READ THE ENTIRE LABEL. For example, you are limited to 2 applications of each active ingredient per year.
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Is the sod firmly rooted?
Congratulations!
Tons of h2o for now. Don’t do anything it’s first season but cut and h20…tons of h2o for now… then maybe some more h2o
Yeah lots of water but also mowing height is important. Maybe let the grass sit higher than you’d like this year with a consistent mow to let the roots and blades settle in?
First of all, congratulations!
Secondly, let the sod root. It doesn’t look like it’s exactly Settled yet. You’ll know when the lines of sod disappear and it all looks like one unit.
Once that’s done then you can focus on leveling it out or adding more beds or whatever.
Some things I wish I knew when I bought my first home:
1. grass maintenance is going to cost you some money up front.
2. Looks into whoever you pay your water bill to. I’m in TX, and our water company, SAWS, offers Huge rebates to remove square footage amounts of grass and replacing with native drought tolerant trees/plants/shrubs. This has changed the game of my backyard In a good way.
3. Figure out if you want to go organic or not.
Water. Once it’s solidly rooted and starts growing mow it back down to the original height. Follow the 1/3 rule. You might be mowing every 3 days during the summer maybe even mow depending on cut height.
It’s probably not gonna grow much at all right now because it’s cold. Maybe after a month of mowing you can put down half an app of fertilizer but generally the sod farms throw down so much N you might get a full season out of it.
water it every day for at least the first 6 weeks on new sod
I read some comments BUT, your sod dried out. It may or may not root. Most likely not. It needs lots and lots of water. I’m in Louisville KY. If this got this dry it is beyond recoverable in my area. When you get large gaps between aod pieces, it is overly dry. Depending on what and where you are depends on how to fix. SORRY, didn’t read all the responses. If this looked like this at closing, see if the seller will help fix. Sod down for curb appeal, not watered, looks shitty. Fill gaps with good top soil and seed. Or resod. No straw.
RIP your water bill
Mate, soak that sh*t
This is a long shot, but is this neighbrohood near San Antonio by chance?