looking to re-do my back yard.
anyone have success with either roll out turf or sowing the stuff in Melbourne? North facing, with some shade, crappy soil.
Disappointing thread. False advertising,
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How big is the area?
Don't claim to be a gardener, that's the better half, but does it have to be all or mostly grass. Have you considered mulching and planting native plants and shrubs? Providing you provide a good base, newspapers did the trick for us(and they've no better use now that chip shops have abandoned them) they're low maintenance and aesthetically pleasing, and they attract more birds. Love watching the acrobatic wattle birds harvesting the grevilleas and the banksias.
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GRR has some good ideas... It depends what you want for the area.
If you want a lawn it wil require constant maintenance and $$$. If the area will not get much foot traffic you should consider a lawn substitute like dichondra (a native species) or dymondia (not sure of spelling).
Dichondra wil go better in wetter/shadier places. Dymondia is VERY tough and will take hotter conditions and poorer soils; it also spreads and can be easily divided and replanted. As a bonus it produces small yellow fowers throughout most of the year. The best part is you will never need to mow either of these.
Whichever you choose, it is important to make sure that the area to be planted is weed-free and GRR's tip of preparing the area first and covering with newspaper or cardboard is good.
Whatever you don't, don't use Empire Zoysia.
Looks f*cked in winter, even more f*cked in summer.
Is zoysia a metaphor for the Australian Test side?
Whatever you don't, don't use Empire Zoysia.
Looks f*cked in winter, even more f*cked in summer.
I reckon this is what we used originally, didnt live up to any of the benefits that were recommended on a gardening site. Figured this place would be a better resource.
How big is the area?
I'd say about 50m2.
Its primarily just for the kids and our only part of turf in the backyard, so medium traffic,
Only fifty square metres is a nice sized project. Important things to look out for, besides what has already been suggested, is how well water drains and are there any permanent shaded areas. If your lawn area has no permanent shaded areas, that is, all the area gets at least half a day of sunshine, then Kikuyu is a very good option. It is reasonably hardy and not itchy like some grasses can be like buffalo. A combination with the Australian native that is good in shade, if needed, with the Australian native grass, will work very well. Good drainage though is very important. Kiuyu would require a very severe, close to the ground mowing in spring every few years to get rid of the thatch build up. The alternative would be to hire a purpose built de-thatching machine.. Kikuyu propagates itself by seed but mostly by layering, runners that develop roots from the nodes. The runners are reasonably easy to control (keeping them out of the garden beds) and are not as inconvenient and invasive as couch runners. Fifty square metres is definitely not very big but big enough for the kids to jump around on and small enough that you are not wasting copious amounts of water.
Wintergreen couch would be my choice, it's a soft fine couch which wears well and doesn't take a lot of maintenance. If you feed it up before winter it will retain most of it's colour whilst dormant.
edit* before you do anything, buy one of those pH testers from Bunnings and see what soil you are dealing with.
Whatever you don't, don't use Empire Zoysia.
Looks f*cked in winter, even more f*cked in summer.
I reckon this is what we used originally, didnt live up to any of the benefits that were recommended on a gardening site. Figured this place would be a better resource.
Same here.
30% less water, mowing and fertiliser they said.
4K later I discovered that what they meant was 100% more f*cked.
Had the bloke who used to look after Subiaco Oval provide an opinion as to what I could do to make my lawn look like it did in the brochure. He paused for a moment and said "dig it up and replace with a soft leaf buffalo".
Couch and kikuya will invade your garden beds...
Kikuyu is manageable.
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Any of the stoloniferous species will invade garden beds but that’s the price you pay I suppose. It’s really not difficult to keep them under control, just having a paver edge will do the trick.
i notice the grasses mostly have brands like "sir walter buffalo" anyone care to offer up one of these trade names, or are people suggesting i grow this from seed (which im not opposed to)
Couch, buffalo and kikuyu can be grown from stolons, basically its just pieces of the plant cut up and topdressed, the main benefit is that it's a lot less expensive than re-sodding but you have to prepare the area appropriately and make sure you keep the water up to it while it's establishing. Trying to establish from seed will take a lot of effort, specialist covers and isn't worth the hassle.
Wintergreen couch is the "brand" or rather species. I have wintergreen in my backyard and "legend" couch in my front yard. The wintergreen is a lot finer and requires half the mowing of the legend. I have oversown the front with fine fescue so that during winter the front yard still looks good. I want to rip up the legend though and re do it with wintergreen this year.
edit* added link http://www.strathayr.com/Home-Lawns/Wintergreen-Couch
ok. so i think i have decided on Sapphire Buffalo. its a descendant of Sir Walter which is pretty common, but its leaf is much finer, goes better in the shade, cost is about the same.
now just got to find a way to get the old turf up, the ground leveled and start rollin'
How big is the area?
I'd say about 50m2.
Its primarily just for the kids and our only part of turf in the backyard, so medium traffic,
Well don't fark around, kill everything that us there now with three does of roundup or some other like killer., make it level and get the best deal you can for ready made Sir Walter turf and get it rolled in now. Great stuff, looks good in winter, green in summer, slow growing and resists weeds. A bit more expensive but worth it.
You guys should be more adventurous, Look beyond the labour-intensive, energy-requiring, chemical-demanding, and water-thirsty status quo.
You guys should be more adventurous, Look beyond the labour-intensive, energy-requiring, chemical-demanding, and water-thirsty status quo.
Albert, I agree in principal, but none of the alternatives have the overall benefits of grass. It helps reduce summer temperatures, controls dirt/dust, handles routine to heavy foot traffic with ease and is soft for kids to play on as well as smelling pleasant when mown. No substitute manages all those areas with as much aplomb as grass does.
For me, I had Wintergreen before the house burned down, and it doesn't like shade at all, and never really achieves that dark verdant green we all love in lawns. It could be patchy, and was always full of weeds. I have replanted with Sir Walter which I purchased from Masters for about $10.50 pm2, but it's about $12.50 pm2 in Melbourne. My FIL loves his grass, including having an award winning lawn when living in Bowral NSW, and he swears by his Sir Walter. I have to say, the Sir Walter just looks brilliant compared to the way the Wintergreen looked.