Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Nov 10, 2010 9:40 am This year the wintergreen couch in our back and front yards (already insitu when we moved in) has not fared well at all. It became very patchy and not all the dog's fault as the front lawn is not part of her domain. In early Sept I treated it (very amatuerishly I now realise) with Seasol, soil wetter (don't recall which), sprinkled zeolite on it, fed it something recommended by Micro Bros (at henderson WA), sprayed Powerfeed and Seasol (1 week ago). From reading this thread (only 1/2 way through) I can see I am directionless. We are in the middle of revamping other sections of the backyard which we aim to finish before laying turf on the newly exposed bits. Yesterday my husband suggested that we look into ripping out the existing lawn and replacing with shiny new stuff. I immediately went on line to see what varieties of turf are more suitable and came here to look at this thread to absorb what info I could before a turf layer came to quote as I just knew that his knowledge would not be based on the info given here (and at a Great Gardens Workshop). Here are some photos of said lawn. http://i796.photobucket.com/albums/yy249/MsAlocin1/lawn_20101109_0862.jpg http://i796.photobucket.com/albums/yy249/MsAlocin1/lawn_20101109_0863.jpg The grassy area to the left of the olive tree is on the southside of it and the couch has always been thin and prone to the dog's habit of continually rushing to the back fence in her show of duty - flushing out invading birds, mice etc. I realise that the existing bumps and dips will probably always be there if we choose to revamp, but I would like some comments on this lawn anyway; 1. is it recoverable and if so.... 2. steps to bring it back to health (note to self to flush dog wee with lotsa water as she does it) We have just had a quote for $2525 to supply and install Sir Walter over 86sqm. I quickly jotted down the process by which the work is to be carried out. 1. Round-up to kill couch - wait 2 weeks 2. Machinery to remove top layer of grass and roots 3. Rotary hoe to dig out roots 4. Add 2cubic m of soil conditioner 5. Rotary hoe soil in 6. Add Turf Start 2000 7. Lay turf 8. Use compactor From browsing this thread I know that there is not enough attention to soil preparation here and if we choose to lay new turf then I will be sifting through it to extract the "perfect plan to perfect grass" (unless there is a specific sticky I can be directed to). The big question raised in the above list concerns the first step. If Round-up is used (and I have used it successfully in couch infested largely empty garden beds) will all the other steps - zeolite, stuff from Gardener's Direct, spongeolite etc etc restore the soil enough to grow lawn. And if not Round-up how does one kill couch and its deep seated rhisomes. The turf layer unequivocally recommended SW and my suggestion of EZ I gathered was inferior (but as his supplier doesn't stock EZ this is hardly surprising. I do have some questions about varieties which I will post separately. Our sometime landscaper/gardener is coming to discuss this in a few days so I would like to have concrete guidelines to show him what I want by way of soil preparation and restoration steps. (I may even copy extracts from this thread to give him if I can overcome the cheekiness of it. I firmly announced to DH that if we go the replacement route then I want it done properly according to what I have read on line. Trouble is he knows my propensity for holding stock in the words and experience of others in forums based on gut instinct rather than personal fact finding. Great sceptic that he is this makes it difficult for him to see past what he holds to be true, so I know my credibility is looking wobbly when I tell him that someone called Fu Manchu on an great forum at HomeOne is a guru at this lawn stuff. and that it is not just a matter of a little slap and tickle on the ground prior to levelling and laying the turf. Thanks in advance Re: TURF LAYING SUMMARY and what has become many things turf 2Nov 10, 2010 9:59 am As far as lawn selection goes I think ez will struggle to repair itself from the dog in the backyard, same with SW and the buffaloes. If the couch can't stand up to your dog then a buffalo certainly won't. Maybe look at village green or Kenda kikuyu as options, this is the stuff they use in parks and sports grounds for super tough wearing. In the front you could work on the couch or replace it with any of the good buffaloes or ez. Either way the couch will come back in the front & back with a bit of care no probs. Re: TURF LAYING SUMMARY and what has become many things turf 3Nov 10, 2010 11:31 am niccisco, I haven't actually got my EZ down yet so I wont give advice on that. But I have done my soil prep and I distilled the advice in this thread into: For 100m2 1) 4m3 of certified organic compost. 