OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums General Discussion Forum Lawn Care & Maintenance Leveling Couch Grass

Since the ODK Admins have given us a place to discuss lawn care and maintenance I thought that we needed some content. Since winter is approaching I thought I would put some projects up that I have done that might help some members get themselves ready and inspired come spring.

Probably the most important aspect of getting the most out of your reel mower is having a level smooth lawn without major undulations to eliminate scalping high spots and gouging in low spots.

I have undertaken some leveling on a few different occasions and have come up with what I think is the best method.

Early spring I always shave my couch down as low as I can, firstly with the rotary mower then finishing with the reel mower and remove all the clippings and stemmy trash. The lower the better. A standard bedknife on a SB45 should get you down to about 7mm which is fine. You can further dethach with a dedicated machine or core aerate if there is excessive organic thatch matter evident. Once you have it scalped it down low the undulations become so much more visible and will enable you to fill with material.

I always use sand to level out. In this case a coarse grit sand like a paving or concrete sand. This type of sand is better than a uniform particle size sand (eg play sand) as it tends to lock together and provide a solid firm surface. Around 1 tonne per 100m2 is a good place to start. Use the back side of a rake to roughly distribute the sand then use a topsoil level to finish off by working back and forth. You can make a drag mat out of a flat piece of wood and some mesh to make it super smooth by working back and forth and around and round. Deep depressions may take 2 or 3 applications of sand to level completely and doing smaller applications is better than totally burying the grass under 10mm+ of sand.

Next up add 0.5kg of Nitrogen per 100m2 from a high quality slow release fertiliser. For example, a 25-1-5 analysis you would drop 2kg of actual product per 100m2. (2kg x 0.25N = 0.5kg N)

Give it a really deep watering as soon as you are finished and continue with 3 medium waterings per week until it is fully recovered. Once the lawn is filled back in switch back to a weekly deep watering. Sit back and watch your lawn come in looking silky smooth!

Mowing can recommence again once it has reached your desired mowing height. Don't let it get too long as you want to induce the plant to grow low and dense, not tall and leggy.

G'day Simrice and Members

I was waiting/hoping you would give great advice in this new forum,
and you did not disappoint. Thank you

There may be an issue (on our side) with how images are appearing,
(now corrected) but we will address that one.

My newbie question is this: There are lawn levelers on the market,
all wider than the average rake. Are they a worthwhile investment?

Speaking on the level.
-----------------------
Jack

Mate

could you reload those pics.
They were corrected but then lost by your later post.

Cheers
Jack

The photos still don't seem to be working Mod CJ.

I have made my own lawn leveler as the ones for sale are ludicrously expensive. I think they are great and do a great job of distributing the sand around evenly.

G'day Simrice

No, they won't work until we go through the process of working
out the problem. It is on our side.

Could you please post the original pictures and I will place
them at the end of your original post.

We should have the problem corrected in 24hrs.

Cheers
---------------
Jack

Thanks for this post! This information will really come in handy for me

I can't wait for spring! some really annoying depressions on the front lawn after funnel ant attacks that i've been waiting to sort out.

what variety is your lawns simrice?

Simrice
That is an awesome result.
Thanks for posting that, it is going to be really helpful come springtime and the need to level out my newly laid Santa Ana

Santa ana. I will be leveling again this year as I have a couple of low spots that have developed.

I have found that with leveling it is very rarely and one-and-done process.

maybe off topic? but couch related, do you soil test for ph and what level to you try to maintain if so?

Out of interest, around this time last year I had some samples from my yards tested by Logan Lab's in the US. It actually wasn't that expensive to ship and have the tests performed. I had pH levels of 8.0 & 7.7 at a 10cm depth. Ideally couch should have a pH of 6.5 ish.

IMO, there really isn't much you can do change your pH in a short period of time. It takes years to change soil chemistry, just based purely on the shear volume of the soil. That being said there are other factors which are just as important as pH and attempting to change the pH purely to get a specific number can be detrimental to other aspects of the soil.

I have attached my soil report for interest sake.

Hi simrice I have a question in regards to a groomer that you have had built what was. The approx cost and did it take long for you to get it constructed. I have just got a Scott Bonnar and also a Morrison 500
Thank you

Hi Golf and bundy,

See the below thread. Have a read and ask any questions that you still have in that thread as to keep it all together for the archives.

https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=56321

Thank you I will look in to your threads and your advice will be taken

hi simrice
Would recommend cutting down turf now as it is spring and level out the yard. Would you recommend air rating before cutting down the turf and putting new sand to level out my yard
Thank you

I scalped, scarified, aerated and sanded the back lawn about a month ago.

Just starting to come in now with some better weather.

Still some work to do out here including some weeding of the garden beds.

Will get some sand down over the weekend.

Simon, how does the lawn hold out with this cold wet spring we're having being under the sand for so long before it starts to pop it's head up?

