#  >  > Living And Legal Affairs In Thailand >  >  > Farming & Gardening In Thailand >  >  Cost of a lawn in Thailand

## jumbo

I have tried to grow grass from seed, this proved expensive and poor results. What seed should I use or is it cheaper to have the lawn coverd with turf.

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## Sir Burr

I don't think you can buy grass seed here.

Two types of turf commonly sold is Yah Malay and Yah Japan.

Yah Jaban is narrow bladed and resembles most the grass you buy in the west. It needs direct sunlight.

Yah Malay is a bit more expensive, has courser blades and will grow in the shade. It puts out shoots with more than one blade on it. A bit like a creeper.

Price of grass is approximately 40 Baht per square metere, not including labour costs.

Before turf is laid. It's a good idea to spread some chicken shit down as a fertilizer.

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## buad hai

Here in Korat Yah Malay is 25 baht per square meter, Yah Japan is 15 baht.

I like the Yah Malay because it is "softer" to sit or walk on, has a deeper green color and nice wide blades. However, in full sun and heavy traffic areas the Yah Japan (Yippon) is probably better.

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## ChiangMai noon

Is that right that you can't buy grass seeds in Thailand.

I want to build a little putting green in my new garden, anyone know what kind of grass they use on a golf course putting surface?

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## AntRobertson

> I want to build a little putting green in my new garden, anyone know what kind of grass they use on a golf course putting surface?


I think it varies, CMN.  For all the help that info is... I have a friend who has a Co. in BKK doing this very thing for golf courses.  Sounds more complicated than just throwing some seed/turf down.  He takes soil samples and has them sent for analysis in Aust. to find out the best type of grass to use.

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## ChiangMai noon

^
i have joined Maejo golf club.
biggest reason is the quality of the fairways and the greens.
they are like billiard tables.
very different type of grass to the other stuff I've played on in thailand.

now where can i get my hands on a stimpometer?

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## NickA

I paid 14 baht a square metre for my stuff... looks like normal grass to me, don't know what it's called. Paid the guys a 1000 baht to lay it, but the main cost was sand to put it on

https://teakdoor.com/gardening-thaila...ying-turf.html

I cut it meself with a strimmer I bought from maKro for 500 baht. It's doing quite well at the moment, although weeding is a real pain in the arse.

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## AntRobertson

> but the main cost was sand to put it on


What's the sand for?

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## NickA

^errr... I don't know, maybe just to get it level, maybe to help drainage in heavy rain????. The land we were laying it on had previously been concrete so there was a load of rubble and not much soil.

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## AntRobertson

> maybe just to get it level, maybe to help drainage in heavy rain????.


Yeah my guess as well.  Will have to investigate this further, thinking about having our lawn redone

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## Sir Burr

Jeez, can't believe how cheap the turf is outside of Phuket. I do know that they truck it all the way from Bangkok.

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## Marmite the Dog

> Is that right that you can't buy grass seeds in Thailand.


No. It's wrong.

Most 'garden centres' sell it.

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## Thetyim

> anyone know what kind of grass they use on a golf course putting surface?


Eccles turf is popular in UK.
What you need is a fine bladed grass with no creeping fescules

Some of the courses in LOS lay coconut fibre under the turf to give quick drainage.

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## Thetyim

> I want to build a little putting green in my new garden,


Forget it.
You will need a quality turf and quality lawnmower.
Turf will need constant attention and the cheapest 10 blade mower is 3299 GBP.   That's a walk behind BTW not a ride-on.

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## ChiangMai noon

^
forgotten.
Nam will be delighted.

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## Marmite the Dog

> I want to build a little putting green in my new garden, anyone know what kind of grass they use on a golf course putting surface?


Global Turf Consulting

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## Sir Burr

Croquet is an excellent game with a few mates and lots of beer.
A bit like Barney Rubble golf.

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## El Gibbon

"now where can i get my hands on a stimpometer?"

Make your own, could be done with a piece of bamboo held at the correct angle (20 degrees) and the ball released from the same point each time... 



