For all your Turf, Landscaping and Irrigation needs throughout Adelaide, South Australia
TURF INSTALL AND CARE
** This information should be used as a guide only **
There is no guarantee that your lawn will perform perfectly
even when following this guide
Select from the following subjects:
|
|
|
Preparation For Your New Lawn
The recommended base for laying instant turf is good clean sandy loam. The majority of South Australian back yards have a clay based soil. Gypsum can work if you apply it at a rate of about 1:1:1 with organic matter (such as pine bark or mushroom compost) and the existing clay soil and then continually rotary hoe it all together every couple of weeks for the next 1 or 2 years - enough time for the clay, organic matter and gypsum to combine and break down to form a good quality soil. Don't be fooled into thinking that gypsum added to clay will do anything at all on their own in the short term. Gypsum is just a fine sand - nothing else. The preferred (and more realistic) method is to remove the clay soil from the site completely and replace it with sandy loam.
Don't get us wrong, a clay soil is very high in nutrients - if there was a quick and effective way to break down and improve the clay soil, then we would endorse that method. The problem is that clay soils are made up of extremely fine particles that cling together very very tightly. They hold their nutrients and water very tightly as well, so much so that the water and nutrients are not made available in any respectable quantity to assist any plant life or lawn with growth. That's not to mention the lack of aeration in a clay type soil - essential for any lawn's roots to have any semblance of health.
If you have a spare 1 or 2 years up your sleeve and are prepared to put the work in, then go and add gypsum and organic matter to the clay and in turn, you will end up with a fantastic soil - but not before time... and some expense.
If you want lawn, then get your soil right first. If you are in the same boat as most of the rest of us, you would like your lawn sooner rather than later. If this is the case, then read on.
First of all, spend money on the base preparation (don't skimp), otherwise, your investment in your new lawn may be short lived. It is very important for the soil type to be consistent across the entire area. An absolute minimum depth of 100 mm of sandy loam is required, but 150 mm depth is preferred. There is no absolute requirement to get 'organic enriched sandy loam' or 'special mix' loams. These are usually quite expensive and we have found the straight sandy loam tends to work best. The soil will need to be leveled using either a leveling rake or a screed board. (We hire out leveling machines that achieve a fantastic finish quickly and with minimal effort - call us for pricing).
You can (as a compromise and not highly recommended) get a very rough level by using a metal pronged garden rake. You should try and achieve a finish that is even and smooth across the entire surface (similar to a billiard table where possible). The more work you put into this stage of your lawn installation, the better the finish - an average or rough surface preparation will lead to a bumpy, uneven looking finished product.
The finished height for the top of your prepared soil level should be approximately 20mm below any paving edge (approximately 30mm if you intend on installing Kikuyu). This allows for the thickness of the roll out lawn so that the top of the finished lawn is approximately the same height as the paving edge. This will allow you to have one side of the mower on the paving or pathway and the other on the lawn, helping to create an even cutting finish height. This helps to prevent the edge of the lawn being scalped (cut very low by the mower blades).
If the sandy loam you have put down is 'fresh and fluffy' i.e. soft, it is a good idea to either let it settle naturally, use irrigation to settle it quicker (both methods preferred) or roll it using a roller (only use this method if you are trying to get the whole job done - including laying the lawn in 1 or 2 days) - we hire rollers also - call us for pricing. If you have more time up your sleeve (preferred), then follow the directions relating to irrigation systems below. With the rolling method, you may need to roll and then re-level, the roll again, etc - several times to get an even and level finish ready for the lawn (rolling will generally only settle the top 50mm of soil - it is a good idea to wet the soil before rolling to help settling - a moist soil has less friction between its particles and thus they will slide against each other more readily, fitting tighter next to each other and thus compacting and settling better).
At this point, a 'water wise' automated irrigation system should be installed. If you wish to have a go at installing the system yourself, then may we suggest giving us a call on 8398 4111 to discuss all your irrigation supply needs. We will advise you on exactly what you need along with all the instructions and a precise plan that you will need for laying out and installing your own system.
If installing your own system is beyond you - or you would prefer the job to be done by a professional and to a professional standard, then give us a call on 8398 4111. We can come out to design and quote a water saving system that will protect your investment guaranteed - we back all of our work up with a 1 year warranty on the installation and a 5 year warranty on most parts installed. We use the best equipment and install only the highest quality components so that you can have peace of mind. Our systems are highly efficient, saving you more water and consequently money, paying for themselves in the long term.
For further information on Irrigation Installation and other services we offer - Click here for 'Landscaping Services'.
