Bermuda Lawn Dominators

Mastering Lawn Care: Fertilizers, Turf Wars, and Boosting Your Lawn's Green Appeal

• Skip Wheeler & Jason Crain • Season 1 • Episode 4

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Strap in lawncare warriors, as we unlock the secrets of lawn fertilizers and dive into the great debate of granular versus liquid applications. We're thrilled to have Chris Spangler, a St Augustine and Bermuda grass enthusiast, share his personal battles in the turf wars, specifically his mission to boost St Augustine while keeping Bermuda Grass at bay.  

We then move on to the battlefield tools - understanding the complex world of lawn fertilizers and sprayers. We'll teach you how to decipher the numbers on your fertilizer bag, choose between organic and synthetic options, and talk about timing for spring application. 

To wrap up, we admire and discuss the creative genius behind Aaron Wickham's internet-winning lawn display of Mount Rushmore. Plus, we answer Raymond Pickett's burning question about using iron to enhance the green in Bermuda grass and dig into the benefits of using chelated iron. So, whether you’re a seasoned lawncare pro or just starting your green journey, let's grow together as we navigate the four tenants of fantastic lawns. Let's get our hands dirty and our lawns greener, shall we?

Jason:

Welcome to the Bermuda Lawn Dominators podcast, the one stop destination for all things lawn care. We're here to unlock the secrets to achieving a pristine and envy inducing lawn. I'm Jason Crane and I'm here with Skip Wheeler and Chris Sprangler. We're not experts, just passionate about lawns.

Announcer:

Bermuda lawn dominators get the grass. You need all four tenants, no water, fertilizing weed. You'll go to the stop just to help your lawn. You'll be proud to walk outside to see the change that's undergone. Bermuda lawn dominators, let's go greener together.

Skip:

Today, we continue our look into the four tenants of lawn care, which are mowing, watering, fertilizing and weeding. In this episode, we're rolling up our sleeves and getting our hands dirty as we explore a topic that's essential to a healthy and vibrant lawn. We're diving headfirst into the fascinating world of lawn fertilizers. Whether you're a seasoned lawn expert or a budding lawn aficionado, this episode is for you. Fertilizer, often referred to as a secret sauce of lawn care, plays a vital role in nurturing your grass, providing it with the nutrients it needs to thrive and create a lush, envy inducing carpet of green. But first we're going to quench our thirst with the Lawn Beer of the Week.

Announcer:

Welcome to the Lawn Beer of the Week, where we motivate your lawn care with a side of hoppy happiness. Join us as we sip on refreshing brews that pair perfectly with tending to your lawn. Get ready to enjoy some grassy goodness and raise a glass to a lawn well done All right, jason.

Jason:

What do we got All right? this week we have another kolch. That's what we started with on the first episode. But this is the Real Elle Brewing Company. It's their cruiser, kolch.

Skip:

Where are they out of.

Jason:

They are out of some place I don't know.

Skip:

Oh okay. Well, you were able to get it.

Jason:

Oh, right up the road from us in.

Skip:

Blanko, texas. Okay, great, yeah, so, but you're able to get it at Spex, i think Is that where you got it.

Jason:

I got this at H-E-B - at the grocery store, so you should be able to get it pretty much anywhere.

Chris:

Yeah.

Skip:

Have you seen this one before, Chris?

Chris:

Never have, nope.

Skip:

All right, try these and see what we think.

Jason:

Now, this is supposed to be a light beer. It's supposed to be light, they say, walking the line between an ale and a lager, supposed to have some fruity taste to it. Too much like the first colch that we had.

Skip:

Oh yeah, I remember that.

Announcer:

Which I think you liked pretty well, i did like it.

Skip:

Yeah, I like this one too. All right, It is a little got a little bit of a fruity taste to it, Yeah, So I looked into the beers a little more and I've read this a long time ago but I was kind of researching this a little bit.

Jason:

But they have different. So an ale uses yeast that's fermented on top, yeah, and then loggers is fermented on the bottom. It's a different kind of yeast, and the ale it's a warm fermentation, where loggers it has to be cold. And so what they do with these is they ferment them on top in warm temperatures And then, after they ferment it, then they cool them down like you would a logger. So it kind of you kind of get the best of both worlds with these. So it's kind of they call them hybrids.

Skip:

Okay, actually, yeah, well, i really like it. Yeah, what do you think, chris?

Chris:

Think it's refreshing. Yeah, it's nice.

