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How to restore an old patchy lawn

mich1972

So our couch back lawn was depleted and reverting back to sand as it’s so old , it needed a big boost of top dressing. I used Hortico Top Dress from Bunnings. I did this 8 days ago.

Rake the top dress out.

I like to use a granular wetting agent. WettaSoil from Bunnings. Once this is added make sure to hand water it in.

I like to use Richgro Rock Minerals as a natural slow release fertiliser that won’t dump too much nitrogen straight away. I also use this throughout our garden. Again hand water in straight away.

Give it a good hand water.
Safety tip - wear a mask when applying these products as they are quite dusty.

8 days later it’s looking better, the harsh patches need more time but it is an improvement.

I will post a follow up in another week to show you how it is going 😊

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Comments

Jason

Great result. Many thanks for sharing @mich1972. I'm sure there are plenty of lawns out there that are struggling this summer. Appreciate the tips.

If any Bunnings Workshop members need a hand reviving their lawn, please let us know.

Jason

mich1972

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/11492#Comment_11492

Thanks @Jason It has been so hot here in Perth and our garden and lawn has taken a beating......

Snow91

Agree. My front and back lawns have recently taken a hammering. I'll be jumping on your bandwagon, and trying to resuscitate it this weekend!

mich1972

So the M-I-L’s new house has heaps of lawn !!!! Couch lawn. And it has been neglected. So we have done the same here as we did to our lawn.

Lawn Top Dress
Granular Wetting Agent
Rock Minerals

All purchased from Bunnings.

Hand water thoroughly as always.

Wearing a mask as it’s dusty work.

mich1972

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/11564#Comment_11564

Thank You @Snow91. It is so hot and dry here in Perth that our gardens and lawns need more attention with Waterwise .

I should have also mentioned that it helps to aerate the lawn if needed. I did not do this with our back lawn and it is recovering well and we didn’t aerate the M-I-L’s lawn. I will post an update of her lawn in two weeks to share how it’s recovering 😊

MitchellMc

It's great to hear you've seen some improvement @mich1972. It sounds like it been a scorching week over there.

Many thanks for sharing, and I can wait to see your results.

Mitchell

mich1972

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/11584#Comment_11584

@MitchellMc Mitch it’s been that hot and dry here that my poor Worm Farms have taken a harsh beating and I have to start again 🥵😔

mich1972

We mowed the back lawn, recovering well and patches growing back after top dress. Very happy now !!!!!!

MitchellMc

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/11651#Comment_11651

That's coming along very well @mich1972 and appears very lush!

Many thanks for updating us.

Mitchell

AP200

Thankyou so much for all the info and what to use for the couch. Our "lawn? " is bare ,thin & impoverished so I am going to go and get the products needed and have a shot. Water is a bit of an issue for us presently.

My other biggest issue is "African Love grass" or that is what it is known as around here. It is a solid thick clumpy weed that grows long stalks around the sides of the centre. The stalks have seed heads so it reproduces prolifically. I have used spray on them but just can never be rid of it. I even had

weed killer from a weed spraying professional but it just keeps coming up & the poison killed everything else !. There is far too much to dig manually (acres). When it comes up in the lawn I dig it up and I can get rid of it this way in small patches. Thankyou for any ideas.

Weed Weed

MitchellMc

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/11938#Comment_11938

Hi @AP200,

Let me mention @mich1972, so she is alerted to your kind feedback, and hopefully, she has experience dealing with African lovegrass. Lovegrass is certainly troublesome to remove, and it would require several applications of Glyphosate to knock off. The issue is the seeds will stay dormant in the soil for up to five years before reemerging. So it will be a significant battle over quite a few years before you'll likely be done with it. You can cover the clumps with black plastic, staking it down around the edges. This also can take a couple of years to kill the clump underneath completely.

Mitchell

mich1972

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/11938#Comment_11938

Hi @AP200

Our couch lawn has bounced back and we are really happy with it ! Yes we did have water a bit extra to kick start it as it’s been extremely hot here in Perth. But I am very happy to share how it has been going and I’m very happy with the products I use and will keep using as needed.

I’m sorry but I have not heard of that African love grass. Maybe not one in WA 🤔

If the weed killers does nothing, the next step is solarisation, by laying black builders film - thick black plastic. Pegged down . Then the sun can cook the foliage and root system.

Good luck and I hope this may help you 😊

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