Maintenance Tips for Your New Lawn
Watering
One of the most critical aspects of establithing a new lawn is making sure it DOES NOT DRY OUT.
- Water turf immediately after laying and rolling. If laying a large area, water as each section is complete.
- One good soaking to wet through to the topsoil and daily for the first week and then every alternate day in the second week. (It's best to water early in the morning before the heat of the day rather than in the evening because leaving the lawn wet over night can encourage disease development).
- By 14 - 21 days your turf should have taken root so you can ease up with the watering. A thorough soaking once a week should be ample in dry weather.
- IN VERY HOT WEATHER it's important to keep the leaf of the turf, as well as the base, moist for the first three days after the laying. A deep watering to start the day and then a few short waterings to wet the leaf during the day will cut down on stress and dieback.
Mowing
Apart from neglecting to give your new lawn enough water, the worst thing you can do is mow it too early or too late.
- Your lawn is ready to mow once the roots are firmly established in the ground and the turf can no longer be lifted up (between 7 - 21 days and/or approximately 5 - 6cm high).
- The first mow should only take off about one third of the leaf. Gradually lower the mower each cut until you are mowing at approximately 25mm.
- Never scalp your lawn. This gives the lawn a shallow root system and makes it more prone to weed infestation, diseases and stress in hot weather.
- Infrequent mowing causes the lawn to become stalky and less attractive. With frequent mowing, to take off no more than 40% of the leaf in any one mowing, will encourage a dense healthy lawn. Remember to keep your mower blades sharp!
- You could leave the catcher off the mower every fourth mowing. This will return valuable nutrient to the soil, reducing the amount of fertilizer you have to apply each season. (Don't leave thick layers as it will yellow the turf beneath it).
Fertilizing
- If you don't regularly replace nutrients, after awhile your lawn will start to show signs of deficiency, e.g. yellowing of the leaves and reduced growth. Your lawn needs Nitrogen for leave growth, Phosphorus to aid root growth and Potassium to help strengthen the leaves and stems to resist normal wear and tear. (N.P.K. complete)
- As a rule, you should consider feeding at least twice during the lawns growing season with a complete fertilizer like Shirleys No. 17, Banana Special, Multigrow or Chicken Manure etc, topping up with small, frequent applications of nitrogenous fertilizer like Sulphate of Amonia on a monthly basis to maintain colour and vigour. (Check the label for the amount).
Weeds
Regular mowing, watering and fertilizing will encourage a dense, green lawn and keep weeds at bay.
For the odd weed here and there, try hand-weeding first. If you get a large infestation then spray with an appropriate spray (checking the label for instructions). The idea is to kill seedlings as they are easier to deal with than mature plants.
Bindi Germinate early Spring. Begin to spray as soon as seedlings appear.
Clover Most prolific in Spring and Summer. It is more difficult to kill. There are many herbicides available for controlling clover (refer to label).
Most common weeds found in Australia.