Skip:

Okay, well, today we're going to talk about fertilizing, so that's one of the major getting into the real stuff right. So you're mowing, taking care of, you get your watering taking care of, and the next level is fertilizer. Fertilizing yeah, well, today we got a special guest, chris Spangler, and it is nice to have you here, chris. He's part of the Bermuda Lawn Dominators Facebook group and has been since the beginning, but he has a unique perspective, because what kind of grass do you have?

Chris:

Add a little diversity to the group. I'm a St Augustine guy. I've got St Augustine in the front lawn. I've got a mix of Bermuda and St Augustine in the backyard that is quite the turf. We're going on in the backyard.

Skip:

It is, are you? are you trying to make one win and one take over and one lose, or just letting it go?

Chris:

It may get me kicked out of the group but I'm trying to get St Augustine on the whole lot. But that Bermuda is tough.

Jason:

Yeah.

Skip:

Yeah, The Bermuda is hard to get rid of. So what are you doing to encourage the St Augustine versus the?

Chris:

Bermuda. So I've read Cut it nice and high. I'm cutting about three and a half inches. It's supposed to, that St Augustine is supposed to shade out the Bermuda, so the Bermuda can't grow. It's not been my experience, though. I'm going on three years and the Bermuda is just as tall and is just as thick as the St Augustine.

Skip:

Yeah, have you tried any Bermuda specific weed-killers?

Chris:

I haven't. I hate. I'm not a huge pesticide fan. I want to try to use that as least as possible. So if it ends up, i've got a blend. The grass is green and everybody says it looks nice. It's just it irks me, having you know, the spring mix of sorts.

Jason:

Yeah, oh yeah, you know. I watched the video of a guy who actually had that on purpose. He had St Augustine because it grew so much better in the shade and he had some big trees. So under the trees, st Augustine, and on the other, the sunny side of the lawn, is Bermuda.

Chris:

So ironically, i've got a lot of alive oaks and everywhere that there's tree, the tree shade is St. Augustine, in the middle of my yard that's exposed to the most sun, is where the Bermuda is thriving.

Skip:

So, maybe it worked out that way. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Well, I don't think it gets you kicked out. I think a lot of the tenants of lawn care are universal 100%.

Chris:

I've learned so much from all these Bermuda lovers for sure.

Skip:

Yeah, what is it that I mean? obviously you're not going to mow with a real mower. Probably I wouldn't think You don't need to mow that low and that's generally what that's for. But what are some of the things that you feel do cross over?

Chris:

really well. Oh, the weed prevention, everything all the tenants that you talk about in this podcast all apply to my lawn as well. I've got some unique challenges with St Augustine, with fungus and a brown patch and a lot of other things that maybe are unique to my lawn, but the fundamentals are the same.

Skip:

Yeah, i would think so. Mow water, fertilize and weed, that's it. If you get those four things that's what we always say is you get those four things under control, whether you have Bermuda, whether you have St Augustine, it will. Yeah, even even the cool weather grasses.

Jason:

Yeah, it's pretty much the same thing. Yeah, and where I came from, i had St Augustine in the front and Bermuda in the back and, and I found it to be true to the, a lot of these things crossover. You know, it's just the mowing height is the big big difference, mm-hmm.

Chris:

And according to y'all's first episode, st Augustine is so easy to master.

Skip:

It was easier. For me It is. It's pretty low maintenance compared to the Bermuda from what.

Jason:

I'm not having to sand and level and do all of the things, yeah, well, you know, whenever I moved into that house, we were in the middle of this huge drought no outside watering, there's a little patch of St Augustine between two trees in the front yard. And then, about a month later, it was torrential rains, floods, everything. We're out of the drought. All the lakes are full, we can water. Now that St Augustine Just spread, i didn't really have to do anything much but keep it watered and it spread through the whole yard.

Skip:

Yeah, that's what I found with mine as well. My last house we had St Augustine as long as I kept it watered. Now it did take a lot more water.

Announcer:

Yeah, my Bermuda. Yeah, as long as I kept it watered and fertilized.

Skip:

I didn't really have to deal with weeds. Yeah, I mean either spot spraying here and there, but that was it.

Jason:

I don't think I ever even spot sprayed. I would be pre-emergent, but by the time the the Bermuda, i mean the St Augustine came out dormancy, it would start choking out the weeds right then well, i'm glad you find value in the Bermuda lawn dominators Facebook group.

Skip:

It's not just for Bermuda people. We've thought about changing the name, but most people in the south have Bermuda now, especially if it's a new build in the last several years.

Chris:

Yeah, they put Bermuda in there are no support groups for St Augustine grass people I mean so I couldn't find any either. Bermuda lawn dominators is where it's at for all of us. Yeah.

Jason:

I can find, and I found that there there's still there's a lot of St Augustine lovers in the group. It's just they ended up with Bermuda. Yeah because, you know that's what the builder gave them, or?