The device is an extruded aluminium bar, with a V-shaped groove extending along its
entire length. It has a precisely machined ball-release notch at a specific distance from the
tapered end (the end which rests on the ground). The underside of the tapered end is
machined away to reduce bounce, as a rolling ball in contact with the ground is required.
The V-shaped groove has angle which suitably supports a golf ball two points ½"
(12.7mm) apart. A ball rolling down the groove has a slight over spin, which is
thoroughly consistent and has no deleterious effect on the ensuring measurements.
The ball-release notch is so designed that a ball will always be released and start to roll
when the Stimpmeter is raised to approximately 20 degrees. This ensures that the velocity
of the ball will always be the same when it reaches the tapered end.
Although the Stimpmeter is sturdily built, it should be taken care of as one does with any
precision instrument. When not in use, it should be stored in a plastic tube or case. Even
relatively slight damage to the release notch or groove may cause errors.

E. G.

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## NickA

> creeping fescules


Explain, I know not what they are, nor does google, nor wikipedia!

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## Sir Burr

I think it may mean an above ground rhizome.

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## NickA

Or is it fescues..... Fescue - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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## Sir Burr

Oh well......so much for my theory.

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## Thetyim

> Or is it fescues


Sorry yeah that was it.
I think it was Creeping Red Fescues that had to be avoided.

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## Sir Burr

> Creeping Red Fescues that had to be avoided.


That sounds really, really sinister.

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## Thetyim

^ Yeah I liked it immediately when I heard it and found it useful as an insult for anyone I didn't like.

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## NickA

Here's a before and after of my garden....

Before...



After...



Total cost, about 6,000 baht

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## ChiangMai noon

^
amazing difference.
did that include the swing?

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## NickA

^Probably, to be truthful the 6,000 baht was a bit of a guess... swing was 2,500 baht

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## ChiangMai noon

even the houses behind have improved in the second picture.

first one looks sort of like Bolton.

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## jumbo

Thanks for the advice, the grass seed was bought in a garden centre impotred from the states, 400+ baht a tin, four tins later and no more that about two meters of grass visible, I think I will look at the turf option on my return.

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## buad hai

Turf is really the way to go here. It's so cheap....

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## Marmite the Dog

> the grass seed was bought in a garden centre impotred from the states,


That's you problem strightaway. You need tropical grass seed.

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## jumbo

Thanks Marmite, I will be back in three weeks and invest in turf. As you can see from the pics it looks un-inviting with just the soil around the house.

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## jumbo

The pool will also get completed when the funds allow.

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## NickA

Nice house

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## jumbo

NickA, how did you make the pictures full size.

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## NickA

change "https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/userpics/10870/thumb_P7210081.JPG"

to "https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/userpics/10870/P7210081.JPG"

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## ChiangMai noon

Lovely looking place that.

I'm seriously reconsidering my house plan.
Do I really want an upstairs?

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## buad hai

> Do I really want an upstairs?


My Dad used to buy and sell houses regularly. He loved to do up the garden and interior and then sell at a profit. Until he got to be about 50 he always bought two story homes. Single story ever since.

How old are you?

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## ChiangMai noon

I'm 37.

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## buad hai

^Well then, enjoy the two story house until either your knees or lungs go....

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## ChiangMai noon

^
It's not so much a fitness thing.
The house I am in now is single story and is absolutely fine.
I only opted to build a 2 storey house because we already have the wood for the upstairs.
I might just sell the wood.
I think i prefer the look and practicality of the single storey.

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## Jet Gorgon

But 2-storey is good if it floods, and snakes have problems climbing stairs. I like your new house, CMN. Also, may be cooler in hot season. Just thinking of all the old Thai wooden homes on stilts.

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## jumbo

Well the seed has grown into nice green grass. So its off to buy a mower to cut the stuff now.

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## jumbo

In this part of the garden I decided to use turf, at only 19 baht a meter I should have used more turf rather than seed

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## NickA

^^What was the name/make of the grass seed? It looks nice and might be useful for filling in a few bits that have gone bare.

