Mowing Issue on my 419

13 years ago

So... after many posts and receiving lots of wonderful advice... my 419 lawn is on its way back. With the frequent mowing, lime application and monthly N things were looking up. But... now everytime I mow (Scotts Classic 20) the grass yellows/browns in stripes within a few days. This has been going on for about 6 weeks. I thought that I was taking too much off at once but I do not think that is the case all together. We also had a severe grasshopper infestation and sprayed. I raised the mower and took very little off and it is worse than ever this time. We have now gone 4 weeks without rain at my house and have had consistant 97 plus degrees for about the same (we have been 100+ for 2 weeks). I am giving it the recommended water but it doesn't seem to be phasing it at all! I was so proud of it and now I am getting bummed.

Any ideas of what I am doing wrong or what I need to do to help it? It is now getting too long becasue I am scared to mow it as often.

I would also like to know from someone what the common setting is on this mower for the 419. BTW... I do love the mower but it is getting harder to push. Infact, one of the areas that is yellowing/browning so bad is where the grass was very thick and while I was pushing it it was "skipping"/mowing real choppy. I need to get the length down to where it was happy but I am afraid to take too much off. My lawn is not very level so I was trying to do it by just moving it down a notch every time I mowed. I was not able to do that too many times before I got the problem.

OH... am I nuts or do I remember reading "somewhere" that I am to skip the N application in August? I am due for it.

I appreciate all comments/advice/help. Afterall... you all put up with my rambling and brought my yard back to life! THANK YOU!!!

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Comments (5)

texas_weed
13 years ago
Tifway Crazy my bet is it is the weather, and you are just not getting enough water down. I am up in Dallas and most Bermuda lawns around have gone dormant. Only those who water well have nice green lawns.

Tell me how you know you are watering enough?
tifway_crazy
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for your interest. I really do try to measure when I water. I put out shallow straight side dishes and wait til I have an inch.on my well, this can vary but it is usually around 3 hours with my rotary sprinklers. I am doing this at least once a week. What is strange is that it will green up well after I water (if I did not mow right before) but then every time I mow, I get the stripes.
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As to the comments on golf greens must be talking about northern golf courses that use Bent Grass and other cool season grasses in the fairways and rough. Tifway-I aka 419 is a semi dwarf Bermuda grass developed specifically for golf courses in a joint venture by the USDA, Georgia Coastal Plain Experiment Station, and the U.S. and Southern Golf Associations in Tifton Georgia. It was breed to be cut very short. If cut every other day the grass blade and stolons will grow horizontally along the ground forming a very tight turf of sod. If allowed or not mowed frequently enough both stolons and grass blades will start to grow vertically to compete for sun light. When it does that it will thin out as the grass below it gets shaded out and starts to die off. You can grow Tifway-I higher than 1 inch if you wish, but understand the consequences. Those with rotary mower have no choice. With a rotary mower \, even with a reel mower you are going to have to raise the cutting height as summer goes along and the grass thickens up. Even golf courses wiht Bermuda fairways have to raise cutting heights a bit as summer progresses except for the greens. For the greens they have a secret you cannot duplicate very easily. They verticut, punch holes, and top dress with sand every few weeks. What happens as summer progresses the growth rate explodes. The grass thickens up so tight it literally pushes itself up growing layer upon layer. If you take your fingers and dig through the grass you will see what I mean. It will be layers upon layers of stolon growth making a tight fabric like material. You really have to dig hard to get through to find dirt.
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David Moore zone 6a nw new jersey
13 years ago
Could your blade be very dull?
tifway_crazy
Original Author
13 years ago
I would hope not. I purchased the mower this past april/may. How can I tell?
dwrecktor
13 years ago
"How can I tell?"

Perform paper cut test. Turn mower over to exposed bedknife on bottom. Take a 1" strip of paper and insert between bedknife and reel blade. Turn blade in cutting direction. If blade cuts paper then that part of that blade is good. Now repeat across entire length of bedknife for every blade. If you're not getting good cuts, you'll have to adjust the bedknife by turning the two screws on each side of the mower. Do a search on backlapping for more info.

In a perfect world every blade should cut the paper across the entire length of the bedknife, but what I've found w/ manual push reel mowers is that it's highly unlikely, they're just not that precise of machines. But if you can get most of the blades cutting across about 80% the bedknife, you can still get a decent cut. You'll just have to do some overlap.

Mowing Issue on my 419

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texas_weed

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Mowing Issue on my 419

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texas_weed

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