Utah, You almost nailed it. Glyphosate sprayed four or five times over eight to ten weeks should keep bermuda out for a least for a few years. Bermuda grass is a perennial grass that spreads by stolons and rhizomes what you are doing each time you spray is killing the bermuda back to a point, because the herbicide can only translocate so far. Then when you spray again two weeks later whatever you did not kill the first time has rolled out new leaves is susceptible to the herbicide. By mowing after the first spray you may have reduced the efficacy of the herbicide. As far as the raking goes, any bermuda grass that did not get killed by the herbicide sprays quite possibly was spread around your yard with the rake. Your best bet bet would have been to spray and then left the yard alone for the winter. Then in the spring bring out the sod cutter and resod. However, if removing the dead sod is not an option I would just lay the new sod right on top of the dead sod. I would skip the top soil as well. The only advantage to bringing in topsoil is to level your yard if needed. When you bring in topsoil there is always the possibility that the topsoil will have some bermuda grass sprigs in it, and then your back where you started. Tilling is not necessary either all your going to do is spread the bermuda around. You might also need to raise any irrigation heads after sodding. If you don't have irrigation then I would suggest tall fescue it is much more drought tolerant. To keep the bermuda grass out of your new lawn make sure you keep a healthy actively growing lawn through out the summer. When and if the bermuda starts to come back you can spot spray it out with selective herbicides turflon and acclaim, if you go with tall fescue, and then reseed. If you go with KBG then just use round up on small spots and resod. Good luck.

auteck wrote: BTW, I think what you are refering to OCD is actually OCPD (obsesive Compulsive Personality Disorder) also known as "perfectionist Disorder". I used to think I was a perfectionist because I lived by the mantra "the right tool for the right job" and firmly believed in learning how to do something "the right way, the first time". Then I had to do a personality profile thing for my company a couple years back and it turns out that specific personality type is really "controlling". Turns out a perfectionist always completes the project and no matter how many times they "finish" they always believe it could have been better. Controllers however often refuse to start until they have everything they believe they need to do the job correctly. Go figure... -------------------- auteck wrote: Are you originaly from Miami? I'm originally from Detroit, MI, born and raised, but about three years ago I decided that anywhere *not* Michigan was the place for me and I loaded up my car with a couple loads of my clothes and drove down here - without an apartment or a job set up for me. Landed a job (web development) within 72 hours and had a roommate lined up within another three days from that. Completely spontaneously and with no real plan. Coincidentally, my wife moved up here to Nashville from Miami, FL to be near her sister who was pregnant within the same two weeks. I didn't manage to score a date with her until 12/21/05 but we've spent every day together since. You can say we met in the middle, rather senedipitously... especially when - even though we met online first - we happened to be living in the same apartment complex and recently planned to start attending the same church (not that I'm especially religious, but some hot chicks are) ;-p ------------------------ auteck wrote: On anothe note, I hate to be be the one to give you the bad news, but it appears that you have some bermudagrass showing in picture # 8. Considering that area of the yard was infested with bermudagrass and was a principle reason for the renovation, I'm not surprised. All of my "worst weeds areas" seem to be either where I was lazy with the tupersan application and/or I didn't ensure there was a thorough enough seed application. :sigh: I'll keep at the bermuda as tamed as possible by hand and then hit it with another application of tupersan as well in a month or so...

I would recommend visiting their website and reading everything there, and all of the posts in the forums before starting. I'll put the url at the bottom. This is probably not a good time to seed RTF, because it's a cool season grass. Your best bet is to seed it in the fall or the spring. I didn't mow short, but I concentrated on spots that had gone dormant due to low moisture. I used a "garden weasel" (like a rake/hoe/tiller) to stir the dirt, then spread the seed by grabbing a handful and tossing it on the ground. I wasn't too concerned with uniform coverage, because I figure that over time, I'll keep replacing the KBG with RTF. I don't have objections to using peat moss (I know some people are concerned about environmental impact, but I found a Canadian website that said that it is replenishing faster than it is getting harvested). When I planted the RTF, though, I had a bunch of compost available, so I used it instead. If I had a lot of readily available sawdust, I would probably use that, although using sawdust may increase the need for nitrogen. I was gone a lot right after I planted, so I set the sprinklers to run a few minutes each morning and evening until the grass sprouted. I then stopped watering. I think I had some grass die because it didn't have a chance to get good roots before I stopped watering. This fall, I plan to overseed with a mixture of RTF and Roadcrest Crested Wheatgrass in much of the lawn. I'll probably mow relatively short, then core areate, then seed, then spread some peat (no compost to speak of this year). I'll probably use a spreader this year, since I'll be doing the entire lawn. I'll probably also repeat the process in the spring, when I'll be able to monitor the watering a little better (less travel, I hope), and in May, I'll be planting a patch of buffalo grass in another section of the lawn.

The best solution for weed control is a healthy lawn. Lush, thick Bermuda grass will choke out most weeds and along with Bermuda hybrids, it is the best choice for a lawn in the Phoenix area. It will stay green until the first freeze (usually about Dec. 1) and begin greening up in March if not overseeded. There are two classes of weeds - grasses and broadleaf (clover, spurge, London rocket, etc.). If you have broadleaf weeds, use a product containing 2-4-D which will not harm the Bermuda. Your Spectracide does not kill Bermuda but is effective on a wide range of broadleaf weeds. It also comes with a warning not apply to Bermudagrass when daytime temperatures exceed 85° F. The poa annua will be dying as soon as warmer weather arrives, if its not dead already. Using Round Up now may not kill the existing bermuda. The active ingredient (glyphosate) needs to be translocated to the underground rhizomes and roots as well as the stolons, and it won't do this until the grass is actively growing when its hot - May - September. To reseed your lawn, wait until mid May when night time temperatures are consistently above 65 degrees to seed more Bermuda. Here's a link to the steps on seeding a Bermuda lawn. FYI, The seeded variety 'Princess' is a seed producing hybrid variety. It is legally termed a hybrid, due to the arrangement and selection of seed producing parent plants in production fields. 'Princess' produces a lawn which looks much finer then most other seeded types of Bermuda plants and is darker green in color.