Want to reduce your water bills by up to 50%?
By following these tips, your instant lawn will remain in great condition even in drought times!
- Soil type - Before planting, the ideal soil type is one that holds enough water but also allows excess moisture to escape quickly. Soils holding too much water will over time have shallow root systems and therefore not be tolerant of drought conditions. A sandy type loam is generally recommended and it should have a good pH of around 6.5.
- Grass types recommended on this site to lower water usage should be selected. They are the deepest rooting and require only minimal amounts of watering once established. Couch, Kikuyu and Sir Walter are good examples of these type of grasses.
- Again prior to planting, if an Irrigation System is to be installed, it should be designed with water conservation in mind. A controller that allows flexibility is a must and head spacings should be placed in accordance to the manufacturers specifications. Evergreen Turf has alliances with good design companies should you require assistance with this. A switch can be installed to shut off your system if the soil becomes too moist or if rain has fallen - check them out!!
- For the Irrigation system of an existing lawn , place out as many as possible catch jars that are exactly the same and run the system for 10 mins. Measure accurately each jar and check for uniformity. Again if accuracy is poor, re-route the system to the manufacturers specifications (a general rule for pop-up spacings is head to head coverage).
- Mowing height is critical. The longer the leaf the longer the root system. Maintain the recommended mowing heights as per recommended on this site. Raise it a little in the Summer and lower it a little in the Winter as a rule of thumb. Ensure the mower blades are sharp, blunt blades create large wounds on the tip of the leaf that ooze water.
- Aeration of existing lawns before and during Summer is a good practice. Most hire companies have one or several types of lawn aerators. Once completed, apply a wetting agent to the turf such as Wetta Soil to improve water penetration.
- Watering in the morning is best and be sure to wet past your root system depth. How do you know this? Grab a screwdriver and check it out!
- If large trees are drawing up the moisture, cut the root system (go easy) and install a root penetration barrier (good quality nurseries supply these). They work well and protect both types of plants.
- We have discussed on this site the issue of white curl grubs(cockchafers) - these little critters chew the root system and the turf shows signs of drought stress. As a natural reaction we tend to pour more water on but we need to dig a couple of holes and find out the source of the problem. See the section on Nematodes on this site.
- Fertilising with a controlled release fertiliser such as Scotts “Lawn Builder” allows an even pattern of growth without large growth flushes. Avoid quick response fertilisers as these decrease drought tolerance.
Sportsturf Managers around the world use the above techniques daily, now you have access to the information of the professionals!. So please try the above and if all else fails give us call for a site inspection on: 1800 677 655 |
Fertilising Instant Lawns
Watering Instant Lawns
Top Dressing Instant Lawns
Mowing Instant Lawns
White Curl Grub control with Nematodes
Reduce Your Water Bill
Weed control for Instant Lawns |