Green Lawn Year-Round

How to Keep Your Lawn Green Year Round

“We guarantee it’s possible even with water restrictions"

By following a few simple tips, it is absolutely possible to have a healthy, green natural lawn throughout the year.

In the driest state of the driest inhabited continent in the middle of a drought? No problem.

We will look at the following four key areas.

  • Water
  • Soil
  • Fertiliser
  • Maintenance.

Water

Obviously water is an absolute must for green grass. If you live in an area that has to comply with SA water restrictions, then you have 2 options: you can either spend a couple of hours a week standing on your lawn and hand watering - or - you can install an irrigation system under your lawn (known as sub surface drippers).

Sub Surface Drippers

Sub Surface Drippers save time, water and work. They use around 60% less water than pop-up sprinklers and are allowed to be used under current water restrictions. They can be installed in both new and existing lawns with ease because there are machines that install into existing lawns without digging trenches. By using this system once or twice a week according to the restrictions, you will supply your lawn with more than enough water to stay green.

The great thing about Sub Surface Drip Systems is that they are laid about 100mm below the soil surface where they deliver water straight to the root zone. There is no evaporation, run off or wind blowing the water away. This means you use a whole lot less water.

Hand Watering

If you decide against the sub surface drip and go with hand watering, keeping a green lawn starts to become hard work. It’s not an efficient way to water because little of the water makes it to the root zone. Having said that, it is still possible if you’re willing to put in the hours.

Soil

Soil is the foundation for your lawn. There are two common problems that lead to a lawn going brown: soils that are hard setting, and soils that do not absorb water properly (non-wetting).

You need to solve both these problems if you want a healthy green lawn.

New Lawns

If you are starting from scratch it’s easy – just make sure you order a good quality sandy loam to lay your lawn on. Do your research and don’t just buy on price. There are some pretty shocking sandy loams out there. (what defines a good quality sandy loam from a bad one?)

Existing Lawns

If you have an existing lawn that is on a hard setting soil, coring (aerating) the soil and then lightly top-dressing it with a soil conditioner (such as gypsum and sandy loam mixed together), which improves soil structure, aeration and drainage, is the way to go. You can hire a corer to core the soil yourself but hire machines are "light duty" and won't core the lawn very deeply. We suggest you have this job done professionally.

If your soil is non-wetting - meaning water either pools on it or just runs straight off when you water - you should apply a liquid wetting agent such as Lawn Soaker or Paul Munns Betta Wet Rapid.

A non-wetting soil will almost always revert back to their non wetting state at some point after the application of a wetting agent. Depending on the quality and type of wetting agent you buy, you would expect to apply it 2 or 3 times during the summer or whenever you notice the problem returning.

Fertiliser

It’s hard to keep a lawn beautifully healthy and green if you don’t fertilise it.

Fertilising should be done 3-4 times per year with a balanced range of mineral and organic fertilisers (rather than the same one every time). These nutrients help colour retention, and increase hard wearing, self-repairing and disease fighting capabilities, in addition to giving it that healthy, vital glow.

Having said this, you definitely need to solve any water and soil issues you may have before you’ll get any really good results from your fertiliser. This is because if you don’t water your lawn, it will go into a brown dormant state and won’t absorb the fertiliser very well. If on the other hand your soil is hard setting or non-wetting, water won’t be able to carry the fertiliser to the root zone.

Maintenance

Regular mowing, edging and scarifying will help you maintain the colour and general appearance of your lawn.

It may sound obvious but it’s amazing how often people don’t mow their lawn for 4 or 5 weeks, then mow it down hard. That sort of maintenance will always lead to colour loss and scalping.

Keeping the thatch down will help your grass keep better colour through winter. Certain lawns require scarifying once a year during summer. We advise that this is carried out.

There are preventative beetle chemicals that you can use once a year in October (such as Yates Confidor for lawns) and when you see weeds, you should either pull them out or poison them with a selective herbicide before they become a problem.

Conclusion

Though many people are beginning to despair or are saying it can’t be done - it is entirely possible to have a green lawn. So don’t turn your lawn into pavement or artificial grass just yet - take care of these 4 areas and in almost all cases, you’ll have a healthy green lawn.

The only other thing to consider is make sure you have the right grass variety for your lawn. Though most varieties stocked in SA are drought resistant, some prefer high sun, some grow better in the shade, and general hardiness and growth speeds vary.

If you have any questions on this or want further information please contact us. If you have an existing lawn, feel free to bring in a sample and we will be happy to give you some personalised expertise.