Skip:

yeah, A lot of me names. The palities require it now.

Jason:

Yeah so because of the drought tolerance, so we want to jump into fertilizer.

Skip:

Absolutely All right.

Jason:

So the first thing I think we should talk about is we have granular Fertilizer and we have liquid fertilizer, So I don't know what are your thoughts on on the two different types. Is one better than the other?

Skip:

I tend to stick with granular, but that's because of the size of the lawn and. Spray in this whole lawn would take forever. Right, that's what I use. I have used some liquid and sometimes I'll put liquid iron out in the front yard, yeah, but I Stick with granular. I find it easier. What about you on the St Augustine?

Chris:

same for me. I've got about a not a huge lot and a quarter of an acre and it's just easier to do the granular for me. I do put down liquid pesticide. I've got a four gallon backpack sprayer and that's just so painstaking So I'd rather just put it in this in the in the spreader and go so is that an electric sprayer or? He has got a battery powered.

Skip:

Yep, okay, yeah there's still, that's 32 pounds of liquid.

Jason:

Yeah, when you start out.

Skip:

Yeah, we start you gotta go quick. Yeah, absolutely. So, yeah, i think most people about you. Jason, what are you?

Jason:

I use granular most of the time too. So, but you know I like to see you know what pros and cons of both. And you know for granular that it's mostly slow release, you know, and last longer you get better coverage. I think too. Yeah, with the granular and the spreaders versus having to spray it, but the liquid a lot of times will green it up a lot quicker.

Skip:

That's it may not last as long. The absorption rate is much faster because the liquids through the leaves right Granulars through the roots.

Jason:

Yeah, yeah, so it takes a little bit longer for the granular to break down. Yeah in your soil. So so what about organic versus synthetic?

Skip:

You know for years I used synthetic chemicals and I've had some accidents here and there where I've burned the line from that. Then I decided to get into all organic and I went too far. The pendulum swung too far the other way And I was doing everything all organic all the time. So now I'm kind of in the middle right. But with fertilizers I always do only organic, and mostly just because it's. It's a no-brainer, you don't have to think about it a whole lot because if you overdo it you're not gonna burn the line.

Jason:

So I'm using a mixture right now, So I'll do an application of the synthetic and then the next application is usually organic. I've been going back and forth.

Chris:

It's interesting. I enjoy Milwaukee's finest. Oh yeah comes to the fertilizer. Although the price has gone up a little bit lately, It is yeah but I use that and then you know I'm still learning this whole thing. So I realize that obviously you're missing. I'm sure we'll get into get into the components of fertilizer here soon, but you're missing some stuff there and in the, in the malorganized. So I've. Alternated. I'm still using granular but I'll alternate with some of yard masteries products back and forth between that and malorganized.

Jason:

Yeah, the synthetic is usually cheaper than then the malorganized and the other and it didn't used to be that way.

Skip:

It was the last five or ten years, yeah, i think.

Jason:

I think groups like this probably Created a lot more demand for it. Yeah and there's been times when it's been hard for me to find malorganized.

Skip:

Well, the last time I went to put fertilizer down there was no organic fertilizer. I've used malorganized or pro care, which I get it lows. I don't know pro cares are available other places, but they had nothing but a scotch chemical fertilizer. So that's, that's what I end up using.

Jason:

I do like the fact that the organic it. you don't have to worry about burning the lawn so much, and, and if you have pets Too, it's a lot safer for your pets, yeah that's good point, we have dogs.

Chris:

Yeah, i started off with you know, in the group and a lot of the youtubers say use malorganized, you can't, you can't screw it up, you can't bring your lawn, and I've just found, with the ease of it, i just have to continue to use it because it's what I'm used to.

Skip:

So, yeah, i'm not opposed to other brands, it's just Stick to with what I know, i guess you know, and I think some people have been able to find it on Amazon, so maybe I should look on there I the last bag that I bought was from Amazon and I do like it exactly for that reason, chris, because you can't, you can't go wrong. So you know, if you're not good at the math or you're not confident in your math that you're doing, or You're worried about spreading it, the organics aren't gonna burn the lawn.

Jason:

They. They are slow release So it takes a little longer to see see the effects. But yeah you don't have to worry about Burning, and that's for me, that's a big, big plus.

Skip:

Yeah, absolutely, especially with a new lawn.

Jason:

So how often do you fertilize?

Skip:

That's a good question. So with my, i fertilize every four to six weeks Organics. That's what I try to do, and I don't fertilize in the winter at all. I mean because winter yeah although I guess some guys do. Yeah guys are very rigid about the once a quarter or once every or every six weeks. Regardless of what it is, i skip the winter when do you start up?

