Tried planting grass, where did i go wrong? (Phoenix: purchasing, organic)

[Hosic]

Hey guys, trying to figure what i need to do. Planted bermuda grass seed three weeks ago and all i got going on is weeds popping up like crazy.

What i did was mix the dirt up with a metal rake, probally a good 3-4 inches stirred up. Spreaded scotts seed along with a coating of scotts fertilizer. Did a quick rake job mixing the seeds up in the dirt. Now three weeks have gone by, with watering at 5am for 5 minutes and 5 minutes after sun down for first two weeks and once day for third week and i got nothing!

Where did i go wrong?

[Ponderosa]

I planted last week. Got some coming up now. I water for 5 minutes, 8 times a day! Also tossed a light layer of mulch over the seeds. Manure is probably better, but yuck! You can't let them dry out. I think that may be your problem.

[Finger Laker]

maybe not enough water ... maybe the temps not quite right .... germination likes it hot

I put some down two weekends ago and am just starting to get sprouts ... i have limited success getting grass in certain parts of my lawn .... i aerated, tilled the soil in my bare patches, added more soil w/fertilizer and then put down the seed ... covered with an organic topper over the bare patches and put on a starter fertilizer for the whole yard ...... i can only water 4x per day, but am keeping it wet ... starting to see a couple birds out there, but nothing like in the fall .... if it's not successful filling in the patches i'm not sure what to do.......

[EDnurse]

Originally Posted by Hosic

Hey guys, trying to figure what i need to do. Planted bermuda grass seed three weeks ago and all i got going on is weeds popping up like crazy.

What i did was mix the dirt up with a metal rake, probally a good 3-4 inches stirred up. Spreaded scotts seed along with a coating of scotts fertilizer. Did a quick rake job mixing the seeds up in the dirt. Now three weeks have gone by, with watering at 5am for 5 minutes and 5 minutes after sun down for first two weeks and once day for third week and i got nothing!

Where did i go wrong?

If you're getting a lot of weeds, I'd question quality of the seed.

Maybe you overdid the fertilizer?

Watering for 5 min twice a day is insufficient. You have to keep the soil moist for initial 2 weeks.

[madmmac]

Agree with EDnurse, not nearly enough water. The soil should not dry out....but here is the tough part, don't over water either.

You can only use a fertilizer that is meant for new lawns and they can't contain weed control in them.

Did you forget to run a roller over it to press the seed into the soil?

[Hosic]

Originally Posted by madmmac

Agree with EDnurse, not nearly enough water. The soil should not dry out....but here is the tough part, don't over water either.

You can only use a fertilizer that is meant for new lawns and they can't contain weed control in them.

Did you forget to run a roller over it to press the seed into the soil?

I didnt even know about rolling over it? What do u use?

[Darkitec]

I got my lawn to grow by watering 15 to 20 min twice daily, get the soil good and wet, min. 1 to 2 inches deep at each watering, early in the morning, about 5 or 6 am and late in the evening 8 or 9 pm so that it doesn't immediately evaporate away. There is a product called pre emergent that will keep the weeds to a minimum. Even with good seed there are a ton of weed seeds in the air and in the existing soil that will take over if not treated. You will get a better quality lawn with tiff grass sod (not available in seed form). Regular Bermuda will produce seeds that aren't very attractive, the Tiff is a hybrid bermuda that looks good even if you are away and can't mow it every week.

[lauramc27]

You need to water a lot more than 10 minutes a day. You will have to reseed and water I would say 20-30 minutes in the morning and same in the evening.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by lauramc27

You need to water a lot more than 10 minutes a day. You will have to reseed and water I would say 20-30 minutes in the morning and same in the evening.

Deep watering is important to maintain a lawn, but I don't think it does much but waste water during the germination phase. The key is to keep the seed moist at all times. Frequent shallow water (several times a day whenever it looks to be drying out) is what is needed. Just enough to wet the soil and seeds. A covering of mulch or manure is also necessary as the wind, sun and very dry air at this time of year will dry out the seed layer in no time without it. As the grass sprouts watering frequency can be decreased but time increased to be sure the water gets to the growing roots of the grass.

[AZ bound]

There seems to be a zillion different watering formulas.
You're right on schedule...........

Planting Bermuda Grass
The best time to plant Bermuda in the Phoenix area is in the middle of April. First, use a powered tiller to turn up the soil to a depth of at least 3 inches. Work in some compost during tilling and pay attention to the lawn contour. Ideally, the lawn should be a little bit higher in the center than on the borders to prevent puddling during watering.
Carefully plan the sprinkler layout. It is much harder to go back and move PVC pipes and sprinkler heads than it is to get it right the first time. Install the irrigation system and install any lawn borders, such as brick edges.
If planting common Bermuda, sow the grass seed using a drop spreader. Cover the seed with a thin layer of manure compost mix. This will keep birds off and help the seeds to stay moist. The mix can be spread using a fertilizer spreader, or by simply cutting open the bags and dragging them in a line while letting the mix steadily come out. The lines of mix can then be spread using a garden rake. Water the seed for ten minutes at a time, twice a day for the first three days. After this slowly taper off. The ground should be kept moist but not soaking wet. Typically, the grass will emerge within two weeks.
If planting hybrid Bermuda, prepare the soil the same way as is detailed above for planting seed. Sod should be placed on top of the prepared soil and watered similarly to a seeded lawn. Sod can be expensive, and Bermuda grass is very good a spreading out. Therefore, money can be saved by purchasing less sod than is required to plant the entire lawn and breaking the sod pieces into smaller sprigs which can be evenly spaced over a larger area.

Growing Bermuda Grass and Rye Grass In Phoenix Arizona