The other method for settling the soil (preferred over rolling the area) is to (after the irrigation system has been installed) water the soil using the irrigation system for approximately 1 to 2weeks. The weight of the water combined with the soil (also taking into account the lubricating effect the water has on the soil) will settle the sandy loam to a point where it will be ready for a final leveling. The watering will also help any weed seeds to germinate and grow to give you a chance to spray them with a weed killer such as 'Round-up' (that contains the chemical Glyphosate at a rate of 360 grams per litre - you will find that all of your local hardware 'home brand' weed killers have identical concentrations of Glyphosate and are usually at half the price of the name brand). IF you take the time to spray the weeds, wait at least a further 10 days to give them a chance to begin to die off before putting your new lawn down.
Important: If you do not take steps to settle your new soil before laying your new lawn, the soil will settle under your new lawn, creating undulations through your lawn that will require top dressing in years to come to achieve a good quality finish (very annoying when you consider about 1 or 2 hours extra work could have saved you weeks of future work).
If your existing soil is not like the majority of ours and you actually have some worth while top soil, you will need to rotary hoe it to a minimum depth of 150 mm for aeration, then re-level and water in / roll as per above. If using this method, it is a good idea to have a soil conditioner or a very high nutrient rich saw-dust based mulch delivered and spread to a depth of 50 mm over the area before rotary hoeing (the mulch should be saw-dust based or similar so that it is a fine particle mulch that will blend well with your soil and not make your final leveling very difficult - as it would be made with large 'chunky' type mulch). Once spread, rotary hoe in the mulch / soil conditioner into the soil (still to a minimum depth of 150 mm). This will dramatically improve the quality of soil and provide a comprehensive array of nutrients that your new lawn can feed on when required.
Important: Fresh or not properly decomposed mulches or soil conditioners can very easily burn the new roots of your lawn. This is as a result of the types of raw nutrients contained within the mulch that are yet to be broken down through microbial action and the like. If you use fresh raw material, you may have to wait up to 6 weeks before your soil is safe enough for your new lawn to be put down.
The 2 main down-falls with using your existing top soil is firstly - it's weed seed content. It will usually contain a comprehensive mix of weed seeds right through the soil profile and when rotary hoed (even with the top layer having been removed before hand) will expose new weed seeds to the sun's warmth so that they quickly begin to germinate. The other general problem is that traditional top-soils (excluding those near the beach which are generally quite sandy and good) are a very heavy type of soil. This means that relatively quickly (2 or 3 years after putting your new lawn down) they tend to compact down hard which reduces the amount of air in the soil that is required for healthy lawn roots. This will usually lead to a sparse covering of lawn that requires more water and fertiliser to keep it looking good. It will also be more prone to disease attacks. The soil would require remedies such as coring and other aeration methods to improve the situation.
You should now have (hopefully) a perfectly prepared area for your new lawn to be laid. In order for your new lawn to grow at it's best and settle as quickly as possible, we strongly recommend the use of our lawn starter fertiliser (organic based - and yes, we will plug some of our products throughout this information) - spread out evenly over the entire surface area before putting the lawn down. The difference our starter fertiliser makes to a new lawn is substantial to say the least. We do not recommend or guarantee the use of any other brand or type of fertiliser as there is a very high probability that it will burn and cause damage to the newly laid lawn. We have comprehensively tested our fertilisers under various conditions that have all shown outstanding results. Failure to use any type of lawn starter fertiliser will see the lawn start off very slowly to the point that it may appear stunted for some time.
The other product that we will plug here is our 'Water Absorbing Crystals' to read why you should at least consider using this product, Click here. With water prices continuing to rise, it makes sense to apply products and methods that will save you water and therefore money in the long term.
We offer a full installation service at very reasonable rates (call us for pricing)
Generally, don't water the prepared surface before laying, otherwise you'll be more than likely working in mud... If the ground was burning hot from the sun, then a cooling spray would be a top idea. I'm sure you can be the judge (mostly the watering only applies to days exceeding 30 degrees).
In most circumstances, you should try and lay your turf across a slope rather than down it. (This generally only applies to a slope that exceeds 1 in 10 - i.e. 1 metre fall over a 10 metre distance) The theory behind this method is that if you lay your turf down a slope and there is a heavy deluge of rain, the water will run off down in between the newly laid rolls of turf, taking most of your soil with it. By laying across the slope, you will not eliminate this problem, but you will dramatically reduce it's severity as the water will not be able to get the continued 'run distance' it requires to cause this problem.
During the warmer more active months of growth (i.e. mid Spring right through the mid Autumn), your lawn would only be at risk of this type of problem during it's first 2 or 3 weeks of life because after this time, with correct care it will have knitted over the gaps between the rolls to form a 'solid' lawn.
