Boy this subject is getting a lot of traction this year. Yep by looking at the picture of your hand is Bermuda seed heads. So all I can say what is the problem? Seed heads are normal and caused by two things, stress and maturity. Stress is caused by many things most notably hot dry weather, drought, low soil fertility, PH levels, etc. The seed heads is a defense mechanism to preserve itself Maturity is letting the grass grow and it produces seed heads like any plant does to preserve itself and reproduce. It is possible you may be over watering or under watering. Being in Phoenix depending exactly where you are your soil type. or lack of soil I should say could be mountain granite rubble and sand, to out west toward Gilbert where soils tend to be sandy loam where all the commercial farming is. Also in Phoenix water tends to be salty. You need to learn how to let your grass tell you when to water by looking at it, then when needed soak it. With that said I just moved to the north of you up in Prescott. Right now we have to water every morning because like Phoenix we do not have soil, we have rubble and sand and thes 80/90 degree temps with bone dry air just sucks the water right out of everything. There is nothing in the soil to hold moisture. In Phoenix the problem is compounded with 100/110 temps, bone dry air, and being in the low valley you do not even cool off much at night like we do up here. So the answer to your water question does depend completely on your soil type. If it is the sandy gravel crap you will have to water everyday, and approach fertilizing differently. With th everyday watering and soiless conditions purges all nutrients out quickly as there is nothing to hold nutrients.

Dear bmorepanic, Thank you very much for your inquiry. Yours is a interesting case to say to the least. I am wondering about the shade issues back here in this garden area. Can you give me some more information? If the area is shady, Poa trivialis or Poa supina would be great choices in this area. Both of these are bluegrasses and will tolerate the damp, shady conditions. Please give me more environmental information if this does not help. Again, thanks for the question and let me know if you have more. Respectfully Trey Rogers The Yard Doctor

I know this is an old thread, but it set me on a path of sheet mulching after exhausting most avenues (including chemicals). I have used two layers of heavy duty cardboard under 3" to 4" of cedar mulch with great success. Any gap or crack the Bermuda will get through. So really, the cardboard is 4 layers thick in places. This is heavy duty cardboard that I purchased at big box store and it is labeled as such. Also I collected from packages and any place I could get my hands on it. Thin cardboard and paper will not work. Raised beds have been used to grow vegetable crops year round (tunnels in the winter). There are spots here and there where it comes up. I use a garden fork to get down to the roots, remove as much as I can and then layer back some more cardboard/mulch. Most of the grass we do fight is on the borders. The places in the middle of what was the lawn is always on the top of mulch and comes up easily. Portions of this cardboard/mulch has been converted to meadow by direct sowing on the mulch and no Bermuda has appeared. This was done 4 years after that area was covered (just when we got around to doing it). No chemical has ever been used (except when it WAS a lawn). The back yard is 75' x 35' and was half common Bermuda and the other section was Tiff Eagle mixed with Princess 77. The Tiff and Princess 77 were much easier to deal with and no sign of them. The common Bermuda is just a weed at this point. We have started our front yard in the same manner and look forward to a meadow with micro clover path/borders. We hardly see June bugs (sorry, do not know the scientific name of them) due to far less white grubs. Skunks, which like the grubs, are no longer digging up the yard. Earthworms are in abundance (they like the cardboard). We have cut our water bill to 1/3 of what it was. We no longer need to apply all the chemicals to keep the lawn green and pristine. I still like a good swath of turf, but I will leave that to the golf courses and sporting fields (time and money). Long post of rambling, but my two cents. I know it is somewhat costly to do this, but it was still cheaper than the water bill for a summer and the chemical additions. Far cheaper.

Rotivating will live with you for the next 3 years as your soil surface becomes bumpier and bumpier. The problem is the machine kicks and bucks up when it hits hard soil, rocks, roots, or anything buried. It also digs in deep when it hits a soft or moist spot. What you end up with is an underlying profile that is hills and valleys. As the fluffy soil on top settles, it settles down to the profile underneath the surface. Give it three years to settle before you begin to level it. Did you roll the surface after putting the seed down? In the states we use a water fillable roller to press the seed in. In your case it would have also helped to flatten your surface.