Jason:

whenever it starts coming out dormancy in the spring, that's exactly when I start.

Skip:

As soon as I start seeing it green up a little bit from the weather change, i start putting fertilizer out.

Jason:

So let's talk a little bit about what the numbers on the fertilizer bag mean. There's always three numbers on that on the front of that bag.

Skip:

Yeah, np and K.

Jason:

Np and K Yes nitrogen, phosphorus, phosphorus and potassium, right. So those are the three, three nutrients that our lawns need, right? And so the nitrogen helps with the Leaf part of the grass.

Skip:

I think it pushes the growth, sorry So the iron iron pushes the green green right.

Jason:

That's right, Yeah, so the nitrogen pushes the growth of the leaf. The phosphorus that's good for your roots. Okay, that's right, take a right, you know I'm doing a little bit of research on this. I found it. There are some states that don't allow you to put down phosphorus in your lawn.

Skip:

Yeah, they took phosphorus out of a lot of things over the years. You know you used to have it in your laundry detergents and your dishwasher detergents. Yeah, you can still buy it in some places Like here. You can buy it separate TSP.

Jason:

Yeah, Texas doesn't care.

Skip:

No, Texas doesn't care, i'll wash his off in the golf anyway, that's why Galveston looks like it does, i guess, so You need to fish out of the golf. Not the ones that glow in it.

Jason:

Right, So each number on that bag. so the first one is the nitrogen. The second one is the phosphorus, and then the last one is the potassium, and that's the percentage of that nutrient in that fertilizer.

Announcer:

Okay.

Jason:

Right. So if it's 20 for the first number, that means 20 percent of it is nitrogen, right? So that helps us with how we determine how much we want to put down on our lawns. And this is where it gets a little complicated, and this is where we were talking about earlier. That the organic makes it a lot easier because you don't have to worry so much about this. The calculations of how do you figure out one pound of nitrogen per thousand square feet, or whatever you need to do So.

Skip:

Well, and just for reference, the logonite is 640, right.

Jason:

So 6 nitrogen, 6 nitrogen.

Skip:

So how would we figure that for our lawn, or what do we want to put down for our lawn?

Jason:

So if we're wanting to put down pound of nitrogen per thousand square feet, which.

Jason:

I think is about the normal. I mean, i guess you know if you have a soil test or something that tells you differently, you know that you need more of one nutrient than the other, then you would go with that. But if you put down a pound of nitrogen per thousand feet, then you can take the number on the bag, so 20 percent, and you divide one by the 20 percent And that will give you how many pounds of that particular mix of fertilizer that you need for a thousand square feet.

Skip:

Okay.

Jason:

And then? so if you're yard 5000 square feet, then you just multiply that number by five, and that's how much you'd spread.

Skip:

Okay, i got you. The whole deal makes sense And.

Jason:

I think I have my math right. You know, I always I'd said last podcast felt like I was good at math, but this is one place I'm always second guessing myself and looking it up on the internet before I'm doing any kind of applying.

Skip:

Yeah, And I have some shortcuts that we'll talk about after we bring out the math. Yeah, all right.

Jason:

Good For that reason. Yeah, so that's how you figure out how much you need of each nutrient, whatever you want to put. So do you change up the amount of nitrogen versus phosphorus, that ratio, any throughout the year, or do you keep?

Skip:

the same. Yep, i keep the same. Do you change yours up?

Jason:

I. The only time I ever did was following. You know we're talking. We're talking about the calendars, a couple episodes.

Skip:

Oh yeah.

Jason:

Yeah, so the Texas A&M calendar is very specific about the amount that you put down and I followed that the first year for my St Augustine And after that I didn't, i just you know I went with the my boss. I looked at the back of the bag and see how much.

Skip:

Yeah, and that's my short I mean okay Yeah. What do you do?

Chris:

Chris, yeah, the only time I've worried about that was when I first got into this and I read everything that you need to get a soil test. you got to figure out what yours, and so then I got all into the hype and I thought, okay. and I realized, okay, my soil test says I'm low in this, so I need to try to compensate with adding things. And I got to the point where I'm just like you, if my lawn looks good, i'm just going to use what I'm used to and press on.

Jason:

Yeah, yeah, and not to say that it's you shouldn't get a soil test. I mean, if that's, if you want to go to that much effort, then absolutely, yeah, absolutely do it and figure it out.

Skip:

Or if you're struggling, If you're, if you're putting something down and you're not getting the results you think you should, then absolutely get a soil test.

Jason:

Yeah.

Skip:

But I don't think you need it on a regular basis.

