Instant turf! How to grow a lawn in one morning.

Now that the weather had warmed somewhat, it was time to put some grass down in the bottom yard that Stefan had prepared earlier. The quickest way to getting a lush green lawn is of course instant turf. The variety is important so after a bit of research (yes Google again) I chose Palmetto Soft Leaf Buffalo as it was supposed to thrive in shaded areas requiring only 2 to 4 hours of direct sunlight and is drought resistant. With that giant tree in the yard it was going to need to be VERY shade tolerant!

The turf from Advance Turf in Melbourne arrived on time early on Saturday morning as arranged and I'd laid out a tarpaulin on the driveway to keep it clean. The truck arrives complete with its own forklift so they can drop it wherever you want it.

It was all hands on deck to get the turf down as quickly as possible, so I rounded up some friends to help on the promise of a free barbecue lunch. The first piece is always the most significant and my friends son Ben wanted to lay claim to it! What a star (and a show-off!).

First one done!

It's a pretty easy job to lay the lawn, although it's back-breaking moving the turf around! The rolls weigh in at a fairly hefty 20 kg each. Dirt isn't light! We used the wheelbarrow to ferry them from the front yard to the back, then you essentially just place them on the ground end on end. Use a good set of garden shears and/or a sharp knife to cut the turf where required. When you start the next row, make sure you stagger the joins in a brickwork pattern. 

Below is Richard and I hard at work. Who says you can't cut your friends grass?

Ta da!

Once the grass is down it's time to top dress the turf with top soil washed river sand (1 cubic metre per 100 square metres of turf). You apply a thick layer of the sand on top of the joins, narrow strips, or any low areas, as well as a thin layer to the rest of the turf. Top dressing the turf is supposed to hold additional moisture, reducing the turf from being "shocked" after harvesting, and it helps retain water where it's needed. The sand is supplied with the turf rolls.

Oh my aching back!

Job done on the bottom lawn. It now needs to be watered twice a day for three to four weeks. I'd already laid in a pop-up system with two sprinkler heads prior to putting down the turf.

Job done and water on

Looks pretty good and getting plenty of sunlight already. Fingers crossed.

Turn on the sun

We also laid the turf around the utility area, but unfortunately came up two and half meters short! So much for careful planning. I had to drive over to the turf supplier the following weekend and buy more direct from them, throwing three rolls into the boot of the car which was enough to finish the job off.

Came up a little short!

Let's make a lawn (dum de de dum)

The area to the south west I've designated as a lawn area. It's going to be a challenge with all the trees around it, but it still gets a fair amount of sunlight so I am hoping a drought tolerant buffalo is going to be able to survive the conditions.

Once the area had been cleared it was a simple matter of adding in the soil, levelling and grading the surface ready for the turf to be laid. 

The surface is complete and a red gum border put around the edge.

The beds around the lawn are being prepared and further landscaping with rocks in the sloped area up to the house.

It should look nice when it's all green instead of dirt coloured! I am planning in using "instant turf" instead of seed in order to obtain the greenery that little bit quicker for impatient people like me.

Here's my number one (and only!) son showing off what a great job he has done running around making footprints! The surface is now prepared and ready for the grass and all the beds mulched nicely.