Fixing your Soil Quality

While out of sight under the lawn, the soil is the most important factor in the health and well-being of your turf. The soil provides the nutrients, water and oxygen needed to thrive. If your lawn isn’t doing very well – the soil could be one of the problems.

Now before you get all excited about being able to ‘fix’ the soil quality please understand that improving the quality of your soil is an ongoing process – there is no easy remedy, no quick fix.

• Undertake a pH soil test to determine whether everything is actually fine or if your soil is too alkaline or too acidic. You’re looking for a reading between 6.0 – 7.0. Anything outside of this and your soil needs some help.
• Take the reading to your local lawn care supplier for some expert advice on how to achieve that ideal reading.
• Aerating or coring the lawn – adding small holes using a corer/aerator or a garden fork works to improve the soil quality by allowing more oxygen, water and nutrients to move through the soil profile.
• Top dressing adds a rich organic soil mixture to your lawn which adds nutrients to the soil and therefore improves the quality.
• For better soil quality an application of an organic fertiliser* such as Dynamic Lifter for Lawns or Seasol a few times a year will increase the organic richness of the soil beneath your lawn.
• Apply a wetting agent – it will break down the waxy coating on the outside of the soil grains and open up the top of the soil therefore letting water flow more freely and improve the soil quality.

*A chemical fertiliser has its place but that is not to improve soil quality.

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