OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums General Discussion Forum Lawn Care & Maintenance Leveling Couch Grass

Hey BB, thanks for that. I wanted to ask on your thread how your lawn was going. Cheers for sharing!

I thought SA wouldn't mind being top dressed closer to summer. But since I've never done it before I just thought I'd double check.

I got hit pretty hard with Crab grass in early september so I spot sprayed it with KambaM. Anyway long story short, a month later the crab grass survived, the lawn ended up with brown burn marks (I mixed it at the recommended rate) and I have been crawling around on my hands and knees pulling out crab grass after it's rained ever since. Once the brown spots repair I will scalp and topdress.

Surprisingly the bent handled the KambaM with no issues whatsoever.

Hi Cirillo & BB,

I had a look back at some photos I took around the same time last year and this season is about 2 weeks behind. When you scalp it the soil is able to absorb a lot more heat from the sun as there is no grass blades in the way to insulate the soil. Anytime from now is fine to scalp it and get some sand down. I usually find it takes about 2 weeks just to re-shoot and from there you can see it filling in everyday. Just remember couch is extremely hardy and will tolerate a lot of abuse and in most cases come back better than before.

Kamba M won't do anything to crab grass. That is a broadleaf weed killer (and not a great one IMO). Hand weeding with a pocket knife is probably easiest if populations are small. Pre-emergent is the way to go to control those grassy and broadleaf weeds before they even become noticeable. I have 2L of the stuff and am happy to give you some if you want to try it out.

BB, that is looking so good. A light sanding and that will be schmick! I filled my 2 green bins plus 2 of my neighbours bins with clippings from the front lawn alone last week. It is amazing how much material is there.

Anyway, update from tonight. I mowed yesterday with the Toro @3.2mm and mowed again tonight to see how much came off. Considering it was fairly mild today it is growing at a decent rate.




This last photo was 14/10/15, and that was the warmest October on record. So in all it isn't that far behind and this has been the coldest October I can remember.

Ok that's awesome! and it gives me some encouragement for my couch.

Thanks for the offer of the Pre-emergent! which one do you use? We use a whole bunch of different pre-emergents on the farm, depending on time of year and crop in the ground but I dare say none of them would be suitable for turf. And you're right about KambaM not being that great. I used it on the broad leaf weeds on the nature strip and it was very slow (at best) to work, it didn't even do a good job on he clover which it says it is designed for.

I use Embargo through Globe Growing.

http://www.globegrowingsolutions.com.au/products/brochures/Embargo%20Brochure.pdf

It is actually a 5L container @ 50ml/100m2. Which at 112ml per application twice per year I have a 22 year supply! Since I started using this I went from lots of winter grass to maybe 1 or 2 plants for the whole of winter. Summer weeds are not really an issue with our dry summers so I do an application in late March and then again in August which covers off Autumn -> Spring weed pressure.

Sorry to intersect fella's, but If you're chasing a decent broadleaf weed killer that is suitable for couch, kyk, or any soft leaf buffalo then you need to use BROMOXYNIL. It's really the only herbicide that won't yellow the lawn in any way and is very fast acting. I like to apply it 2 weeks apart to ensure adaquate coverage, however, it is by the far the best herbicide I have come across for my lawn.

There are many commercial varients, but it you have a small section of lawn and don't need too much of it then there are plenty of domestic concentrates available such as Yates Buffalo Pro.

http://www.yates.com.au/products/we...dkiller-concentrate/#S2pv88YzSZKyeOkI.97

Cheers for that Chris, I'll look into it!

Hi Guys,

I must admit I'm still finding that my lawn hasn't come into season as yet. I've scalped it nearly a week ago and still absolutely no signs of life. I did my side lawn a week earlier and still zippo.

I think that as I'm in the foothills that my ground temperature is lower than what it is down Simon's way.

Cheers,
BB. (still waiting)

Yea mine isn't great at the moment either. I still had it at the winter length until Friday when I scalped it and it's looking awful. I know it's only been a few days but even after the previous mows at winter height it just takes ages to bounce back.

Give it some time lads. Typically I find it takes 7-10 days before it will start to re-shoot.

The front yard I did 2 weeks ago is starting to turn green.

Hi Simon,

12 days now for my side lawn and still no signs of any life. Personally I feel it just hasn't come into season as yet as our ground temp would be slightly lower up here. I've done this so many times (right back to 1985) but this is the most unusual season it's ever been for me, as has been the weather this year.

Cheers,
BB.

Well I can guarantee you that you are right about this season being unusual. Here on the farm we've noticed strange weather all year. The plants started reacting to the weather in mid February as if it was mid autumn. Spring isn't in full bloom yet either. Ground temperatures are lower than any year I can remember for this time of the year. Our Parsnips should have started to re-shoot their leaves but the old ones are still hanging on because again ground temperature is too low. Even our potatoes that we've started harvesting are still in late winter mode. We did get a mild winter though. Almost no frost this year which was good

Well it's finally starting to happen..............green stuff is emerging....

I'm glad to hear!

I got sick of waiting this week so i have it a hit of some 46-0-0 Urea that we get specially made for the farm. It has greened up really well but the real test will be after I mow it tomorrow

Must admit this weekend would be a great time to scalp it regardless of any brown spots.

Mine is suddenly come to life and I'm seeing the diference every day now.

Once it's greened up I'll take some more shots and post them up.

Next year I'll do a full scarification and start a fresh with a rescreed and adding more sand to the final top surface. This year as the lawn is still under 12 months old I feel it just needed a really hard crew cut and a slight top dressing and let it establish for the next 12 months.

Cheers,
BB.

My lawn is 8 months old so apart from a decent scalp and perhaps an initial level in one area which dropped a fair it I think I will be in the same boat. I really want to level the lot but I just don't think it's the best idea yet. Also the spot which has dropped will take more than a couple of instalments of sand to get it to the same level as the rest.

On a side note, this 30 degree and sunny day is fantastic. Last week I brought it down to almost scalping and it didn't look great after that. After a mow today I'm amazed at how little browning there is. I just wish some of this sunny weather was sticking around...

Hi Cirillo,

Mine has taken off apart from a section that sits in the shade most of the day at the moment until later in the season when it's all in full sun all day with the sun heading more south in the sky. The rest of it is getting the ground temperature up with all this sun we are getting here in Adelaide.

Honestly don't be too afraid to get heavy handed with the cutting back, as long as it has roots in the ground it will re-emerge big, better and stronger. It's just that type of grass.

Yes I do agree with adding layers of sand in very sunken areas. I wouldn't add any more than about 25 to 30mm in one go. It'll come through that without any issues.

Cheers,
BB.

Mine resembles a lawn again rather than a beach. BB, you're right about the Southern aspect areas, as mine are slowly filling into those areas once the sun gets higher in the sky.

meanwhile in Brisbane.....................we are mowing every 3 days taking off 10-15mm each time

negative of fast growth is that lawn only looks nice after mowing for a day or so then gets scruffier IMO

spot on there.