Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Dec 08, 2010 2:32 pm Hi All, Forgive me if this question has been answered a 100 times but I did a search on the forum and wasn't able to find much information. I have a large backyard, don't know the exact size, but could probably fit another 3 bedroom house on the vacant land. The backyard use to have grass but over the years weeds have started taking over and are evidently growing all over the entire backyard. I'm thinking of digging everything out and re-seeding the whole backyard again. Is this a good idea? If so, what initial steps do I need to prepare the ground to re-seed it. Is it pretty much the same steps as was covered in the "TURF LAYING SUMMARY and what has become many things turf " thread??? viewtopic.php?f=19&t=21938 1. till the soil with a cultivator, hire a small one. 2. get certified organic soil (and in a clay soil some lawn sand too) delivered and dig it through with the cultivator to around 300mm at a minimum, deeper if possible. 3. mix in gypsum and add in powerfeed to which will act quicker than gypsum. 4. add spongolite and zeolite if you can. These help hold nutrients and do some other things too. 5. I suggest using "Olsens green bio" as well. 6. level with a nail rake to some extent and then hire a soil spreader (it's like a broom with bars on it instead) Then rake with a wide plastic leaf rake. 7. do a quick lap with the compactor (in sandy soils you will want to spend some time on this, best get a cold beer ready to have on hand ) rake over again to make sure it is all level and fairly firm. Are those steps the same if I was going to grow grass?? Because after step 7 it goes on about laying turf and I want to plant new grass. Thanks. Andy Re: Newbie wanting to grow grass in backyard 2Dec 09, 2010 7:59 am Hi Andy, Yes, it sounds very much like the same preparation work needs to be done for sowing seed. Though personally I wouldn't go for 300mm worth of top soil, perhaps a litte less, 150mm sounds more like it to me. There are some areas in my lawn where the grass has died (such as where we placed piles of firewood on the grass or left fence palings on the grass for too long) or where the grass just won't grow (such as on really hard soil or under and around trees). I am slowly working my way around the lawn to repair the patched areas where the grass no longer grows. First of all, I dig into the ground a bit with my mattock so the soil is all loose and then with a fork I smash the large chunks of soil. Then I rake it out so it's all flat and then sprinkle the seed over (fairly thickly because I'm worried that weeds may want to grow where there are bare areas). Then I just get a bag of potting mix and sprinkle this over the seed so that all the seed is covered (if you don't cover all the seed birds will come and eat the seeds). Then I just stomp lightly on the soil to compact it a bit, then water it with a bit of Seasol/water combination and the grass germinates within 5 days. At the moment I'm just doing small patches here and there, but we have a large area down the back where we just cleared a whole lot of vegetation and already there are weeds starting to take hold of that area. One last thing before I go that I just thought of would be first of all (before you start number 1 on the preparation list you mentioned) is to buy a one or two 3 litre bottles of Glyphosate (Round Up) and spray it on the weeds beore you till (cultivate) the soil. Don't spray the weeds within 24 hours of rain (so check your forecast for a day or two of fine weather). It takes about 2 weeks for the weeds to get all droopy and turn brown and then they get completely dead. You can then either go through your yard and pull out the dead bits of weed (including the roots) or just till the weeds back into the soil. Personally, I'd be taking the effort of going through and removing the weeds because I want to minimise the risk of them growing "back from the dead". My blogs: http://www.movingtotasmania.com.au - a resource for those considering relocating to Tasmania http://www.sarahandtim.com - my daily life and renovation blog Re: Newbie wanting to grow grass in backyard 3Dec 09, 2010 8:00 am Andy, one other thing - coul you please post a photo back here when you have begun your grass seed sowing. As I said, we have that big patch of weeds down the back and we will soon be sowing that area. I'd really like to know how you got on with sowing such a large area. My blogs: http://www.movingtotasmania.com.au - a resource for those considering relocating to Tasmania http://www.sarahandtim.com - my daily life and renovation blog Re: Newbie wanting to grow grass in backyard 5Dec 11, 2010 1:14 pm The problem with seed is that it is very hard to get a good lawn with it. Cool season turf like Fescue and Rye do not survive summer, and seeded grasses like Kikuyu and Couch are maintenance nightmares. The grass will always reseed and come up everywhere in your garden, and your neighbours garden. If you can not afford turf, just buy enough turf to cover 10% of the area, break it up and plant it in clumps. It will spread and cover well over summer and Autumn. A good male sterile Kikuyu if you want quick coverage, or a good Buffalo turf. Empire Zoysia is probably the best choice if you use instant turf, but from runners it is too slow to cover unless you are very knowledgable about turf. Alternatively you could also buy Viro-cells and plant 4 per square metre. You could even oversow the ground with Rye grass to give you some cover till the better planted grass covers. Re: Newbie wanting to grow grass in backyard 6Dec 12, 2010 8:23 pm I just read the title and thought you'd get locked up for that wouldn't you? Folks I have posted it hundreds of times, please avoid the use of seeded grasses. Fair enough there maybe a time for a place for them but overall we need to begin to embrace more sustainable turf options. It is grasses like these that make people get plastic grass and that is a whole enviro problem waiting in the wings. If you can't afford a roll on turf variety, buy a few rolls and cut them into smaller bits or has been suggested to cut them into narrower strips and do the lawn that way. It's not about us wanting you to buy roll on turf. It's about better sustainable options for the long term than thinking of short term gains at great cost to the community, not just you. Sir Walter, Empire Zoysia (my choice) Palmetto and Village Green are all good sustainable choices for domestic turf. Re: Newbie wanting to grow grass in backyard 7Dec 12, 2010 8:35 pm I best point out first, Gypsum is a waste of time in my opinion but I do mention it because all the books say to do it and you guys want to hear me say it. As Dunart pointed out in another thread, Dolomite of Lime will do a better job and its not one application of powerfeed that acts as a clay breaker. This is a view shared by some very switched on people. It is lots of regular uses of powerfeed that has an effect, not one time and walk away. The organic acids like humic, fulvic and amino will do their thing. They do it faster and better. Gypsum won't become effective for a long time. I'd choose some clean sand rather than lawn sand. Often that has chook poo in it and then you get the lawn doing a bolt after laying but with a small root system to do it and then problems start 6-12 months down the track. This was a topic of discussion with a good mate in the industry the other day and it is something the soil and turf people need to address to make sure we all want grass into the future. *Rant The Olsens is like finding Rocking Horse Poo since the Big Shed stopped stocking it because they had no idea, it seems going on the feedback of Homeoners', as to what it did So lets go with Bactivate instead, google it It's on the youtubes too. Yes it is the same as growing grass. Grass is a pain in the bum and something that burdens you and makes you hate it a few times a year when you have to find it under the weeds. Turf is what you get when you do good soil prep, use a good variety and enjoy it for its easy care. Just don't get stuck in the chemical fertiliser and pesticide merry-go-round DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair Please help me to answer this question , it will help me a lot as i can go to buy confidently with your recommendation: I want to put synthetic turf in our backyard for… 0 5540 a building inspector should be able to tell you about any major problems but we need a floor plan with dimensions to clarify options for extra bedrooms ... sometime an… 1 8721 DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair That laser level looks lovely! We bought one for less than a quarter of that price off eBay. It worked really well for us and it's still going now, five years later. After… 1 16711 |