How to revive lawn in Melbourne?

ksashok

Hi Bunnings Community,

I have a front yard at my house which doesn’t look nice at the moment. The previous owners haven’t maintained it well and it is full of weeds. I have used the weed killer and removed some of it.  

I’m completely new to gardening and not have much idea about lawn care. Any tips on how to get started? Can I remove the current grass completely and then start from scratch using lawn seeds? 

I’m from Melbourne. What is the best time to start? Is there any preferred months? I have 2 kids who runs, jumps and what not.  So I would prefer to have a lawn which can handle a lot of foot traffic. Which would be better?

What are the essential tools that I would need to get started?

Thank you in advance. 

JacobZ

Hi @ksashok,

Thank you for your question about how to repair your lawn.

While your lawn can definitely use some work, I don't think it is too far gone that removing it altogether and starting again is the way to go. Yes, there are weeds, but there is also a lot of good grass there, and the thickness takes time to build up when starting from scratch. Right now is a great time to put in the work, so you can simply water and maintain over the summer months, where your lawn will be growing like crazy.

I would instead suggest you do what is called a lawn renovation. The steps to a lawn renovation are scalping the lawn, dethatching it, aerating it, top dressing it, and then maintaining, removing weeds as you go. If you have a look at lawn renovations on YouTube, there are a number of great examples.

The basic tools you will need are a lawnmower, thatching rake or scarifier, an aerating tool, a shovel, a soil spreader and a fertiliser spreader.

Start by scalping the lawn, which is essentially mowing it as low as you possibly can, right down to the dirt if possible. This step looks like you are killing the lawn, but trust me, you aren't. You are removing as much of the leaf as possible to open up airflow to the roots.

After scalping, you will scarify, which is also known as dethatching. This removes any dead leaf matter, known as thatch, from the root layer, further opening up airflow to the soil. Check out How To Dethatch Your Lawn for some guidance.

After this, you will aerate the soil to further open up airflow, encourage drainage and to soften compacted soil. You can use tools like this Lawn Aerator or Aerator Sandals, which will do some good, but an aeration tool that will actually pull out soil plugs, known as cores, will be better, as removing the material is better than pushing it to the side, which will happen with spiked aerators. This Cyclone 3 Prong Lawn Aerator is a good manual tool that will pull cores as opposed to poke holes. You can also hire this Lawn Corer, which would be the best tool for the job, through our Hire Shop.

Once aerated, you should top-dress your lawn with a high-quality top-dressing soil. I'd suggest ordering a bulk bag through the Special Orders desk as it is going to be more economical for a larger area. You can spread it over the lawn using your shovel, essentially throwing it in an arced motion so it spreads, then further spreading and evening it with your soil spreader. Check out How To Topdress Your Lawn for some guidance.

After this, you'll want to get plenty of water on your lawn and apply a granular lawn fertiliser to give your lawn the boost of nutrients it needs to grow. As your lawn grows, you'll want to manage any weeds that grow as well.

Manual removal of weeds is usually best, and this can be done with a variety of weeding tools such as this Saxon Weed Puller. If you wanted to, you could also use a combination fertiliser and lawn weedkiller such as this Lawn Builder Scotts Weedkill Slow Release Lawn Fertiliser.

Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob