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Tif tuf Bermuda help/advice

2.2K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  Mterkely83  
#1 ·
Hi and thanks for taking the time to read my post.
I recently layed some tif tuf Bermuda in Melbourne and need some advice.
Just a quick history on my dirt from nothing to turf.
I put down about 150mm topsoil on good friday Easter sat. It was super level and watered it a few times a day to settle the soil. See pics. The turf came on the Wednesday after. Got that down that day and was careful not to step on the grass and layed out sheets of ply. See pics. Most of the grass was green with a few brow ish corners and what not. I also went around and put ply down and walked over to pack the turf down
all over. So we had a couple nice sunny days after and I made sure I kept the soil moist. Then came the weekend just passed and we had a heap of rain. 25-50 over the weekend and now my levels are fairly wavey and the soil is super spundgy. Cannot put a foot on it or it will leave a huge footprint.
Also the corners in a few spots are staying brown and not going green. I did put lawn starter down before laying too. I'm worries I won't be able to mow it because it will still be too spundgy.
First full grass pic is day of laying, last 2 are 5 days after laying.
Any advice or help would be great as I don't want it to die.










 
#2 ·
First off, that is the most meticulous sod installation I have ever seen!! You are light-years away from what most new install start off with, so rest easy.
Secondly, and it's more a question than answer, but is it normal practice to box in your lawns with that raised-bed edging you have for your plantings? It leaves me wondering where your water runoff path will be, unless your soil is such that it percolates easily. Where I'm at with the clay soil of the SE US that's how we build swimming holes! lol Our ground does not percolate anywhere near as fast and we need to direct the water overland. Hopefully your situation is more a matter of needing a few days to dry out.
 
#5 ·
Looks great! I imagine the brown corners are from the top of the sod roll where it was in the sun during/before installation. Considering it's mid fall where you are, i would not scalp it or anything until next spring and then do a sand level.

Keep an eye on the soil moisture. If the sub soil doesn't drain, then the top solid layer may hold a bunch of water. Not saying you'll have issues, just keep in mind that the top soil absorbs water better so it may stay wet longer.

Is it me or does the tiftuf just look better in Aus!?