
Congratulations, you’ve chosen a fantastic turf variety in Sir Walter Buffalo; it’ll keep its lush, green looks throughout the year.
It has excellent drought tolerance and wear resistance and will cope with a wide range of weather conditions.
Your next critical step is to make sure you lay your turf following best practices to keep it looking its best. Follow these helpful tips for laying turf and you’ll have a stunning lawn in no time.
Try to lay your new turf as soon as it is delivered. The soil should be moderately moist before you start laying turf.
Roll out turf starting from the longest straight edge. Butt all joins tightly together with no overlapping.
Lay turf in a brickwork pattern to reduce water erosion especially on steep slopes and grades. Lay rolls across slopes rather than down.
Smooth out any air pockets in the turf by rolling or tamping to ensure that there is good contact between the roots of the turf and the soil.
Fill joins and level any depressions with a light dressing of washed river sand or turf underlay.
Water your new lawn immediately after it has been laid. Give it a really good soak initially and then depending on the weather keep the surface from drying out by watering each morning and maybe up to four times per day in hot conditions.
Soil preparation is vital. Start by making sure the soil quality in the area where you plan to lay the turf is of sufficient quality and depth.
That depends on a range of factors. In theory you can install turf throughout the year in most parts of Australia but the cooler months will slow down the establishment of the new turf and hot conditions will require more frequent watering times to keep the new turf from drying out.
But if your lawn is likely to experience adverse conditions like drought or really hot Summer days it may be advisable to delay laying your turf until a later date.
Low light, high rainfall, and frosts may make laying turf in the cold months a real challenge whereas drought and water restrictions could pose insurmountable barriers in the hotter months.
As a general rule, Spring and late Summer is usually the best time to put down new turf.
Even though Sir Walter is a warm season grass the decision to lay turf in winter can have some real advantages.
You won’t need to irrigate your new lawn as much as during the warmer months and you won’t have to mow your lawn until well into spring.
If you do lay turf in winter, keep in mind that the grass growth and root establishment phase will be very slow and prolonged.
To protect your lawn you must keep off the grass . Heavy traffic including pets, children or repeated walking will easily damage your new lawn in this delicate establishment period.
And remember just because it is cold doesn’t always mean that the soil and turf is moist enough to establish the new lawn.
Autumn can be a great time to lay turf. Natural rainfall may help water your new lawn in and if it’s early enough in the season then the soil and ambient temperatures will still be high enough to get some root and grass growth going before the real cold sets in.
If you want to lay turf in late Autumn then you need to consider what conditions will be like through the colder months.
Whilst Sir Walter Buffalo has a very high shade tolerance and retains good winter colour you’ll need to keep traffic to a minimum on your new lawn until it is well established.
Sufficient regular watering is the critical issue that you’ll face when laying Sir Walter Buffalo turf in Summer.
The turf underlay soil needs to be maintained in a constantly moist condition until the lawn has put down deep roots in the soil underneath and the leaves of the turf should get regular watering so that they don’t dry out in the heat.
If the leaves fold over and look grey then you need to shower the new lawn with water as soon as possible before the result is terminal.
If you allow the lawn to dry out during this phase then it will quickly die. During periods of extreme heat you may need to water several times each day and this could be a problem with water restrictions during droughts unless you have an approved automatic watering system with rain or soil sensors.
Your lawn can have its first mow when the roots have become established (usually around 14 days in warm conditions).
You can test this by trying to lift the turf. If you cannot lift the turf easily it’s a good sign that the roots have grown through the turf underlay soil and become firmly established.
Avoid mowing until grass blade length is around 60 to 70mm. Mow along the direction of the turf rolls until the turf is well established.
If you laid your turf in Winter you might be best to wait for the first mow until spring depending on growth rates.
But at no point should you remove more than a 3rd of the blade length and ensure that you don’t mow the lawn too low and scalp the grass as this will set it back further.
You need to water your lawn 2 or 3 times a week during Summer and once a week in Winter while the lawn is developing its root system.
Modify your watering regime as per weather conditions. Deep watering less often is better than more frequent light watering.
The best time to water is in the early morning to avoid excessive water loss through evaporation.
Apply some fresh fertiliser about 2 weeks after you lay the turf.
Slow-release lawn food such as Sir Walter fertiliser is generally a great choice. Apply fertilizer every 8 weeks for the first 12 months to maintain a healthy lawn.
Oxafert is a good fertiliser with a mix of pre -emergent herbicide to use at the start of Autumn and Spring at the rate of 3 kg per 100 square metres.
This product will deter Summer and Winter grass weeds from invading your lawn and will fertilise it at the same time. One of your regular fertilising applications can be dropped out if you use Oxafert.
To work out much turf you’ll need, draw a plan of the area. If necessary, you’ll need to divide it up into rectangles, squares, triangles or circles.
Measure the actual areas in metres (m) and note these on your plan. Use the following methods to calculate the area of various shapes.
Rectangle: width multiplied by height = area.
Triangle: width multiplied by height and divide by 2.
Circle: diameter, divide it by 2 to get the radius, square that and multiply by pi (3.14).
Semi-circle: use the same method as for a circle, but halve the area. Area of a semi-circle = 3.14 x the radius squared and divided by 2.
