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Hello guys,
We recently moved to a new house and there was a 1-2 months gap of lacking garden care since the previous owner moved out.The backyard lawn became like this and I tried to repair with regular retic (20-25 minutes 2 days a week) and applied lawn fertilizer. But It does not seem improved much for last 6 months.
Any advice is appreciated! 👍
Hello @Jemma4
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about your lawn.
Your backyard lawn has patchy, dry, and compacted areas with some weeds and struggling grass. Since regular watering and fertilizing haven’t worked well, here are some steps to help revive it.
Start by improving your soil. Aerating with a Garden Fork or a Saxon Lawn Aerator Spiked Roller will relieve soil compaction, allowing water and nutrients to penetrate. Since you're dealing with clay soil in Melbourne, add Yates Gypsum to break up the clay and improve drainage. Mix in Osmocote 25L Scotts Compost Premium Soil Improver to enhance soil structure and provide nutrients.
Next, consider increasing your watering frequency. Instead of watering twice a week, try 3–4 times a week for shorter durations to keep the topsoil consistently moist without runoff. You can use a Gardena Watering Timer for more control.
For weed control, remove any green patches that seem to be weeds to reduce competition. If you're going for a Kikuyu lawn, overseed bare areas with Scotts Lawn Builder 1.4kg Seed & Feed Kikuyu Lawn Seed and lightly cover with Bunnings Premium Potting Mix. This will help the new grass establish.
Topdress the lawn with Scotts Lawn Builder 25L Organic Lawn Soil Topdress & Underlay to improve soil health and encourage new growth. Since it’s autumn in Melbourne, progress will be slow, but improving soil conditions now will give your lawn a head start for spring growth.
If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.
Eric
