I do the 1"-1 1/4"/week watering but ony add fertilizer every few months (concerned I will burn it up). Have not added anything yet because our local extension agency recommends first fertilization after lawn has entirely greened up which it definately has not. There are no areas bad enough that I would feel new sod is necessary just an overall thinning (like my hair!:). I thought adding seed to the existing would thicken it up. The grass has not greened much so it is probably still in dormancy like you said iforgotitsonevermind. When I add fertilizer what ratio should I use? I've had a soil test done a few years back. The potassium and, I believe it is phosphate?, were at good levels. pH was fine too. Thanks.

I tend to shake off all the soil I can and then spread grass out with roots exposed to light and wind, usually on the wire fencing that surrounds my compost pile. When the plants are nice and crispy, then I add them to the compost. It is so moist here that I have found with the soil left clinging to the roots they start resprouting, even when left upside down on a hard surface. I guess you could leave it in a pile and then cover that with black plastic to keep it from getting remoistened or getting sun. It would be ugly for a bit, but you'd get some good composting going.

I know this is an old thread, but I'd like to add the knowledge I've gained from battling bermuda grass over the years using only organic methods. I live on heavy clay soil and the bermuda grass is heaviest over the leach fields of our septic system. Because I can't plant anything but grass on the fields, I added lots of planting beds near and around the fields where the bermuda is the thickest, but didn't know how much of a pain that was going to be. So, to say the least, I've been whacking at the bermuda for years and learned the following: Digging it up is an almost useless undertaking mainly because of our thick clay soil. There's always enough missed that the stuff comes back fairly quickly. This is especially true if digging it up near a sidewalk or driveway. There is plenty of rhizomes under the pavement. Burning the stuff with a propane torch is fun at first but grows old quickly when you start seeing new green growth the following day. I also can't do extended burning sessions because I'm usually doing a remedial removal with good plants near the bermuda. I'm lucky enough to not burn the plants I want. Boiling water held promise when I tried it despite risking killing roots of my wanted plants. Though my first attempt at this was incredibly dangerous (super propane burner under a giant stainless pot filled with boiling water and a smaller pot to scoop and pour the water out). I saw definite slowing of the regrowth but I couldn't risk doing it the way I was. So I devised a plan to turn my propane torch into a continuous hot water flame thrower by getting thin copper tubing, turning it into a coil, and attaching it to the end of the torch. With the hose attached to the other end and a valve to adjust the water volume, I was able to torch and pour boiling water on the bermuda at the same time. Unfortunately, the bermuda just kinda laughed at the rig and kept growing. Industrial strength vinegar (ie, 20% acetic acid, and yes I know that stuff is quite dangerous) works wonders to kill the top growth, but sadly it just grows back. Now if you're putting in a new bed, thick paper or cardboard under the added soil or mulch will work, but only if timed correctly, more about that to follow. So what's left that an organic gardener has to kill this grass? The final thing in my arsenal is black plastic and not clear plastic. I've tried the clear in another area, albeit it didn't have bermuda in it, but it did have johnson grass and it loved the clear. The johnson grass just kept on growing. The black plastic I've used is the stuff meant to go in crawl spaces as the moisture barrier. It's thick, heavy, and comes in really large sizes. And it withstands the elements very well. I've used one piece now for a year and it doesn't show any UV damage that most plastics would show. Now there's a trick with using the black plastic. You have to time it right. If you want to kill the bermuda, do not put it down in the early spring to take it up in early summer or late summer for late fall removal. Because bermuda goes dormant where I live, the spring time use of the plastic will not really kill it as it is probably still dormant under the plastic. But, the interesting part is the fall timing. As cooler temps approach in late summer, the bermuda starts going dormant even though it is still green. It starts storing more in its roots. So, even if you smother it then, it will come back in the spring. I learned this dearly when using the thick paper method of killing the stuff for a new bed. The paper did its job to kill the bermuda for that year, but in the following spring when the paper degraded in the soil, the bermuda came back with a vengeance. So time laying the plastic out in the early summer to at least late summer. That should ensure total removal. Of course, if you're paranoid, like me at times, leave it longer. Now, there's another problem with thick, black plastic. You really can't use it in already established beds because it will choke out your good plants and probably wreak havoc with your soil. It works wonders for killing this stuff before establishing new beds and for areas without plantings like walk paths. But what do you do with established plantings? This year I got a new weapon. Woven black plastic: http://www.groworganic.com/sunbelt-weed-fabric-3-x-50-roll.html The stuff lets air and moisture to pass through while keeping a total blackout for the soil surface. I haven't yet tried it on my bermuda as it is still dormant-ish, but I have some ready at first signs. It looks extremely promising as the material is thick and just as light blocking as the black plastic for a crawl space moisture barrier. And it should work just fine around my already established plantings.

My fear (not a realistic one and 100% not gonna happen) is that the ragweed and bermuda will cross-pollinate and create something like giant ragmuda weed. I don't know what thorny weeds you have there, but if they're the same ones we have here (greenbrier, from the Smilax family), they are awful. We have about 10 wooded acres and it is a real challenge just to maintain a 4' wide path through the woods because the greenbrier 'takes back' the path every summer during snake season when we do not venture into the woods. Even Chuck Norris probably doesn't mess with ragweed. You gave him great advice. I hope you made him sign a legal disclaimer releasing you from liability in case the bermuda swallows his dog, his vehicles and then the house. I think you could throw bermuda grass down on concrete and it would find a way to sprout and grow. He 'could' rototill and plant those sprigs, etc., etc., but that seems like an awful lot of work for bermuda grass and is totally unnecessary. The only plant I've ever seen that outgrows bermuda grass is St. Augustine in zone 8. I am not sure if St. Augustine would consistently win the war with bermuda in zone 7 or 6 since it can suffer winterkill when we have the occasional really, really cold night. Our next-door neighbor here had St. Augustine, and we're guessing it was Raleigh because that's the one sold here back during the time long ago when he planted it. His St. Augustine grew really well for many years, but one year we went down to 0 or 1 degree for a couple of nights, and I think his St. Augustine never recovered from that. For some reason, the dreadful bermuda grass recovers from everything.