Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Nov 30, 2010 1:47 pm Hi all Just been doing a bit of Googleing and found this site ! We have recently moved into a house we bought and put up fences for the back garden. Now we have started to look at the cost of turfing this new garden. Oh Dear ! is all i can say. had no idea of the cost of turf. I worked out the garden give or take a bit is 36 meters long by 36 meters wide. At $10 a mtr this is going to be around $12,000 to turf the back garden ! Is this right ??? When they say $10 a square meter is that a flat bit of turf 1 meter X 1 meter ? Any advise would be much appreciated. Re: Working out how much turf i need 2Nov 30, 2010 4:04 pm With those measurements it's more like $13K That is a huge yard - most blocks where I live are about 36m long by about 14m wide and then they have a house on it... so to have a backyard alone that is 36m x 36m is huge. You could nearly install a footy oval there. I thought our total turf for the front and backyards (100m2) was enough. I believe the rolls are not 1m wide, but the length is longer giving a total of 1 meter square in area. Second Time 'Round Re: Working out how much turf i need 4Nov 30, 2010 4:31 pm hi all thanks for the replys. Yes it is a large yard i use a ride on to mow our "weeds" block is an acre in total. We are up on the murray river on the VIC/ NSW boarder. I truely had no idea turf was so expencive Julia Re: Working out how much turf i need 5Nov 30, 2010 6:16 pm I don't think I would spend $12g on turf, to make sure it establishes ok you would have to use a fair bit of water no matter what turf you choose. I would hoe the soil, level it resonably well and throw on a good amount of kikuyu seed, which will take minimal watering to germinate and not much water after that. It will not die once growing strong, even if you never water it. There are now some decent seeded varieties of kikuyu and I am testing out some emerald kikuyu (planted a few weeks back) in my own back yard. All up seed would cost no more than $200.. My 2c, some people here don't like kikuyu but I am greatfull there is a grass that can bounce back after my dog tries it's best to kill it. Re: Working out how much turf i need 6Nov 30, 2010 8:00 pm Hi Jetson Thank you. Is that kykuya the one that sends out runners ? Yes i know a lot of people dont like it but you are right in our situation it could be a quick easy answer. Only have a small dog so he is not a problem but we do have grandchildren and all we have right now is concrete hard dirt, pattersons curse and cape weed. No way we can afford $12000 for turf i could put in a cheap inground pool for that sort of money. Sad really the whole acre was turfed when the house was built 3 years ago but the previous owners did not have time to look after it so most of it has now died. What can we spray the weeds with that wont kill the dog before we turn it over ? How long will it take to start filling in ? Should we wait till Autumn when it will cool off and start to rain ? Gets to 47 up here in the summer. Thanks again Re: Working out how much turf i need 7Nov 30, 2010 8:06 pm juliaw. you could try kentucky turf in yarrawonga. they are half the price of anybody else. or it might even be better if you try line planting, this area. im sure fu will be able to tell you what would be best.. cheers.. Re: Working out how much turf i need 9Nov 30, 2010 10:00 pm Use sprigs or runners of a good quality turf (eg little bits of turf planted like you would seed) I remember planting out runners in a larger area than yours in the same climate and couch preformed very well. I know Fu hates it but it spreads sideways quickly which is what you need when covering large areas. It also handles the extreme heat very well and thrives while buffalo grasses struggle to bounce back (without heaps of water) once there is a stretch of 40C days. The turf farms will be able to help you out with the sprigs/runners Re: Working out how much turf i need 10Dec 01, 2010 7:13 am kikuyu is the grass that sends out runners, most warm season grasses do, however kikuyu sends out runner above and below ground which gives it an advantage in long periods of drought. I wouldn't bother spraying as all it will do is kill the current generation of weeds, there will still be plenty of seeds left in the soil. kikuyu will grow over the top of the weeds, just keep the area mowed once the grass is growing to stop any more weeds from seeding. It may take a good 6 months to cover the area depending on rainfall, temperature etc, but be patient it will look great in the end. You could use runners (normal vegative kikuyu), but I haven't found a place in south east melb that sells the variety of kikuyu I was after only the normal kikuyu. The variety of kikuyu may not be an issue, I just wanted to see what the other stuff looks and performs like. Also if you have any garden beds that are not protected by concrete you may want to have a plastic border underground to stop it invading them. Plant it as soon as you can as it goes semi dormant in winter depending on temperatures. Re: Working out how much turf i need 11Dec 01, 2010 7:20 am Ok this is great, we do have a clay base should i put down a layer of sand first then a layer of good soil to plant the runners in ? There are areas where the water just sits when we get a lot of rain which we have had this season and it then turns to thick sticky wet clay. Only have a couple of small garden beds in the back, mostly native shrubs and we are going to plant a couple of shade trees so runners should not be an issue. Re: Working out how much turf i need 12Dec 01, 2010 7:59 am jetson There are now some decent seeded varieties of kikuyu and I am testing out some emerald kikuyu (planted a few weeks back) in my own back yard. All up seed would cost no more than $200.. My 2c, some people here don't like kikuyu but I am greatfull there is a grass that can bounce back after my dog tries it's best to kill it. Hey jetson the only issue with seeded kik and couch is that it is grown to produce more seed. Which is a huge enviromental problem if you happen to let your grass go and the wind blows seeds everywhere. Not to mention your own garden or the neighbours. If you maintain it then there is not a problem. The runners of the better hybrid kiks and couch are sterile and won't self seed everywhere. Re: Working out how much turf i need 13Dec 01, 2010 3:50 pm BeatrixKiddo Hey jetson the only issue with seeded kik and couch is that it is grown to produce more seed. Which is a huge enviromental problem if you happen to let your grass go and the wind blows seeds everywhere. Not to mention your own garden or the neighbours. If you maintain it then there is not a problem. The runners of the better hybrid kiks and couch are sterile and won't self seed everywhere. Yeah that is a valid point, the area I am in has a fair bit of couch which I sure some will seed. I will look after mine lawn though and keep it short. I have buffalo in the front yard as it gets no traffic and is a small enough area that I can water when required which is producing seed heads, does anyone know if it is truly sterile? Re: Working out how much turf i need 14Dec 01, 2010 4:45 pm Most likely would be sterile unless its the old scratchy horrible stuff from the 80's. I don't know if any turf is 100% sterile but its very hard for the hybrids to germinate in the wild. There is no need to keep the turf short you only need to mow off the seed heads for a few weeks when they pop up. Re: Working out how much turf i need 15Dec 01, 2010 6:29 pm juliaw Ok this is great, we do have a clay base should i put down a layer of sand first then a layer of good soil to plant the runners in ? There are areas where the water just sits when we get a lot of rain which we have had this season and it then turns to thick sticky wet clay. Only have a couple of small garden beds in the back, mostly native shrubs and we are going to plant a couple of shade trees so runners should not be an issue. Make sure you hit it with a rotary hoe , then if possible mix some of the sand in and yes a layer of topsoil to plant the runners in will get it off to a good start. Over time the clay soil will improve when it has a layer of grass over the top and nature does it's thing. Re: Working out how much turf i need 16Dec 14, 2010 10:13 am All Buffalo types will produce some Viable seed, but it is very very hard to germinate, so do not worry about it coming up. The scratchy ones like the old style Buffalo, and the new Scratchy type produce seed about the same as the others, although a few types do seed a lot less according to recent research. I hate scratchy Buffalo types, and I can not believe someone has not that long ago released a new Scratchy one, when all the others new varieties are soft. Re: Working out how much turf i need 17Dec 14, 2010 11:17 am Grasstree, My local mitre 10 stocks buffalo seed and the garden bloke that has worked there for years said it was the itchy old stuff. Is that the case? It obviously can't be a soft leaf buffalo. Re: Working out how much turf i need 18Dec 20, 2010 7:57 pm why dont you try the local golf course. go and see the course superintendent and ask if they will sell you some sprigs ( lots of slabs of beer will sometimes work). also ask if any of the staff would be interested in prepping the area and doing the job for you as it is such a crap paying industry we are always looking for some extra coin. if you do sprig it just keep it wet for the for the first 4 weeks until they get some roots down. if you still want to buy it try anco or strathayr and you should be able to get santa ana for a half decent price Re: Working out how much turf i need 20Dec 20, 2010 8:48 pm I have never heard of Buffalo grass seed being sold. In the USA Buffalo Grass is Prairie grass, and is sold by seed. I have heard of this being sold here by mistake, and people thinking it is our Buffalo grass. If anyone has heard of real Buffalo grass let us know the brand, as I do not believe it is available. 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