Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Dec 01, 2013 10:29 am I have been following various threads on this forum for the past three months; you have a great community going with fantastic content I would like to contribute and share my learning as I undertake my turf project in Melbourne...hopefully this will help others looking for products etc as outlined in Fus soil prep My wife is Italian and I have been cursing how much they love to concrete everything. The front and back yards (approx 160m2) were covered in concrete paths which were laid on top of old concrete which was laid on top of glass, bricks, tools, steel (you name it, I found it) with Kikuyu in sections. So first, killed off all the kikuyu including a fair bit creeping through from my neighbours place by spraying roundup with some seasol and detergent (Thanks again FU). I then had a bobcat remove all the concrete and the top 200mm of soil which contained the Kikuyu. I live in Coburg which is generally a volcanic grey clay based soil so I bought a 7hp rotary hoe and turned it over to bout 400mm in multiple directions to avoid creating a pan. I then tilled in gypsum at 1kg per m2 and topped up with ecoflow liquid gypsum to get the job moving. I spent the next few weeks picking out asbestos, rusted nails and more bricks and glass Finally, I ordered in 7m3 of organic compost which I got from Col Smith delivers in Doncaster for approx $47 per m2. which has been tilled into the existing soil (about 2m3 in front and 5m3 in back) I stocked up on the following soil prep products as per Fu's recommendations: 10 x 15kg bags of gypsum from bunnings (wish I had sourced this cheaper) 2 x 5lt bottles of eco flow gypsum from bunnings 4 x 25kg bags of zeolite bought for $18 per bag at Bulleen Art & Garden 2 x 100Lt of Perlite bought from Melbourne Hydro for $26 per bag 2 x tubs of Seamungus from Bunnings $39 each 1 x 25kg of Bactivate from Bioasis Seasol and Powerfeed from Bunnings (can't recall exactly how much I bought) Also bought some GoGo juice from Bunnings Lastly, I bought 10 m3 of rich soil to bring the soil levels back up. I am looked at all the turf varieties in deapth including Seaside paspalum such as Velvetene and Sea Dwarf, Sapphire and Palmetto, Village Green and Kenda Kikuyu, Tall Fescue (and other cool season grasses) and a few of the couch varieties. I think I have settled for using a Zoysia as my house is West facing and gets plenty of sun (hopefully this won't be too impacted when I put in some mature shade trees). I am still not settled on which Zoysia to use. I like a very fine soft lawn like a perrenial rye or couch etc so I was considering the Empress Zoysia. However no-one is selling it in Melbourne so I would have to order it from a NSW or South Australian grower. Empire and Nara are available in Melbourne through a few sellers but is is difficult to look at the grass when no-one has displays. Empire can be viewed at Malvern Private Hospital so I am heading out there to have a look. Does anyone have any thoughts on whether the Empress will grow Ok in Melbourne? Re: Zoysia project in Melbourne 2Dec 20, 2013 9:02 pm Soil levels were still down so I hired a dingo and added 12m3 of soil containing organic compost and loam which I got for $40 per m3 from Taylors Lakes Garden World (it could have had some more sand it I think as there was bit too much clay for my liking); I will be tilling that in this weekend along with all of Fu's other suggested soil treatments but I may need to add some more sand. I have decided on Nara Native turf as only one grower in Australia is growing the Empress Zoysia and Empire Zoysia is out of stock in NSW (where the Melbourne companies get it from) and won't be available until February. At the last minute I considered buying Discovery Couch which is a new shade tolerant couch cultivar (copes with 50% shade); it is nice and fine and doesn't suffer from the shade issues of Santa Ana, Wintergreen etc. It also has much slower vertical growth so it requires approximately 75% less mowing than other Couch varieties. However I spoke to a few companies that had been trialling it in Melbourne and they said it was incredibly dorment in winter, it looked really straggly and worse than any of the other couches. (They will not be growing it in the future). So! 165m2 of Nara purchased today for delivery/laying on Tuesday. I will be getting the soil PH tested this weekend also so that I can add any other PH treatments to it. I will post photos of the job after this weekend. Lastly, I also got 2 x 5kg tubs of Molasses to mix with the Seasol...need to buy some water crystals. Re: Zoysia project in Melbourne 4Dec 21, 2013 9:02 pm Hi there - I live in Melbourne and laid our Zoiysia about 1 year ago from Austral Turf - great people to deal with http://australturf.com.au/ Honestly we didn't do as much prep as you did - I read everything Fu said but just ran out of time and didn't have enough money saved up. After 1 year I am very impressed with the zoysia. It does great in winter - doesn't die that much but so far has noticed it loves a little bit of shade. The areas where we walk a lot are not as tall. Watering is no too bad - as it is getting warmer we may need to put the sprinkler on once or twice a week. The only thing I regret was no compacting over it before and after we laid it. There are some high and low patches but not that noticeable. Also the growth to surrounding areas is slow compared to Kikuyu. After one year it has only crawled about 4 cms out of boundaries. I hope this is helpful Re: Zoysia project in Melbourne 5Dec 22, 2013 12:05 am Hi Victoria_g06, thanks for posting a response. I ordered my Nara from Jerry at Austral Turf also...he has put up with multiple phone calls from me and was very