Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Nov 11, 2010 1:56 pm Hi All, Im a newbie here and I have a few questions about laying turf/preparation ....before the torches are lit I have trolled through many posts to try and find the info I need but Im getting extremely confused about the different soil types and the preparation for each type I am in the process of digging up my original back lawn reasons being that the lawn died after we got out second dog and our neighbours house was built which blocked alot of sun. Basically I had the back lawn looking pretty nice until those two things came into play...it became patchy and started dying off in large sections so I gave up and stopped the sprinkler station watering. My lovely dog has also taken a liking to digging at every plant I buy...including my passion fruit vines I also removed a bit of paving to increase the grassed area. My plan was to buy artificial turf and leave it at that but due to a few big ticket items I can no longer afford to spend 3k on a 25sq meter patch. I have heard that Sir Walter Buffalo is able to grow ok in partial sun and is a little tougher than the original grass(which I have no idea what type it is/was) I live close to the coast south of Perth in a mix of sand and limestone....the front lawn is doing OK (Apart from the part on the slope...the water just rolls right off!?) My question is : what sort of prep should I do before laying the turf considering its had grass there before? Also the part that was brick paved has yellow brickies sand...should i dig it out and replace with a better soil? If so where and what type of soil do I buy? I have no idea what products are the best or where to get the lawn from so any help would be appreciated.. (Also if you have a backyard destroying mutt and have worked out how to stop them please Im open to suggestions !) Im going on holiday in a few weeks and I wanted to have it all done before I leave as my doggies are going to stay on my mothers farm and it will give me a chance to bed it in without dog wee/paws getting at it I would really like to get it right this time around!! Thanks Re: Laying turf.....for those who know nothing !! 2Nov 11, 2010 10:03 pm I am not an expert but i was in a similar position and used the info I found here, mainly Fu! Try Sita they deliver certified organic soil at seems to be a reasonable price. Then grab some Zeolite and spongolite (up north the woodvale lilly farm has it) but south just ring a few rural suppliers. Olsens bio can be found at Bunnings and then just hire a rotary hoe or till it manually with the ol shovel. Re: Laying turf.....for those who know nothing !! 3Nov 12, 2010 1:23 am Bentonite clay is one of the more important soil amendments that needs to be added. The zeolite is great but the bentonite is it's mate Clay cat litter is the cheapest way to buy it. Rural supply places also sell it because it is added to cattle feed to aid digestion. Yeah Sita can supply such soils, as can Gardeners direct and the Greenlife Soil company as well as Eureka composts in the Swan Valley. Some Spearwood Red Loam in there too would really make a top batch of soil! Just dig and mix the brickies sand through the rest. An even soil structure is what you want to aim for. One that is around 200-400mm deep. Deep mixing is best achieved with a Dingo, Kanga or bobcat. Might cost a bit but will have the job done in no time. The deeper the good soil blend, the deeper the roots grow and the deeper the roots grow the less stress the lawn suffers in summer. The less stress, the less water, the less water , the less your water bill costs you and that from this point on is only going to get more and more Re: Laying turf.....for those who know nothing !! 4Nov 13, 2010 11:57 am We used to use a layer of sheep manure under the grass. It made it so lush! Although you would have to mow it quite a lot! Re: Laying turf.....for those who know nothing !! 5Nov 13, 2010 11:51 pm Ahh yes but is sheep poo good these days? What if it has chemicals and pesticide residues. They often have little nutrient like they used to. Sourced from cattle holding yards and fed grains which potentially have growth hormones and worming treatments which will harm microbial health. Not sourced from under shearing sheds where it was once quite aged and free of nasties and had lots of great nutrition for the soil. For the money, organic composts free of such things or risks is comparative in price and hang around in the soil far longer than sheep and cow poo ever will and that is what we are so focused on for soil improvement. The long term soil improvement and not short term results. Lush growth as Dr John Colwill says is like a fat gut on a person. It is growth. It just isn't healthy growth. Re: Laying turf.....for those who know nothing !! 