Lawn Care and Maintenance
Like any craftsman, we’ve taken the time and care to ensure your lawn has had the best possible start – premium turf cut the day of delivery, soil selected for its drainage and organic matter and slow-release fertiliser to help it establish.
To help you take over the care of your lawn, we’d like to share our experience and wisdom with you to ensure it stays lush, green and healthy.
It’s alive
As would have already been explained, your turf is alive and you need to nurture it through summer to get the best results. This means you need to take special care for it.
The edges of each roll of turf will shrink and brown off ever so slightly. This is normal. It happens because the roots on the edge, no matter how close the rolls/slabs are laid, will become exposed to air and dry out. Don’t worry, this will be resolved.
Watering
The key to building a healthy lawn is water.
Monitor the moisture of your lawn to ensure it doesn’t get too wet or too dry. You don’t need to invest in a moisture monitor, unless of course you want to. Your finger is a great moisture monitor. Poke it into the soil and if it feels dry, it is. If it feels really wet or comes out caked in soil, it’s probably too wet.
The soil beneath your lawn needs to be moist to the touch, but not so much that you can hear your feet squelch. Think of a sponge holding water but not leaking water everywhere.
Frequency
A rule of thumb when watering in Summer is:
- Twice a day every day for the first two weeks, more if the temperature is above 30.
- Once a day for the next two weeks
- Once every second day for the next two weeks
- Then once a week when required, particularly during hot, dry spells.
You may need to water even more if we get hot, dry and windy conditions.
In Summer we always recommend watering in the morning and evening preferably before the sun is too high and then after it has set. This allows the water time to soak in before it evaporates or is blown away by the wind.
How do I know if my turf is Establishing?
Establishment is when the turf roots have begun tying into the soil. You can check if this is happening by gently trying to lift the edge of a turf roll up with your thumb and index finger. Only use the blades of the grass to try and left it.
If the turf lifts, it hasn’t begun to establish.
If there is any resistance, congratulations, the roots have begun to tie themselves into the soil and your turf is maturing into a lawn.
Your first cut
Over summer, with the proper care, we regularly lay turf that has needed to be cut two weeks after laying.
You should look to make your first cut when your lawn has approximately 5cm of growth. It is important that this first cut is done at a level that only removes the very top of the blade.
When that first cut grows back, then you can cut a little lower and lower again on subsequent cuts.
However, we would caution you to never remove more than 1/3 of the leaf height off in a single mow. Anymore and you risk damaging your healthy lawn. If you want a lower lawn height, mow more frequently until you reach the desired height.
Two cautionary notes
- Remove any debris from the lawn as this will stifle its growth and cause those sections to brown and potentially die.
- The root system and blades are delicate, so keep foot and vehicle traffic to an absolute minimum for the first 4 weeks.
Fertilising
Your turf had a slow-release fertiliser applied when we laid it. This will help it establish.
Approximately 6-8 weeks after your turf has been installed, we would recommend applying a
designed for lawns. Liquid fertilisers are faster acting and will help your lawn grow both roots and grass on top.
Please, please, please do not use more than the recommended dosage as you will only encourage your lawn to grow more blades with a root system that doesn’t support it.
Weeds
Contrary to popular belief, most weeds will enter your property from above – wind, rainwater run-off and birds are the main culprits.
Your lawn will get weeds, it is inevitable. One weed to watch out for, especially in new lawns and during the colder months (March to October) is ‘winter grass’.
‘Winter Grass’ or Poa annua grows in dense circular clumps and has white seeds. This weed needs to be removed before the seed heads appear, even at the expense of a few small holes in your lawn.
To remove it, you can get down on your hands and knees and pull it out or you can use a targeted herbicide designed specifically for ‘winter grass’.
We would also recommend using a pre-emergent in late summer/early spring. A pre-emergent will help prevent any seeds from germinating.
It is worth remembering, a healthy lawn will get much fewer weeds. This is because the weeds can’t compete with the cover your healthy lawn will provide.
Ongoing maintenance
We are often asked to create no maintenance gardens. Honestly, there is no such thing, only low maintenance. Your lawn is low maintenance.
If you’d rather enjoy your lawn than take care of it then why not leave to the professionals.
Services We Provide
- Deck Construction
- Paving
- Stone Cladding
- Outdoor Lighting
- Water Tanks
- Outdoor Painting
- Irrigation
- Outdoor Kitchens
- Block Laying
- Rendering
- Irrigation
- Burnished Concrete
- Pressure Washing
- Concreting
- Deck Maintenance
- Pergola Construction
- Turfing
- Lawn Maintenance
- Privacy Screens
- Core Drilling
- Driveways
- Retaining Walls
- Landscape Design
- Brick Laying
- Garden Design
- Water Features
- Permaculture
- Excavation
Contact Us
We strive for great communication with our customers from our first contact until we’ve finished the job and beyond. If you have questions or a special request, please send an email.
For a quote, please call so we can arrange a time to meet.
We look forward to working with you.
MADE BY MOBBS
(03) 9018 9771
HOURS
Monday – Friday: 6:30am – 7:30pm
Saturday: 6:30am to 2:30pm
Sunday: By appointment