Generally, start laying your turf along the longest straightest edge of your area and try to work away from yourself so that you aren't trekking over the nicely prepared base surface, creating indents and unevenness. (Why lay the turf along the longest straightest edge? to save work - you will reduce the number of times you will need to cut rolls of turf to finish the job)
Important: Avoid stretching the rolls as you lay them as the rolls will naturally shrink a small percentage and this will greatly increase any gaps between them. Always lay each roll of lawn closely butted up against the previous roll - that doesn't mean pulling the lengths of turf toward each other, thereby stretching the rolls. The best technique is to hold the roll in both hands whilst still rolled up, grasping it either end slightly off the ground, allowing the starting flap of lawn to flop down off the roll onto the ground, extending out along the ground about 30cm's out from the roll you are holding. Then move the entire roll (and the starting flap) up to either the targeted starting point (a path or similar) or so that it is tightly butting up to the previous roll you have just laid. Then put the roll you are holding onto the ground and roll out the turf, making sure it stays tightly butted up to the roll next to it as you roll.
There is no need to lay your lawn the same way as bricks are laid on houses, nor is there any need to cut any fancy lines between the rolls of turf just to hide the lines between each roll (all of these are fancy and mostly useless ideas used on landscaping television shows that are talked about as they have usually run out of things to say). The lines between the rolls of your turf in most cases will disappear in 2 to 4 weeks (usually after the second or third time you mow your lawn (dependant on weather, preparation, fertiliser and the type of turf you are laying).
For cutting the rolls of newly laid turf, you can use either a fine serrated bread knife, steak knife, garden hand shears or if you really want to get carried away, I have known people to have had great success using an electric circular saw (although it will tend to blunt your blade). If you have none of the above, a very sharp garden spade will do a pretty ordinary job, but it will get the job done.
After Installing Your New Lawn
Try to avoid walking on the turf too much until it is more established (you can certainly walk on it, but the more you trek over it, the slower it will be before it settles in). How do you know when it has settled in? Commence after about the end of the second week to pull up the smallest part of an edge (never pull up the same piece twice). You should progressively see more and more root growth until you can no longer pull up the lawn. At this point, the lawn is well established. Only perform this test once a week as the lawn is not going to establish 1 day after you last tested it. As a general rule, after about 3 weeks during the warmer seasons with all grasses and considerably longer during cooler seasons (up to several months with warm season grasses such as couch and buffalo grasses) your lawn will be established enough to start to use properly.
Once you have finished the installation, give the whole area a moderate soaking (you only need to wet the layer of soil that was attached to your lawn when it was delivered (this is where all your lawn's roots are contained). Therefore, gauge the amount of water required relative to this. Before watering your lawn, click on 'Water Permits' in the menu bar so that you can water legally. No point getting in strife when you don't have to.
Before beginning on lawn care, you must understand the main principles that lead to a healthy lawn. A healthy lawn requires three basic ingredients - Sun, Water and Fertiliser. If you remove one, your lawn will suffer. If conditions are not perfect in relation to perhaps sunlight (and quite often this is the case), then to give your lawn it's best chance at looking good and tolerating as much wear as possible, you must be very conscientious at maintaining the other two ingredients.
Your new lawn is now completely laid and you have moderately soaked the whole area. It is very important to keep the whole area continuously damp for at least the first two to three weeks so that the roots can grow down into your prepared base soil. You will need to water your lawn at least twice every day (and three to five times every day during warmer periods) for these first two to three weeks. You should aim to water at about 10.30 a.m., 12.30 p.m. and 2.00 p.m. each day for about 3 minutes (using spray type sprinklers) or 10 minutes (using gear drive sprinklers) - if you are not sure what type of sprinkler you have, water more rather than less (just so long as you are not washing all of your soil away).
After the first two weeks have past, you should begin to cut your watering back to once a day and then once every two days, then three days and so on until you reach a point before the limits of the lawn's drought tolerance (lawns such as Tall Fescue will only last a few days during the warmer periods without water, whereas the couch varieties will tend to last 1 week or more before getting even close to their limits). This whole process should only take about 8 to 10 weeks.
You must keep a close eye on your lawn throughout this period when your are reducing it's water. You are watching to see if the lawn's appearance changes to a dryer, spindly or more yellow looking lawn - this shows that the lawn is under stress and requires a more frequent watering schedule. Lawns will die from not enough water, but will rarely die from too much water (unless you put them completely under water regularly without drainage - eventually causing root rot). You are better to err on the side of caution rather than risk losing your new lawn through under-watering too early in your lawn's life.
