Turf, which type?

Santa Ana is very fine and struggles with high traffic. It also goes dormant over winter, thins out and turns a light green/browny colour, so a colder climate will not suit it..needs a fair bit of water too.

We used Sir Walter (from Bunnings) on our front yard, laid immediately on a good quality soil base, and it has been terrific. Slightly off at the moment due to winter here, but still thick and mostly healthy.

We used normal Kikuyu in the back yard because it is indestructible. No issues with wear patches, weeds etc. Has to be cut a lot during spring and early summer though as it grows like hell and gets very thick and spongy if let go.

We knew this and wanted to provide a very thick carpet for the kids to play and fall over on without getting hurt.

 

I'm about to pull my back lawn up. I think I'm over it. Sir Walter. It has heaps of weeds that keep coming up through it. Is it possible to kill weeds but not the lawn?

 

Don't think you can use weed and feed on buffalo. Not the ones I've seen anyway.

 

Sir Walter all the way for us. I am not a horti-f*&king-culturalist (Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) but we have found (especially in QLD) it is highly resistant to heat, and needs next to no water during winter.

It looks and feels great under foot, yes it is more expensive than many alternatives, but in our opinion definitely worth it.

I'm sure there is other stuff out there superior for whatever reason, but it works for us.

 

You can buy "weeding wands" which allow you to touch the individual plant, or if you are really careful, you can use the standard pump-action spray units and gently spray the offending weed. You are bound to get a few little bits of grass around it cop a drop or two, but they will grow back in relatively quick usually.

 

If I were to get someone to prep and lay turf, how much would I have to pay say 200sqm area.

I have 2 kids and a dog...so I'm looking for a suitable turf...any recommendation?

 

Just saw this post pop up again. I was wrong, you can buy weed and feed specifically for buffalo (inc Sir Walter) as the non buffalo specific variety will kill buffalo lawns. Keeping the lawn healthy and thick will prevent most weeds from coming through. I've been trying this at home and just pull a couple of weeds once every couple of weeks.

I laid over 100sqm in a few hours on prep'ed area, never done it before so no experience past google. So 200sqm shouldn't take more than a day.

With good access you could prep 200sqm in a day with one person and a dingo, calculate how much sandy loam you need for a base and have it delivered. Use dingo to pull up what's there and then dump in the new stuff, level out the the area with a top soil spreader (can't remember the name).

So to answer your question I'd say two days labour, dingo hire for a day ($300-400), sandy loam ($50-$70 cubic m) and the turf itself ($7-10 sqm) on my experience

Any handyman should be able to handle the job IMO unless you are expecting a bowling green.

 

Thanks @Hodor this is for my ppor and I just don't have time to prep and do it. May have to consider getting someone in.

 

Laying turf is easy to do yourself. I've done several of my own properties over the last year ( and I'm a middle aged woman). I'm roughly paying about $10sqm (both in Adelaide and Canberra, might be more or less elsewhere).

For my Adelaide property I hired a rotary hoe from kennards for $150, raked it over and laid turf on top.

For Canberra props i just cut existing lawn very very low (stirred up the dirt) and laid the new stuff on top.

Pics below. Adelaide is the larger yard. It's Kikuya. The other two are 'Canberra blend' which is a mix of rye and Fescue I think. The one with the narrow strip and trees was put in about a month ago (Never mind too hard to post from my phone).

 

I did this the first time I ever laid turf thinking I was doing the right thing loosening up the ground for roots, even healthy growth etc. Also spread conditioner over it, plate compacted turf.

Whilst it looked awesome it was always very spongy under foot, wheels on a rotary would sink in and uneven cut, had to use a reel/drum.

 

Mine has been ok - mind you my dog hasn't cared for it and it doesn't look like that anymore

 

Sure dope smoker...
ACT...
Or justify it as the lesser of 2 evils....

 

I think I will go with either Kikuyu or palmetto for my PPOR. A lot of sun here. Ez grass may be a bit expensive option.

 

This clip is pretty useful.

 

Great Find Larry!
At first I thought, here we go another vid from/relevant to the USA, very surprised when he started talking.
I've spoken/asked Q's allot over many years re grass & maint, that's the best/simplest easy to comprehend info I've ever heard.
Thanks for sharing

 

I think go for the palmetto. It's a beautiful lawn. Less cutting than Kikuyu and strangles weeds better and more tolerant to wear. Will be more expensive to buy but you only do it once. ..hopefully.

 

he's fair dinkum.

 

I put down Zoysia a few months back and it is full of some pest - possibly army grub. I've had 4 local ibises working overtime feeding on the pests! I will be keen to see if it bounces back to full health. I paid almost $10 per sqm so I hope it lives up to its reputation of recovering quickly from setbacks.

 

how did it turn out? / how long did it take to full grow?

 

Well, the aquaseeding was done incorrectly. I suspect they forgot to put in the kikuyu seed. The rye-fescue mothercrop was good, it grew beautiful and even, which I expected from aquaseeding. Eventually the aquaseeding company had to come and plant 1000 plugs of kikuyu. This is a less satisfactory result, and there are still areas where it hasn't totally spread, it will take a few more years to take over from the mother crop.

But the kikuyu that has grown and spread is fantastic. Stays green in winter (some grasses fade over winter) and requires no watering in summer and still stays green, unlike the mothercrop which goes brown. I'd certainly do it again, but maybe with a different company.