Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Mar 23, 2011 10:36 am Hi, we have a 150sqm yard around our new house (Brisbane) which has been filled with a nasty mixture of small rocks and clay (as seen in the photo below), and after trawling through all the excellent info on this site I now know we need to greatly improve the soil before laying turf! I’m hoping somebody could give me a few quick answers on the final queries below - I don’t mean to start a huge discussion because I’m sure much of this has been discussed to death already. Even simple one word answers would really help me out! (I’ve searched for these but couldn’t find straight answers). At this stage it’s just bare earth, and I’m looking to put down some of the stuff that’s been suggested on these forums and dig it all through with a rotary hoe. - I have Powerfeed and Gypsum that I’m going to put down, but is it fine to put down Seasol as well before the turf is laid, ie. Just straight onto the bare earth? Or is that wasted and it would be better applied once the turf is down? - Is blood and bone suitable to put down and dig through too, or better left for after the turf is laid? - Can anybody suggest a place to get Zeolite and molasses from in Brisbane? I'll put them down into the soil. - The turf choice will be some sort of buffalo (SW or possibly Sapphire). Is mid April getting too close to winter for laying this type of turf? - Using a plate compactor on the turf once it’s laid – that doesn’t kind of pulverise the root system together and damage the turf? Silly question I know, but I don’t want to do anything silly from misreading the info! - Lastly, can we cause any damage by applying too much of any of this stuff to the soil? From what I’ve read on here we don’t need to be too particular about measuring everything out accurately. Am I overlooking anything really obvious that MUST go down? Thanks in advance Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Final checklist for soil improving (clay soil in Brisban 2Mar 25, 2011 12:32 pm StartingOut Hi, we have a 150sqm yard around our new house (Brisbane) which has been filled with a nasty mixture of small rocks and clay (as seen in the photo below), and after trawling through all the excellent info on this site I now know we need to greatly improve the soil before laying turf! I’m hoping somebody could give me a few quick answers on the final queries below - I don’t mean to start a huge discussion because I’m sure much of this has been discussed to death already. Even simple one word answers would really help me out! (I’ve searched for these but couldn’t find straight answers). At this stage it’s just bare earth, and I’m looking to put down some of the stuff that’s been suggested on these forums and dig it all through with a rotary hoe. - Quote: I have Powerfeed and Gypsum that I’m going to put down, but is it fine to put down Seasol as well before the turf is laid, ie. Just straight onto the bare earth? Or is that wasted and it would be better applied once the turf is down? Apply soluble Nitrogen(N) fertilser BEFORE laying turf Quote: - Is blood and bone suitable to put down and dig through too, or better left for after the turf is laid? Turf nutrition is done after turf laying . Look for reduced growth and paleness, these will be the two main symptoms of poor nutrition. And will likely come from deficiences of nitrogen, sulfur or iron. Look for fertilizers that contain these elements.Other deficiences will either never been seen or they will only produce easily recognizable symptoms.Apply fertilizers uniformly , otherwise growth and colour will be uneven. Quote: - Can anybody suggest a place to get Zeolite and molasses from in Brisbane? I'll put them down into the soil. Try a turf supply company or maybe a hardware store. - Quote: The turf choice will be some sort of buffalo (SW or possibly Sapphire). Is mid April getting too close to winter for laying this type of turf? Turfing can be done at anytime of the year. Quote: - Using a plate compactor on the turf once it’s laid – that doesn’t kind of pulverise the root system together and damage the turf? Silly question I know, but I don’t want to do anything silly from misreading the info! When laying the turf tamp the area lightly to ensure a firm bond between turf and soil. A light roller may be used but can cause the turf to creep, opening some joints. Quote: - Lastly, can we cause any damage by applying too much of any of this stuff to the soil? From what I’ve read on here we don’t need to be too particular about measuring everything out accurately. YES!Excessive use of fertilizers can cause toxicity. Quote: Am I overlooking anything really obvious that MUST go down? Thanks in advance Other things to remember Irrigate well, then allow to drain before laying turf. Stagger the joints the same way that bricks are laid. Work from boards placed on the newly turf when turf laying Keep the turf wet to moist while awaiting laying Irrigate as soon as possible after laying and certainly within one hour. Post laying: irrigate regularly until you are sure that roots are growing into the subgrade throughout the whole area. Hope that helps and good luck. Cheers Luke Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ “A doctor can bury his mistakes but an architect can only advise his clients to plant vines.” Frank Lloyd Wright Re: Final checklist for soil improving (clay soil in Brisban 3Mar 27, 2011 5:01 pm Hi Luke, Thanks for the help. Re. the blood and bone the idea with that was to get some compost into the soil before laying the turf while we could still get to the soil easily. I'm not so sure on the use of other fertilisers post-laying since the concensus on this site seems to be to feed the soil and not the turf, which makes sense to me. I like the idea of laying down boards to spread the weight on the newly laid turf though! Thanks again. Re: Final checklist for soil improving (clay soil in Brisban 4Apr 05, 2011 2:33 am You want a bit of sand, soil amendments (very critical) like perlite, spongolite, zeolite. Certified organic compost. That is all. Fertiliser will undo much of your good work. They are not really required and that goes against much of the commercial rubbish folks get fed. Gypsum is near on not much use when compared with rich organic composts and ongoing organic care. It leaves it for dead. Gypsum and its use stems from commercial old school agriculture where pumping fertiliser matters. In many clay soils dolomite of lime will do a better job. Gypsum is not effective in all clay soils. Organic composts which have loads of humic and fulvic and also amino acids will do a damn sight better job of fluffing that soil up Once sorted, mulch with mulch from your local tree contractor to 10cm. I never compromise on this. Use molasses on everything (check the thread on how to use it) seasol on the plants. If you can find it, some Bactivate (search it on youtube) from a farm supplier or ag shop. Re: Final checklist for soil improving (clay soil in Brisban 5Apr 07, 2011 3:42 pm Thank you Fu, that's really helpful advice just as I expected! Sounds like organic compost is the go. With the mulch, do I lay the turf straight on top of that, or do I mix the mulch all through the soil first, along with the compost etc, and then lay the turf onto this mix of all the good stuff? And the plate compactor - I just merrily use that on top of the rolled turf and it doesn't pulverise the roots or anything? Thanks again. Final checklist for soil improving (clay soil in Brisbane) 6Apr 07, 2011 7:08 pm **** what did I write?? Hang on! Final checklist for soil improving (clay soil in Brisbane) 7Apr 07, 2011 7:10 pm Oh crap! Sorry I meant that mulch bizzo for the garden whoops Everything bar the mulch that's for the garden Re: Final checklist for soil improving (clay soil in Brisban 8Apr 08, 2011 1:47 pm Aah, that makes more sense now - thanks for the clarification. Mulch for the garden only, noted! I've dug some footings to embed a post anchor into. My holes are around 450mm deep which I'll put a 200mm stirrup into. 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