When do you cut your newly installed lawn? As soon as it starts to grow (during the growing season this will only be after about 1 week). Your aim with the first and subsequent cuts of your new lawn is to take the top 2 mm or so off the highest points. Leave your blade height on that setting and continue to regularly cut the lawn. How regularly? - cut it as often as possible. Golf greens are regarded as some of the nicest looking surfaces around - they are cut every day - and on some of the fancier courses, they are cut twice a day. If you could manage to cut your lawn 2 times each week during the growing season, you would go close to having the best looking lawn on your street - and let's face it, that is why you got a fancy looking lawn in the first place, the same reason why you have read this far through this information - you want yours to be the best.
If twice a week is beyond your time allocation constraints, then cutting once a week is a fair compromise. Why cut your lawn so often, I never have before? - mowing your lawn would have to be one of the most important aspects of lawn care after watering and sunlight (yes, cutting your lawn isn't just for appearance). If you let your lawn grow for some time, it gets rather tall and thick. Underground, where you can't see, the lawn's roots are also growing to complement and support the growth on top that you can see. You then come out for you monthly 'hack job' and scalp your lawn right back to a couple of centimetres off the soil's surface. The large, newly extended lawn's roots will suddenly suffer proportionately with your mowing effort. This is because the energy gained through the long blades previously possessed by your lawn is no longer available to support the massive root system that has established. Your lawn goes into a level of shock and suffers stunted growth for a time, is more prone to weeds growing up through it and will be less wear tolerant, etc, etc. This method will also see you watering a fertilising your lawn much more frequently than you would normally have needed to in order to regain it's healthy appearance.
Your lawn and it's roots work in conjunction with each other. How well they work together over an extended period is largely influenced by your 'mowing regime'. By cutting your grass, you are training it - teaching it how to grow. If you cut your lawn more frequently, you will maintain a much more even level of growth shared by the blades and the roots, resulting in less die off and the requirement for regeneration time after time after time. This more consistent and frequent approach to mowing will assist you in maintaining a more dense cover of lawn on top, while the roots underneath will become healthier and stronger greatly improving the drought, shade and cold tolerance abilities of your lawn. Your lawn (in so far as the couch varieties go) will begin to learn to grow across the surface rather that straight up in the air, creating a mat type of appearance, further reducing the evaporation of water and thereby improving your lawn's drought tolerance.
The other benefit to mowing often means that whilst your weekly aggregate time for mowing will increase, the time taken to mow your lawn on each occasion will dramatically reduce. This is because you are just 'shaving' your lawn - you will barely need to empty the catcher.
We only recommend the fertilisers we sell (what a shock!), because we know what they are comprised of and we know how they perform. Our fertilisers are of the highest quality with no 'fillers' (which are commonly just sand) that some other brands of fertilisers contain to make up their weight for sale. Please take the time to compare our fertilisers in their quality, percentage amounts of their contents (nutrients) and price with any other fertiliser available on the market today. We think you will be pleasantly surprised.
Once your lawn has been down for about 6 weeks, it will be getting quite hungry. When a lawn is starving (or under nourished) it will turn a much lighter shade of green or even yellow. This means your lawn is screaming out for some food (fertiliser).
Lawns grow all on their own with varying degrees of success. Through the warmer months of the year, a lawn will grow at it's peak rate. This is because the warmth of the sun assists in transforming unavailable nutrients in the soil to a form that the lawn can actually use. Fertilisers are the same as these nutrients. If applied through the middle of winter, there is little warmth to transform the fertiliser and therefore most of it will be leached away out of the soil with rain before the lawn can use it.
Fertilising the lawn should be viewed similarly to mowing - in so far as you are trying to achieve a level of growth that is as even as possible, taking into consideration the prevailing weather and climactic conditions. Chemical fertilisers (good quality ones that is) produce a massive flush of growth that will absolutely launch your grass shortly after application. Organic and organic based fertilisers tend to be slower acting and less potent, thus producing a more moderate level of growth in your lawn.
You need to consider the traits of a fertiliser and combine that with the lawn's growth rates relative to the seasons of the year (Chemical fertiliser = more growth, Organic fertiliser = moderate growth, Warmer months = more growth, Cooler months = less growth).
As we come out of winter (at the beginning of September) the weather is generally still quite cool and your lawn hasn't really quite woken up from it's winter slumber. This is the time to provide it with a good chemical based fertiliser to 'kick it into gear' and balance out the limited growth of your lawn due to the weather. As we move into the hotter months - at the start of November, you should fertilise it with an organic based fertiliser to balance out with the natural increase in growth of your lawn due to the warmer months.
