I want to make my grass greener..

[brownthumb]

Do you have some advice or tips to make my bermuda grass greener? Pls help

[MasterComposter]

Where are you located?

It's still so early in the season, that most bermuda grass is still dormant.

Bermuda likes hot weather, and it goes dormant and turns brown over the winter.

So it might just be that it hasn't taken off for spring yet.

Bermuda also turns brown and goes dormant during a drought if it doesn't get enough water. But that's good news, because it doesn't completely die like many types of grasses if you don't water it.

For greening up grass in general, I like adding large amounts of compost (see my previous post about that), and sometimes using an organic grass fertilizer. I'm using one now made from catfish parts that you can water in with a hose. It's called Mega Green.

[brownthumb]

Thanks masterComposter for the response. I'll try that Mega Green Fertilizer...

I also heard about adding some Epsom Salt in watering grass to make it greener..have you heard about that too? is it effective to use?

[george]

Originally Posted by brownthumb

Thanks masterComposter for the response. I'll try that Mega Green Fertilizer...

I also heard about adding some Epsom Salt in watering grass to make it greener..have you heard about that too? is it effective to use?

I wouldn't put salt on the grass - that tends to have some pretty terrible effects on soil. There's a reason that very few plants grow on the beach - salt tolerance is a rare trait.

Have you tried a natural fertilizer that's high in Nitrogen? Fish emulsions, chicken poo, and worm castings are the one's that I've had the best luck with. Best of all, natural fertilizers are balanced so you don't have to worry about nitrogen washing away and harming creeks or lakes around your house.

Green lawns are attractive - green lakes (from algae blooms) aren't.

[brownthumb]

Thanks too george! That's a lot of info..

[Luna]

Generous doses of nitrogen in natural fertilizers and constant watering is what keeps my mom's bermuda grass green most of the time. Also, make sure to check for pests and animal waste. Sometimes they keep the grass from looking healthy no matter how hard you try to. Regular maintenance (mowing, weeding, repairing bare patches) is a must to help maintain the lawn's health too.

[cococrab]

Check your lawn for dryness. One way is to push a screwdriver for at least 6 inches into the ground. If it goes down without any hardness, it means that your lawn gets enough moisture. Try this on several areas of you lawn to check for dry spots. Goodluck!

[MasterComposter]

Epsom Salt is not salt, but magnesium sulfate. And it is an acceptable organic additive for the lawn.

Here's a thread in the organic gardening section of Gardenweb about Epsom Salt on the lawn.

If you read the package on Epsom Salt, they also mention how much to use when growing things like tomatoes and peppers, and also how much to add to your grass.

I just posted another thread about how I recently added Epsom Salt to my own organic garden where I am growing tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and beans.

[honeylemon]

Daily mowing with a precision lawn mower can be of help too, for maintaining your grass green.

[honeylemon]

Mowing height varies from 1/2" to 2" depending on the type of Bermuda grass that you have.

For some hybrid like Tifgreen, Tifdwarf, Champion, FloraDwarf, Midlawn, Midfield & Tiffine, can be cut as low as 1/8".

Set your mower to lower than the usual when the soil temperature is about 55 to remove dead top-growth as possible, but don't mow as low as 1/2" or this could harm your grass.

Bag clippings for the first mowing of the season.

Lawn should turn green at the temperature of 60 to 65 and by then you can mow at normal height of 2" for common Bermuda grass.

[cococrab]

Remember that you should never reduce your lawn's height by more than 1/3 when mowing as this could result to scalping and can take longer time to recover. This is not good because the grass would become more susceptible to stress and further damage.

[sakura]

Aside from giving your lawn the nutrients it needs to make it greener, I recommend also doing regular check-ups on the soil (for it's pH balance can affect your grass' health), diseases (fungi infection, pests etc), dog or animal urine, weeds and other parasite plants, insects and other animals like gophers that dig below and destroy your soil.

[dandelion]

It's so nice reading this post. I never thought there are different types of Bermudas. They seem to be the same around specially if they are well- maintained and cared for.

[rosiethumb]

Originally Posted by george

Have you tried a natural fertilizer that's high in Nitrogen? Fish emulsions, chicken poo, and worm castings are the one's that I've had the best luck with. Best of all, natural fertilizers are balanced so you don't have to worry about nitrogen washing away and harming creeks or lakes around your house.
.

Worm castings are okay but i got issues with chicken poo and fish emulsions. Applying them might attract flies and ants. and if the chicken poo is not thoroughly dried, it stinks like crazy because of the very high uric acid content.

[fleurdelys]

I use chicken poo as well but dry them thoroughly for a few days before adding them in, and I only add a small amount compared to the other scraps I add.

[amber]

I've learned adding the ff amounts of Epsom salt when used for lawns:

Apply three pounds per 1250 square feet (25’x 50’)
Apply six pounds per 2500 square feet (50’x 50’)
Apply twelve pounds per 5000 square feet (50’x 100’)