I’m hoping someone can help me grow the lawns at the house that I’m renting.
There is an established lawn with an automatic reticulated watering system. The soil in this area of Australia is a red clay/sand called pindan and I have no idea how nutritious it is for grass growth.
We have just come out of the “wet season” which is hot and humid with occassional rain fall coming from local thunderstorms. With the reticulation set to water the lawn for 20mins every 2 days the grass has been doing quite well. Now however, the “dry” has started; it is still hot, but not so humid, and it would not be unusual to have no rain at all for the next 4-5 months.
The grass is dying, quickly. I’ve tried giving it more water but I am unsure of how much it should get. It seems that if I were to water it too much then I’d be in danger of flushing nutrients from the soil.
So my question is, how much water should grass be given if it is getting nil rain? Is there anything else I can do for the grass to encourage growth? How can I tell if it is getting too much water or not enough?
As this is a rental property, I am not open to suggestions of clearing the area, laying better soil and planting new grass.
Many of the native grasses in that part of the world naturally slow there growth or even die off in the aboveground portion in the winter months. Although triggered by cold it’s mostly a defence against the dry.
It really would help if you could tell us what the grass is or provide a photo.
I don’t know what type of grass it is and a photo will take a little while, I’ll see what I can do.
As I said, it’s dry over the “winter” but most definitely NOT cold. (Generally in the mid 30s C during the day and if we’re lucky it’ll get down to 14 C at night.)
Yeah, I know it’s still warm relative to the temperate regions, but it’s cold relative to a tropical summer. That;s why i made apoint of syaing that it’s triggered by cold but evolved as a defence against dry. The grass enters dormancy once air temperature drops beloew a certina level which may be as high as 20oC. That way it won’t accidentally get caught in an active phase by a sudden, late dry season.
If the grass survived over summer with that amount of water it sure won’t be getting too little water now. In fact with most systems 20 minutes every two days would be far too much water in winter. Normally 30 minutes/week is considered optimal. If the soil is heavy it could well be getting waterlogged.
You could try some super and trace elements to give it boost.
From what i’ve read, Pindan soils are derived from old sandstones and limestones, which usually means minerals, but organically poor. I’ve read that the Pindan has “skeletal soils” meaning that they lack a strong profile (little topsoil, mostly sand/sandy).
Lawn grasses usually require a lot of feeding. I know that here where I live in California, our soils are likewise skeletal, with little to no soil profile, excessive drainage (great for cactus and mediterraneans), and constant nutrient problems. Without heavy amending, grasses here need a lot of fertilizer and water. The solution was to plant a grass called “Kikuyu” which is coarse and forms stolons that will root in anything. Regular lawn grasses struggle unless pampered.
Do you know what kind of grass it is you have?
One solution might be to spread compost or good topsoil into the grass, working it in (not burying it, mind you), letting it filter in amongst the blades.
General guidelines that work for me. However, I’m in the plains of the USA.
I have a heavy clay soil. I’m just a guy with a nice lawn, no special credentials or training.
Watering. Provide water such that the grass is getting 1" to 1 1/2" per week. More if it has been unusually hot and dry. I try to water every 3rd day. I have the sprinkler system make two passes on watering days. Since the soil is clay, it absorbs moisture slowly, so the 2nd pass is to allow for some of the first pass water to soak in to the soil. Water in the early morning, not night time and not during the heat of the day. Exception to “heat of the day” watering is a short watering of only 5 minutes or so if it has been quite hot. I believe horticultarists refer to this as siphoning. It works much like our sweating, evaporation leaves the turf cooler and under less stress.
Mowing. Set blade as high as possible during summer heat. Added grass blade height helps shade its own roots. Mow only during evenings, if at all possible. This gives grass time to recover before next onslaught of full sun. Keep blade sharp. Use a mulching mower. This returns nutrients etc to the soil.
Fertilizing. Throw out everything you’ve been told in fertilizer advertisements. Avoid ferts that have very high numbers as the first number on the bag. Never, ever, fertilize during summer heat. During cooler and or wetter times, use a fert that has better number balance… such as 17-10-12 or similar. Even use what is typically called “starter fertilizer”. Use said “starter” fertilizer 3 - 4 times per year. But again, only when it is cooler.
Overseeding. Match as closely as you can the right cultivar for the job. Here in the plains states of the US, we typically use either a Bluegrass cultivar or a Fescue cultivar. Fescues typically handle shade a bit better, while bluegrasses (typically) handle full-sun better. If there is the equivalent to a county extension office ( a government entity that helps people grow stuff ) in your area, ask them what cultivars work best in your area. Even among the bluegrasses and fescues, the quality, the genetic color density, the drought resistence, etc can vary widely. So don’t just buy the cheapest seed you can find. Here in the states we have the National Turfgrass testing program. I seem to recall their website being http://www.ntep.org [but I didn’t confirm that]
See someone’s grass you’d -LIKE- to have? Ask them what they do.
If it is indeed a sandy soil that drains water quickly… change what I said about watering. Still get about 1 to 1 1/2 inch on it per week, but you’d need to water more frequently than my previously mentioned every 3rd day.
Doobieous, aside from 1920s Style “Death Ray” not wanting to re-sow the lawn kikuyu is rapidly on its way to becoming a serious weed in Australia. I’t’s still legal to [plant in most places but probbalynot recommended. It also has very high fertility requirements by Australian standards. There are far better native lamn grasses available if re-sowing is an option.
I live in a desert area that gets 8 inches of rain a year and a rainy season (if there is such a thing) that ended here about a month ago. What I have learned thus far is to not water the lawn that often, like every two or three days to force the roots down and gain strength for the grass. Now that we have hit the dry season and daily highs of 30C (by August it will be 41C), I water the grass three times a week for 15 minutes per zone.
I didn’t suggest kikuyu. If I had i’d have said “why not try kikuyu”. I mentioned that it’s used here because of the problems with kentucky blue and other usual lawn grasses.
IANALE (Lawn Expert), but as I discussed before, I also live in an area of very sandy soils, very hot (>42C) and dry July through Septembers and the recommendations that were given to me for my lawn was not to water more than every other day or every third day for 15-20 minutes in each zone and to do the watering very early in the morning (starting around 5:00 AM).
I found that my retic has been on at about 3:00am (I don’t know why, I had it set for 5:00am); I’ve set it to come on in the morning and to water for 20mins every three days, I’ll let you all know how it goes.