Again, at the end of December and again during the middle of February, feed your lawn with another dose of organic based fertiliser to keep it healthy and strong - a lawn will eat through the fertiliser a lot quicker during the warmer months due to it's growth rate.
Then, for the most important feeding of the year, right on the 1st of April, give your lawn a comprehensive feed with a chemical fertiliser to give it plenty of stores to see it hopefully right through winter.
Why feed your lawn so much and so often? - A lawn will feed in a cycle pattern. You put the fertiliser down and your lawn will not show any response to the fertiliser for a period of 2 to 3 weeks. This is the period during which the fertiliser is being transmitted through the soil and changing it's form to one that your lawn can absorb and use. Your lawn will then begin to take up the fertiliser, growing stronger and faster with deeper, thicker, healthier roots. You will notice when this starts to happen because the grass blades will turn a much darker shade of green and thicken up considerably, looking substantially stronger, healthier and more lush.
Most people wait until they see their lawn change colour before their next application of fertiliser. This results in a lawn that never really gets anywhere. It will put on a heap of new growth while it is being fed and then will let portions of it's new roots and blades die off once the fertiliser runs out. This is because it is going into survival mode - and at this point, you have really lost all the gains you have made with the initial application of fertiliser.
The best way to fertilise is to do it via a schedule as outlined above. This way, before the fertiliser in your soil completely runs out and starves your lawn, you have already applied the next lot which will be transforming into the matter that your lawn will take up through it's roots and continue to feed on - thereby missing the lag that would have otherwise stunted your beautiful lawn.
Is the alternating of Chemical and Organic fertilisers that necessary, or will I get away with just apply a simple chemical one every so often? Yes, you will get away with it, most people do, but that is not why you are reading this - you want the best result - which I might add will be well beyond anything that you could attain through applying sporadic applications of chemical fertilisers without structure.
Why else use organic? - The most simple way I find to explain the need for alternating between chemical and organic is using the following model - Consider your lawn's nutritional needs comparative to what 'most' of us are required to eat from our dinner plates each night to stay in a general state of health. Most people eat some sort of combination of meat and vegetables. If someone just ate meat, over a period of time they would become sick and possibly die. Similarly if someone just ate vegetables, the probably wouldn't die, but they would be undernourished and probably underdeveloped when compared with how they could have been had they eaten a balanced diet.
A lawn needs a balanced diet. Chemical fertilisers will give a lawn one part of the nutrient spectrum. Organic fertilisers will give your lawn the other part. Therefore, the aim is to fertilise with both, resulting in a healthier, better fed lawn. Please take the time to look at our fertilisers (under 'fertilisers' in the menu bar - yes, another shameless plug).
Lastly and most importantly, adhere to suggested application rates on the bag of any fertiliser, apply to a dry lawn and water in each section being fertilised IMMEDIATELY after spreading the fertiliser. The best way to fertilise without burning is to turn on your irrigation system (one section for starters) or your lawn sprinkler and observe the coverage provided by the irrigators. Only fertilise the wetted areas, then water well immediately. What is 'water well'? I hear you asking. About 40 minutes for each area utilising a comprehensive sprinkler or irrigation system should be sufficient - you can't water too much, but too little will result in burning.
Once watered, turn on the next segment of your irrigation system or move your lawn sprinkler and repeat the process until your entire lawn has been fertilised (this may take a couple of days depending on your lawn's size and the amount of time you have spare). Most people fall into the trap of fertilising the entire area and then watering a segment at a time. The last section you get to water will more than likely have had the fertiliser sitting on it for over an hour, burning the heck out of your lawn before it could get watered in. Common mistake.
All sounds too hard, we can do it for you -
Our fertiliser application program for your new or existing lawn:
We supply the correct fertiliser (maintaining records of the date of your last fertiliser application and the type used).
We come to you on the weekend and spread the fertiliser over your lawn at the correct application rates. All you are required to do is water the lawn immediately afterwards.
Our fee is subject to lawn size and is all inclusive (fertiliser, equipment, labour, etc.)
Please ask us about our program when placing a turf order - or alternatively, call us at any time and be included on our next scheduled visit to your area.
To start with, the best way to water is through an automated irrigation system that is professionally installed by us. That should be the end of this section because the differences between the owner holding a hose on the lawn and a professional system are incomparable. But, this information is here not only to guide, but to inform as well. So, here it goes -
Why an automated system? - There is no room for error, all of your lawn is watered evenly and effectively every time and your lawn is watered every time it needs to be watered and with our systems, it will ONLY be watered when it needs it. Our systems are truly automated. Once installed and your new lawn has matured, our systems detect (right throughout the year) what the soil moisture content is and automatically turns the system on through the required night or nights (and only as long as is required) to maintain the soil moisture content at the perfect level, leaving you with a lawn that maintains top condition throughout the year (not taking into account weather, fertiliser, mowing, etc) - no guess work, no wasted water, no suffering lawns - and no stress. You don't have to touch the controller once the lawn is established, except for the times you want to show off to your friends and family...
