Dead Bermuda gets Mowed Down

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's off to mow I go -----

Ok - The heat must be getting to me. Now I am singing Disney songs - and where are all those elves when I need them anyway? Why is it I seem to tackle my gardening projects in the heat of the summer?

The darned bermuda grass has dictated the timing of this project. You must kill bermuda when it is growing vigorously. That means HEAT, fertilizer and lots of water.

The monsoon rains have helped with the water. I got 1.3 inches of rain last Thursday night. I played in the rain again! My daisy-chained barrels worked beautifully and I got ALMOST 2 BARRELS FULL - 110 gallons! Plus the 30 gallon trash can was full! I was also emptying all of the small buckets into it as they were overflowing - silly me came in twice and changed my clothes cuz’ I thought I was done playing,(oh yeah I was also holding an umbrella and I couldn't carry buckets and the lightening was too close!) so the last time I went out, I remembered I had a rain poncho!

Ever notice how much the garden perks up after a rain fall. And lightening brings nitrogen to the earth. I just love a good rain! But I digress.....

It has been one week since I sprayed the grass. It is pretty brown in some places and still green in others. I decided to mow (bagged the grass and put it in the trash, just to be safe and not contaminate my compost with glyphosate) since the grass was pretty tall and had now fallen over when it died.

Here's the before mow and after photos:

I wanted the fertilizer to get down to the soil. Yes fertilizer! I know I am killing the grass but I want to be sure it is REALLY gone so I am testing to see if there is ANY life left in the deep roots. After I fertilized the entire lawn, I watered it in well and will begin a regular watering schedule to see if my grass comes up in the dead areas. I know I will need to spray at least one more time since I had the green grass in some areas.

In the meantime, I had the old tree stump ground out and pulled out the lantana around it. Just having them gone has opened up the side of the yard. With the grass cut so short, I can start to see my 'garden' out there - if only in my mind.

Until next time-

Happy Digging!

Doreen Pollack

www.down2earthgardens.com