Jason:

No.

Skip:

I think I did too, since I've lived here and I've never done it again.

Jason:

Yeah, Yeah, And I I've never done I, that's actually. That's not true. I told you I've never done a soil test. I did one and I screwed it all up and didn't get good results And so so I didn't even count it.

Skip:

Oh, okay, yeah, that probably happens to everybody.

Jason:

I was like I was like well, forget it, i'm not going to do this. I'm just going to go, but I have done. I have tried to do all the math to figure out. you know how much I needed, especially and it was on the St Augustine lawn where I was doing that. We have different ways that we can apply these different types of fertilizers to. So for granular, you know we're using some sort of spreader. So what about a drop spreader versus a broadcast?

Skip:

Well, you know, I think a lot of that has to do with the size of the lawn. So, I use a broadcast, but I have an acre and I pull it behind the tractor because it's too much to walk. For a smaller lawn I think a drop spreader would be ideal.

Jason:

Right.

Chris:

So, what?

Skip:

what do you have?

Chris:

Right now I've got a drop spreader. I've got a drainage runoff next to my lawn and I don't want to broadcast a bunch of my fertilizer that you know there. So I need something that's either get an edge guard or something, but I hate my drop spreader I love I'm in the group and I see all these folks with with nice broadcast spreaders. It's something I'd like to upgrade to, but they are expensive, So I've been putting it off.

Skip:

What is it you don't like about the drop spreader? I mean, it does give you that more precision? I guess It does.

Chris:

but it's hard to assess how much you're dropping With the broadcast spreader. you can see it going out, you know how much you're and you have overlap with the broadcast spreader. With the drop spreader you have more. you're more likely to have gaps if you're not doing. you know overlapping, your wheel tracks Right.

Skip:

See, nice little green green stripes Oh yeah, yeah, exactly, you can get the zebra lawn going on, yeah, i did that with the iron one time. Oh, did you? Yeah, striped my lawn with it. I'm putting it on. Tell the neighbors they're supposed to look like that, right, yeah?

Jason:

So I have a broadcast spreader with a and it's just a cheap Scots broadcast spreader that has the edge guard. So but I like it for the same reasons Chris mentioned. You know you get the overlap. You can kind of you know you're going along and I just try to. I try to just barely get to the wheel marks of my last run with that. You're doing that overlap And yeah, you get that overlap on that. Yeah, it seems to work pretty well for me.

Skip:

So yeah, i've always used broadcast spreader. But you mentioned the edge guard stabilizers. When you have a domination line between you and the neighbor, you need that edge guard. Right, exactly, Do a couple of paths especially if you're using organic, you go a couple passes along that edge just to make sure there's a delineation line between the two of you, So the one I have the pull behind on that tractor doesn't have an edge guard, but I've took a piece of pizza box and zip-tied it in there So. I get that edge guard.

Jason:

You made an edge guard.

Skip:

Yes, I did.

Jason:

Well, that works, I guess.

Announcer:

Absolutely.

Jason:

So one thing that I think we probably should talk about is how do you determine if you're broadcasting or dropping the right amount of fertilizer on? What I do is I look on the back of the back and generally there's a number on there, yeah, and it tells me that's what I did when I had a Scott spreader and it was easy.

Skip:

Now I have a John Deere.

Skip:

I think it's a John Deere, i don't know, what brand name it is, but it's one that pulls behind the John Deere and the numbers do not correspond. I have not found on the internet anybody that has converted it. So I took my time, did the math before and figured out that about three and a half on that spreader is about the same as whatever it was supposed to be on the Scott. So I leave it at about three and a half. I don't know what the math is now because it's been several years. I just know three and a half is the number I set it on to put the logonite out.

Jason:

So I watched some videos on this before, and it's where people mark off a thousand square feet of their lawn and then they take a spreader and they use different settings and see the right amount.

Jason:

I do something I usually look on the back. I have a Scott it's usually on every bag you have and that's what I use is whatever the number is, and then if I come across one that isn't, then I still use the number from the Scott's, figure out how much pounds that's. when I have to figure out how many pounds of this do I need for it.

Skip:

You're sitting down and doing the math.

Jason:

Right, and then I put that in and use the Scott setting. I mean the setting that I used before. So and I found that it's pretty, even if the size of the of each grain of whatever you're putting down is different. You know, my logonite is tiny compared to a lot of these, but it's still broadcasts about the same as the thicker.

Jason:

So yeah so you can. It's interchangeable that way. So if you know you need three pounds of this and you know what the setting is for three pounds of the logonite, it's usually the same.

Skip:

As long as the grain or the grains are about the same size. Is that what you're saying?

