Brisbane Lawn Renovation - What? When? How? Why?
Have you heard friends, neighbours or workmates talk about a “lawn renovation”? How is it even possible to renovate a lawn? What is involved? What type of equipment, skills, knowledge and materials are required? Is it a lot of effort, why is it necessary? Isn’t mowing enough? You’re in the right place, because we’re going to answer all of those questions for you and explain everything you need to know about lawn renovations in Brisbane!
Firstly, what is a lawn renovation? In many ways the concept and goal is similar to a building renovation - that is to make something new, repair damage or bring something back to life - in the case of lawns, quite literally! It involves turf cultivation processes that remove old growth, breathe new life into the soil and create a solid foundation for a new season of growth so your lawn can reach its maximum potential as the stunning centrepiece of your garden, whether it’s a residential or commercial property.
When is the right time to complete a lawn renovation in Brisbane? Due to the intensive nature of the lawn renovation process it’s best to complete this work during an active growing period so the lawn can make a quick recovery. With Brisbane lawns being warm season turf grass, this means that it should be completed during spring or summer. Warm soil is the key factor in warm season turf growth, once this temperature is above 21ºC we can be assured of strong growth (as long as the nutritional and water requirements are met). The industry standard is to measure soil temperature at a depth of 10cm. It’s important to measure the temperature of the soil as the air temperature isn’t a reliable indicator due to daily & nightly fluctuations, the soil takes longer to warm up and lags behind air temperature increases. However as a guide, when the daily minimum + maximum temperatures equal 35ºC or greater it’s an indication that the soil temperature is at the right range. The one proviso is that the night low temperatures are consistently higher than 14ºC, as this can skew the result.
You can use a soil thermometer to measure the temperature at your own property, or you can use soil temperature data provided by the Bureau of Meteorology in their Agricultural Observations Bulletin. The Queensland bulletin is available here. You can also register a free account on the Syngenta Turf website to access their weather service. This is a great resource as it contains a multitude of data relevant to lawns including weather and rainfall data, disease risk index and ideal daily spray application timeframes. You can access the Syngenta weather service here.
(Remember you will need to register a free account with Syngenta, then login to see all the available weather data.)
All things considered we typically recommend Brisbane lawn renovations from mid to late September through to March. Completing a lawn renovation earlier than September will result in delayed recovery and a weakened lawn that is more susceptible to pests and disease. Yes the lawn will recover, but why wait 4 weeks or longer when 1-2 weeks in season will do the job?!? Leaving it too late in the growing season can result in a patchy lawn that isn’t fully recovered. In this weakened state with growth slowing into winter, the risk of pests and disease are higher - and you won’t have the stunning lush green lawn you hoped for. Instead the lawn will struggle to recover all winter long. We recommend March as the last month for lawn renovations in Brisbane, with the Easter long weekend the absolute last opportunity for those who really like to push the envelope! Following these guidelines will give you the best chance of achieving a great result.
The core goals of a lawn renovation:
remove old growth, excess organic matter and debris
aerate the soil
topdress to create a level surface and/or improve soil health
There’s a few different ways to complete the first step, sometimes multiple processes are required. The most simple method is to use a rotary mower to scalp the lawn. This removes the turf leaf and opens up the canopy which allows easier access for spreading topdress material evenly for a nice level finish. A low cut lawn may need to be scalped with a cylinder mower. Specialist lawn care equipment may be required to scarify or vertimow the lawn in order to remove built up organic matter (thatch) that a lawnmower cannot reach. The processes required depend entirely on the individual lawn and the desired outcome. Sometimes scalping to varying degrees is all that’s required, sometimes only a scarify or vertimow is required. Which ever processes are used, the final part of this first step is to remove as much of the loose material as possible.
