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Help bring back my lawn

Hi every one,

you wouldn't think I got this lawn laid in May, but it was and it was beautiful. It's a Queensland Blue but it's not a couch.

For the first month the watering that was required I did well, it was until I got a guy to mow the lawn for the first time things started to take a turn. He used a cylinder roller which is what has to be done, the grass was wet that morning, and when he left there were a lot of patches where it was cut to the ground.

As as the weeks went on there were only a few places where it seemed that it was nice and shown the roots had picked up were as for all the patches, they have stayed the same to now, whilst it has been fertilised twice now.

The guy who laid it would not take any responsibility as he also said one other client has got the same problem. Very disappointed considering the money I spend and I am left with this, not fair for the kids as well

does any one Recommend airating the area?

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Comments

Jason

@LePallet,

Sorry to see the state of your lawn. It must be very frustrating for you.

Did you see the discussion How to improve your lawn this Spring? There might be some tips for you from lawn expert @Adam_W. For Adam and other community members to help you more specifically, it might be useful for them to know where in Australia you live, what kind of soil you have and how much sun your lawn receives.

Good luck with the restoration work, I hope our members can provide some helpful advice for you.

Jason

Adam_W

Hi @LePallet,

Sorry to see your lawn looking so sad 🙁

As @Jason mentioned we really need to know where you live as this plays a big part.
Also... I'm very confused about the variety. The only 'Queensland Blue' I know of is a couch so I'll need a more accurate name in that respect as the lawn type plays a big part in how it recovers.

You mention that the lawn 'has to be done' with a reel mower.
I'm assuming the guy that installed the lawn told you this?
The only lawns that really 'need' to be mown with a cyclinder mower are couch & maybe zoysia. The super fine-leaved lawn grasses.

Couple of things with cylinder (reel) mowers;
- the lawn has to be seriously dead-flat. I'm talking billard table flat. Otherwise you will get scalping on bumps or the sides of dips.

- unless you are mowing a bowling green a cyclinder mower doesn't need to be set really low. Low, yes, but not buzzcut. To use the haircutting anology think a number 2 or 3 cut. Not a 0 or 1...

Like any mowers the catcher needs to be emptied frequently during mowing especially if you are mowing short. Reason being the weight of the clippings, which will be doubled on a wet lawn, will start to push the mower lower so this means it will start cutting lower and lower as the mowing progresses. A cut line can start out fine but end up short with a scalped spot especially if it was set short to start.

If there were 'patches' after his first mow then put simply... he hasn't mown your lawn properly. He has scalped it.

As an aside... personally I won’t mow a wet lawn, too many potential problems, but contractor's push their luck.

Stop fertilising it. At this stage you won't be doing anything beneficial, in-fact you may be amplifying the problem by overloading the soil with fertiliser (depending on what you're using).
If anything at all only use a seaweed type tonic (think Seasol regular, not boosted for lawns, or Pure Organic hose-on) at this stage to try & stimulate root activity & improve soil health.

My opinion but... the guy who laid the lawn should be taking a bit more of a role in this and sorting out what the problem is especially if he has another client with the same issues.

Something is obviously going wrong and he needs to work out if it’s his fault, a problem with his turf or landscape soil supplier or a post installation maintenance issue.
I’d also be having a word with the lawn-mowing dude that scalped it to start with.

Aerating will certainly help. It’s not a huge lawn so maybe rent a spiked roller & do the whole thing. Remember that you need to at least ½ fill it with water first and pull, don’t push. You don’t want to slip forwards onto a spiked roller while pushing it…

Okay, lots for you to digest there... probs most important things we need to know at this stage are - what area you live in and the lawn type.
Also what fertiliser you've used so far would be handy too.

In the meantime... this shortened version of an article I wrote for Handyman magazine could be useful.

Handyman spring lawn care

LePallet

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/3736#Comment_3736

What a great Reply @Adam_W

ill start with the basics;

the lawn is called "Queensland Blue Couch" and I live in Perth WA.

as it wasn't laid dead flat, explains the burnt patches to the lawn

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