Whether you’ve just laid down some fresh turf or has started from scratch with seeds, a new lawn requires a bit of care to get off to a healthy start. Your lawn will likely not need much maintenance after the six week mark, but before then, it’s crucial to get your new lawn care right – because nobody likes a brown patchy lawn. To help you get your grass thriving and strong, we’ve compiled a quick list of our tips for a maintaining a new lawn in top shape below.
4 tips to maintaining a new lawn
How to maintain new grass #1: Water regularly
A freshly laid lawn needs a little more maintenance to get started, as the turf needs to establish strong roots. If the roots aren’t given enough moisture, your lawn can quickly struggle to find enough support, and will soon dry and die out. For the first week, it’s recommended you water your lawn twice a day. This can then be dropped to two times a week after, and once a week at the six week mark. This will help the roots of your lawn to establish in the soil, which will help ensure it gets off to a strong start.
How to maintain new grass #2: Hold off on mowing
It’s recommended you hold off on mowing your lawn into the roots get established, as mowing can cause a bit disruption on the growing cycle. If you’ve laid down turf, a couple of weeks should be a suitable enough time to mow. As a rule of thumb, it’s worth waiting until your grass has reached a height of at least three and a half inches before mowing. For seeded grass, you can expect the process to take at least a couple of months to reach a suitable height, as the seeds need time to germinate.
How to maintain a new lawn #3: Avoid walking on your lawn
Your lawn will be quite vulnerable in the first few weeks, so it’s important not to walk on it until the roots have firmly embedded into the soil. Even then, it’s recommended you keep the activity pretty light for the first couple of months, and after any high traffic use such as playing sports. A pre turf fertiliser can help your lawn grown quicker, as it gives your lawn the nutrients needed to establish a strong root system.
How to maintain a new lawn #4: Use the right fertiliser
When it comes to maintaining a new lawn, It’s important to use the right kind of fertiliser for your new lawn as a wrong fertiliser can cause more harm than good. A good fertiliser usually contains an even ratio of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. Nitrogen is key to kickstarting growth, whereas phosphorus helps develop root systems and potassium keeps the root healthy. It’s you’re planning on growing your grass from scratch, it’s recommended you use a special pre turf fertiliser before you sow the seeds. As fertiliser can sometimes sit on the surface of the soil, it’s worth using a hoe to get a little deeper – though no more than four inches as it can burn the roots of the grass. If you’re laying turf, a normal fertiliser will do, and can be used six weeks after installation.
We hope our blog on ‘Tips for maintaining a new lawn’ has given you a good idea of how to care for your new lawn. If you’re thinking about entering next years’ competition, why not bookmark this page and the homepage, so that you can check back for more updates on future editions of the Brisbane Best Lawn competition. Or if you’re like some more advice on maintaining a new lawn’ contact us online and one of our friendly lawn experts will be in touch shortly.