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## Texpat

I had about 500 sq m of turf laid this summer. It is yaa yippun and I think it was 30B sq/m delivered and installed.

It was a pretty big job and took five workers three days. Seventeen truckloads of black dirt(5,300B) was delivered a month prior and the workers leveled it all on the first day. They soaked the ground completely. The second and third days they laid the turf.

It looked pretty good all through the summer with daily watering, but has since turned a bit yellow. I need to find some fertilizer as winter is the best time for that.



The grass goes all the way around the house. The best thing about grass is that ants have a bitch of a time walking on it. Haven't had a single ant in our house since the grass went down.



I think it was about 20,000 for the dirt, grass labor and beer.

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## jumbo

Sorry NickA,
Only that it comes in a sealed tin and it is imported from the USA, 480 baht a tin. I will be away for the next 28 days. I will post the details when I return. It may be of interest to someone.

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## jumbo

Nice place Texpat, I would like to have had the spare cash to have employed someone to turf my lawns, in Pattaya they were quoting 50 baht a meter without black soil. I supose the only consolation is when I am doing these sort of jobs I am not drinking or chatting with the entertainment at the bars, when I finish its a different matter.

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## Texpat

Do-it-yourself is about half price.
But seeing as how I'm a lazy carp, couldn't muster the energy.
(truth is I had the first 395 sq m delivered /laid) Second 200 my mate and I laid and then went on a runner.

Little hard work always does a man good.

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## whgthai

Very nice lawn/turf. I know your post is quite a few years old, but I am curious how the lawn has been holding up. I am moving soon to Udon and need turf for my property too (around 2000m2). Looking forward to hearing from you, tks!

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## IsaanAussie

Turf prices have risen a lot in the last few years. As has labour and equipment costs. I would be interested in some current costings as well. I reckon soil amendment and seeding will now be much more competitive. Sorry but my vote is always get the soil healthy and lawns will thrive. Lay sods on top of crappy dirt and my money says the lowest denominator wins.
Have a look at what our Afghan Picker has been up to on his vanilla topic and follow back to how he created the compost etc onsite...

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## david44

Where can you buy the golf grass seed in N Thailand please? Mae Sai ideal or next nearest

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## david44

> I had about 500 sq m of turf laid this summer. It is yaa yippun and I think it was 30B sq/m delivered and installed.
> 
> It was a pretty big job and took five workers three days. Seventeen truckloads of black dirt(5,300B) was delivered a month prior and the workers leveled it all on the first day. They soaked the ground completely. The second and third days they laid the turf.
> 
> It looked pretty good all through the summer with daily watering, but has since turned a bit yellow. I need to find some fertilizer as winter is the best time for that.
> 
> 
> 
> The grass goes all the way around the house. The best thing about grass is that ants have a bitch of a time walking on it. Haven't had a single ant in our house since the grass went down.
> ...



How old is the picture,how's it holdng up?

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## aging one

I have a nice lawn as well, but my problem is shade. As our trees grow in even with Malay grass areas are now beginning to thin because of shade where we have trees that are naturally growing. I tend to want to sacrifice tree branches for a green lawn. The wife would rather lose the grass than the trees.  I wish they had a grass here that really could take to shade. If its here I have never found it.

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## crackerjack101

She has just insisted on 2 truck loads of rough earth to be dumped at our gate and hire 4 women to come and spread it about the garden. The idea being to prevent the lakes that form during the rainy season. What rainy season?
I asked her about grass seed and she reckoned 10,000 Bht per Kilo.
Having straightened up the car I expressed my disbelief.
So I'm on the hunt.
Grass seed that will grow under trees.


Any suggestions or advice gratefully received. 
Geoff


Basically the same question as AO.

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## naptownmike

I tried finding grass seed about a year ago with no luck. 
Everyone we asked looked at us like we were crazy when we asked for seed. Ended up going with turf.
Good luck with your search.

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## Pragmatic

> Any suggestions or advice gratefully received.


