Care of Nor Noi Grass

[neverceasetobeamazed]

I had a front garden lawn (Nor Noi) laid at the beginning of June this year, some 162 sq m.

Guy who laid it said not to cut for the first 5 /6 weeks.

Having now cut it twice with a new petrol mower, the appearance is what might be called 'a disaster'.

It has many patches of dead grass, probably as many as there are green.

I'm told this is because the grass was too long and the sun could not penetrate to the roots.   It's certainly has not lacked water because morning and evening every day (No rain) it has been watered.

I have now started to lightly rake the grass to help the sun get through and will fertilise this week.  I now cut once a week.

Is patience the order of the day or is there more I could do?   Or do I wait until later this year and lift it all and replace?

Advice would b much appreciated.

[cooked]

The general rule is not to cut more than one third of the length of the grass, so if you let it go to say 12 - 15 cm and then cut it down to 3 / 4 cm, you were over doing it. The patches are probably there because it was allowed to grow too long. Some of the plants rotted and some were burnt by the sun.

Keep the mower blades sharp and think about cutting higher when it gets hot, and I would also advise against over watering. A fresh lawn might need 10 mm daily, that is to say, a large flat tray placed on the lawn receives 10 mm and that's it. Our water pressure varies so I can't really use a stop watch to measure how long it would take to water in 10 mm, but maybe you can.

Cutting height? Trial and error will show.

Good luck. By the way, I no longer have a 'lawn' as such, I let the cows on to the green bit now and then. But I was a lawn expert.

[JungleBiker]

Were the dead patches there before the 2 mowings or did they arise after the mowings? 

[neverceasetobeamazed]

Thank you to both for your interest and syggestions,

Prior to cutting for the first time - this was after 5/6 weeks of planting/laying - the appearance was of lush green grass.

After cutting the brown (dead) patches were plainly evident.

Currently there are a few strands of green grass growing through the dead grass.

I have attached a pic as of today.

 

[JungleBiker]

Thanks for the photo. I don't think you have anything to worry about. I am sure it will green up again soon. 

[OOTAI]

Never.....

I wish my grass looked so good as JungleBiker said I don't think you have anything to worry about.

Do you catch the grass cuttings when you mow?

I would recommend using a mulching mower and don't mow too short.

Only water a couple of times a week but not lightly make sure you give it a good soaking.

Do you apply fertiliser? If you want green use high nitrogen but better to use a balanced mixture.

Do you use your yard/grass for anything or is it just for looking good? I am not being sarcastic its just that in Australia which is the driest continent on the planet people waste copious amounts of water just to keep their grass looking good.

I tried keeping ours looking nice and green but then the Missus always complained about the pump being on for hours everyday. So now it ebbs and flows with the rain.

 

Garden/yard looks very nice by the way.

[neverceasetobeamazed]

I was just concerned that I was going to end up with a front lawn of brown patches, so it is re-assuring to read all the comments.   Thank you all.

I use a Bison petrol/gas self propelled mower on the second lowest setting.   I have disposed of the cuttings up until now.

Subject to rain, which in my area North of Khon Kaen, has been noticeably absent for the last forever or so it seems, I water once a day with water taken from the well that I was sunk when house was built a couple of years ago.  

Fertilizing only once with a mixture of 46 something? and all the 16s.   Only did this today so I wait in anticipation that the mixture was not too strong. 

 

Thank you OOTAI for the kind comment.  Just something I designed earlier!   LOL. 

[OOTAI]

Never....

I am no expert so you can take or leave my advice/ideas however you want.

I believe that using a mulching mower means the cuttings stay there and act as a moisture retention layer, something which I think is critical in the current dry spell (I live near Nang Rong in Buriram) so its probably the same as far as rain goes.

As for watering everyday versus soaking twice a week. I believe everyday watering results in the grass only developing shallow roots as they always get a little bit of water near the surface everyday.  Soaking I think makes the roots go deeper as the surface dries out over a day or 2.

As for fertilising make sure you water well immediately after applying the fertiliser so it dissolves down past the grass "leaves" and into the ground for the plants to use.

 

If I might ask, are you an Engineer?  The symmetry and straight lines in the garden suggest to me that you are.

I am an Engineer so maybe that's why it appealed to me.

[neverceasetobeamazed]

Thanks OOTAI for the advice.   I am never one to ignore sensible advice, so thanks once again.

 

No I was not an Engineer.   I spent 34 years in the Forces retiring as a Lt Col promoted from the ranks.  Maybe the symmetry was acquired by the many times I gave the order 'from the right, right dress'.  LOL

[JungleBiker]

I can see now that the various plants represent chess pieces... (the Adenium and Bourgainvillea being the King and Queen) ...ready to commence battle!   ????

[cooked]

12 hours ago, neverceasetobeamazed said:

I was just concerned that I was going to end up with a front lawn of brown patches, so it is re-assuring to read all the comments.   Thank you all.

I use a Bison petrol/gas self propelled mower on the second lowest setting.   I have disposed of the cuttings up until now.

Subject to rain, which in my area North of Khon Kaen, has been noticeably absent for the last forever or so it seems, I water once a day with water taken from the well that I was sunk when house was built a couple of years ago.  

Fertilizing only once with a mixture of 46 something? and all the 16s.   Only did this today so I wait in anticipation that the mixture was not too strong. 

 

Thank you OOTAI for the kind comment.  Just something I designed earlier!   LOL. 

Fertiliser containing 46% Nitrogen? Wow, good luck with that, if that's what you did. Also I see that you are cutting very low. Cutting too low is a frequent mistake, the rule is not to remove more than one third of the height; so you have to think about that every time you mow.

And yes, your lawn will be Ok.

[neverceasetobeamazed]

Thank you again for your thoughts.  The 46 was minimal so I wait in trepidation over the next week or so!!!

Thank you everyone for replying and offering such helpful inputs.   It is very much appreciated.

[drtreelove]

21 hours ago, OOTAI said:

 

I believe that using a mulching mower means the cuttings stay there and act as a moisture retention layer, 

A lot of good advice in the replies here. I'll add this:

 

A true mulching mower is a specialized design and I haven't seen one in Thailand. I use the same practice with my malay grass. I take off the catcher and just let the cut grass filter down into the sod to decompose and replenish soil organic matter content and nutrients. But I mow once a week, so like Cooked wisely advises, the amount of grass blade that is cut is only a quarter or a third of the total blade length. I mow high, at about 3 inches, on the highest wheel setting. This leaves plenty of blade surface for continuation of photosynthesis which manufactures the sugars that nourish the blades and roots. That way the plants stay healthy and don't suffer incredible physiological stress every time the grass is scalped. It also cuts short lengths that can easily filter down to the soil grade and not lay on the surface to dry up and look ugly.  Leaving the grass clippings is part of an organic approach to lawn care, but it's only appropriate if you follow Cooked's advise and mow high and cut frequently in order to minimize the amount cut. 

 

A big part of healthy lawn care is in the soil preparation.  With a deep, rototilled, compost enriched, seed or sod bed there will good growing conditions and a buffer from drought conditions, and like OOTAi suggests, you can water less frequently.  Unfortunately, good soil preparation doesn't happen often with cost cutting installations that are common. Sod gets laid right on top of a clay soil layer with no organic matter enrichment. Therefore there are no nutrient and soil moisture reserves. So when you scalp the grass or let it dry out too much, the brown spots or entire brown out develops.  

 

46-0-0 is urea, a high Nitrogen fast release chemical fertilizer. Overdo it and you'll create a salt burn of the roots from desiccation, and get browning of the grass.  I would advise 1 kilo maximum per 100 square meters at any one application every six weeks.  (That's approximately 1 pound of actual N per 1000 sq feet, which is American-speak for average chemical Nitrogen lawn application. 4 lbs actual N, max per year) .  If you use 21-0-0, ammonium sulfate, you get the sulfur too which is an important nutrient. With that you can use 2 kilos per 100 sq feet and get about the same amount of actual N. Or 3 kilos per 100 sq meters of 15-15-15. Spread fertilizer  evenly or you can get burn spots from excess concentration where you lumped it. And don't double up thinking more is better. 

 

By the way, I do think you will need to water daily during hot dry conditions. The advise about watering more deeply and less frequently is good, but only if you have the deep soil preparation with adequate organic matter content for soil moisture retention. 

 

Organic, slow release fertilization is what I prefer. But that's another discussion. 

 

Plants as chess pieces?  OK, but if they start moving then you may have a problem. Or you been smoking that Lao grass. ????

 

 

 

[Stevemercer]

I note you are watering using bore (underground) water? This is often mineralised and, while it will keep everything alive, lawns and plants do not thrive on it. However, natural rainfalls will bring everything back to life as well as rapid growth. Your lawn will bounce back once you get a few weeks of decent rain.