Adding together the various shapes will allow you to estimate reasonably accurately the total area of even very complex shaped lawns. Allow a little extra for errors.
Sir Walter Buffalo turf provides exceptional value at $15.95 per square metre. We can usually have your turf delivered the next day if you get your order in before 10.00am.
Grech’s Turf Supplies is an accredited Lawn Solutions Australia turf farm and supplier.
We have a long established reputation for growing the best Sir Walter Buffalo around. Our specialised trucks and forklifts provide safe contact less delivery of your quality turf for same day installation.
Talk to the friendly experts at Grech’s Turf today about turf varieties and how we can help you get the most beautiful lawn for your money.
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Guaranteed to Sydney Metro on all orders placed before 10am. We also deliver daily to the NSW Central Coast and the Illawarra!
I would like to just take the time to thank you all for the great service. From the sales team on the phone all the way through to the delivery driver. The turf was also the freshest turf I have ever had delivered and we had a 100% perfect roll condition, I have never had a delivery with no waste rolls and perfect thickness growing bed attached so thank you. Even though I may not be very big currently I will be using GTS as my supplier from now on.
Hayden Mann – Dosman Lawns & Maintenance
Grechs Turf I have found over the past 8 years is the Best quality turf , the drivers delivering always help And are on time, placing orders with the next day Delivery is excellent. Keep up the good work
Jim – Superb Concreting
We pride ourselves at Eclipse Landscapes on our high level of standards and attention to detail, and with this in mind we have found that every aspect of Grech’s Turf over the past 20 years have always exceeded our expectations. They are most reliable, courteous and will always go that extra mile to ensure that their clients are well looked after and the best service is provided. They will always try their best to accommodate our deadlines and are extremely flexible in their approach. We would highly recommend the services of Grech’s Turf & their product.
Michelle – Eclipse Landscapes
The Other Side Landscapes Pty Ltd uses Grech's Turf for all our Turf Supplies. We undertook a trial process with turf suppliers and found their quality to be excellent, which is what our clients expect.
Adrian – Other Side Landscapes
You guys are great to deal with, deliveries are always on time and easy to organise, your quality of turf is great, I use the sapphire buffalo a lot, this is always in good nick and at a good price.
Mike – Vivid Scapes
I have been using the turf supplied from Grech's for over a decade simply because I know the turf delivered is the best quality every time.
Chris – Chris Chominsky Landscapes
Grech's Turf has been supplying our turf needs for over 20 years. Their quality of turf is superior. Their deliveries are always on time and delivered when scheduled and the staff always friendly and helpful. The grass is never greener anywhere else.
E. T. Landscapes & Plant Hire
Waratah Lawn Care & Garden Management have been using the professional services of GTS for over 6 years now, and over this time they have proven to be a reliable supplier of good quality turf to meet our range of clients needs. Sometimes our orders range from large orders of hundreds of square meters and other times just 10-20 meters, but no matter the order and where it's going GTS is always willing to get the order cut and delivered within our required timeframe. I have found the office staff to be helpful and professional with service, as well as the delivery drivers who are always friendly and keen to make sure they help out our staff by delivering and unloading the turf in the right position on site.
Greg – Waratah Lawn Care & Garden Management
“Thank you for the help over the Christmas break.
We had an order booked in with them of the Wednesday just before Christmas 2015 but due to the weather they were not able to cut, which is understandable. The guys kept me informed and were really helpful in organising a time and day for delivery once they went back to work and the ground dried enough so they could start cutting turf again.
The turf is always top quality and my customers are always happy with the turf.”
Shannon – Ponds-on-Pipeline
“Turf has been great every time. Look forward to next delivery”
Steven – Goodwill Landscaping
"Fine Edge Landscapes have been using Grech's Turf Supplies for the past 15 years. The quality of turf is always 100%, they deliver on time and their prices are very competitive. You can count on Grech's Turf Supplies to be the best every single time!"
Marcus – Fine Edge Landscapes
“BNE Lawn & Garden Maintenance has been using Grech's Turf for some 10 years. We have found their turf to be first quality and never had an issue with any turf. Grech’s is easy to deal with, the turf is always on time and when requested – especially at short notice.”
Bryan – BNE Lawn & Garden Maintenance
“Thank you to Kathy and Peter of Grech's Turf. Great Staff all very helpful. Love my new lawn”
Allan – Charlestown
“Ordered some turf form Grech’s Turf recently to cover an area around a new home. Well it has just finished our home off beautifully. Can not wait to mow it over the summer period, as it come up tops.
I would like to thank Grech’s Turf for their prompt service and top quality product, but even more importantly, their willingness to offer advice to get the most out of our investment.”
Scott – Sydney
“Just a quick note to thank Kerrie and her team for their advice and service – our new Sir Walter lawn was delivered and is looking fantastic. Everyone at GTS was friendly, knowledgeable and made sure everything was done properly to ensure our lawn would be the envy of our neighbours!”
Nick – Holroyd
The turf that arrived today was the best I have seen! As always, you guys provide a prompt and professional service, which makes me look good to my clients. Thanks again!
Joe – Windsor