How to Get Bermuda Grass Green in Georgia

Dig several 3-inch holes throughout your yard to collect soil samples. Use dirt from the bottom of the holes to mix up a collective soil sample in a bucket. Mail a pint container of this mixture to your nearest Georgia extension office for a soil pH test. Grow Bermuda grass at a soil pH range between 6.0 to 6.5 in order for it to absorb the soil's nutrients and achieve a green color. Add lime to lawns under 6.5 and spread sulfur to lawns that are alkaline over 6.5.

Fertilize your Bermuda grass with a complete fertilizer as suggested by your soil test or by the University of Georgia, which recommends a fertilizer with a NPK amount of 16-4-8. Fertilize in spring as soon as the grass starts to green up. Reapply fertilizer throughout the summer as the fertilizer label recommends. Fertilize the lawn one last time before the grass goes dormant six weeks before the first frost. The first frost typically occurs in Georgia around the last few weeks of October or beginning in November if you live on the coast.

Water your Bermuda grass in the morning. Georgia experiences mid-afternoon temperatures that evaporate the moisture on the lawn. Giver your Bermuda grass 1 inch of water when you see the blades turn a dull blue color. You can also tell it needs water if your foot prints remain in the turf.

Mow your Bermuda grass to a height of about 1 1/2 inches. Because the climate and rain causes vigorous grass growth, you may find yourself mowing the lawn every three days. Avoid taking off more than 1/3 of the grass blade, because it will cause week roots and browning of grass blades.

Scatter the grass clippings across the lawn. Grass clippings give your grass additional nitrogen, which causes green turf.