Aerating the soil is the second step. This is vital to relieve compaction, allow good air and water exchange within the soil and provide a healthy environment for your lawn to grow to its full potential. Over time soil naturally settles and compacts. The rate of compaction varies depending on the amount of use and traffic the lawn receives, even rainfall and flood events can contribute to compaction. Healthy soil is more than dirt, it’s actually alive and teeming with beneficial microbes - there are more microbes in a teaspoon of soil than there are people on Earth! Creating an efficient air and water exchange promotes a healthy environment for the soil to thrive, and for the lawn to continue growing as part of this symbiotic relationship. Aerating can be as easy as driving a garden fork or manual aerating tool into the lawn, or you can use a powered machine that’s purpose designed for the task. To get the maximum benefit out of your lawn renovation in Brisbane we recommend core aerating - this process removes hundreds of small soil cores, providing a direct pathway for air, water and nutrients to reach the root zone of your lawn. The soil cores will be ejected as the hollow tines penetrate the soil, these can be mowed over and broken up if the soil quality is good. Or if the soil quality is poor they can be removed and disposed. The final part of this step is to create a nice consistent, clean surface that’s ready for topdressing.
Professional core aeration of a Brisbane lawn provided by Volt Mowing.
Finally the last satisfying step in creating a beautiful lawn - topdressing! This is how a nice smooth, flat or evenly contoured lawn is created and maintained. If the lawn has recently been installed, topdressing will fill any small gaps between turf slabs. If the lawn has been installed for some years, topdressing provides the chance to even out any low spots or divots that have appeared over time. For a lawn installed on poor quality soil, topdressing can help improve the soil quality. The needs of your lawn will determine the topdress material used. To improve poor quality soil or increase the organic content we recommend an organic topdress blend. If the goal is purely to maintain a good stable level over time, washed sand is the best choice. The average topdress thickness is 10mm, varying to slightly more or less according to the requirements of the lawn. When calculating the volume of topdress required for your lawn, use this guide: 1 cubic metre (1m3) will cover 100 square metres (100m2) at 10mm thickness.
Rough spreading washed sand topdress on a Brisbane lawn from a wheelbarrow with the spade flick method.
When it comes to spreading the topdress material there are a variety of specialist machines available, but most commonly the humble wheelbarrow is used. Rather than dumping small loads of material directly onto the lawn we suggest using a shovel or spade to flick it out. This results in a more even distribution of material that is easier to work in. The one big downside to dumping small wheelbarrow loads onto the lawn is that the material in those spots will be more densely packed and once you’ve spread it out these areas will be slightly higher than the surrounding surface in many cases, making it difficult to create a truly level lawn. With the material roughly flicked out onto the lawn, it can then be worked in with a soil spreader or lawn level. Working the material in like this provides a consistent surface that is unlikely to further settle over time. Any deeper divots or depressions will require more material to fill to level, but keep in mind that if you topdress too heavily the lawn won’t be able to grow up through it - it will need to grow in across the surface. This isn’t a problem for small patches throughout the lawn, but if in doubt it’s better to complete multiple lighter topdress applications throughout the growing season.
Creating final levels and working in washed sand topdress using a soil spreader.
One important thing to remember is that topdress is not the same as topsoil. As a rule of thumb, keep soil in the ground - it doesn’t belong on top of your lawn.
Adequate nutrition is vital to a quick recovery, a professional grade turf fertiliser will give your lawn the food it needs. We also suggest the use of a quality soil wetter in order to ensure adequate soil moisture and reduce your watering requirement. The final step is to turn on your irrigation or put the sprinkler out and wait for the lawn to grow! A baseline guide for watering in Brisbane is 12-13mm twice per week in growing season. Extra water may be required after a lawn renovation, particularly if the weather is unusually hot or high winds are present.
Fertiliser and amendments.
Quality turf fertiliser and other beneficial amendments are vital to achieving a lush green lawn, all year round.
Keep an eye on your lawn as it grows back in and keep your mower at the ready! Allowing your lawn to become overgrown after a lawn renovation is one of the worst outcomes and will undo a lot of the hard work. Follow the “1/3 rule” and mow your lawn before the leaf grows more than 1/3 beyond your height of cut. If you want to maintain a 20mm HOC (height of cut), mow your lawn before the leaf reaches 30mm. We recommend the first mow about a fortnight after your lawn renovation. There may not be total leaf coverage at this stage, but that’s okay. Regular mowing is vital to creating and maintaining a lush green lawn.
Mow regularly
Regular mowing is vital to promoting a quick recovery and a strong, healthy lawn in the long term.
Following these steps will help you to create a stunning lawn at your Brisbane property, whether it’s your home or business. If you choose to engage a professional lawn business to handle your lawn renovation, now you will be able to ask the right questions to ensure you get exactly what you need and choose a business that will deliver an exceptional result!