If this has convinced you, don't bother reading any further on this subject and contact us for a no obligation quotation and design for your proposed system.
If you aren't convinced, then read on...
Water is (along with the sun) the most important facet of a living lawn. When you first lay your lawn, your watering schedule will be frequent, but light - as the roots of your new lawn are very shallow and dry out very quickly.
As your turf matures, so will it's roots. The deeper your lawn's roots grow, the better they are able to reach nutrients and water that is stored at deeper levels in your soil. The more mature your lawn, generally, the less water that is required to maintain it in peak condition. At this stage, your watering schedule will be heavier, but much less frequent. What you are trying to achieve is to get more water in one night, deeper into the soil so that the water is less susceptible to evaporation and will remain at that level for a longer period to nourish your lawn for a much longer time.
*** There is no specific watering schedule that will be 100% accurate for your lawn. It is up to you to monitor your lawn closely over a period of time and learn to identify when it needs water and when it doesn't.
The best times to water are during the early hours of the morning - usually between about 3.00 a.m. and 8.00 a.m. (try not to water after sunrise - the sun's rays take approximately 8 minutes to reach the earth and begin to warm the earth's surface after this.
Through the early hours, before sunrise is when the ground temperature is at it's lowest. This means that a lot less of the water you apply will be evaporated by the heat. It also means that bacteria and disease that loves to breed in any warm moist environment will be reduced by as much as possible & in most cases eliminated.
There is no point doing one prolonged period of solid watering. The top layer of the soil becomes water logged and the rest of the water applied will then just run off, being wasted. The trick is to do lighter water amounts over a longer period. This gives each water amount a longer time to soak into your soil and get down deep where your lawn needs it. An idea of a schedule may be that instead of doing a 1.5 hour solid watering period starting at 2.00 a.m., you could do 4 x 20 minute watering periods starting at 1.00 a.m. with a 40 minute rest time between each period where the whole watering system is off, giving the water you have just applied time to soak into the soil.
The amount of time spent watering depends on your water pressure and what you are using to water your lawn. I will only reference an automated system in this paragraph as they are the best way to achieve an effective level of watering. With spray sprinklers, for each section your watering time would only need to be about 5 minutes. You would then need between 40 minutes and 1 hour as a period of rest before the next time that section comes on. You would run this set up for between 2 and 4 cycles through one night. This would achieve a very good soaking for your lawn. With gear drive sprinklers (these need to water for between 4 and 5 times longer than a spray sprinkler because they use less water to cover the same area and they take longer - a more effective watering tool in this respect - although sprays are excellent and certainly have their place in most lawns). Therefore, you would run gear drive sprinklers for anywhere between 20 to 25 minutes under the same circumstances to achieve the same coverage as the sprays. You would then accompany this watering with the same amount of rest period that you applied to the sprays.
These figures are based on using a premium quality irrigation system with flow matched components that have been measured, calculated and calibrated by a professional irrigation contractor ensuring 100% coverage - or designed by a professional consultant and properly installed by yourself.
If you haven't got or can't afford an automated system, then the best time to water is early in the morning, so get out of bed and get cracking. Usually the solid metal type 'Rose' or 'Potato' sprinkler you can get from the hardware store for about $5 will do the job just as well as any $100 sprinkler that you can buy.
You will have to judge for yourself when you should and shouldn't water, and how much to water your lawn. For a rough guide (as each lawn specie is very different) refer below to the sections on specific information on individual lawn types - includes general irrigation requirements and just about everything else.
You were lazy with your initial preparation, you had a car run over your lawn, you went all out at you daughter's 5th birthday and hired an elephant for rides at the event. Whatever the reason, you need to top dress.
Why top dress? - two main reasons - firstly to bring low areas of a lawn up to get a more even finish. Secondly, to improve the top level of your existing soil under your lawn - usually to achieve a higher level of aeration in the soil to improve the health of your lawn's roots.
What do you use? - sand. Pretty simple stuff. You need something that is not going to have a great water holding capacity, as for a time (until the lawn can completely grow through it) it will be sitting against the blades of your lawn. If it is a heavy soil, it will constrict and possibly kill your lawn.
How much do I apply? - less is more. You should only be looking to apply a cover of no more than 5mm in depth (that doesn't mean to bury your lawn by 5mm). It means that once spread and broomed (yes you can sweep it into your lawn) you should hardly be able to see any of the sand at all. Don't make the common mistake of applying too much sand to your lawn in one hit. It will constrict the heck out of your lawn, stunting it's growth and making it ordinary to look at for most of the growing season.
So how much should I be looking to apply? - apply sand at a rate of about 1 kg per 1 mē - no more. If you adhere to this schedule, you will be able to fit in between 3 and 4 top dressings during one growing season. Apply your lawn fertiliser at the same time and water both in well. This will promote the lawn to grow well through the sand and keep it looking fantastic.
Only top dress coming into and during the growing season. Do not top dress as we approach the cooler months - your lawn may go dormant and suffer right through winter.
What sort of sand to apply? - what ever is clean, coarse (river sand preferably) and cheap - no need to spend a packet on something that is not even going to be seen - cheap sands work just the same as expensive ones - despite what some people might lead you to believe. There is no need for any organic matter to be mixed with your sand, nor is their any need for nutrient enrichment material in the sand - that's why you fertilise at the same time. Also, ensure it is a course sand, not a fine paving type sand or Gypsum. Both tend to have better water holding properties that course river sand which can lead to some of the problems as listed above.
Top dressing can be used quite effectively top prop up an old lawn that is looking pretty average. Applying the above methods, you should attain a pretty respectable result.
After the initial maturing process as explained above, during warmer months (assuming you haven't installed any water absorbing crystals) you will generally need to water your lawn every 3 days or so. During the hottest days - i.e. 33° and over, you may find that you will need to water your lawn every 2nd day or even every single day. During the cooler months, every 1 to 2 weeks (assuming there has been no rain in your area). During rainy periods - no watering at all.
Tall Fescue will not tolerate short mowing all that well and should be left approximately 4 to 5 cm's long during the warmer months and 3 to 4 cm's long during the cooler months. In the warmer months, you should aim to cut Tall Fescue at least two times each week as the more frequently you cut, the more like a perfect lush dark green carpet it will look (instead of cutting every so often that produces a hatchet job). During the cooler months, you can drop your cutting schedule back to about once every one or two weeks. Use a standard rotary base blade mower for cutting Tall Fescue. Tall fescue is much more susceptible to fertiliser burn than the couch varieties and therefore, thoroughly watering in the applied fertiliser straight away and effectively is very important.
After the initial maturing process as explained above, during warmer months (assuming you haven't installed any water absorbing crystals) you will generally need to water your lawn every 7 to 10 days. During the hottest days - i.e. 33° and over, you may find that you will need to water your lawn every 5 days or so. During the cooler months, every 2 weeks or so (assuming there has been no rain in your area). During rainy periods - no watering at all.
Santa Ana is the type of lawn you can find on golf courses, bowling greens or prestigious sports fields around the world. This is a lawn that needs to be cut frequently (i.e. a minimum of 2 times each week to maintain a top finish) and at a low height. Your mowing height should be set to about 1 cm. Best results are obtained using a special lawn mower commonly known as a drum or cylinder type mower (some people call it a 'Scott Bonnar' mower - this is a brand name, not a style). This type of lawn mower will roll your lawn at the same time as it cuts, further flattening your finished lawn surface. You will need to cut your lawn at least 3 times each week. You should cut your lawn through two directions - i.e. up and back and then side to side. This will (using the cylinder mower) produce a checkerboard pattern commonly seen at places like the MCG during cricket test matches. It is a stunning look and one of the great rewards for a lawn owner who takes great pride in their turf's appearance. Unfortunately these mowers aren't cheap - at about $1,300 brand new and as much as $500 second hand it isn't an investment to be taken lightly - but let me tell you, there is no comparison in lawn appearance between a cylinder mower cutting Santa Ana and a standard rotary base blade mower. The finish is nothing short of stunning.
If Santa Ana is not cared for with frequent mowing, it will require de-thatching every 2 to 3 years or so. This requires a special machine or you can do it yourself using a standard rotary base blade mower with the blades set to cut the lawn right down to dirt. This should only be done in the middle of spring (i.e. middle October when the lawn has well and truly started to grow so that it will regenerate and repair itself in a short amount of time).
You need to cut the lawn right down so you are basically looking at dirt, then remove all of the cut material. You would then give the lawn a heavy high nitrogen based chemical lawn fertiliser (we supply this) and by Christmas (usually a lot earlier than this) you will have a brand spanking new stunning looking lawn that will be the envy of your neighbours once more.
