Grass

[Tywais]

Since most of our grass has died over the years and now have really large bare spots have decided to have the yard redone. A little more then 100 sq meters needs new grass laid down. Decided to go with Malaysian grass (the broad leaf) due to easier maintenance and cost.

Our gardener quoted 7500 baht for all materials. This includes the sod, about a ton of top soil (the ground has subsided quite a bit over the years) and chemicals (defoliant to remove the old grass and fertilizer). I believe this is a reasonable price but was wondering what other member's experience has been.

They will till the ground, remove the old grass, put in the top soil and compress it and whatever else is needed for between 1000 and 2000 Baht labour.

Also, do you think the Malaysian grass is a good idea or another choice? And any other advise you may have that I may need to know. One other thing, since there are no rain gutters (as is common with Thai homes) run off from the roof comes down in a hard stream to the ground and essentially digging a hole where it hits. A friend at the uni said there was a device that can be put at the roof where the water runs off that will disperse it into a spray rather then a stream as it does now. Anyone seen these or where to get one?

Thanks for any info.

[qualtrough]

Why not put up gutters? They are available here in vinyl and galvanized. I think the Malay grass is most suited for here.

[Ajarn]

Why not put up gutters? They are available here in vinyl and galvanized. I think the Malay grass is most suited for here.

Japanese grass does quite well, but it needs to be taken care of...

[Pond Life]

I you dont want to spend on the gutters & tank (will be great for watering the grass in the dry season),

dig a 6 inch deep trench where the runoff is damaging the ground,

lead it off somewhere it wont cause a problem,

fill it with stone/gravel.

[Tywais]

Japanese grass does quite well, but it needs to be taken care of...

Just started looking at that now. Guess it's called Zoysia grass and seems to be good in the tropics and is used in several Thai golf courses. I think that may have been what we had, still growing in some sections. One side of the house appears to be Japanese grass and the other side Malaysian. I may look into the costs of this type since we have someone staying at the house now who can water it regularly.

[Bill97]

If Malay grass is the one that sends out runners, you might think about the need if any to keep the runners out of areas where you do not want grass. A lot of time can be spent repeatedly taking the runners out of flower or vegie beds if they are not separated by brick or something.

7500 baht for about 100 square meters is about 75 Baht per meter

Grass costs are quoted at around 15 to 20 baht per meter.

The chemicals are not expensive, maybe less than 1000 B, and the fertilizer is probably only about one large bag for 600-700 B. A dump truck load of good fill dirt is 400-600 B for about 4 cubic meters (what they call 5 or 6)

So a rough estimate is that the material costs sound high unless you need a lot of dirt.

You might check with the grass shops at Kumtian because a month ago when I was takling with two of them, they said they could arrange installation. Good luck.

[Tywais]

Grass costs are quoted at around 15 to 20 baht per meter.

Those are the prices I thought were the norm also.

The chemicals are not expensive, maybe less than 1000 B, and the fertilizer is probably only about one large bag for 600-700 B. A dump truck load of good fill dirt is 400-600 B for about 4 cubic meters (what they call 5 or 6)

I figure 100 square meters and 10 cm deep = 10 cubic meters? Don't know what depth we need really. Also, not fill dirt but top soil - don't know how much cost difference there would be between the two types.

So a rough estimate is that the material costs sound high unless you need a lot of dirt.

I will check the measurements again, just got the information fed to me by the wife and may be wrong.

You might check with the grass shops at Kumtian because a month ago when I was takling with two of them, they said they could arrange installation. Good luck.

Also, the gardener has been doing our place for years and has always been honest, so much so it's sometimes difficult to give him any extra when he has gone above and beyond on his work. A thousand or two baht for doing good work and to keep on his good side is worth it to me.

Thanks for the input all.

[Tywais]

I you dont want to spend on the gutters & tank (will be great for watering the grass in the dry season),

dig a 6 inch deep trench where the runoff is damaging the ground,

lead it off somewhere it wont cause a problem,

fill it with stone/gravel.

Looks like gutters would be complex on our house due to multi tear roof and angles. Unfortunately a trench isn't good for us due to the runoff hitting the ground next to the footpath (spaced stone blocks) between the concrete fish pond and our house. On the other hand, perhaps the trench filled with stone could serve as a new foot path. Will discuss with the gardener the possibilities.

[Dustoff]

We have gone through this a couple of times over the past few years and some of it I posted here.

Japanese grass was what we had and it is feeble at best, requires constant care and does not grow well, if at all, in the shade or under trees that shed acidic leaves.

I contacted a few of the golf courses and came up with one, can't remember the name but it doesn't matter because it also required constant care, which we gave it, but it was grim to say the least.

One of the problems we found was the sod that is brought in. Since it is easy to dig up by the suppliers and looks uncontaminated with growth, you may end up with soil from a place where nothing grows. Neither will your grass.

We finally dug out about four inches of our soil, added six inches of bagged black topsoil then laid in Malaysia Grass and it is fantastic! Broad-leafed, grows in the shade even under all of our trees, doesn't grow to calf-high lengths so even when it is unkempt it still looks good, takes well to (groks) being walked on and as a poster said above it does send out runners but those trample all over any other grass or weeds that attempt to invade your yard. Wouldn't have anything else and besides, it has an incredibly dark, rich green color that I have yet to see matched.

Good luck, TW

[Tywais]

We have gone through this a couple of times over the past few years and some of it I posted here.

Japanese grass was what we had and it is feeble at best, requires constant care and does not grow well, if at all, in the shade or under trees that shed acidic leaves.

I remember a posting quite a while ago, just couldn't locate it. Your comment above is interesting in that the area that is completely bare now is under two trees with thick growth. I suspect one is acidic in that it drops hundreds of these little brown pellets on the ground about 4-5 mm round.

One of the problems we found was the sod that is brought in. Since it is easy to dig up by the suppliers and looks uncontaminated with growth, you may end up with soil from a place where nothing grows. Neither will your grass.

I'm hoping they will poke a grid of drain holes in to allow the roots better ability to 'catch', that's one of the reasons we need a new top layer of good soil

We finally dug out about four inches of our soil, added six inches of bagged black topsoil then laid in Malaysia Grass and it is fantastic! Broad-leafed, grows in the shade even under all of our trees

That's what we have outside our office and one of the reasons I was interested in it, looks quite nice there though our office gardener waters it pretty much every single day with a sprinkler system. I'll ask about adding the black topsoil also. My wife bought a bag or two for our potted plants.

I have no experience in this and appreciate the help.

[Bill97]

A dump truck load of good fill dirt is 400-600 B for about 4 cubic meters (what they call 5 or 6)

I figure 100 square meters and 10 cm deep = 10 cubic meters? Don't know what depth we need really.

Also, not fill dirt but top soil - don't know how much cost difference there would be between the two types.

Truck loads are very rarely topsoil. Even the best garden dirt they sell by truck load, usually called din dam, is almost always very sticky, not clay but approaching it. I usually go for the sandy soil but that is not topsoil either. The 400-600 B is for garden dirt. Fill dirt is cheaper. Bags of topsoil can be good but of course, more expensive. If you go for the bags, choose carefully, some of it is poor quality.

I agree with your thoughts about your gardener, but do make sure he has experience putting sod in.

[Lucifer]

If there's a Golf Course nearby, ask the greenkeepers to lay your lawn, including all the bits.

They will do a great job and may do it cheaper, as they have access to good quality turf at a good price.

N.B. Grass needs a lot of quality top soil, that has good drainage i.e. sand.