I want to level my couch in the backyard, but with the night's still so cold I've resisted. How late in the year do you think I can wait before it gets too hot?

Hi Cirillo and SimRice,

There's absolutely no issue with it being too hot Cirillo as SA Couch thrives on heat, that's why it always grows well near concrete which holds the heat.

I've just cut mine back today for the first time and will top dress it very lightly tomorrow. It's very low but my mower won't go any lower unles I force the adjuster beyond the first stop and then it just bogs into the ground and makes a mess of everything. The photos don't exactly show how low it's gone but for a 11 month old lawn it's as low as it needs to be.




Cheers,
BB.

Hey BB, thanks for that. I wanted to ask on your thread how your lawn was going. Cheers for sharing!

I thought SA wouldn't mind being top dressed closer to summer. But since I've never done it before I just thought I'd double check.

I got hit pretty hard with Crab grass in early september so I spot sprayed it with KambaM. Anyway long story short, a month later the crab grass survived, the lawn ended up with brown burn marks (I mixed it at the recommended rate) and I have been crawling around on my hands and knees pulling out crab grass after it's rained ever since. Once the brown spots repair I will scalp and topdress.

Surprisingly the bent handled the KambaM with no issues whatsoever.

Hi Cirillo & BB,

I had a look back at some photos I took around the same time last year and this season is about 2 weeks behind. When you scalp it the soil is able to absorb a lot more heat from the sun as there is no grass blades in the way to insulate the soil. Anytime from now is fine to scalp it and get some sand down. I usually find it takes about 2 weeks just to re-shoot and from there you can see it filling in everyday. Just remember couch is extremely hardy and will tolerate a lot of abuse and in most cases come back better than before.

Kamba M won't do anything to crab grass. That is a broadleaf weed killer (and not a great one IMO). Hand weeding with a pocket knife is probably easiest if populations are small. Pre-emergent is the way to go to control those grassy and broadleaf weeds before they even become noticeable. I have 2L of the stuff and am happy to give you some if you want to try it out.

BB, that is looking so good. A light sanding and that will be schmick! I filled my 2 green bins plus 2 of my neighbours bins with clippings from the front lawn alone last week. It is amazing how much material is there.

Anyway, update from tonight. I mowed yesterday with the Toro @3.2mm and mowed again tonight to see how much came off. Considering it was fairly mild today it is growing at a decent rate.




This last photo was 14/10/15, and that was the warmest October on record. So in all it isn't that far behind and this has been the coldest October I can remember.

Ok that's awesome! and it gives me some encouragement for my couch.

Thanks for the offer of the Pre-emergent! which one do you use? We use a whole bunch of different pre-emergents on the farm, depending on time of year and crop in the ground but I dare say none of them would be suitable for turf. And you're right about KambaM not being that great. I used it on the broad leaf weeds on the nature strip and it was very slow (at best) to work, it didn't even do a good job on he clover which it says it is designed for.

I use Embargo through Globe Growing.

http://www.globegrowingsolutions.com.au/products/brochures/Embargo%20Brochure.pdf

It is actually a 5L container @ 50ml/100m2. Which at 112ml per application twice per year I have a 22 year supply! Since I started using this I went from lots of winter grass to maybe 1 or 2 plants for the whole of winter. Summer weeds are not really an issue with our dry summers so I do an application in late March and then again in August which covers off Autumn -> Spring weed pressure.

Sorry to intersect fella's, but If you're chasing a decent broadleaf weed killer that is suitable for couch, kyk, or any soft leaf buffalo then you need to use BROMOXYNIL. It's really the only herbicide that won't yellow the lawn in any way and is very fast acting. I like to apply it 2 weeks apart to ensure adaquate coverage, however, it is by the far the best herbicide I have come across for my lawn.

There are many commercial varients, but it you have a small section of lawn and don't need too much of it then there are plenty of domestic concentrates available such as Yates Buffalo Pro.

http://www.yates.com.au/products/we...dkiller-concentrate/#S2pv88YzSZKyeOkI.97

Cheers for that Chris, I'll look into it!

Hi Guys,

I must admit I'm still finding that my lawn hasn't come into season as yet. I've scalped it nearly a week ago and still absolutely no signs of life. I did my side lawn a week earlier and still zippo.

I think that as I'm in the foothills that my ground temperature is lower than what it is down Simon's way.

Cheers,
BB. (still waiting)

Yea mine isn't great at the moment either. I still had it at the winter length until Friday when I scalped it and it's looking awful. I know it's only been a few days but even after the previous mows at winter height it just takes ages to bounce back.

Give it some time lads. Typically I find it takes 7-10 days before it will start to re-shoot.

The front yard I did 2 weeks ago is starting to turn green.

Hi Simon,

12 days now for my side lawn and still no signs of any life. Personally I feel it just hasn't come into season as yet as our ground temp would be slightly lower up here. I've done this so many times (right back to 1985) but this is the most unusual season it's ever been for me, as has been the weather this year.

Cheers,
BB.