Preparing your site

With good site preparation a Canturf lawn is a long term investment that will give you and your family years of enjoyment, and enhance the value of your home and garden. Whether you are laying a Canturf instant lawn or seeding your area with a Canturf seed blend the site preparation is very important and should be the same in either case.

Firstly clear the area of existing lawn or weeds by spraying with a glyphosphate type herbicide such as Roundup or Zero or by chipping.

Cultivate or rotary hoe to a minimum depth of 150mm (or 6 inches). Preparing a deep base is vital in achieving a healthy and deep rooting lawn. At this stage gypsum and lime should be incorporated. The gypsum will help break up the clay inherent in Canberra soils and the lime will help to balance the acidity of the soil. These can both be applied at the rate of about 200gms per square meter.

Topsoil should be incorporated if your soil is inadequate, (i.e. broken rock, heavy clay, builders rubble etc) a good quality loam is ideal. Organic matter such as cow/sheep manure, humic peat, compost etc can also be incorporated as they not only improve the quality of the soil but also help to retain moisture in the dirt. Water crystals can also be added to the soil at this stage to further improve the moisture retaining properties of your soil. An in ground watering system will save time and money down the track so it is recommended to put one in at this time.

Rake and smooth the soil, removing any rocks, roots or clods. Bring the soil up to the same height as any paving or garden edging around the area. Canturf has around 5 to 10mm of soil on the turf and further settling will accommodate the thickness of the turf. At the final leveling make sure the soil is smooth and of fine tilth.

You are now ready to lay turf or seed your area.