Photos are a big help. Also get your soil test done at Logan Labs. Just follow the procedure on their website. Note: when you sample, take a profile of soil from the surface down to about four inches (or six). Do not dig down four inches and then sample at that depth.

Yes what he said...also discard the top layer of grass in your sample. You only want the soil benieth the grass.

Wow, thats an S load of sq. footage ! What kinda mower do you have?

Will do with the soil sample, I will try to get those in the mail this week. Right now I have a 52 inch rider that I mow with, but I'm looking for a reel mower.

Reels are nice.. Expensive too.. When I had zoysia it was $1000 for entry new model :( I stuck with my Honda lol

I live in the copperas cove area its right by Fort Hood and Killeen, about an hour north of austin. I really appreciate the info and I will be getting on that soil sample, im really excited about getting my yard back to where it needs to be. As for the organics can those be bought at a feed store or do i have to buy the expensive stuff at the local nursery? Thnaks

If you read the ingredients of many organic fertilizers you find the same ingredients as in pet food. Those would be alfalfa, soy, corn, wheat, cottonseed, and several other grains, nuts, seeds, beans, and some animal byproducts. If you get those raw materials at a feed store the cost will be about 1/6 as much (per 1,000 square feet) as the commercially bagged organic fertilizers. For example 50 pounds of corn costs about $8 this year whereas 30 pounds of commercially bagged organic fertilizer costs $30. Shop around. If you were going to buy a commercially bagged product, Medina brand Growin' Green is the fertilizer I would design if I could design a fertilizer. Milorganite might be on sale at about half price ($8) this time of year.

As for this time of year, if you are going to apply organics, only get enough for this application. Don't let it sit in the garage for the winter or else it will be 1/3 bugs next spring. I still use it even though it's buggy, but it's a little more icky with all the bugs and bug poop in it. Still valuable - just icky. If you find you bought too much, you may as well just spread it. It won't hurt a thing on the ground.

Great I will look around at the feed store and see what they have. You mentioned the height of mowing, I currently cut on my mowers setting 3 which after measuring the yard cuts it at about 2 inches, Whats the best way to start working the grass down to a proper height? I know when I cut my yard now ( once a week) it leaves brown patches all over. Also is it too late in the season to start to lower my cutting height or can I still bring it down and have it ready for the winter months? Thanks

End of One inch cycle

Looks awesome! You should be proud!

Bermuda is tough, so it will bounce back. My method for dropping the height of cut is to take it down 1 or 2 notches lower than you really want it, live with brown for a week & let it make a new canopy for you. If you just drop down to the height you want it may look good the first time, but the brown stems will be too close to the surface & it will quickly start to look like in the first pic I posted above. So it's kind of a 2-steps backward, 1-step forward process. I'll carry this 1.25" until it all turns brown for the winter, then scalp it back to life once the sun comes back in Feb.

You should definitely look into those pro-mow towable reel gangs--Way cheaper to own & operate than a dedicated reel & you can tow it with your current mower, so it's the best of both worlds for all that square footage. That said, I find a sharp rotary mower to be just as effective as a reel, but of course it does make swirl marks now & then when it's time for the deck to move, as above.

Wow your photos are crazy, you sure that wasn't photo shopped? ;) I will look into a tow able reel and see what i can do about lowering the height of my yard. thanks for all the replies

Bermuda will quickly give you a spotty look if mowed wrong or with a dull blade, so keep that in mind. My method isn't very special or scientific, but it makes for a consistent color at any time. Bermuda can take a lot of abuse & won't burn up in the sun, so have fun with it--you can't kill it with anything but shade. You will have mountains of clippings, so work on your soil biology to help break it all down. If it starts getting scraggly & tall looking, check that thatch layer & dont let it build up.

Hey I have some pictures of my lawn on my phone, can someone tell me the easiest way to post them. Is there an app for that?

There's a little camera icon below the text window.

Got my soil samples sent off on Monday and can't wait to get the results. Where do I post them so Morpheous can see them?

bryantom: Just start a new thread. Title it something like "Got Logan Labs Results, Need Help" or something to that effect. Morpheus will sniff it out like a bloodhound and will help you.

(sniff sniff) Nope, no results yet.

Holy cow I'm going crazy waiting on my results from my soil test. I sent them off last monday oct 5 and still have not received my results. Does it normally take this long??

Sometimes. If you happen to hit a busy period (fall and spring both being busy) then it can take a bit.

If you don't have it by tomorrow, I'd knock off an e-mail query to Logan.

Only when you're really anxious to see the results!

YES!!!! Got my invoice this morning and they said I should have my results later today. Will get them posted as soon as I receive them.