Well I'm shocked!! I had no idea bermuda needed so much fertilizer. I've been reading all the other posts on bermuda. Here is the real problem, or part of it at least. Our yard is part bermuda and part bluegrass. No we didn't plant this mess, we inherited it 40 years ago. Since it's mixed, I never know what to do so I've been fertilizing once in spring and later in the fall. In the past few years this neighborhood has changed so much and really now I'm the only one in this area who tries to do a decent job on the grass. The others mostly only mow when the city gets after them. Of course I am now fighting weeds and dandelions all the time. It's really disheartening, especially now that I'm 74 and wearing out. But I'm not giving up!! If I put on lots more nitrogen, maybe I can crowd out some of these weeds. The thing that worries me is, it's getting hot here now, and can I really keep enough water on it? Sometimes we are rationed on water. I have about 5000 sq ft of grass. How much nitrogen should I go for? I know I have rambled on here, but maybe you all can sort out this and give me an answer.

Lawn Guy, Carolyn gave You an me...lol..a Fine Answer. Dont worry one bit about that white mold, it's simply the Quick Action of natural decomposition, it's gonna Help yo Soil, Always...))) It's a Pretty thing, actually, to see...))) Those clippins are gonna give Back, to the Earth,their power, their nutritive value, an the mold is simply another Beautiful process, in naturally breakin them down, to be restored as soil Nutrient, eventually. You are bein a Friend, to yo Garden soil, by employin them. GL...))) Good Question, an i perfectly understand tryin to cover All the Bases...)))

If the fungi coming up are isolated from trees and shrubs I would think it isn't Armillaria. Armillaria is a type of fungi that invaginates the roots of trees and feeds off the live parts of the tree, effectively attacking it and, if left unchecked, will eventually kill the whole tree. To ID it as being Armillaria there are a couple of thingsto look for. 1. Their caps are often dry and sandpapery, but MAY be slightly slimey too. 2. Armillaria will have a 'skirt' or a ring high up on its stem. 3. Most harmless fungi have a brown coloured spore deposits, but Armillaria has white spore deposits, you can check by running your fingers on the 'gills' under the cap. (Wash hands well after it) If you do a google image search for it, you'll be able to see the bits I've described. There's another fungi that looks like Armillaria, but is harmless to living plants. It's cap will be smooth and it will have brownish spore deposits like I mentioned before, it's also almost reddish, like a dark paprika colour. This fungus feeds on dead wood, so it's harmless to your plants. If you can't tell for sure, I'd contact your local horticultural school to try and arrange a positive ID. They should be able to do this for you, or at least point you in the right direction. If it does turn out to be Armillaria, you should contact and arborist to sort out how to get rid of it (I know I would...). Good luck with it, genevieve. Jim

Yes i have been advised to cut back on my watering. How far down should i mow. I mow at my heighest setting which the book say is 3.75 but i sont believe that to be true as i have blades that are 5 inches in height after mowing.