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Turf Establishment Guide

Turf Establishment Guide

Once your turf has been installed, it is very important that you take the correct steps in ensuring that your lawn establishes correctly. Please read the following guide carefully. If you have any questions regarding the establishment of your new lawn, please contact us.

Watering

You will need to water the turf for at least 1-1.5 month/s until it has reasonably established. A good sign of this is when it is hard to pull the turf up from the ground. Turf does take 3/4 of a year to completely establish. This is when the roots of the turf have grown deep into the soil and will require minimal watering (once a week).

Do not allow the turf to dry out during this establishment period. Keep damp, not wet! In hot weather several light watering's per day may be needed.

A Guide for Watering

Week 1-2 = once to twice a day. Week 3 = every 2nd day. Week 4 = every 2nd to 3rd day. Then once a week after this, however be sure to keep an eye on it and if it looks dry during the week then give it additional water. Weather conditions and location will determine water requirements – eg. reflected heat from buildings can dry turf out faster Established turf should only be watered when necessary.One deep watering per week should be sufficient and will help produce a more drought tolerant lawn

Traffic

Avoid traffic on your turf for the first 4-5 weeks of establishment. This will allow the roots to develop and establish quickly. Any excess traffic may also affect the levels of your turf.

Mowing

Make sure your turf has a tight bind to the soil before giving it the first mow.

Your turf can normally be mown once it has grown to double its delivery height.

Be sure not to mow any more then 1/3 of the leaf.

Make sure your mower blades are sharp.

Fertilising

After six weeks of your lawn being down apply a slow release fertiliser and or an organic seaweed product such as 'SeaSol'.

Lawn Grubs

Lawn grubs occur naturally in most lawns. Severe damage to a lawn can occur when a large infestation of grubs is present. Grubs such as army worm can eat an entire average sized lawn over several nights. Whilst on the farm all turf is treated regularly for grub prevention however having your lawn 100% free of lawn grubs is near impossible.

Grubs may be present in neighboring areas and because its new, lush and green they can be more attracted to your turf and shift over freely.
Lawn grubs are more prevalent in the spring and summer months and seem to be more prominent when the weather is humid with a mixture of sunlight and afternoon thunderstorms.

How to tell if there is grub in your lawn

Birds regularly feeding in your yard.

White cocoons appearing under the eaves of your house.

Lots of brown moths (around 2cm in length).

Withering and or dead patches of lawn appearing (sometimes during establishment turf will wither slightly and brown off in areas whilst it is trying to take root, especially in hot and dry periods).

Green droppings within the lawn. Normally in small clusters with single droppings being less then a millimetre in width.

The turf blade will have small holes in it or bite marks out of it.

Drench the edge of an area that looks both healthy and damaged with water. Lawn grubs will crawl to the top of the grass if present.

Treatment and Prevention

Head down to your local landscape supply yard and obtain some lawn grub liquid and granules. Always read the labels correctly and use according to these instructions with the correct safety equipment.  Liquid will give you lawn a quick treatment whilst granules will assist with prevention in the future. 2-3 treatments maybe required to help break the life-cycle of the grub. The best time to spray is early evening as they are more active during the night.

Additional preventative measures could include

Spray the white cocoons under your houses eaves with insect / fly spray. Once sprayed remove the cocoons with a broom.

Turn lights of outside if not in use as the moths that lay cocoons and eggs are attracted to these.

Keep in mind the above mentioned detection methods and treat appropriately.

Once established keep your lawn strong and healthy through correct maintenance procedures allowing your lawn to better withstand lawn grub attacks.

For more information on watering, mowing, fertilising and other turf maintenance practices, please refer to our Turf Maintenance section.