Yeah I have to agree with Texas-weed. A shorter summer means the Bermuda has less time to recover before going dormant again so it is definitely more risky to overseed with rye the shorter your warm season is. Now, back to leveling. I would like some more opinions about the soil I should use. Sharp sand vs rich mix. I looked up what the rich mix has and it is 47% topsoil, 30% "clean sand", 12% compost/manure and 3% gypsum. That doesn't add to 100 but it's close. I have used this stuff before in garden beds so I know that the consistency is good, screened well, etc. I would love to use it for nutrients it would provide vs sand but I dont want so much o it to decompose that in a couple of years it's like I didnt put anything down. So with that lets hear some more opinions. Oh, I also purchased a used tru cut 20" reel today with 4 hp Honda engine. The shop is sharpening/adjusting it and then it's ready to go! Anyone ever tried to make a homemade roller bar to replace the front casters? 200 bucks for a roller on a 550 dollar used tru cut seems a little much. Just curious...

Hard decisions, huh? I don't know where you can buy zoysia plugs though except for one place online (Empire and El Toro but is it worth it?). The best ones are sold by half pallet or full pallet (450 sqft). I like Palisades zoysia the most (more than st augustine that I grow now) but like bermuda, they will take over plant beds, etc and it would require expensive barrier to keep them out. the biggest pluses is that they have better shade tolerant and requires far less mowing and fertilizing. I had planned on getting them but I balked because I had no confidence that it could keep compete with bermuda but it's a moot point anyway. It will still invade st augustine lawn. I planted a lot of trees so that will help st augustine compete with bermuda with no problem as it was obvious at my mom's when maintained the right way.

We purchased our house back in Dec 28 2013 and the builder installed Bermuda grass. We live in Atlanta, GA and had several freezes shortly after they installed the sod. We are now in June and I believe most of my sod is dead (winter kill?) some spots are growing and no longer dormant but 90% dead. I hired a company to spray fertilizer and post emergent as we had weeds to help fix the problem with no success. I watered plenty but the water runs off quickly and does not penetrate. I am able to still pull up the slabs of Bermuda and no roots are connected and they look black underneath and the dead grass just breaks apart in your hands. What would you recommend? Plugs? Seeding? I do not want to spend lots of money (5000 sq ft ) with re-sodding ($200/pallet x8)...I'm fighting with the builder (Dr Horton) to get this replaced but they have mentioned landscaping is not warrantable. Ultimately I want a healthy lawn, want to aerate and sand as necessary to look as great as the pictures above. What steps should I take to get my lawn alive and well ? I read a post about using alfalfa pallets to stimulate root growth? I am new to this and these posts help out tremendously . I appreciate you time and help! All feedback is welcome. Please see the attached picture.

S'pose I autta throw in my 2 cents.... Virtually every single house (with very few exceptions) in my neighborhood has bermudagrass. 99% of all the homeowners with bermudagrass mow around 1-1/2" to 2" up to maybe 3" with rotary mowers, and most the lawns look okay. Some mow way too infrequently & their lawns really look like $#!+. Very few mow very low/short (one guy in particular with a Lawn Boy about a block away) and no matter how hard he tries he leaves the dreaded rotary swirl marks. If you really want the thick dense short fairway looking bermudagrass there's only one way to do it..... Buy a reel mower. Keep your Murray....you say you got it running again? Mine's 8 years old now, I use it from time to time to mow the neighbor's lawn (he's up in years & health not so good) and I also use it to do clean up in spring/fall. You could use yours in that area of creek frontage & stuff. Now that it's running again, take care of it. Change the oil each year. Keep the blade sharp. Always use Sta-Bil in every can of gas you buy for your lawn equuipment. You can use your rotary Murray to mow while you decide what reel to buy. (Or while you look for a reel to buy.) You've obviously read many of the posts in this forum so I won't belabor the opinions of which brand is best. (But the Tru-Cut is best) 8^) Is it foolish (or necessary) to really want both? Nope. Keep ur current rotary. If you really feel you need to upgrade the rotary, go ahead, but if you take care of the one you have, it'll last longer than you think. Splurge for the reel so you can have the golf course look you want (Buy a used one if you don't wanna spring for new, I did & only spent around half.) I get many comments of praise from friends/relatives who come by to visit, but what really makes it worth it is when folks I don't even know just stop to tell me how good it looks. It seems to make it all worth while. You can't make it look like this with a rotary: My 2 cents.... Good day, Dan