helpful in providing places to see the grasses. Did you lay Empire or Nara? Re: Zoysia project in Melbourne 6Dec 22, 2013 3:08 am I laid 90sqm of Nara from Jerry last month. If he says that it is going to be delivered early in the day he means it. My neighbours Empire arrived at 0500. My Nara arrived at 4:15am! It has only been down a month and it is well rooted and looks great. Mind you I only had weeds before so anything is an improvement. I will post some pics when I get time. I compacted before laying but couldn't after as I had to return the compactor and it seems ok. Re: Zoysia project in Melbourne 7Dec 22, 2013 6:19 am dramapig Hi Victoria_g06, thanks for posting a response. I ordered my Nara from Jerry at Austral Turf also...he has put up with multiple phone calls from me and was very helpful in providing places to see the grasses. Did you lay Empire or Nara? Hi there - I got the Empire - I love it though it is seeding quite a lot in summer and I have to mow it at least every two weeks .. but I'm ok with that Oh yeah it does get delivered early - 5.30 am for us - we had to do a dash to bunnings for some fertiliser as we didn't want the grass to die (over 30 degree day). We though we had more time - but it's understandable. Re: Zoysia project in Melbourne 8Dec 22, 2013 8:03 am Thanks guys for letting me know about the delivery times. I have a three week old baby so we're not getting loads of sleep anyway I was going to hire the compactor for Tuesday when the turf gets delivered so hopefully I can compact all the soil, lay and compact again. Victoria_g06 Hi there - I got the Empire - I love it though it is seeding quite a lot in summer and I have to mow it at least every two weeks .. but I'm ok with that Hi Victoria_g06, I was going to order Empire but it is not available until February and my 3 year old might just destroy the enitre house if I don't get the garden done BoxJelly I laid 90sqm of Nara from Jerry last month. If he says that it is going to be delivered early in the day he means it. My neighbours Empire arrived at 0500. My Nara arrived at 4:15am! It has only been down a month and it is well rooted and looks great. Mind you I only had weeds before so anything is an improvement. I will post some pics when I get time. I compacted before laying but couldn't after as I had to return the compactor and it seems ok. Thanks BoxJelly, I didn't get to see any nice Nara before I ordered as the addresses that Jerry gave me had let their turf die It amazes me that people spend so much money on grass but don't treat it like other plants. I'd love to see some pics. I will post some before after pics after Tuesday...hopefully if the rain holds off I can add all of Fu's suggested treatments today. Re: Zoysia project in Melbourne 9Dec 27, 2013 9:39 am Thanks Victoria_g06 Your information is very helpful! We have been researching lawn types and are considering either Empire or Nara Zoysia. We were wondering how green it would stay in the winter. We live near the coast in the central part of SA so we wouldn't be quite as cold as Melbourne so sounds like it will be ok in winter It won't get lots of shade either. We're looking for a supplier now! I'll check out Austral Turf that you mentioned. Re: Zoysia project in Melbourne 10Dec 29, 2013 8:33 am Finally done! Added all of the soil treatment (300L Perlite, 100kg Zeolite, Bactivate) kids loved the Perlite and asked me why I got rid of the snow when I tilled it into the soil Leveled using a push leveler and then compacted. I waited to spray the Powerfeed until after I had compacted as I didn't want the compactor going over wet soil. In the morning, I threw down some water storing crystals and waited for the turf to arrive. At 7:30, Jerry turned up with 180m2 of Nara (Jerry was a little late) The Nara looked great; very soft and lush. Started laying at approximately 09:00 and finished at 18:00 just in time for Christmas Eve dinner. Came home after dinner and watered the lawn with Seasol and Molasses. After laying it all, I had about 28m2 spare so I have started on the nature strip. All of the spare turf has been laid on top soil to keep it alive whilst I rip out the kikuyu on the nature strip and till the soil. Looks like I need more Perlite and Zeolite ! Since Christmas day a lot of the turf has browned off and gone quite prickly. Unfortunately the hot weather kicked in and I had not had a chance to top dress with soil. Hopefully now that I have finished topdressing it will revive as the grass takes root and gets watered. Before and after photos of the backyard attached. Thanks to everyone on this forum for all of the information provided. I could not have done the job without it. If anyone needs help in Melbourne, please feel free to PM me. Before we started renovating (wasn't this green when we removed the concrete). Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ After I had added 7 m3 of compost. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Added all Fu’s suggested treatments Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Tilled again, levelled and compacted Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Turf laid without topdressing Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ After topdressing and moved remaining turf to veggie patch and garden bed Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Zoysia project in Melbourne 12Dec 30, 2013 5:20 am Yes - That looks amazing - I thought I had a hard time with 65m2!! You did three times that! Re: Zoysia project in Melbourne 13Dec 30, 2013 6:34 am Thanks guys! It looks pretty crappy with the topdressing but I guess the grass will grow through in the next 4 weeks or so. I have definitely learned heaps but my wife thinks I'm nutts Oddly enough the turf that is sitting on top of the