Growing Summer Bermuda Grass in late June in Phoenix Arizona

Unfortunately, I let my winter rye grass hang around until June 30th this year. Oops! This blog will explain how I transformed my terrible summer lawn into a pretty decent looking one. If you find yourself in this predicament, maybe my documentation will help guide you. I started this project June 30th, and I am looking great on July 31st.

This is what my lawn started like on June 27th

On June 30th, my first step was to borrow a gas powered mower, and cut with the mower on the lowest setting. AKA: I put the blade as close to the ground as possible. I bagged all of the grass. If your lawn hasnt been air raided in the past year or so, I recommend doing that first. I do mine every winter, so it was unnecessary. Here are the results of the mowing.

 

Next I employed the help of a fertilizer called Turf Royale ($25 for 50lb bag). I waited until dusk on June 30th, and fertilized the entire yard. Then, I immediately watered for 15 minutes on each zone.

For the next 4 days I watered at 5AM for 15 minutes on all zones. On July 4th, this is what my lawn looked like.

On July 4th (4 days in), I switched my sprinklers to every other day instead of every day. Still keeping them at 15 minutes per at 5AM. I kept this setting for a week and a half. On July 8th, this is what my lawn looked like.

On July 14th (about 2 weeks in), I turned my sprinklers to 8 minutes a zone, 3 days a week. Keep in mind I let the grass grow for a month, and it was about 6 to 8 inches high! But what this does is trap the moisture in the ground, and gets the grass nice and green. Finally on July 31st, I mowed the lawn placing the blade on the highest setting, or furthest from the ground. Here are the results.

After mowing the lawn on July 31st, I fertilized again with the Turf Royale. After fertilizing, I immediately watered the grass for 15 minutes a zone. After completion I shut off the water for a day, and switched the watering schedule to 8 minutes a zone, 3 days a week. This is where I will leave the water setting for the remaining of the summer.