Bermuda Seeding

[MPrewitt]

In October 2008 we seeded rye grass in order to get some grass down for the winter and the rainy season.

Now it is time to re-seed with a more perminate grass, we have picked Bermuda, we have purchased the seeds and boy are they super small seeds.

The question I have is to I need to cultivate/till the rye grass under? (I am in East Texas)
If so how deep should I set the tines on the tiller?
Or just seed right on top of the rye grass?


What if anything do I need to mix with the seeds? fertilizer? sand? or both
I am concerended that since the seeds are so small the will dispense at a greater rate than I want them to and not get the coverage that I should with the amount of seed that I bought.

Thanks:
Murray

 

[laen64]

Wow Good Luck M.P. I'll be watching this one I wish you the best.

 

[daBear]

I am no expert but I used fine sifted dry sand in a five gallon bucket to mix before I sow bemuda. The rye will not die out until it gets a little hotter and dryer so I would set the tiller to just break the surface and till the rye under, followed by seed/sand/fertilizer. Then drag it to cover the seed with 1/4" or less of soil and water until you almost go broke. The ground temp needs to be at least into the 70's for bemuda go do well germinating so good luck. Of course once you get it going you can't stop it, but it takes about two weeks of work to get it up out of the ground.

 

[MarkV]

I have always heard to add sand to the seed so you can broadcast it more evenly. I am not sure where you are in Texas but around here in N. Georgia you would wait until mid June to seed Bermuda. It wants warm to hot weather to get going.

MarkV

 

[MPrewitt]

Thanks Guys,

I'll add sand in with the seed, is it a 50/50 ratio?

Is it better to fertilize while seeding or wait until the grass starts comming up then fertilize?

 

[WTA]

I would recommend finding someone with a notill drill to come do it. I planted 10 acres so far here with giant bermuda and since I couldn't find a drill I hand broadcast it. I just went out on my farmall on a windy day and threw it by hand. Then I dragged a harrow with all the teeth set as shallow as they could go to very lightly cover it. The field looks beautiful now. I'd post a picture but the managers of this forum called that advertising for a business last time I did it. I board horses just in my area and sell hay. Also just in this area so....
Whatever you do don't till it. The seeds will be too deep then. Don't drill it with a wheat drill either. It has to be a grass drill. I really do think the best thing is to just overseed the rye. Bermuda is one of the most vigorous spreading weeds there is. It will spread if you have some cover for it.

Also be VERY careful who you listen to about fertilizer if you will be grazing it or cutting for hay. A lot of peoples recommendations will kill your animals. Get a soil sample and take it to your county soil tester. Mine requires 60 pounds of nitrogen per month for hay. Some fields are less but never more. For grazing I only do about 1/3 of that.

Hint, If you don't fertilize it the first year the grass will go to seed much earlier and will stay shorter. Wait till the seeds are starting to turn brown then mow it and you will thicken it up a lot faster.

 

[EddieWalker]

Did you get hulled or un-hulled bermuda seed?

The hulled has the outer shell, or hull removed, and is just the actual seed. The un-hulled is just how nature makes it. The reason I ask is that the hulled seed needs to be planted when the soil temps are 80 degrees and you have rain on the way. Since there is no hull, it's not protected and can easily die or rot on you if you plant it too early. The un-hulled seed can be planted just about any time since the hull will rot away when the conditions are right. The advantage to the hulled seed is that you get a faster germination and results. The un-hilled seed might take weeks to germinate.

I mix bermuda seed one to four with sand. One scoop of bermuda mixed in with four scoops of sand into my seeder. I have a cheap, pull behind broadcast seeder that I bought from Northern Tool years ago. It gets the job done, but I wouldn't buy another.

Did you buy pure seed or did you get the stuff with fillers in a sack from a box store? The box store seed is usually 50% seed and the rest is filler. If you go to a seed, feed or farm supply store, you can usually buy pure seed by the pound. I find this to be the cheapest way to go. I buy mine from a feed store in Lindale that measures out exactly what I want into a paper sack if I want less then 50 pounds of it. Usually I'm just doing a small area like half an acre or so and buy just a few pounds of seed.

Remember, Bermuda seed sends out runners, and it's better to have it spread out when starting out so that each plant gets maximum nutrition and moisture without allot of competition. Then as it matures, it will spread out and take over. New sprouts will look allot like new rye grass. As it matures, it will change and start to spread out.

I like to disk my soil and get it real loose. Then I spread my seed and drag a log over the soil. This smooths it out and lightly covers the seed. My previous log rotted out on me, so this year I'm pulling a drag that I made with removable blocks on it. I'll take off the blocks and just drag the metal part to make it as light as possible. The sand really helps show where you've been. The Bermuda seed is too small to see, so you either have to watch your tire tracks, or have something mixed with the seed that you can see where you've been.

Did you take a soil sample? Is the soil amended? If the rye grass grew good and thick, then you are probably good to go with the Bermuda. It's more hardy and aggressive then Rye, so it all depends on how good the Rye did.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[MPrewitt]

Eddie:
We purchsed hulled seeds. I did not have a soil sample done, the rye we planted came in pretty thick in the areas that we watered really well.

Do you think that I need one?

The front yard is really thick and green, the side is already starting to brown and die off.

We are planning on starting this the 3rd weekend of May..

Attached photo shows the front yard..

 

[walnutman]

I would recommend finding someone with a notill drill to come do it. I planted 10 acres so far here with giant bermuda and since I couldn't find a drill I hand broadcast it. I just went out on my farmall on a windy day and threw it by hand. Then I dragged a harrow with all the teeth set as shallow as they could go to very lightly cover it. The field looks beautiful now. I'd post a picture but the managers of this forum called that advertising for a business last time I did it. I board horses just in my area and sell hay. Also just in this area so....
Whatever you do don't till it. The seeds will be too deep then. Don't drill it with a wheat drill either. It has to be a grass drill. I really do think the best thing is to just overseed the rye. Bermuda is one of the most vigorous spreading weeds there is. It will spread if you have some cover for it.

Also be VERY careful who you listen to about fertilizer if you will be grazing it or cutting for hay. A lot of peoples recommendations will kill your animals. Get a soil sample and take it to your county soil tester. Mine requires 60 pounds of nitrogen per month for hay. Some fields are less but never more. For grazing I only do about 1/3 of that.

Hint, If you don't fertilize it the first year the grass will go to seed much earlier and will stay shorter. Wait till the seeds are starting to turn brown then mow it and you will thicken it up a lot faster.

Didn't think there is such a thing as giant bermuda seed. I read only the low growing stuff gives seeds.

 

[walnutman]

Eddie:
We purchsed hulled seeds. I did not have a soil sample done, the rye we planted came in pretty thick in the areas that we watered really well.

Do you think that I need one?

The front yard is really thick and green, the side is already starting to brown and die off.

We are planning on starting this the 3rd weekend of May..

Attached photo shows the front yard..

I'm in the same situation and I think with all of the transplants coming to Texas there will create a lot of seed and sod sales this year. I had to do a lot of dirt work around our house and shop and I had to hurry and get grass growing as I have a lot of runoff areas. I spread both annual and perennial rye as well as transplanted some bermuda ryzomes. The rye did great. I have the greenest grass in Ben Wheeler LOL. Bermuda seed is crazy expensive. $85 for a 5lb bag.