garden beds and veggie patch is doing great...better than the turf laid on the ground. I wonder weather compacting made it to smooth. Oh well not much I can do now. After the turf was laid, I used normal Seasol but then realised there is a turf variety with different NPK levels...any ideas on whether I should give it more Seasol or GoGo Juice? I don't want to overfertilise the Zoysia Re: Zoysia project in Melbourne 14Aug 15, 2014 9:32 pm Well. I have to say that I am not that impressed with the Nara. I have followed maintenance directions, hand picked weeds as they come through and loved the lawn. But it does not cope with much ware, little blades break off easily and get carted through the house, it is sparse in the slightly shaded areas and it has browned off this winter long before anyone else in the street. In fact as I write, our nature strip (which gets no wear and tear) and always gets the sun looks like a miserable mess whilst the everyone else (who has plain old Kaikuyu) is still looking green. My wife is so unhappy with the Nara even she has suggested ripping it up and planting Sapphire. I am so gutted! after all the work I have put into the soil and after care...it shouldn't need that much attention or time. I almost wish I had just planted Kaikuyu...at least I would only be dealing with mowing and hedging. Keen to hear anyone else has had problems with the Nara Re: Zoysia project in Melbourne 15Aug 15, 2014 10:45 pm dramapig Well. I have to say that I am not that impressed with the Nara. I have followed maintenance directions, hand picked weeds as they come through and loved the lawn. But it does not cope with much ware, little blades break off easily and get carted through the house, it is sparse in the slightly shaded areas and it has browned off this winter long before anyone else in the street. In fact as I write, our nature strip (which gets no wear and tear) and always gets the sun looks like a miserable mess whilst the everyone else (who has plain old Kaikuyu) is still looking green. My wife is so unhappy with the Nara even she has suggested ripping it up and planting Sapphire. I am so gutted! after all the work I have put into the soil and after care...it shouldn't need that much attention or time. I almost wish I had just planted Kaikuyu...at least I would only be dealing with mowing and hedging. Keen to hear anyone else has had problems with the Nara Oh thats a shame - Although correct me if I'm wrong but Nara and Zoysia are warmer weather grasses and Kikuyu is a winter grass? My zoysia looks a little sad now (Around 2 years old?) but I know once the warmer weather comes and a little watering it will be green and very happy. Re: Zoysia project in Melbourne 16Aug 16, 2014 9:45 am I have empire zoysia and it went brown a few months ago. I've had countless people tell me that my grass has died and it has weeds growing all over it when I stop pulling them out for too long. I'm hoping it bounces back, all the articles said that the first winter in the worst and then it gets better. I did not have issues with blades breaking off... I'm hoping it re-greens in September, and quickly ! My nature strip is a mix of 4 different lawn seeds and it looks much better, although it has more weeds in it than the turf I laid out the back. Re: Zoysia project in Melbourne 17Aug 20, 2014 12:14 am I had a lush Fescue lawn, laid by the previous owner, which died during the drought (Melbourne). I poisoned what was there, rotary hoed and added all the good stuff. My son and I laid the Nara Nov 2013. I watered it quite a lot and added Seasol etc and it established quite well. As an aside, during the rotary hoe I found two worms in 85sqm. In January when I had to dig to fix a watering system leak I found approx 10 worms per shovel load. Had to mow every two weeks. Around June it became dormant and the weeds tried to take over out the back where there is some shade. I hand weed when I’m back home and it looks ok. Out the front only a few weeds and less die off. Orange rust out the front but not out the back. Next May I think I will raise the mower cutting height every cut so that by the time it becomes dormant there is a mass of leaf to help keep the weeds down. I don’t have to walk on my lawn due to concrete paths so don’t have any wear issues but when I had Kikuyu and dogs it would take a beating in winter and then recover over summer only to take a beating again. Maybe a few well placed paths might ease your wear issues? Keep gardening. PS I couldn't post any photos. I'll look into it. Re: Zoysia project in Melbourne 18Aug 20, 2014 8:44 am BoxJelly PS I couldn't post any photos. I'll look into it. I use photobucket, this website requires you to use an external website to host your photos... Re: Zoysia project in Melbourne 19Aug 21, 2014 9:19 am Nara, Zoysia, Palmetto, Sapphire, Buffalo. All the lawn types in my area that are yellow right now. My Kikuyu: lush, green, thick. Hasn't been mown in 2 months. With the problems we have with galahs destroying lawns in my area, I have no option but to use Kikuyu due to its aggressive repairing nature. Re: Zoysia project in Melbourne 20Aug 23, 2014 3:34 pm Not sure about everyone else, but my empire zoysia is starting to show signs of life, parts of it are getting green while other parts are still dormant/dead. I also removed at least 100 weeds today, I had let it go for a while... I've given it plenty of water in case the grass needs more water in order to re-grow, as the soil was very dry and it's slowly getting warmer. 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 If you need to pay for a project manager you would be well advised to just engage a builder who would take full responsibility for the build. 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