Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Aug 28, 2011 11:45 am We have a lawn of buffalo which is pretty well established. Unfortunately when the previous owners laid the lawn they did not make sure that there were not pot holes etc in the ground and so the lawn is very uneven. Is there a way to rectify this (without tearing up the whole lawn, evening out the bumps and then relaying it)? Re: Smoothing out the lawn 3Aug 28, 2011 6:09 pm Please don't top dress with sand or loam. This is not a good idea in the scheme of the better sustainable ways of growing turf. You'll end up with other problems later. Have a browse of the turf thread (the smaller one) At a minimum, apply some zeolite and then organic compost. Rake it over a few weeks as the lawn grows through. In the turf thread you will see a photo of some the basic equipment you can use. A soil spreader will be best to use to sort the level. Raking alone won't get it quite as level. You can hire one for the day. That is a little one, there are bigger ones. Have the higher bits so the turf leaves show through. Apply molasses as per the thread on it. The zeolite is important. If you wanted to you could also hire a corer first and that way you'll get the organic compost and zeolite deeper into the soil for greater benefit. A light few laps with a compactor as well will help a little. don't go nuts on that. Just depends what you can afford to do. It will come up better than you'd imagine. Re: Smoothing out the lawn 4Aug 28, 2011 8:02 pm Fu, not having a go, but compost sinks as its consumed by microbes so you need some sort of soil fill (eg sand/soil from around the yard) mixed with compost to keep the levels. For example i filled a raised garden bed that was two sleepers high with soil/compost 50/50 and in 10 months the levels dropped 50%. This is fantastic for soil conditioning but not so good for keeping levels. So does the turf roots and thatch fill in the compost filled dips and hold the levels? Re: Smoothing out the lawn 5Aug 28, 2011 9:13 pm Fu Manchu Please don't top dress with sand or loam. This is not a good idea in the scheme of the better sustainable ways of growing turf. You'll end up with other problems later. Why not ? I bought roll out lawn from a major lawn supplier in SA and that is exactly what he told me to do, top dress with sand or loam. Why is your advice diff from that of a main supplier ? Smoothing out the lawn 6Aug 28, 2011 9:50 pm Absolutely but as with many things turf related, what turf farms and turf mangers do and recommend is not that effective anymore in domestic applications. Old out dated practices that do the job on the cheap for the customer with expensive consequences for the turf owner, environment and turf industry in the future. Often the turf industry is being it's own worst enemy. Many over east tell people to do a 100mm layer of said materials (or over here in WA, it's a layer of brickies sand and DPM) Just crazy stuff. $$ for years to come. They say it because that's how they have done it for the last 40years. That's how they have been taught. We just can't keep doing it. It's hurting house hold budgets in the long term and the environment. It's hurting the concept of owning a lawn. We are seeing a massive shift in turf thinking by necessity and my advice is in line with some if this countries best. Smoothing out the lawn 8Aug 28, 2011 10:10 pm The turf stickies explain some of that also. The problems people have with turf are ultimately created by the common advice given by commercial turf mangers (then manipulated to suit gardeners) chemical fertiliser use and the effects they have on domestic budgets, the environment. Also the use of fungicides and incorrect use and over prescription of lawn pesticides. These are all combining to create a heap of problems for a lawn and dissatisfied and confused turf owners. Eliminate that *stuff and you will have a fantastic lawn that has a stable appearance throughout the year. It won't need the weed sprays (or at least occasionally over the years.) It will use less than half the water, need less mowing. I'm not alone in this thinking and here in WA there is great interest in changing things. *Synthetic Slow/controlled release (such as Scotts Lawn Builder) are an option but organic turf care will give less problems and better finish. Using no catcher is even better and is just what turf farms and golf courses do. The lawn breaks down and feeds the lawn. Smoothing out the lawn 9Aug 28, 2011 10:16 pm eyspy Sorry, but I do not understand your response ? What harm does sand or loam do to the lawn or the environment ?? It heats up enormously and doesn't hold organic nutrients as well. Moisture retention during summer is compromised in comparison to organic compost. Nutrient leaching is common from such soils particularly in winter which creates problems later in summer or as warmer growing seasons start. The over all difference is yes do it, but rely on synthetic fertilisers, pesticides and fungicides. Use organic principals and enjoy the lawn everyone seeks with next to no effort over the years. Re: Smoothing out the lawn 10Aug 28, 2011 10:53 pm It's a valid question eyspy. I guess the hard thing for me to try explain is doing it in a few paragraphs. What we are looking at is the difference between old outdated chemical methods of turf care and the new (and original) sustainable organic methods. This sort of illustrates what I mean. http://www.lawnreform.org/ Using lawn soils, loams and lawn top dresses are sympathetic to chemical and synthetic nutrient turf care. What they don't do is address the very thing that makes all plants grow, that being a living soil. Soil microbes are critical to all plant life on earth. ts not somethinga bag of fertiliser addresses. In fact most typoes commonly used are harmful to them. Using organic composts will yield more sustainable results for lawns over a long period of time by providing the missing portion of soil a habitat to exist. That being organic material and input. Re: Smoothing out the lawn 11Aug 28, 2011 11:05 pm The turf farm where our EZ came from suggested to level the grass 6mths or so after it had been laid using sand instead of compost & soil to avoid bringing weeds in? We put the turf down quickly in thr front whereas our back yard level is great as we had the time to prepare. Smoothing out the lawn 12Aug 28, 2011 11:40 pm There is masses of that sort of advice out there. This is part of why I have dedicated 5 years and a snippet of my knowledge to helping Homeone members avoid such pit falls. Re: Smoothing out the lawn 13Aug 29, 2011 10:33 am Fu Manchu Thanks for trying to explain it a bit better. I am hoping in my next property (3-4 acres with old farm house), to have no lawn at all. We want to spend a lot of time growing vegies and raising chickens. Most of the plantings already there are natives, so we figured we would not introduce lawn. Re: Smoothing out the lawn 14Sep 03, 2011 9:49 pm Holly crap, you have got it so right If you need to water it, make it productive. Get something for your money. Water is going to get more expensive and so is food. Grow your own and it is still cheaper than a lawn It is a big bag of crazy going for lawns when there are so many other options. It's beyond me why new home owners with tight budgets see turf as a good option. the leaves that are now underground go yellow, the tips that poke through photosynthesise and have chlorophyll, same reason they grow rhubarb in the dark. 5 4892 4 14309 Unless there is something in special conditions the builder does not have to give you timeline. If your demolition contractor has not removed Asbestos and it was found… 12 28812 |