Lawn care for Sydney homes

Looking for the best advice on selecting lawn turf and determining the right lawn care routine? Here is a basic "Lawn care for Sydney homes"

Lawn care for Sydney homes

Looking for the best advice on selecting lawn turf and determining the right lawn care routine? Here is a basic guide for Sydney.

Basic guide in choosing lawn care for Sydney homes

Start off on the right foot by actually choosing a lawn that suits your Sydney home.  Choosing your lawn is not just a matter of selecting a style that looks and feels good. There are a number of considerations you need to make so you can choose a variety that will do well in Sydney.

  • Turf selection should be based on the hours of sunlight your lawn receives and Sydney temperatures and climate.
  • You should choose a variety based on expected wear and tear (i.e. will there be lots of foot traffic from people or family pets?).
  • You should consider whether you’d prefer a low maintenance lawn as opposed to a low cost lawn.
  • If you’re located somewhere by the water like Manly or the Northern Beaches, you should consider a variety that tolerates salt well.
  • The size of your lawn plays a factor too; small urban gardens in Sydney often get a lot of shade and are surrounded by pavers (which grass can spread into, i.e. ‘lawn invasion’).

Tip: Lawn Solutions Australia have a handy online lawn selector as a starting point for deciding on which lawn to grow in Sydney and surrounds, but as there are hundreds of varieties available, we recommend getting a local lawn professional to help you choose your grass.

lawn turf sydney
Source: The Telegraph

Lawn care in Sydney

Sydney’s temperate climate with mild winters and sunny days calls for a considerate maintenance approach.  Here’s a basic guide on what maintenance tasks to do when.

Fertilising

Regardless of your location, fertilising should be avoided in periods of hotter weather. Fertilising can actually cause a lot of stress to your lawn, and it’s important that after fertilising, you give your lawn a good watering so it doesn’t burn. In Sydney, it’s recommended that fertilising be avoided from January to March (Sydney Lawn and Turf).

Weed spraying

As for most areas, it’s recommended that weed spraying be undertaken in the cooler months. Sydney Lawn and Turf recommend weed control being done from May to September. In the warmer months, you’ll probably find that faster grass growth and thatching is enough to keep weeds at bay anyway.

Top dressing

Top dressing your lawn should only be done in the ‘growing’ season. i.e. when you need to mow it weekly (Lawn Solutions Australia). In Sydney, the best time for top dressing is Spring, so September to November is perfect (Sydney Lawn and Turf).

sydney lawn careSource: Flickr

Watering your lawn in Sydney

Sydney’s Water Wise Rules have specific guidelines about how and when you can water your lawn. If you’re using Sydney Water provided water, to establish a new lawn, you are allowed to use a sprinkler at any time of the day for 14 days after you’ve laid new turf. After that, you can use a hose fitted with a trigger nozzle, or a sprinkler or irrigation system either before 10am, or after 4pm, on any day of the week. If needed, you can also use a bucket or watering can to water your lawn at any time (but that could get tedious!). The alternative to using Sydney Water is having your own rainwater tank, at which you can use to water your lawn at any time.

lawn care sprinkler
Source: Public Domain Pictures

We have some great lawn maintenance tips for summer that your lawn will appreciate.

Lawn care and maintenance tips

Keeping your grass forever green can be a challenge - but we're here to help!

Lawn care and maintenance tips

Lawn maintenance might not be on the top of your to do list other than mowing the grass but it’s just as important as the rest of your garden. We’ll take you through everything you need to know to keep your lawn green all year round.

Here are some lawn care and maintenance tips

1. Feed your grass

Your lawn doesn’t have a big root system like trees, so it’s important to regularly feed it to maintain its density and bright green colour.

There are different types of lawn care products:

  • Chemical lawn fertiliser to grow and get your grass green but make sure you use a spreader and also a tonic to make sure it’s even
  • Organic products for added conditioning and fertilising
  • Soil conditioners help the root system strengthen, which is important in the summer months
  • Soil wetter helps your lawn to hold water in the root system

Depending on your grass and climate you should be fertilising at least twice a year, in autumn (to protect for cooler months) and spring (to boost growth).

When applying fertiliser, do it in the mornings and use something natural or organic designed to ‘slow release’. Ensure you give your lawn a good drink afterwards, otherwise, it might burn. If required, keep weeds and lawn pests at bay by applying chemicals and pesticides, only as needed and directed.

 Fertilise your garden 2-4 times a year and make sure you water it in otherwise it can burn the grass!

2. Lawn mowing

There are three key steps to perfect lawn mowing: regular edging, whipper snipping and mowing.

Do your edging and whipper snipping first, then finish off the yard by mowing with a sharp, high blade. Most people don’t know that cutting your lawn a little higher is actually a good thing; it helps to keep the weeds away and gives protection against evaporation for the soil and roots. If you cut it too short, it can actually cause more stress and damage to the grass.

Get an Airtasker lawn care professional to give your lawn a great cut! They have all the rights tools, and they’re experts at edging, and cutting in and around trees and garden features.

3. Keep it wet in the warmer months

To keep your lawn hydrated and healthy, you’ll need to adopt a good watering routine in the hotter months.

Deep watering is a technique used to encourage the roots of your lawn to grow deeper, away from the top layer of the soil where heat and evaporation will damage them. Deepwater your lawn by watering less often, but for longer. The best time of day to deep water (or for any watering routine in summer) is either early in the morning, or late afternoon.

You could also look at a reticulation system to help keep the grass watered on a regular basis.

 Wetting agents to help soil particles hold water for longer are also a handy trick for keeping your lawn wet.

4. Aerating the lawn

Your lawn needs a breath of fresh air too. Aerating your lawn relieves soil compaction and will allow air, nutrients and water to get down to the roots. You can aerate your lawn using a power aerator, or a garden fork for a smaller garden.

To make it easier, work your way around the garden in a line and if you overlap it doesn’t matter – it’s actually a good thing!

5. Lawn repair

If your lawn has already suffered the effects of heat and evaporation, you can still turn it around by giving it some much-needed care.

Top dressing: If your lawn is suffering from a poor care routine or lack of topsoil, it might be necessary to try ‘top dressing’. Top dressing involves spreading a blended soil mix over your lawn.

Patch work: Dying patches of grass can be saved by using products such as lawn repair if caught early enough. If it’s gotten down to bare dirt already, you might need to patch up parts with turf.

Lawn builder products can help promote growth in new and unhealthy lawns.

 

Weed and pest control

Weeds

If your lawn is regularly maintained and well drained you shouldn’t have too much of an issue with weeds.  But when the grass becomes a bit thin or weak they can become a problem. Your type of grass will determine whether you use a spot technique or use different chemicals. Just be aware that you might then have to do a top repair on the grass as well as it might die too.

Pests

Lucky for us there aren’t too many lawn pests in Australia. But for areas where beetles and crickets can be an issue, there are treatments that you can buy from your hardware store.

Love our lawn tips? We’ve got more summer gardening tips where that came from!