Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Laying Turf & More 261Jan 16, 2012 2:51 pm Hi guys, Thank you for all the tips in this thread. Forgive me if I've missed it, but I was wondering which of these amendments would work as a top dress on an unfortunately un-amended sandy lawn... Perlite I would've thought would just blow about on the surface, whereas something like the compost, zeolite etc may work? Appreciate your thougts. Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Laying Turf & More 262Jan 16, 2012 6:40 pm I just used Seamungus green on my lawn and used Blood and Bone in November. According to a previous post blood and bone should be used in winter every few months. So during winter and the lead up to winter what is the general consensus on what should be used on the lawn? Do you still use the seasol/Powerfeed/molass mix every month/6 weeks and then blood and bone once a month. Isnt the grass dormant and should be left alone? Or keep feeding the soil? Im trying to get things right before winer hits as the NSW summer has been pretty crappy so far... Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Laying Turf & More 263Jan 17, 2012 7:46 am I think there's a few in the same boat in how to ammend/fix once a lawn is already in. I have to iron out some bumps in mine and add some better soil. When would be the right time? It's been in for about 4 months and healthy. Then I have to go fix the sister in laws who got scammed by a landscaper, they didn't put any new soil down over the clay and even left a big sheet of building plastic under the cheap turf they said was sir walter. Dangerous levels in some parts that drop away by about 30 to 40cm. Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Laying Turf & More 264Jan 19, 2012 10:43 am Hi Fu or anyone, If I would like to kill the existing grass lawn, and I heard from someone that putting a black plastic sheet covering the existing lawn for 2 to 3 weeks, let the grass underneath die naturally, and then dig out the soil and put the new topsoil, then lay the new turf, is it better than spraying grass/weed killer instead? Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Laying Turf & More 265Jan 21, 2012 11:07 am Has anyone tried the new Yates Uplift spray as an alternative to Seasol + powerfeed? I've recently started using it, and just wanted other people's opinion. All I can say so far is that the sprayer is MUCH better than the one that comes with seasol. I find quite often the seasol one doesn't add seasol if held at the wrong angle etc. The yates one is less picky. The smell of fish afterwards is also much higher in the yates, which I would assume is a higher concentration. Also includes some microbes and wetting agent apparently. Costs the same as seasol + powerfeed mix. Thoughts? Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Laying Turf & More 266Jan 31, 2012 12:10 am My EZ is thinning up in both the front and back yard. I did all the soil prep, and the back yard was coming up very very nice until just recently. It has been quite hot in Perth, so perhaps that explains the backyard only recently starting to turn bad? What causes the blades to shrivel up/thin out? Is it a lack of water? Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Laying Turf & More 267Jan 31, 2012 9:55 am deeps My EZ is thinning up in both the front and back yard. I did all the soil prep, and the back yard was coming up very very nice until just recently. It has been quite hot in Perth, so perhaps that explains the backyard only recently starting to turn bad? What causes the blades to shrivel up/thin out? Is it a lack of water? I'm getting this on my new EZ as well. Very hot days will dry out huge chunks of the lawn and actually kill it if I don't get water on it same day. The hotter it gets, the larger the dry patches are. There are some areas of the lawn that are bulletproof, and I can only assume that they have rooted deeper and/or had a better mix of ingredients when I did the prep. I've tried putting on soil wetter but the same patches still dry up - I also feed the lawn after every mow, but that just makes it grow more. It already grows too fast and needs a fortnightly cut. Hopefully (needs qualification from somebody else) the dry patches are appearing because the lawn is young and the roots are shallow. After another spring and summer they should have rooted deeper and may become more resistant to heat/drought. Fu Manchu's Guide to Soil Prep & Laying Turf 268Mar 28, 2012 5:58 pm Fu Manchu Forget compacting it. You'll be best advised to level the area as best you can, get some white sand down and that will make the job far less messy. Turn it in a bit if you want. Just get the turf down and then once it's settled, sort the bumps out. The longer there are no plant roots in that soil, the wetter and then drier it will be. With some lawn down and growing roots things will sort it self out. Hi Fu, It's been a while since I updated this post. I had been waiting over 3 months for my builders plumber to rectify the major drain issues I had. One good thing is I am ready to lay the turf Saturday. The problem now is I have attempted to rake and screed it level and the soil is almost covered in hard soil/clay lumps that have mixed together from the huge rained/flooded mess from 3 months ago. I have tried to break up as much as I can and level out. What are my options. Do I try to plate compact? Here are some photos. Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Laying Turf & More 269Apr 02, 2012 4:59 pm pjng1 deeps I've tried putting on soil wetter but the same patches still dry up - I also feed the lawn after every mow, but that just makes it grow more. It already grows too fast and needs a fortnightly cut. Hopefully (needs qualification from somebody else) the dry patches are appearing because the lawn is young and the roots are shallow. After another spring and summer they should have rooted deeper and may become more resistant to heat/drought. I am by no means an expert but i would not be feeding after every mow as i would assume it will encourage quicker leaf growth whilst the roots are young. This would cause the grasses roots to have to work at feeding the leaves not growing deeper. I have EZ in the back and usually use fujuice on it once every month or so and use seamungus green/blood and bone alternating every 3 months or so. Ive actually stopped feeding the EZ with fujuice for a while as it was growing too fast. It has now settled down in its growth so will start feeding it fujuice again soon. (When i can be bothered ) I am definetly slack on this and this is just a rough estimate. I love my grass... Im weird... Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Soil Prep & Laying Turf 272Apr 07, 2012 3:03 pm First of all, thanks to all who contribute to this thread, I just wish I read this earlier! I layed my turf last week, thought I did enough research but clearly I didn't... Anyways, so some of my turf 'looks' dead, or dying. After reading this thread I added the Seasol/Powerfeed treatment a couple days ago. I'm hoping the turf will turn around, will keep you informed. My my biggest problem now is I didn't realise I should have compacted the soil before laying, so now when the soil is damp if you walk on it you sink... Consequently the turf is not flat, with lumps and dents all over it. Is there something I can do now to fix this, or is it a sit and wait for it to compact naturally? I've gone over it a few times with a roller, but whilst compacting some areas, I just put more holes with my feet. Thanks for your help in advance. Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Soil Prep & Laying Turf 273Apr 07, 2012 5:20 pm I know its extra effort but you might want to consider ripping the turf up and doing it properly. Bentonite/zeolite/compost. Give it molasses after it's down. It will be worth the effort. My turf is going down in 4 weeks and I will be doing exactly the same. Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Soil Prep & Laying Turf 274Apr 12, 2012 4:09 pm Can I ask if anyone in Perth has used/looked at the soils and conditioners sold at greenlifesoil.com.au? I contacted them recently to see what was in their mixes and this was the reply "when on our website, you go into the 'soils and conditioners' category then under 'General Concentrate' it should say; "Loads of nutrients, organic matter and minerals to help hold water. Ideal for topping up and conditioning existing garden beds. Recommended mixing rate is 1 part concentrate to 1 part soil." When we say 'everything', we mean everything that WE suggest it needs to grow, not everything that everyone else suggests should be used. Just thought I would clarify that. Home one suggests Bentonite, Spongolite/Perlite, Zeolite, Piggypost . . We put in Bentonite, gypsum, zeolite, rock phospate, potassium silicate, granite dust and pure blood and bone. Instead of piggypost we instead have a mix of garden compost, mushroom compost, blend of sheep and cow manure and econo mulch. This being the actual 'composition' of this soil. SO, to answer your question, it has everything that you need and so long as you mix it in well and water it in well, you will be able to help ensure the best start for your gardens. Hope this helps." I am in the Willetton area and the sand has been also neglected for many years. So my question would be - Do you think that they have a good mix, I also know that they add Sand Remedy into their soils! Would this be suffice OR do you feel that the likes of the suggested Bentonite, Sponglite, Zeolite, Piggypost recommended through this post would be in small quantities and would need to be increased? Thanking you Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Soil Prep & Laying Turf 275May 16, 2012 3:32 pm Hi there, new poster here after some advice. I have read both the threads, however still have some queries. We are about to get hand over of our new house and need to start getting serious about some turf. I am keen to lay Sir Walter however after speaking with some landscapers it appears that the effort they are planning to put into the preparation is minimal (considering the price), so i am looking to do the preparation work myself instead. We are in Cairns and the soil appears to be predominately clay, with some crusher dust spread by the builder to "finish" off the site. We have to get a dingo operator in initially to sort out some small drainage and level issues. My question is: -I cannot seem to find any 'certified' organic compost in Cairns, will something like this be ok http://www.cairnsmulch.com.au/mulch.html We also have much older composted products that are ideal potting mix or soil conditioner:Premium Compost: Very old broken down mulch, almost soil consistency. Does not contain worms but will encourage them or should i keep looking for something more appropriate? Thanks in advance for your help. EDIT So I have found another possible source that had some idea what i was talking about, however could not provide a compost like material, more just a mulch. http://www.banddlandscape.com.au/2.html she suggested the forest mulch as it breaks down very quickly. I have managed to source everything else that is required except for the Bactivate, so I am pretty happy with my ventures today. Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Soil Prep & Laying Turf 276May 21, 2012 11:26 am wrexter I know its extra effort but you might want to consider ripping the turf up and doing it properly. Bentonite/zeolite/compost. I also been doing that and truly is worth the effort. Help plssss 277May 23, 2012 5:20 pm Hi Fu, I laid the EZ in our front yard in Feb this yr. Preped and laid as per the instructions in this thread and done all the follow up things since then, re molasses, seasol,powerfeed, seamungus etc. I have mowed the grass once so far. I know you advocate against using weedkillers, and I haven't used any - 'yet'. I have followed your guidelines about just feeding the soil and letting the EZ mature and outgrow the weeds eventually. But below are some pictures of how the grass is looking at the moment, with all these weeds sprouting up and actually getting to some decent (disgustingly) sizes. Your, or anyone else's help would be sooooo much apprecited. I am in Melbourne, if that makes a difference. Regards, K Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Soil Prep & Laying Turf 278May 24, 2012 8:20 am At this time of year in melb ez isnt growing much if any and the weeds will invade. As the lawn matures it will get a thicker thatch layer which will stop most weed seed germinating. You will have to do something about the current weeds they wont go away themselves. You could spray with bin-die by amgrow/chemspray or just use a kitchen fork to lever them out. The weed problem will happen again in august/sept too btw. Just keep on top of it so your current weeds dont set seed and you have even more weeds to contend with next year. Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Soil Prep & Laying Turf 279May 27, 2012 8:18 am BeatrixKiddo At this time of year in melb ez isnt growing much if any and the weeds will invade. As the lawn matures it will get a thicker thatch layer which will stop most weed seed germinating. You will have to do something about the current weeds they wont go away themselves. You could spray with bin-die by amgrow/chemspray or just use a kitchen fork to lever them out. The weed problem will happen again in august/sept too btw. Just keep on top of it so your current weeds dont set seed and you have even more weeds to contend with next year. Thanks BK. I shall buy that tonight, Looks I shall have to wait till wed or so to use it. Hope it works. Regards, K. Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Soil Prep & Laying Turf 280May 28, 2012 8:31 am Fu hasn't posted here in half a year, so i doubt you'll get a response from him. Yank those weeds out by hand! I seem to be getting a bit of clover in my lawns. I've found Buffalo Master does a great job but you must follow the instructions and not use more than the recommended amount or your grass will go yellow! Yep, i learnt that the hard way. I also add a bit of seasol and a drop of dishwashing liquid as per Fu's advice. I'm about to put down some Merbau. Is it necessary to oil underneath the boards before laying? 0 2617 Hey There. No problems re jumping in. My original question was "should I have waterproofed" the concrete slab before putting batons down. We have been told we should… 7 4871 They using concrete or timber sleepers? Timber or steel uprights? Any drainage behind sleeper? 3 6306 |