The first thing people see and comment on when they come to your house:how green the lawn is! Well, who doesn’t like a dark green, emerald looking lawn? One that is flourishing and growing healthy, thick and beautiful? Sometimes pretty quickly, the newly laid sod tends to change and become yellowy or rusty in colour or worse, dead patches. We have some tips for you to make you a lawn that will make your neighbour “green with envy”.
The secret to a healthy, beautiful lawn is all in the before and after stages and care that you provide. It’s simple!
- Before installation of lawn
- Organic matter matters: Soil preparation is a must if you are thinking about laying turf down. Boost and improve your soil condition with the following to give your new lawn the best start: 1. mushroom compost 2. soil conditioner 3. cow and chicken manure. The best quartet for healthy lawns as well as lush and green lawns. Water these in properly. The smell might not be the best especially with the manure but the resulting healthy,green grass with strong growth will be amazing.
- Soil type: If you have sandy soil, then use Bentonite to improve the soil quality by mixing it up with your top soil. For clay soil type, Gypsum can be mixed in to break down the clay and provide a better base for your lawn.
- Wetting agent: Hydrophobic soils can be a problem for your grass. Make sure that you have some type of wetting agent – granular or liquid- in the soil for water retention and to help with the growth of the new lawn. Water that in well so that it can reach the deepest root systems where it is drier
- Slow release fertiliser: Top the soil with slow release fertiliser that will feed your newly laid grass and keep it growing lush and healthy over a longer period of time. The main nutrients in most lawn fertilisers are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, or N-P-K.
1.Nitrogen is for lawn growth and healthy green colour.
2.Phosphorus is usually for root growth and formation.
3.Potassium helps your lawn absorb the nitrogen.
- Pre-emergent herbicide can be used if there are existing weeds like Dandelions and Wintergrass in the area the new lawn is getting laid. The herbicide prevents the weed from growing from seedling.
- Ensure that you have the right species of lawn: Your choice of lawn will depend on several factors mainly: hours of sunlight, hardiness, frost/drought tolerance and maintenance. The most frequently used grass varieties in Perth are: Sir Walter and Palmetto Buffalo, Wintergreen Couch and Kikuyu. For example, Kikuyu has excellent wear tolerance, drought and frost resistance and requires about 3 hours minimum sunlight to grow well.
- After installation of lawn
- The lawn mower tips: Modify mowing heights to avoid weeds growing in your lawn: Cut the grass at the right height. Check your mower blades regularly and replace blunt blades. Blunt blade rips through the grass instead of making a sharp cut.
- Pests – grubs / beetles/ worms/scarabs: those pesky pests seem to always have a way of getting to your lawn and prevent healthy grass growth. A dose of Acelepryn GR (granular formulation) effectively controls grubs, caterpillars and beetles. Apply as a 6-monthly dose or as soon as you see signs of the pests. It is safe to use, does not require any PPE and there are no re-entry restrictions.
- Iron and manganese applications will keep your grass green for longer. Just make sure that you do not apply on a hot day or in the height of summer, wait until the temperature cools down, later in the day. It is also better to make multiple, regular applications than to do a single heavy dose which may cause more damage than do good. And iron does stain, so be careful when using it.
- Slow release fertiliser: it isrecommended to use a slow release fertiliser on your newly installed lawn every 3 to 6 months to keep the sod healthy, growing and green.
- Post emergent – herbicide for weeds when they have already come out or grown from the lawn area. As soon as the warm season temperature increases, weeds usually start showing up in your turf/grass. This is the best time to start on a post emergent herbicide which will kill the weeds at its source.
- Encourage deep water for better root development : Set your reticulation system tohave multiple start times – meaning instead of a 12 minutes per station once, do 2 x 6 minutes run. This will prevent run-offs and will ensure that your grass is using the water with little to no wastage.
- Vertimowing to reduce thatch build up: thatch is the organic decomposition that forms under the leaves/blades of your grass but that remains on the top part of the soil. A specialised mower is used to dethatch the lawn which will allow aeration which in turn allows for better, healthier new growths.
- Aerating for high traffic lawns: Aeration allows air, water and nutrients to get to the grass root. This will help grow deep roots which helps produce strong, thick and healthy sod. Soil compaction is an issue of high traffic lawns: aerating will help with getting nutrients (from fertilisers), air and water down to the roots. Try to keep aeration consistent throughout the lawn expanse and reap the benefits when the summer months are back with a thick, healthy turf.
- Liquid / foliar fertilisers during colder months: it is common practice to not fertilise during winter. But fertilising can be done because even though all plants are dormant during winter, the iron content in the fertiliser will strengthen and keep your lawn green.
- Do not water at night: The best way to water your lawn is early in the morning (follow the water restrictions rules in Perth and only water on your watering days!). Night watering is considered a bad idea and thus not advised. The main reason is that this may cause fungal and bacterial issues for your turf which is harder to get rid of.
Following the tips and tricks above will give you the best lean in town! We are here if you need advice or to help maintain your lawn green! If the job is too big or too confusing contact us and then leave it to us!