Jason:

Well, no, it doesn't matter, it doesn't even matter that they're not the same size.

Skip:

Okay So for liquid.

Jason:

I mean we talked a minute about you know, Chris has the backpack sprayer, So you have different types of sprayers that you have to use for liquid. I have a backpack sprayer. I never used it for fertilizer, I'd use it for pesticide and I have used it to put down the iron, the liquid iron.

Skip:

I had a backpack sprayer for a while too, and I used it for the pre-emergent And I actually did a square of a thousand square feet and measured out how many gallons it would take me to get through that. So I got it real precise, but I found it's good to have that number up front. So you know, you have a starting point.

Jason:

Yeah.

Skip:

But I found over time I could just kind of estimate that once I had a good starting point. Do you have you done that with your spreader?

Chris:

Well, even knowing how much product you need for your thousand square feet, that still doesn't tell you how fast you need to walk. So I can, you know I can do all that and then still, be you know, get only three fours to the way down and say I walk too fast, you know So there's a lot of a trial and error with it. There is Yeah.

Skip:

Yeah, there is some trial and error with that, for sure, And it's a guessing game, right. So none of the this is the art of lawn right There's. I mean, there's a science to it too, but there's a little bit of an art to it, And you apply the science and then get out there and apply the art to it. Some trial and error?

Jason:

Yeah, some trial and error with my back back sprayer on my previous lawn. I haven't even used it on my new lawn yet, but I I found that a gallon for every thousand square feet or so. So it's a. it was a four, it's a four gallon, so I could get through about 4,000 square feet of lawn with four gallons.

Skip:

Yeah, that's what I found too. I practiced that in the beginning when I first got it, when I was really getting really into all this I practiced a thousand square feet with one gallon and measured that and made sure I was doing it right.

Jason:

Yeah, i filled it with water the first time, but nothing in it. But I did it on the driveway because that's where I mapped it out, so that way.

Skip:

I could physically see it. I think the lawn care nut has a video on that, on how to do that. Is it one of these older videos? but he does have a video on that.

Jason:

Yeah, that was one of the videos that I had watched about how to calibrate your your broadcast spreader too.

Skip:

Yeah, he has some great videos on all this stuff He does, so, if you're really looking for the answers in detail and you want to get that detailed about it. You can get on YouTube and find lawn care nut how to with dog both of those guys.

Chris:

He's done some great reviews for those, the granular spreaders. Yeah, is that the lawn care nut, the lawn care?

Announcer:

nut.

Chris:

Yes. But spoiler alert he is not a fan of the drop spreader, Yeah.

Jason:

Yeah, yeah, i did. I saw one, one video, and I think it was talking about the calibration, where he said to use the drop spreader on that. You know that patch of grass you have between the sidewalk and the street.

Skip:

Yeah, that's where he would use the drop spreader. Yeah, yeah.

Jason:

Yeah, everywhere else Yeah.

Skip:

I guess a spreader wouldn't work well.

Jason:

Yeah.

Skip:

A broadcast spreader.

Jason:

Yeah, I know, That's. That's one thing about my edge guards broadcast spreaders on that little strip on my previous lawn I was always throwing fertilizer on the sidewalk, So with backpack sprayers you can. The nice ones are battery, like yours, Chris and and then the cheap ones, like or like mine, that you pump.

Skip:

Oh yeah, yeah, that's what I had is a pump one, yeah.

Jason:

And it's not, it's not terrible.

Skip:

No, not if you're 30.

Chris:

Four gallons on your back plus your pump in your arm up and down.

Skip:

Yes, no thanks. Maybe, maybe 10 years ago I was fine with it, but I'm not anymore.

Jason:

Well, i think I was coming from. You know the handheld, you know the two pump up.

Skip:

Oh yeah, That's yeah. And then you carry the yeah, That is a better than that.

Jason:

Two gallons or whatever around.

Chris:

The context matters, okay, so.

Jason:

I got the pump and I was pretty, pretty pleased with that, you know so.

Skip:

Is that what you still have? That's why I still have Yeah.

Jason:

Like I said, I haven't used it this season. on this new lawn I haven't done a whole lot other than more organizing, mowing and watering. So what do you think about the? you know the kind that you attach to the hose. So you go down, you buy the bottle, you attach it to your hose spray.

Skip:

Oh yeah, you know what. I use that a lot before I was into the lawn.

Jason:

Yeah.

Skip:

I'm not saying it's not good, i'm just saying that's when I used it And I didn't really know what I was doing at that time, but I think there's probably plenty of benefit to that.

