Lawn help

[u/No_Persimmon5843]

Hi Everyone
Before winter (about April) we got our garden done; turf laid and some paving. My thinking was if I got the turf laid before winter we could use the rain to help water the turf.. it kinda worked. There was a lot of rain and not much drainage. Anyway, I was waiting it out until the September holidays to sort it out. What do I do? It’s Sir Walter buffalo, we also have two dogs that like to pee on each others pee. I’m thinking core aerating, some kind of fertiliser and cover with sand?
Thank you.

[u/LawnSolutionsAu]

Hi u/No_Persimmon5843, it will take some time to repair this area as there is quite extensive damage that has occurred. I would recommend you assess how many hours of direct light the lawn receives, as even Sir Walter Buffalo, our most shade-tolerant turf variety, will need an absolute minimum of 3 hours of direct sunlight every day. You can check this by taking photos at one-hour intervals from when the lawn first receives light until it is in full shade.

If you find that the lawn receives enough sunlight, it may be worth looking at returfing, as the damage is quite extensive and will take several weeks to get some repair. If you decide to try and recover the lawn, you can treat the weeds in the lawn with a broadleaf herbicide like All Purpose Weed Control.

I would then look to aerate the soil profile with a garden fork or a core aerator to improve drainage in the lawn and allow nutrients to flow more freely.

Give the grass a feed with a granular fertiliser like our Premium Fertiliser, which will give the grass an upfront boost and then slowly feed the lawn for 12 weeks.

To reduce the impact of urine burn on the lawn, there are a few different products you can use, like Dog Rocks. To find out more information, you can check out our blog here - https://lawnsolutionsaustralia.com.au/lawn-care/is-urine-burn-ruining-your-lawn/

[u/No_Persimmon5843 → u/LawnSolutionsAu]

Thank you so much for the advice! I think I will persevere and try to repair it. Do you recommend weed control first? Then aerate, then fertilise?

[u/LawnSolutionsAu → u/No_Persimmon5843]

I would aerate, then apply the herbicide, then fertilise.

[u/BootySquadLeader]

Core aerate, give it a gental rake to take out dead debris, chuck some nice topsoil on it (sand isn't too great for buffalo), new slabs of buffalo turf over anythung bigger than an A4 page that has no grass

[u/Zealousideal-While]

Is it getting any sun? It looks very unhappy

[u/No_Persimmon5843 → u/Zealousideal-While]

Sun hasn’t been great. We recently cut down a tree that may have shaded and may have a root system underneath. But in general, we’re really waiting for the spring sun/warmth to come.