See below on the ways to help prevent your Santa Ana from losing all of it's colour during the winter.
Kikuyu is a lawn that will look good when cut either long or short (although it will not tolerate the same very short mowing height that is required for Santa Ana) Mowing heights can range from 2 cm's up to 5 cm's depending on the look you are after for your lawn. During the warmer months, cut your turf 2 to 3 times each week to maintain a stunning carpet of green. Maintain a consistent mowing height throughout the warmer months. See below for instructions on helping to prevent Kikuyu and Santa Ana from going yellow through the cooler months. If you choose to cut your Kikuyu less often, this can result in more thatch build up - creating more spongy build up in your lawn that will require removal every 2 years or so (see the section on Santa Ana above that gives instructions on how to do this). If you maintain your lawn as above, the requirement for de-thatching will be at least halved.
Firstly, when you are dealing with an untrained and immature lawn, it is very difficult. It will take you approximately a full year cycle to have your lawn suitably trained to help resist going yellow through the winter.
Kikuyu and Santa Ana are 'warm season' grasses. This means that they go dormant during winter periods - i.e. they greatly slow their growth rate. Both grasses have a type of 'blood stream' that is affected by the cold. In the event of a heavy frost, their blades get frozen and will almost burn, turning them yellow and even white in more severe cases. Once the cold sets in, the blades and 'stolons' of these lawns almost freeze up, making the circulation of nutrients impossible. Therefore, if you cut your lawn back (especially Santa Ana) when it is really cold, the lawn cannot repair itself and grow new green blades of grass, instead it will remain yellow and wait for it's runners to warm up so that the nutrient supply can start flowing again.
By cutting you lawn frequently throughout the year (especially the warmer months), you are doing half the work required to frost protect your lawn and maintain it's colour throughout winter. Each time you cut your lawn, it injures the lawn's blades, causing further blades to grow out from the base to replace / support the cut blade. Over time, all the new blades combine to form a very dense, neat carpet that cannot easily be penetrated nearly so quickly by the cold. This helps to stop the cold from freezing up the nutrient supply in the blades so easily. The best cold resistant techniques are achieved with Santa Ana, but only when using a cylinder mower. You can only hope to achieve moderate success with a standard rotary base blade mower.
A very consistent and comprehensive fertilising program also helps to keep your lawn fed and growing (although very slowly) through the winter months. Without a good feeding program, your lawn will always be stunted from what it could be at any time of the year - all explained in great detail above. We can provide a fertilising program so that you don't have to worry about that side of things (call us).
As we come into winter each year, the temperature drops and the rain increases. We are also subject to frosts. With a frequent mowing schedule, you will notice that your lawn's growth rate will dramatically reduce to the point where it may not need another mow for a week or two. At this time (if using a standard rotary base blade mower), you need to raise your moving height by one notch and you must only mow your lawn once or twice at the most throughout the entire 4 months or so of winter. If you mow your lawn too short or too frequent, you will scalp it and it will go yellow and stay that way for the rest of winter. If you are using a cylinder mower, you can maintain your frequency of mowing or perhaps drop to once or twice a week, whilst still maintaining that perfect lawn.
Over time, applying a combination of all of the above listed methods, your lawn should be properly trained and stand it's best chance of staying quite green throughout winter. Go and look at your local golf courses - 90% + use Santa Ana and maintain it perfectly green right throughout the year, no problems.
The only trip up for this program is continual and severe frosts (although, again golf courses overcome this without too many problems through their strict on continual maintenance of their fairways, etc). A frost will freeze the grass. With a tight knit trained lawn, the damage by frost is minimised to the point of being negligible. One way of combating frosts is to set your watering system to come on during the hours leading up to and just after sunrise as this is usually when a frost will set in. The water from your sprinklers is well above freezing. It will warm the grass and the soil, preventing your grass from getting anywhere near freezing point. If you were only to have your watering system come on during the early hours of the morning, this would actually lead to a possible worsening of the problem. The irrigated water would quickly drop in temperature and provide further moisture on the lawn that could be frozen and subsequently damage your lawn.
Both Kikuyu and Santa Ana will tolerate frosts and in the event of a severe frost, they will both recover back to green DURING the winter (as long as the entire above listed program for each type of grass is followed and your lawn is not hit by frost after frost after frost....) Your lawn - dependant on many variables, should recover within 4 to 6 weeks of a frost - so long as a moderate increase in daytime temperatures is reached and they don't continuously measure 11 and 12 degrees day in, day out.
This program works. I have undertaken it myself when I was growing Santa Ana and Kikuyu in the Adelaide Hills with great success - although I was not quite as strict as the program guidelines suggest you should be.