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Starting a new lawn from seed

Lawn Seeds Hand

Lawn seed is an economical way to start a fresh new lawn, helping to create a lush green space that will be an area of enjoyment and fun for years to come.

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Choosing the right lawn seed

There are so many different kinds of front and back lawns all around Australia, including lawns in sun or shade and areas that are a playground for pets and kids. People also have their own preferences for the type of lawn they want, including soft and upright grasses to tough and running varieties. To help you choose which lawn seed to use, here are some details about the most popular lawn seeds in the Munns and Yates range:

  • Munns® Arid Sun and Shade Lawn Seed Mix – a hardwearing and evergreen blend of upright ‘cool season’ grasses that will grow from full sun to 85% shade. These grasses do not require edge trimming and won’t invade garden beds as they are non-running. Suitable for all soil types and contains self-repairing tall fescue which makes it ideal for children and pets.
  • Munns Emerald Kikuyu – a ‘warm season’ drought tolerant, hard wearing running grass that has a darker green colour, finer leaf texture, is less invasive and remains greener in winter (shown below right in mid-winter) than other varieties of kikuyu.  Emerald kikuyu lawn seed is blended with a wetting agent to moisture penetration into the soil. The seed can take up to 21 days to germinate.
  • Yates® LawnSmart® All Season Lawn Seed – a special blend of premium tall fescue, fast germinating ryegrass and other grasses to establish a drought tolerant lawn in cool climate areas. It survives in both sunny and shaded areas, offers excellent winter green colour and is ideal for oversowing shade damaged areas of kikuyu and buffalo lawns.
  • Munns Professional Pure Kikuyu Premium Seed Blend – this Emerald kikuyu turf type lawn seed creates a beautiful, dense green lawn. It’s a drought tolerant and hard wearing warm season running grass that has a darker green colour, finer leaf texture, is less invasive and remains greener in winter than other varieties of kikuyu.
  • Munns Professional Couch Lawn Seed – couch is a fine textured, hard wearing rich green lawn that is ideal for high wear areas often associated with pets and children. It’s a warm season running grass that is drought tolerant and self-repairing and is suited to most areas around Australia. Munns Professional Couch is a blend of turf type perennial ryegrass and couch. The ryegrass germinates first, acting as a protective cover while the slower couch germinates and establishes. Over time, the couch will become the dominant grass type.

All Munns Professional lawn seeds are coated in an advanced multi-purpose coating to boost germination, deter birds and allow you to see where you’ve sown seed. They also contain a professional grade soil wetting agent and premium slow release fertiliser, to provide nutrients to the establishing grass seedlings.

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Here’s how to start a new lawn from seed and some extra tips to keep your lawn looking great.

 

WEED CONTROL

Weeds will compete with the new lawn so should be controlled 2 weeks before sowing lawn seed, which allows the weeds to die completely. Yates® Zero® Weedkiller can be used as a general spray over the area to kill any weeds and existing grasses. 

SOIL PREPARATION

Lawn seed should be sown into well drained, firm but not compacted soil that is rich in organic matter. Give the lawn seed the best possible start by mixing some Yates Dynamic Lifter® Turf Starter into the topsoil. It’s a concentrated blend of composted manure and Waterwise® water storage crystals and has been specially formulated to aid the rapid establishment of new turf. An application of lawn top dressing can also benefit lawn establishment where the existing soil is heavy clay, poor and sandy or the surface is uneven.

MEASURE

Measure the area and calculate the correct amount of lawn seed. Rake the soil surface in straight lines to create shallow furrows. Mixing lawn seed with Munns® Professional Buffalo & All Lawns Starter Fertiliser makes sowing lawn seed much easier and encourages better germination and root development as well as providing the grass seedlings with nutrients as they establish. Broadcast the seed and Munns® Professional Buffalo & All Lawns Starter Fertiliser mix evenly over the area. It helps to halve the seed mix and sow half in an east west direction and the other half in a north south direction. After sowing, lightly cross rake the area to mix the seed into the topsoil.

WATER

Water the area with a fine mist spray. It is very important that the top soil remains moist for the first 14–21 days to complete germination. This may require watering several times a day if the weather is hot or windy. As the grass establishes, the number of waterings can be reduced but increase the volume of water at each watering.

MOW

Mow the grass when it is 5-6cm high, so you just cut the top 1cm off the top. This will help to encourage root growth. As the lawn matures, lower the blades of the mower on successive cuts.

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More Tips 

  • If you’re starting a new lawn with rolls of turf, before laying rolls mix Yates Dynamic Lifter Turf Starter into the topsoil, which will promote root growth and encourage the new turf to establish.
  • The best time to sow a new lawn is during the mild conditions of early to mid spring and early to mid autumn. However with care a new lawn can be sown throughout the year as long as the soil temperature is warm enough.
  • Minimise foot and pet traffic on the new lawn area until it is well established.

Related products

Yates Zero Weedkiller

Yates Zero Weedkiller

Non selective control of all grasses and broadleaf weeds. Absorbed by the foliageto destroy the weed, roots and all.

Yates LawnSmart Couch Lawn Seed

Yates LawnSmart Couch Lawn Seed

A tough, dense lawn that is well suited to surviving Australian weather. Drought tolerant, hardwearing and self repairing, this lawn is ideal for children, pets and high traffic areas.

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