I was out of town for a month. So my family hired a lawn mower. Post that, this is how my backyard lawn looks. It used to much healthy and much thicker. It is autumn and winter will be here soon. What should I do now before the winter starts. Any guidance?
Hi @hisumesh,
The main issue here looks like a build-up of thatch. Thatch is basically a layer of dead and living material sitting between the soil and the green grass. When it gets too thick, it stops water, air and nutrients getting down into the roots.
Kikuyu, which I'm relatively confident is what your lawn is, naturally grows quite aggressively and can form a thick, spongy layer if it hasn’t been dethatched for a while.
The best thing to do now is to give it a light dethatch to remove some of that built up layer. You don’t want to go too aggressive this time of year though, as temperatures are starting to cool and Kikuyu will slow its growth heading into winter.
Check out https://www.bunnings.com.au/diy-advice/garden/lawn/how-to-dethatch-your-lawn?srsltid=AfmBOopMKjIgMqyWU61ucUPIFxIwujyMxcRq_ePKk7dhNlHvCZklZKw_ for some guidance.
After that, give it nutrients with some lawn fertiliser, and keep the watering consistent but not excessive. You should start to see it thicken back up a bit before winter fully sets in.
Just keep in mind that Kikuyu will naturally go a bit dormant and lose colour over winter anyway, so don’t expect it to bounce back to peak summer condition straight away. The goal now is to clean it up, relieve thatch, and set it up to come back strong in spring.
Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Jacob
Hi @JacobZ thank you so much. The lawn is actually buffalo. Will follow the steps and see how it goes.
