Not sure what to do with my grass

[lovebrentwood]

Well, some of the yard already has tomato plants.

I also worry about what it would look like in the winter.

I guess I need inspiration. There are probably books about it. I should buy one and prepare for next year. I definitely want to buy blueberry plants. A recent study showed they actually repair brain tissue. How cool is that?

I heard that all over the Triangle, people were pilfering plants (and vegetables). I wonder if that would be a problem.

If EVERYONE did it, then that would be ideal. It would be more accepted, and everyone could share info.

Originally Posted by North_Raleigh_Guy

What is stopping you?

This idea has it's pros and cons. One of the cons being I can't think of what you could grow as an edible planting in the winter months. I would also be concerned about exposed dirt. If the area is mulched great, but if you end up with a bar front yard of dirt for half the year then we are talking about some serious runoff and water quality issues on an order much bigger than the issue with runoff from fertilized lawns.

[wheelsup]

Originally Posted by tsmithgolf2000

Yep, that happens alot too, a little bit of bermuda clippings are still on the lawnmower and then get's moved from homeowner to homeowner. Just terrible. Thanks for the Bayer link.

OK some more info on bermuda grass killers.

There are several off the shelf ones, there was a Turflon-Ester concoction at Atlantic Nursery. Research online is inconclusive using it alone. I found a book on Google (Virginia Gardner's Companion, bookmarked, see Method 1) that mentioned tank mixing (combining) Turflon-Ester w/ Ornamec 170. It is expensive, around $40(!) for a pint I believe.

However there is another one homeowners can buy called Ornamec. It is also used buy the pros. It comes in two difference concentrations and packages.

Standard Ornamec doesn't come pre-mixed with a surfacant (basically dish soap - helps it stick to the grass).

Ornamec 170. It's at a lower concentration (1.7% vs. 6.75% of the bermuda killer ingrediant) however also costs less. But the kicker is it comes premixed with the surfacant in it. It seems it is DIY friendly. Around $30 for 32 oz.

Ornamec can be used over the top on zoysia and fescue (and I believe KBG and other bentgrass lawns). So you apply it multiple times over the course of the spring (when bermuda just starts to pick up and fall (just before it goes dormant) to slowly kill off and suppress the bermuda. Then you overseed your fescue/whatever and encourage it to grow strong. The bermuda might not ever go away completely but you weaken it so the fescue or KBG can grow over it.

I read somewhere that they recommend feeding the bermuda miracle grow plant food to really get the juices going and then spray ornamec on it. This will bring the chemical right down into the rhizomes and erradite the grass from below.

I'm going to be ordering some Ornamec 170 and Turflon-Ester this year before I completely give up. If my lawn is going down it'll at least go down fighting!!

If it works I might buy the 6.75% one and mix in my own surfacant (they are cheap, around $8) to get more bang for my $. Hope this helps someone.

P.S. I hate bermuda.

[wheelsup]

Also there is another herbicide called Fusilade II. It is really expensive ($80-$100/quart) but you use a very low concentration. 8 drops per GALLON of water. So that quart will last a long time.

The active ingredient is fluazifop-p-butyl aka fluazifop, the same ingredient in Ornamec. However in Fusilade II the concentration is almost 25%. You can see where this is going.

There have been some professional lawn care folks on forums using a combo of Fusilade II and Turflon Ester similar to Ornamec, and they report good results. So looks like those active ingredients are the way to go. I'll take lots of pictures when I start hitting my bermuda this fall.

I think it's important to remember that this will be a 2 year project to eradiacate the bermuda and an ongoing battle to suppress the invasion from the neighbors lawns.