Jason:

Yeah, i think so too. I've used it before. But like you, after I got really into lawn care, i quit using that and started just using the Grand UO Not for any other reason than I just wanted more control.

Chris:

Right.

Skip:

So do you use those?

Chris:

as well. I did just like in the beginning. I used weed and feed products, I used the spray products, but I always would find myself going through it faster than I was supposed to. Either I had the water volume too high or just a lot of variables with that. Yeah that's true.

Jason:

Yeah, and I always wonder I'm like, is this really mixing the right amount?

Chris:

you know the whole time you're spraying, you're shaking it. Yeah, i'm shaking it Did.

Jason:

I just fill this bottle full of water, and that's all I'm spraying.

Skip:

When I first started, though, I had the Scots one that you can put different things in, and I use that quite a bit, for before I had a good sprayer to put them on pre-emergent.

Jason:

Oh yeah.

Skip:

Eventually, I just I moved on to a backpack sprayer and then now I use a pull-behind sprayer on the lawn tractor.

Jason:

So you use a sprayer pull-behind sprayer and a pull-behind spreader? Yes, so for any of the liquids I use a pull-behind sprayer.

Skip:

And that thing is a gallon a minute. I've used it for so long that I've got it down pretty well about the speed I need to go with a tractor. And I know and it holds about 12 gallons. I put about 10 in there and it does the whole yard.

Announcer:

Okay.

Skip:

I've kind of just after a while. You've done it for a while and you kind of know what works and what doesn't work.

Jason:

A lot of this is you get out and try it and see what's working And then, if it's not, you make changes. you walk faster, walk slower.

Skip:

Yeah, that's the advantage to being a living thing in the lawn. Being a living thing is that you're not gonna it's not gonna be completely destroyed by anything you do. You can generally recover from just about anything You can, Especially with Bermuda.

Jason:

it seems to snap back Pretty hardy Yeah.

Skip:

I mean, i've literally sprayed roundup in places. I shouldn't know, i just waited a few weeks.

Chris:

Water it pretty heavy, that's why it's important to get out and just get in your lawn. We can all get stuck in this research vacuum. We're all in the group, we're looking for advice and just get out and try stuff.

Skip:

No, absolutely. That's a great point. Just getting out and doing is probably half the battle. Right It is.

Jason:

Yeah, and I'm still at a point where I'm still a little timid about doing things. Even you know like I feel more comfortable. The one reason I use the granular is because I feel more comfortable with it And I feel like you know I don't have to. it's not so much of a science for me to figure out how much to put down as if I was using a liquid and a sprayer and all that. So just find what works for you.

Skip:

It just takes time and practice.

Chris:

Exactly, if the smellier it is, i think, the better it works. If your neighbors are complaining about the smell. You're gonna have the best lawn on the block.

Skip:

That's true, absolutely.

Jason:

Yeah, if you Malorganite for the first time, it's like I don't realize.

Chris:

I've explained to my wife how Malorganite was made and she goes. That explains the smell.

Skip:

Yeah, exactly yeah.

Jason:

There's a couple of other brands out there that are the same thing, yeah the first time that I tried to buy Malorganite, they didn't have it, and I was at Lowe's, i think they didn't have it, and so I asked for it and I was like we don't have that. But we have this as Hugh Actonite And it's the same thing, only it's from Houston Same thing, but it's from Houston. yeah, And just the smelly.

Skip:

Yeah, well, I mean, it's a good use of it And it works very well And the smell I've found doesn't last that long. It doesn't at all.

Chris:

And my neighbors use. They'll actually go get manure and apply that in the spring, and that's way worse.

Skip:

Yeah, that's way worse Yeah, or it lasts a lot longer You smell like you're in a pasture, then So we have a couple of shout outs this week from the Bermuda Lawn Dominator Facebook group. I'll let you do the first one, because I didn't get to actually see this picture, but I know you and Chris both saw it.

Jason:

Yes, so it's Alan Wickman, and he won the internet with this picture that he did on his lawn for Fourth of July.

Skip:

What was it?

Jason:

So he cut a depiction of Mount Rushmore into his lawn. And then, not only that, he had, like you know, the stripes for the flag a soldier saluting USA in huge letters.

Skip:

That's amazing.

Jason:

Yeah, it was a work of art.

Skip:

I'm just trying to get my lawn green, much less shape it into something. That's incredible.

Jason:

Alan, It is yeah.

Skip:

Or Aaron, i'm sorry, that's some artistry there. I can't imagine being that creative, having that level of creativity.

Chris:

You've got to go look at it, the words, the description, as artful as that was, do not do it justice. No, it doesn't. Yeah, you have to.

Skip:

I will go and look and see. If I can't find it, yeah It gained so many likes too.