 This is how I did it. I brought in lorry loads of top soil from the rice fields. My grassed area is about 1 Rai. Too big to seed and too big to turf. I then left it and let whatever grow. I then kept cutting with a petrol mower on the lowest settings. Eventually the weeds die off and the cutting stimulates grass to grow. Eventually you will end up with a lawn. 
Come November the grass will stop growing and I let the lawn die off until it regrows come the rain season. I never water my lawn as it's too big an area. Come the rains it springs back into life. And so the cycle continues.
For some unknown reason my pictures won't load. Help please.

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## armstrong

I probably shouldn't give advice with a lawn like this but the grass grows the best near the gate where the dog is buried..

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## Klondyke

> I tried finding grass seed about a year ago with no luck. 
> Everyone we asked looked at us like we were crazy when we asked for seed. Ended up going with turf.
> Good luck with your search.


Yes, that's correct statement for Thailand. Nothing has changed in the situation after decades, because: At every larger garden center there are people who bring the folded carpets of the grass and lay it down as required. Price negotiated per sq. meter. 

However, not really clever to do it in the dry season. And for very large areas it's possible to place the pieces only with distance (or in stripes), within few months the grass will spread up and close the area totally.

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## crackerjack101

> This is how I did it. I brought in lorry loads of top soil from the rice fields. My grassed area is about 1 Rai. Too big to seed and too big to turf. I then left it and let whatever grow. I then kept cutting with a petrol mower on the lowest settings. Eventually the weeds die off and the cutting stimulates grass to grow. Eventually you will end up with a lawn. 
> Come November the grass will stop growing and I let the lawn die off until it regrows come the rain season. I never water my lawn as it's too big an area. Come the rains it springs back into life. And so the cycle continues.
> For some unknown reason my pictures won't load. Help please.



i think that's the way to go for us. There's no way we'll keep it green all year. It's the shaded areas that never seem to thrive but the merest suggestion of cutting down a pomello tree is fraught with danger. Do you throw on any additives or the like to promote growth?

Looks very good bye the way.

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## Pragmatic

> Do you throw on any additives or the like to promote growth?


I do nothing to it other than cut it about every 5th day. Do not miss a cut because once you've let it get too long it can really be a bastard to cut especially if it's wet. Best to cut when dry. Also you buy a mower that mulches the grass. So you do not collect the cuttings but return the cuttings back to the soil.

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## naptownmike

That looks great specially since you just let it grow on its own.

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## crackerjack101

Right we're going to get a little old bloke who was a grounds keeper in Singapore. He'll work at the leveling and decide how much top soil to lay down. Current theory is 10+ truck loads.
Ladies will then smooth it out and then we'll spread whatever grass seed the wee man recommends.
By this time I should have finished reading the bible and rise to a glorious lawn or dawn.
What could go wrong?

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## Pragmatic

> He'll work at the leveling and decide how much top soil to lay down.


 Easy to work out. 100mm of top soil for every square meter. Make sure it's top soil from the rice fields, if you can.

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## Airportwo

> then we'll spread whatever grass seed the wee man recommends.


Grass seed hard to find and even harder to grow here - good luck, you will need it.  :Smile:

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## Fondles

> Grass seed hard to find and even harder to grow here - good luck, you will need it.


Plenty on Lazada, Plan to aerate my poor excuse of a lawn and throw some seed.... Once Iam able to water it !!

grass seed - ซื้อ grass seed ราคาดีที่สุดค่ะ Thailand | www.lazada.co.th

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## Airportwo

> Plenty on Lazada, Plan to aerate my poor excuse of a lawn and throw some seed.


Have you worked out the price and how much you will need? the prices are ludicrous!
We have 3/4 of n acre of grass, it was cheaper to buy turf at 20 Baht sq m.

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## Fondles

> Have you worked out the price and how much you will need? the prices are ludicrous!
> We have 3/4 of n acre of grass, it was cheaper to buy turf at 20 Baht sq m.


Iam buying this one, says it needs to 2-3kg per Rai, my back yard is 200sq m.... whats that about 1/10th or a Rai !!