2) throw on 50kg of zeolite, 25kg of spongolite plus 2 bags of olsens green bio 3) Dig all in with rotary hoe (or in my case, a linear manual hoe 4) 1 pass with a plate compactor 5) Level and screed Its not just some dude on a forum, the supplier of EZ gave me a similar story. In other news: 1) you could try a 'dog run' which is a 30cm wide area along your fence that is clear of plants. If you work it so that your dog access the run from an appropriate spot then you can take heh load of the 'goat tracks' in the lawn. Dogs love to patrol their boundary this lets the do it all day long. 2) Render the brick wall, paint the fence and the big wall and i reckon you'd have a great looking vista in that second photo. That big wall is perfect for an espelier! (Sorry, I'm a wannabe garden designer!) Re: Lawn renovation and ideas 4Nov 10, 2010 11:43 am Wow, I have split this topic out from the turf mega thread There is heaps I'd love to add to this but time is not going to allow just now. Right now I can say that the advice you have recieved prior to posting here and getting from the great Gardens Team is so typical of what many encounter in so many places like from Lawn Mowing Contractors, garden centres and Landscape places. The very things that once had merit in different circumstances to now, those circumstances will never be seen again, ever. So that outdated info is gone to the wind. Ultimately if they don't relearn better ways it will be the very reason many do away with lawns because of the confusion of choice and advice. Fortunately I have some very reliable sources of info and so do the Great Gardens Team The best in fact With that in mind I can see a nice Buffalo there or EZ. Work with the woofa not against it Make tracks into the design and problems will be sorted. Just watch where the dog runs and make that a path. With the correct soil prep and non chemical ongoing care the turf will behave very differently and reccover far better. Many varieties will begin to do what traditionally, with chemical fertilisers they can't do. Even that horrid couch could be looking amazing with the right info Re: TURF LAYING SUMMARY and what has become many things turf 5Nov 11, 2010 12:58 pm Linelefty, Thank you for sharing the lawn prep summary. I appreciate that it represents a goodly block of time extracting and collating the "facts". As for your other observations here are my comments .... this is going off topic but I would love to share them anyway. My intention was to paint just the fence only. A friend has one of her side fences painted in aubergine (don't cringe); it looks great contrasting with the greenery along her fence. There is a narrow garden bed along my back fence now and under the olive tree will be patio-ed (with pea gravel and perhaps flagstones) to create a shady sitting retreat during the height of summer. The orange tree will host a garden bed. I agree an espalier would look great in a more formal garden but I am planning for bananas and trying out pawpaws in that deep corner bed to go with the other fruit trees recently planted. I would love to render the brick but it is not an idea that DH has for the moment (if ever, if I am realistic). And as it is I will be painting the fence in his absence to avoid the "what do you want to do that for" discussion!!! It is a good idea to work with the wooffer so may consider laying extra flagstones (from the new patio) into the grassed area and she can run over the patio no worries. Re: Lawn renovation and ideas 6Nov 11, 2010 1:16 pm Fu Manchu Wow, I have split this topic out from the turf mega thread There is heaps I'd love to add to this but time is not going to allow just now. ............ Even that horrid couch could be looking amazing with the right info Thank you Fu. I umm..ed and ahh..ed about starting a new thread; I am but a novice poster to the few forums I haunt looking for advice and info. We are encouraged that the horrid couch can be restored to a green glory. It is just taking a lot lot longer this year (with same treatment - more) than last year. I look forward to your suggestions when "time allows" Re: Lawn renovation and ideas 7Nov 12, 2010 1:50 am It is slower because it has been colder and far drier than normal over what is essentially an unprecedented dry spell. If you want that horrid stuff to bounce back... Molasses and often. Seamungus green. Top dress with a compost from either the Greenlife soil company, gardeners direct or Eureka composts. Try to find some Olsens Green Bio. Then in about 6 weeks get "shades of Green" on it. You can do that over a number of weeks and it will recover fine and stronger than ever. Re: Lawn renovation and ideas 8Nov 14, 2010 9:42 am Thank Fu for the posting the instructions - we now have info to have an informed discussion. Question with regard to restoring the lawn: For applying the molasses can I use the empty seasol garden sprayer with a stronger concentration of molasses in it or would a good old fashioned watering can be best. I guess the bigger question is at what ratio does the seasol garden sprayer distribute seasol onto the lawn from the secondary concentrate in the sprayer OR perhaps it doesn't matter I know there is a discussion on the Mega Lawn Thread regarding molassess concentration so I will go find it. Now about the watering during the repairing stage. To give it the best shot how many times a week should I handwater in addition to the one day WaterCorp allowance? Thank you Re: Lawn renovation and ideas 10Nov 15, 2010 11:25 pm I'd be reluctant to suggest extra handwatering. You need this stuff tough. If you baby it with water it will just end up as it was. You will get lush green growth but as soon as you come off the water, it goes to crap on you. Do the things suggested with one day water. Of course hose in the stuff you put on but that is all. Stick to the one day a week and take a look at breaking your watering up into 3 waterings of 3 mins. That way you will use less water to better effect. As it is it should recieve 10mm once a week. Use a fruit pieces lid from and SPC or Goulburn Valley container to see how long that will take on your lawn. They hold exactly 10mm of rain adn therefore the amount your lawn needs. Re: Lawn renovation and ideas 11Nov 16, 2010 10:16 pm Something I have recently tried and had amazing results with in regard to restoring bare patches in a lawn is tree mulch!! I have some bare sand patches in the lawn from hardscaping earthworks which were taking ages to revegetate, espicially with the howling winds at the moment, the bare patches get scoured out and the area gets 'tufty' from the sand drift etc eroding and then building up around the grass that is there. It was seriously giving me the irrits to I decided to cover the bare patches with tree mulch to stabilise the sand, figuring that the grass would push through eventually or I could remove it later when it's not so windy. Went away for the weekend and had a look when I got back, all around the mulched areas is now a dark lush green, there is lots of healthy looking blades pushing through the mulch and it is looking a better generally than the rest of the lawn especially the thin marginal areas. Seems a great way to stabilise the sand and rehab the lawn. I am now going to mulch all the marginal areas of the lawn. I have done a bit tonight with some suger cane mulch I had to see how that compares. I mow with the catcher off so if I pick up a bit of the mulch with the mower it will just shred and spread. If I were you niccisco I would be covering all that bare sand and marginal looking lawn bare patches with tree mulch - cheap as and provides a good stable low maintanence surface, which doesn't shift underfoot. You may get the improved lawn health as a bonus. Lets you level off the uneven surface too. Re: Lawn renovation and ideas 12Nov 16, 2010 11:54 pm This is true. It's the goodies that begin to leach out that are of a benefit. I can't say I've ever seen a lawn suffer after having a heap of this stuff dumped on it. Ever. One bloke I know had some delivered and for ages has been trying to rid his lawn of kike. The pile of mulch (10m3 or so) was there for a few weeks and when it was all cleared up, the kike was dead and the regular turf came back all guns blazing Now it grows better than the other bits A good dose of certified organic compost is going to wonders though and works in a similar way I recently went through a similar renovation and move scenario when updating our family home. We also swapped some rooms around and tackled a major… 2 9885 Hi all Am new to this forum. I want to get some ideas/info about how to manage an 80 year old factory restoration to convert to a residence. The factory floor is concrete… 0 6339 the leaves that are now underground go yellow, the tips that poke through photosynthesise and have chlorophyll, same reason they grow rhubarb in the dark. 5 4839 |