Algae IN Lawn!?!?!?!

Sounds like you need to improve the drainage in that area.

Easing off the watering should help the problem.

Calvin,

Seens you have just laid the turf down, now would be a good time to roll the affected area up, lay some more top soil to create a more even base.

Then roll the turf out again, and then go down to bunnings or k-mart and get some grass booster feeder.

This will stop the water forming the lake in the bottom corner ( although having your own private lake in current water restrictions isnt a bad idea, maybe even increase value to property.!! )

Bit of luck the grass will take off and the algae die off.

Cheers & good luck

P.s happy rolling / watering.

weed n feed from bunnings should do the trick, just follow the instructions on the bottle (think it was about $5).
i had a similar problem with moss and cloves at my house recently, took about 3 days and all the clove and moss was dead, now the grass has grown over and looks good once again.

Gday C@34,
The first question to ask is how did you prepare the ground before laying the turf.
It is my experience that most people just toss it on the ground with just a little levelling.
I fixed a bump in a lawn once on a landscape repair and discovered a Holden car filled with broken bricks, one hell of a way to cut rubbish removal costs.

Your own examination of the soil under the new turf should indicate to you if it needs further watering, just poke with your finger if your finger can’t penetrate below turf than go where there is no rock or prepare soil before laying turf next time, new roots will have a battle.

Now I know it’s a new lawn but at some point the daily watering needs to stop.
But before then the lawn roots need to grow down and the easiest way for that to happen is if the roots follow the water.
So unless the weather is stinking hot or the grass wilts back off and water every two three or four days.
Until established then never more than once a week for best healthy lawn.

When you water just water where it is needed most.
If the ground is damp no need to water.
If ground is soggy definitely don’t water.
When watering consider where the run off will go, if too much the lowest point gets a lot more than necessary.

A little water is much better than a lot, there is a high likely possibility that your enthusiasm for your new lawn encourages you to water heaps a plenty, so don’t do it resist the temptation.
Think of it this way every 1/4 hr drink a glass of water yourself by the time you feel full or need to go the lawn will also have had plenty enough OK.
Water in the evening’s best or early mornings.

Since the new lawn is only 2 weeks old don’t worry about the algae.
The first thing to do is train your self to water when and where necessary.
When you have mastered this than the problem will most likely have fixed its self or rather you fixed it with good management.

Email [email protected].
Fax new number coming
Mobile 0425201055.
For all your CLEANING and GARDENING work.

I was thinking of you possibly fixing the levelling problem by using one of the light loam soils with chook manure, which should power the lawn along, plus the soil should settle in any valleys..

I inhereted a levelling rake/screed type thing from an old IP and have taken it with me everywhere I’ve moved..its magic when doing this type of job

“Money is a currency, like electricity and it requires momentum to make it Effective”
Count The Currency With This Online Positive Cashflow Calculator

Gday C@34,
Many people your self included are tempted to fertilize a new lawn to help quickly get it started.
Next time save your money for a few months.
The idea with establishing a new lawn especially in the heat is for the roots to penetrate the soil enough that the grass will survive on its own.

Roots in direct contact with fresh fertilizer tend to get burned and thus new roots will be slowed in growth.
Again changing the ph of the soil can have adverse effects on a lawn especially a new one.
Now I am not familiar with your area but I would assume that all instructions given so far have come from the turf supplier.
Thus for any further chemical (organic and or inorganic) treatment of your new lawn follow the instructions given by the supplier after all they know the turf best and have a good idea about the soil in the area.

Most people wish to take action to make something happen when there are times when sitting back and waiting is the best and only thing one should do.

So to all appearances the new turf is dying off that’s ok the stuff on top will now shade the roots below.
Those roots will now have fewer requirements for the moment to supply water and nutrients to the grass above.
They will now be growing out in all directions to hold the turf down.
Since it’s so hot the sooner those roots are encouraged to grow down to get water the better for them it will be.

Now check that the roots have not followed the green stuff on top to the afterlife in the worst areas.
And as I said earlier reduce watering just enough that the moisture in the soil does down this way the new roots will follow the water and away from the heat above and guess what away from the burning chemicals.
The best feeding roots are those in the sub soil working hard for the nutrients.
The harder the roots have to work to establish to find nutrients the stronger your new lawn will be.

So resist temptations to feed.
Besides with little root growth many of the nutrients will leach away long before they give best results.
6 months down the track much better.

Regarding topdressing don’t not now it’s too late.
Soil preparations like levelling are always done before new turf is layed.
Sadly most people try to do things the other way around.
Perhaps in 6 months time and then only just a very little bit perhaps 10-15 mm and only to the lowest areas first.