เมล็ดพันธุ์หญ้ารูซี่ 1กก.เมล็ดพันธุ์ใหม่ หญ้าพันธุ์รูซี่ หญ้าคองโก้ (Manila Grass seeds)  (Ruzi Grass seeds) Brachiaria ruziziensis เมล็ดพันธุ์หญ้า หญ้าอาหารสัตว์ หญ้าเลี้ยงวัว หญ้าเลี้ยงแพะ หญ้าเลี้ยงแกะ หญ้าเลี้ยงกระต่าย | Lazada.co.th

My lawn is established just patchy becuase the previous tenant did not water it, I actualy rented this house for 3 years before I went home in 2018 and had the lawn looking pretty good through watering and fertilizer but ive back here since July 2019 and its not coming good hence I will make a lawn aerator (just some spiky shoes) and just toss some seed.

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## Pragmatic

This is my lawn a couple of years back. All natural not turf or seed.






Here's some good advice from a poster.




> *Nuan Noi grass*I live in Udon and am landscaping our new house. In researching grass for a full sun area, a golf course consultant suggested Nuan Noi aka Manila Grass and for an excellent source he suggested Golf Course Specialists (Golf Course Specialists Home). He put me in touch with the owner, Queen at 089 499 8962 or Queen@Golfcoursespecialists.net.
> 
> 
> 
> I ordered 300 square meters at 20 baht / m2 and the delivery and installation here in Udon Thani was another 30 baht / m2. All in was 50 baht/ m2.
> 
> The quality was excellent, the delivery was on time, and the workers got it all down in less than an hour. Queen is full of knowledge and also does irrigation. My irrigation was already in so all I needed was grass. I could have done it myself but heck, the added cost to lay it was minimal.
> 
> All in all my experience was superb!

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## cyrille

Yay, help him spread his free advertisement!

Good work there, prag!  :Very Happy: 

If your lawn is neither turf nor seed...what is it?

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## Pragmatic

> If your lawn is neither turf nor seed...what is it?


 Over the years I've explained many times as to how I got my lawn/grass. But not a problem to repeat.

Originally my garden was a bomb site after having the house built. I cleared all debris and removed the trees. Then i got soil delivered from the rice fields. It has to be the top soil. Nothing else. I overlay-ed the garden area to a depth of about 100mm and let it sit for about 6 months . In that time I just hand leveled where it was needed and removed any weeds that appeared.

Once the rains come in April/May the garden starts to come alive and you need to start cutting, with a lawnmower, anything that grows. You keep doing this and the weeds die back and the grass takes over. Once the rains stop I do my last cut and leave it to die back. I never water it. Then in April I go through the same routine again.

The secret to getting good grass is getting rice field top soil and a little hard work as and when it's needed. I planted the trees after the grass got established as I thought that if I put them in first they'd overshadow the grass and take the nutrients out of the soil.

During the dry season I don't water the grass. I leave it to die back but still retains a cover over the soil. So it really doesn't look a mess.

Obviously I need a petrol driven lawn mower so I got the best and only cut on the lowest of settings leaving the cuttings to feed the grass as they break down. 

Hope that helps?

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## cyrille

I see.

It does look remarkably good.

Thanks for the info.

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## Shutree

> Iam buying this one, says it needs to 2-3kg per Rai


Are you sure about that coverage? That link doesn't take me to any grass seed.
I have been looking on Lazada recently because local plant shops cannot help with grass. I thought the prices very steep and none of the sellers I looked at quoted a coverage rate. So I looked at some US gardening sites and came back with a figure, after converting the units, of about 1kg for 10 square metres. Different grasses have different coverage rates and maybe my maths is suspect. Still from my past experience in UK I remember a big box of seed only filled in a few patches of bare ground.
I have decided to follow Prag's lead. I have put down a small area of topsoil which is now bare, waiting for a bit of levelling. Prag's result looks great and there is some native grass around the edges of my plot, still green at this time of year. I reckon I'll let it spread and assess the results next spring.
Let us know how your lawn turns out. Maybe I'll need to revisit my plan next year.

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## Pragmatic

My first cut, tuther day, after 6 months of basically no rain.

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