How do I repair soggy Buffalo Lawn?

DIYdweeb

Hey guys - absolute newbie waving the white flag here. Laid this Sir Walter Buffalo about a month ago in south east Melbourne - area is south facing and gets a few hours of sun each day. Prepped by digging out the dirt and digging down 10mm and then backfilling with soil (last two photos), watered twice daily for the first three weeks (may have been doing a deeper soak than meant too) and had a few bigger storms here in Melbourne over the last few weeks with some decent dumps of rain.

Have noticed a few areas where it is almost mush (soggy, super shallow roots and just looks terrible), other areas where it is dry and then parts which are green and growing okay. We stopped watering almost a week ago and this is what it looks like.

  

  

Is there anything we can do to salvage this? 

MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @DIYdweeb. It's sensational to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about creating a lawn.

It definitely looks like the lawn is holding too much water, which could be causing root rot in some areas. Since you stopped watering a week ago, the key question is when the last significant rainfall occurred. Ideally, the soil shouldn’t remain waterlogged for more than a couple of days after rain. If it’s still this soggy, drainage is likely the main issue.

Before laying the turf, did you notice if water pooled in this area? That would indicate a natural drainage problem. One approach to improving drainage is to dig a 100mm-wide trench, about 300mm deep, around the front of the lawn as pictured below or, if needed, around the entire area. Lay a socked agline (perforated drainage pipe with a fabric cover) in the bottom of the trench, making sure it has a slight fall towards the nearest stormwater connection or an area where excess water can drain away. Backfill the trench with about 100mm of drainage gravel, then cover it with a geotextile mat before adding 50mm of topsoil on top. You can then lay a fresh strip of Buffalo turf over the trench so it blends in.

This drainage system will help redirect excess water, preventing it from sitting in the soil and causing further damage. In the meantime, avoid watering until the lawn has had a chance to dry out, and gently rake out any dead or rotting patches before overseeding or patching with fresh turf.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell