Convert your Garden to Easy-Maintenance Grass

Lawns are one of the easiest environments to take care of, especially if you have a self-propelled lawnmower. That’s why many GrownUps choose to have more lawn and less garden as they seek to reduce the management of their sections. What’s more, converting previously well-managed garden into lawn isn’t difficult. Overgrown backyard ‘trouble spots’ require a little more planning. But it’s all do-able.

Garden Conversion

To get started on converting well-managed garden to lawn, dig out smaller plants (autumn or spring is a great time to do this), and either gift them or sell them on Facebook Marketplace or Trade Me (always be mindful of personal security if you have strangers coming to your home to collect plants). If you have to remove mature shrubs, advertise them as ‘dig-your-own,’ and remind callers to bring appropriate tools so your own don’t get broken or damaged in the process. Plan ahead for ‘dig-your-own’ opportunities as shrubs shift best at different times of the year according to varieties, and unless you are in a great hurry, there is no need to remove them all at once.

Once all plants have been taken away, remove sufficient topsoil from the garden to cover the area to a depth of one centimetre, and set this aside. Back-fill any holes, and remove rocks, stones, and sticks to level the area. Next, you’ll need to compress your garden soil. If it’s a small area, donning a pair of stout boots and doing some stomping will be sufficient (especially if you enlist the family to help). Or, if you have a strong pair of shoulders handy, wheeling a loaded wheelbarrow back and forwards over the area will also help compress it. For larger areas, drive over the ground on a ride-on lawn mower if you have access to one. As a last resort, equipment hire companies hire out rollers.

To prepare the area for sowing, lightly rake the ground to a depth of 5mm, and scatter over lawn grass seed at the rate indicated on the packet. Lawn grass can be sown year-round in warm to mild climates but if you live in a cooler region, you’ll need to wait until mid-spring or early autumn. As an alternative to waiting, you could try sowing a ‘year-round’ grass seed – one which requires a lower germination temperature.

Once the seed has been sown, sprinkle over the reserved topsoil to twice the depth of the seed, and compress it with the back of a rake. Water the area gently so you don’t wash the seed to the surface, and cover with bird netting. In cooler regions, if temperatures take a sudden dip, covering the area with clear plastic can assist germination, but remember to lift the plastic off, once the sun returns, or you will burn off the young grass. In dry periods, water the ground regularly to keep it damp but not wet (this may mean watering more than once a day). As the grass begins to germinate, apply a lawn-specific fertiliser as you water.

Don’t even think about cutting the new grass until it is 6-7cm high, and keep the cutting blades adjusted so they just skim the top of the grass. Note; have your mower blades sharpened before you do the job so the grass cuts cleanly rather than becoming ‘chewed.’  As the grass thickens up, aim for a month or two of cuts that leave it at approximately 2.5cm high. Once the lawn is established, it’s height is a matter of personal preference, but best practise dictates you should only ever remove a third of the length of the grass with each cut.

In our next ‘Love a Lawn’ article, we’ll be looking at how to convert backyard trouble spots into lawn grass. Because, unless you’re planning to downsize your section, more lawn can mean more leisure!