Jason:

So many people love that lawn.

Skip:

Yeah, well, it was the number one post that day. I do remember that. I mean, i remember seeing the name, but I just never saw the photo. So we also had Raymond Pickett and he asked what are you guys spraying your Bermuda grass with to make it greener? So we talked about that just a minute ago or just for a second earlier. So what I spray is some iron, and I have a little trick that I do right before the holidays, right before Fourth of July, right before Halloween.

Skip:

I always put down a little liquid iron. Little liquid iron will green it up within a couple of days.

Jason:

Yeah.

Skip:

But within a day usually You want it to chelated iron Right, So it's spelled C-H-E-L-A-T-E-D.

Jason:

Yeah, chelated, that's it. Yeah, it's worked for me too. I've used that quite a few times. Like I said, i striped my lawn one time with it just because I sprayed it so unevenly.

Skip:

But Yeah, were you intentionally striping it?

Jason:

No, i don't know. You sprayed it unevenly, gotcha. I just sprayed it unevenly. Yeah, i didn't.

Skip:

And I wonder if Aaron Wickman could go back and do something, using some iron and some strategic places and green up the lawn just right, that'd be interesting. Yeah, it would be, Raymond. Hopefully that helps. That's what I use to green my lawn up. And how about you on the St Augustine? Do you use anything to green it up?

Chris:

Not at all. No, no, it just stays green. Just use the four tenants and press on. Yeah, yeah, Got a lot of shade in my lawn too.

Jason:

Yeah, Yeah, i never used anything. I never used the iron all mine, st Augustine.

Skip:

No.

Jason:

It's always on my Bermuda Yeah.

Skip:

Well, if you use it to green up the Bermuda, it will use the right amount of it. It'll kind of make it a bluish green for sure.

Jason:

Yeah, a lot of these pictures you see with the nice dark green, that's, it's from the iron.

Skip:

That's exactly what it is right.

Jason:

A lot of the information that we get and that we're giving out is things that we got from this community on Facebook, this Facebook group. It's so great. It's a great source of information. So many good people out there giving good advice.

Skip:

Yeah, and if you ever have a question, you can go on the Facebook group and search for that question, and if you can't find it, usually you'll find it answered multiple times. Yeah, if you can't find it, then ask the question, right? I highly recommend, especially if you're looking for a quick turn, just do a search on the page for that question and you'll find somebody has answered it.

Jason:

We're all kind of looking for the same thing, so usually the question's already been asked at some point.

Skip:

And they always tie back to the four tenants Right. Model water fertilize and water Right Right. It's always one of those four.

Jason:

Well, even I even saw a lot of people answered to Raymond was water. What do you put in your line to make it green or water? Oh, that's true.

Skip:

Yeah, Especially that's a good point, especially this time of year, july and August, and down here in South Texas It's that's the only thing that's going to keep it green. Yeah, my backyard is not green anymore, all right. Well, we talked as much as we could about as much as we know about fertilizer, and that's kind of what we do. And, as we talked about it, we don't worry about the math as much And we kind of use the cheat codes. If you will, yeah, look it up on Google and there's plenty of charts and stuff out there that'll help you with that stuff. Yeah, if you, if you're fearful of the math, but don't let the math get in the way, look at the back of the bag, use one of those spreaders that has the numbers on it that correlates, and try it out and see what you see, what your results are and adjust from there based on your results.

Jason:

And if it's not on the back of the bag I found a lot of times you can Google it and someone out there has figured it out for you already, yeah, and you can just or even look on the Facebook page and see if someone has already figured out the setting that you need.

Skip:

Yeah, And if not ask the question?

Chris:

Somebody somebody will help you with that.

Skip:

Yeah, we have a lot of smart people in that group.

Jason:

Yeah, i've seen a lot of people help other people with the math on the fertilizer too.

Skip:

Well joining us next week as we talk about some weed control. That's one of the major issues that I have in my Bermuda lawn, but what about the St Augustine?

Chris:

Same. I fell with my pre-emergent this year and I'm paying for it. Oh, yeah, yeah.

Skip:

I did the same thing over the winter And I paid for it a lot. In the spring I learned my lesson, so we're going to get deep into that next week, so please join us. Learn as much as you can about the weeds. Thank you, guys.

Announcer:

Thanks for joining us on this episode of the BLD podcast. We hope you enjoyed our lawn care discussions and the lawn beer of the week. Remember, as we sip and tend to our lawns, let's get greener together. Keep mowing, keep sipping and keep dominating those lawns. Until next time, stay green and cheers.

People on this episode

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Skip Wheeler

Host
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Jason Crain

Co-host