6Nov 14, 2010 1:10 pm We got it straight from the sheep yards not landscaping yards. Although they aren't selling it from there anymore. Said nothing about cattle poo, didn't use that at all! Also even a couple years ago, people didn't care about this sort of thing, native gardens etc. You try to tell people to spend big on soil improvement and using native plants and they look at you like you are crazy! We literally had to "sneak" in native plants to landscapes and the amount of time trying to get clients to not have lawn on the corner block verge, or not so much lawn anywhere - they did not care! And we worked western suburbs and SOR - I would think they would be more educated. We contracted with a landscaping company who were using miniscule amounts of dynamic lifter under their lawn. We took that a little step further when we stopped working for them and added sheep manure into the sand and on top of the sand. Yea, it's not ideal for creating structure in sand but it is a start and better than sand! Re: Laying turf.....for those who know nothing !! 7Nov 15, 2010 11:31 pm I'd suggest giving the whole sand and DPM a miss. I have seen even one of this countries biggest advocates of that technique revise all he knows late in his career and now goes along much as I do with my advice. Also the sheep poo is gone in a few months and the clients are left with sand again. Same goes for cow or horse poo. Hey you are spot on about the natives Now everyone is prepared to listen because they have tried everything else and they haven't survived. Then they get all excited when it grows because they enjoy the garden, not just look at it as if it were a painting or a static display pf boring green lush plants. They interact now far more than they used too Many of the Western Suburbs have the best native plant policies in place with rebates and verge replant info. They have truly inspirational landscaping by councils. Might be some of your handy work I admire Re: Laying turf.....for those who know nothing !! 8Nov 17, 2010 1:40 am A few months? They were mowing their lawns every week for at least a 2 years! lol Pfft, I doubt it. Re: Laying turf.....for those who know nothing !! 9Nov 17, 2010 11:25 pm I recall many years ago, a chap kept hassling a business I worked for, many many many years ago . He said he put sheep poo in the soil 2 months ago and now it was gone! What was eating it? Where was it going. The sheep poo was faulty he said It was no longer there. From my experience with that (which first got me aware of these things) and from my own observations in gardens over the years, it does go in no time. Consumed by the little critters in the soil Water makes lawn grow wonderfully But we have none of that now Squandered and continuing to be squandered Re: Laying turf.....for those who know nothing !! 11Nov 18, 2010 6:05 pm but your beaches suck in comparison (our local, like many, is powder white sand and warm turquoise water), it's too cold too often, when it gets hot there it doesn't cool down every arvo, there are no sparrows or starlings here, it takes too long to get around the city over there, Perth is cleaner, Danny Green is meaner Re: Laying turf.....for those who know nothing !! 12Feb 17, 2011 10:30 am Just wanted to say a big thankyou- We laid Sir Walter Buffalo ourselves after spreading and mixing in some certfied organic soil just before xmas- I couldnt find zeolite or the other one but I did give it some seasol. I expected it to die off at least on the edges where we laid it - as I see happens with newly laid lawns but it didnt change from the moment we laid it! Everyone that comes over thinks its fake because its so perfect....its growing so fast we need to cut it once a fortnight.....and we have only been watering on our designated days and its STILL fabulous..... Everyday I see new lawns being laid on sand in our area.....and three weeks later they are brown and weedy.....WHY dont these landscapers tell people this stuff??? save water AND have a beautiful lawn ?!? Im almost considering tearing out our front lawn and starting again with Sir Walter and a nice soil base....the water alone would be worth it thanks again Re: Laying turf.....for those who know nothing !! 13Feb 18, 2011 12:50 am Don't forget the molasses! Also a pitty you didn't get a hold of the soil amendments as they are what will make the greatest difference of all. Zeolite, sodium benotite, spongolite etc are often found at your local agricultural supplier. Like elders, landmark etc. Cheap as anything to get. Re: Laying turf.....for those who know nothing !! 14Feb 18, 2011 12:57 pm I went to the stock feed place but they didnt have any molasses I went to few places asking for Zeolite and they just looked at me like I was crazy they said "what do you want that for?" after a few of those responses I had to give up because my other half was starting to think I was a bit strange.. Laying turf.....for those who know nothing !! 15Feb 19, 2011 12:43 am Stockyard places that don't sell molasses???? Nearly every horse owner or cow owner knows they love the stuff. Wouldn't be too many without it. Laying turf.....for those who know nothing !! 16Feb 19, 2011 12:44 am Have a search on here for zeolite. There is even a few threads listing who sells it and where. Stockfeed and farm shops are different to pet supply shops. https://form.jotform.com/240284569218058 Please spare a moment to fill out this survey form for a project. You stand a chance to win a digital gift voucher. 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