Resist the temptation to fertilize at the same time because some of the lawn will naturally get more than other parts and thus colour change is inevitable.
I once wrote school sux in the school grounds, perfect considering learned teachers don’t work in a nursery and everything they did made it worse, agh memories.

Only top dress about twice a year three at the very most and only a little at a time.
Don’t forget to water it down well.
A week or two after top dressing then is the time to fertilize.
Just do it evenly all over unless some parts are falling behind.
The parts that are behind do them and only those areas, when all the lawn is even in growth and colour it is perfect.

Considering how hot it is don’t worry too much about the algae just back off the water just enough that the grass roots will go down after the water and the algae will not follow the H20 and thirst to death.
Simple solution and cheep too plus watering less also saves.

C@34 Hope this helps.
Anyone with a question just drop me an email.

Email [email protected].
Fax new number coming
Mobile 0425201055.
For all your CLEANING and GARDENING work.

Great Post Colin

REDWING

“Money is a currency, like electricity and it requires momentum to make it Effective”
Count The Currency With This Online Positive Cashflow Calculator

Gday C@34,
It is good that you are actually looking for the problem.
Not all problems are obvious sometimes we need to dig a little deeper.
So lets start at the beginning and take it step by step and along the way something will turn up.

C@34 you mentioned earlier that you had prepared the ground by tilling (turning over the top earth layer).
Did you notice anything about the soil in your yard before doing any thing?
1.Is all the soil in your yard the same?
There is a lot to consider here for example colour, texture, smell and taste (taste not kidding ever seen a farmer chewing on a blade of grass as he walks through his paddocks, the sweeter the taste the better, no ph kits 10,000 years ago).

2.Was anything buried or poured out on the ground during construction?
I know it should not happen but lets be realistic accidents happen.
Brickies sand is a good example however in your case sand would be assisting the drainage.
Could the area be affected by concrete dust?
I mentioned earlier about finding a Holden car buried in a lawn, sometimes things are buried just to get rid of them quickly and cheaply.

3.How did the existing vegetation compare to vegetation on the rest of the lawn area before tilling?
It is amazing how much diversification there can be over just a few meters.
Consider why weeds are more prolific in one area and not in another, nature is amazing I KNOW THERE IS NO EXCEPTION TO THIS RULE ;o(.

4.Has the soil structure been damaged by compaction or over tilling eg has that area of ground had more vehicular traffic on it than the rest of the lawn?
Considering use and possibly the weather conditions during construction because trucks bring materials to a house site and wet ground compacts at a faster rate.

5.Could any sub soil materials have been worked up and added to the topsoil perhaps by a pipe or cabling being laid?
The soil below will have less microbial and a lot less nutrients and because of weight and time will be a lot more compacted.

6.Was any soil brought to the site as fill this also includes from one area of your yard to another?
Remember house sites are levelled and you did say that you had prepared the ground before laying the turf.

7.Had your mother in law been standing there long?
OK I am searching now (better ignore this one my mother in law is wonderful).

Consider if any of this makes a difference regarding your thinking about a solution to the problem.

By all means use all grey waters to water lawns such as water from your sink, washing machine, after your kids eventually get out of the bath etc.
Always consider savings wherever you can.

Dishwashing liquid may work but expensive considering it will not be a permanent solution to the problem.
Better would be one of the many commercially available soil wetting agents.
But first look for the reasons why (there may be more than one reason).
And a quick fix may exaggerate the problem.

Remember an ounce of prevention is worth a tonne of cure.
C@34 Hope this helps.
Anyone with a question just drop me an email.

Email [email protected].
Fax new number coming
Mobile 0425201055.
For all your CLEANING and GARDENING work.

The product is called Claybreaker & can be bought anywhere, just sprinkle and fork it into the ground.
On another sidebar re bonsai. Did this for years in another life and you can fast track this by planting a little tree in the ground, let it grow for a period until you get to a size you want, watch it all the time for pruning and shaping. Dig it up and choose a nice root and put a suitable rock under it (for visuals when potting) , nip off the bigger roots and replant (obviously in winter), cut off branches you dont want when they are small, lop off the top, when it is small, which will bush it out, lop off branches when they are small (so you dont get big unsightly scars on trunk and topand make sure the cut when you cut off the main trunk is facing away from the front of the tree), wire it to the shape you want, then when it is the right size, dig it up, cut off the bigger roots and leave the small feeder roots, and pot it into a bonsai dish. Choose a dish with two holes in the bottom, using one wire through both these holes and up around the trunk to stabilise it. Obviously choose a hardy tree without a tap root as cutting this will kill it. Jap maples are pretty good as they have small leaves to start with. These can look good at about 300mm high in about a 300mm oblong bonsai pot. Start several and hope one survives. Good small, older (stunted) stock can often be found in bigger more unltended nurseries, i.e. country. Good Luck.

Fern