Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Laying Turf & More 221Oct 15, 2011 12:53 pm Mattrix, thanks a heap for your helpful replies. I'm feeling a bit better about it all now, looks like we'll go ahead with purchasing bit by bit and start it next year. Like anything, I guess, you put the time effort and a few extra dollars and we'll get a better product out of it. Also I'm in South East Queensland. My newest problem is that I love lots of color, flowers and basically want to put things in that will attract, birds, bees and butterflies and I don't know where to start. We also want to put in a chook pen, fruit trees, magnolias and the list goes on. Going to take years I know. I need a plan but havn't the foggiest how to draw one up. We went to bunnings 'how to' class on creating a garden and there was no one there but us and the woman who served us was really lovely but she basically said ok so what do you want to know? And we're like, we have no idea!!! That's why we're here. So we can get ideas, plans drawn, directions or something!! LOL. Anyway I'll keep watching these landscaping threads and see where we end up. Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Laying Turf & More 222Oct 15, 2011 7:12 pm goodness if your in QLD why don't you just do all the soil prep and plant seed? Nice QLD blue or the likes..... Heaps cheaper and then you'll have even coverage and growth.... just an idea? In regards to design. Draw up your block to scale and anything thats there already that can't be moved and start drawing lines around the edges and think about colour and which plants you like.... maybe if you like and want birds do a "native" corner or feature in the middle of the backyard (if its big and you don't want just expanse of grass) Possibilities are endless and yes i know thats the problem! Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Laying Turf & More 223Oct 26, 2011 2:52 pm Hi All! Looking at putting in a small area (10 x 2.2) of Sir Walter (in Melbourne). Soil seems to be a reasonably hard clay type. What type/amount of product would you recommend (if any) for such a small job? Thank you Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Laying Turf & More 224Nov 08, 2011 11:48 am Mclaren Fu - I would be interested in your view to this response I got from a supplier in Adelaide when I sent this note:- I am looking for the following additives for my new garden of approx 100 sq metres. Do you have these in stock and can you advise costs, quantities I will need, etc? Perlite, Zeolite, Bactivate, Bentonite, Molasses. Many thanks The number of items you want to put in your garden bed is quite a lot and I think maybe doubling up. Perlite we sell in 100 litre bags for $26 however I don't have any application rates you may need to Google that one. Zeolite is in 25lt bags and cost $21 each, general application rate is 1/2 kilogram per square metre Bactivate is not a product we sell however if you go back to our website and search the Troforte controlled slow release fertiliser you will see the prills are coated in microbes that will do the same if not better job than the Bactivate. Molasses is more a pet & livestock product so we have not bothered selling this even though I have also recommended it in the past. You need to be a little cautious as it can attract ants that may bring with them other issues like scale and aphids. Not sure why you need Bentonite if you use Zeolite, anyway we don't sell Bentonite. At least it sounds like I can get most of what I want .. still haven't had the conversation with the landscaper the developer provides to do the front garden and verge ... hope I get a chance to add the organic compost and other bits and pieces.... I post this info for you guys in full knowledge that there are thousands of others out there that will say the opposite and confuse you. All I can say is just go with what I have recommended. Its some of Australia's amazing brains that feed my brain info Call the bactivate guys. They are very helpful. My info is well researched and cutting edge to many yet is all what we were doing 200 years ago. Its not rocket science. Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Laying Turf & More 225Nov 08, 2011 2:51 pm I'm prepping our soil following Fu's recommendation. I'm doing it all by myself so its taking time. Is it still good to lay the turf summer time? January? I'm still to source zeolite and olsen brio for those who get the certified organic soil where did you get yours besides Baag? Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Laying Turf & More 226Nov 08, 2011 2:54 pm I've found some at our local Wood n Logs .. I'm in Adelaide For info on our build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=43093 Built the McLaren by Dechellis - slab down 22 Feb - handover 30 Aug 2011 - and gardens finished 9 Dec 2012!! Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Laying Turf & More 227Nov 09, 2011 1:22 am You can buy zeolite in the green shed. Go to the pool isle. Sand filter replacement. Sold also in aquaponics shops and ag shops. Sold in Pond shops and some Hydro shops. Use Bactivate instead of the Olsens. Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Laying Turf & More 228Nov 09, 2011 7:27 pm Hey guys, I've just got started on the soil prep - armed with piggypost, bentonite, zeolite and friends. As I start, I'm a little perplexed as to how much sand I need to dig out before I start. Let's say the sod is 25-30mm. Adding 100mm of piggypost gives us a starting depth of at least 125mm, but the piggypost compacts down quite a bit, so I don't want to bust my rump trying to move that much sand if I don't have to. Do you think 25mm plus maybe half (50mm)? Allowances for clay would make that about 80mm. Does that sound about right? My retic is only about 150mm down, so anywhere near that would need a bobcat I reckon. Apologies if this has already been answered.... Fu Manchu's Guide to Laying Turf & More 229Nov 09, 2011 7:41 pm Those sorts of issues are never often contemplated. Just get the soil in, the amendments in and work it all over. Don't lay the lawn 34.56mm lower. Just get the soil level enough with the pavers on the ends. If its slightly higher in the middle, you're not going to notice. If you have a bit of preped soil as surplus, use it in the garden beds. Garden beds are exactly the same prep. Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Laying Turf & More 230Nov 09, 2011 9:42 pm Fu Manchu Those sorts of issues are never often contemplated. Just get the soil in, the amendments in and work it all over. Don't lay the lawn 34.56mm lower. Just get the soil level enough with the pavers on the ends. If its slightly higher in the middle, you're not going to notice. If you have a bit of preped soil as surplus, use it in the garden beds. Garden beds are exactly the same prep. Thanks for the quick response.... I would've thought it would be contemplated to some degree. If I just chucked 100mm worth of amendments on top of my existing sand, then I'd have a lawn 4 or 5 inches higher than my garden path - not something I want. Getting the level within an inch either way would be good. I'm going to hoick out 50 - 100mm, chuck in 100mm of compost, then see how it looks after a quick stomp. Maybe the guide made me over think it a bit. It mentions figures like 80-90% organic material and 10-20% sand. My sand is poor quality - so to get 80% organic material in the top 300mm of soil would involve a lot of digging. Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Laying Turf & More 231Nov 09, 2011 10:14 pm You won't get 100mm of amendments. Bentonite and zeolite are used at around 2-3 kg per m2. 1kg per m2 at a pinch. The organic compost being added, well yeah the more of that the better for the long term. Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Laying Turf & More 233Nov 11, 2011 6:40 pm Wanted to pop back in here ~10 weeks post turf laying and say a big thank you to Fu and the others who have contributed to the information in here. We prepped our Perth sandy soil as per Fu's turf laying guide and have since watered in seasol, powerfeed and molasses semi-regularly (probably not as regularly as I should!) and our lawn (EZ) is thriving. It survived its first (slightly too short) mow, and we still haven't had to water it beyond the first month of intensive watering, with all the rain we've had lately. We have a few brown spots where our labrador has burnt it with her pee, but am thinking they'll get better as the roots establish further (and we're trialling Dog Rocks - not convinced they are working yet!). The Laying Guide really works (where's a thumbs-up smiley when I need one!)! Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Laying Turf & More 235Nov 15, 2011 11:48 am I have been going over this tread and i have seen application rates of Perlite at 1kg per m2. I need to turf 164 m2 of grass. That would mean i need 165kg of perlite. If a 100L bag only weighs 4-5kg im going ot be up for some cash to get those type pf quantaties nad roughky 33 bags? Am I way off here or is that correct? Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Laying Turf & More 236Nov 15, 2011 12:18 pm Did I write that for perlite? Geeze that's heaps considering its like polystyrene in weight You guys would grow a good bean bag or two though Zeolite though, that is an excellent application rate. You'd use about 7-10 bags of it. You'd use a similar or less amount of bags for the perlite. Pad that out if you must with some sand. However 160m2 of turf is a massive area of lawn. The best advice I can offer for anyone is to always minimise your lawn areas or eliminate them all together unless absolutely needed. There is no reason at all when you dig down into it as to why we feel so compelled to have lawns. We shouldn't treat them like carpet for our gardens. Be smart about what future resource pressure you create for a new home. There are financial implications (water bills) of large lawns so keep them as small as possible. Man made alternatives are worse still (higher power bills) For front yards, seek out alternative lawn plants. If that green floor is a feature, there are lots of plants that will give that perfect green look with out mowing or water being constantly needed. Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Laying Turf & More 237Nov 15, 2011 2:30 pm Thanks Fu, At this stage we are to decide for certain sections of that area to have turf or garden. Cheers Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Laying Turf & More 238Nov 16, 2011 10:11 am Fu Manchu :lol: Did I write that for perlite? Geeze that's heaps considering its like polystyrene in weight You guys would grow a good bean bag or two though Zeolite though, that is an excellent application rate. You'd use about 7-10 bags of it. You'd use a similar or less amount of bags for the perlite. Pad that out if you must with some sand. However 160m2 of turf is a massive area of lawn. The best advice I can offer for anyone is to always minimise your lawn areas or eliminate them all together unless absolutely needed. There is no reason at all when you dig down into it as to why we feel so compelled to have lawns. We shouldn't treat them like carpet for our gardens. Be smart about what future resource pressure you create for a new home. There are financial implications (water bills) of large lawns so keep them as small as possible. Man made alternatives are worse still (higher power bills) For front yards, seek out alternative lawn plants. If that green floor is a feature, there are lots of plants that will give that perfect green look with out mowing or water being constantly needed. Fu what are the plants that will give similar green cover that grass does. Cheers Re: Fu Manchu's Guide to Laying Turf & More 240Nov 17, 2011 8:55 pm A couple of good ones that come to mind are Hemiandra pungens and Grevillea Gin Gin Gem. I'm about to put down some Merbau. Is it necessary to oil underneath the boards before laying? 0 1920 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 4313 They using concrete or timber sleepers? Timber or steel uprights? Any drainage behind sleeper? 3 5801 |