Hi, here goes a rather boring query but I hope any HH horticulturists out there can help...
I'm thinking I need to build up the level of my (very small) garden so I'll be looking to buy really good quality top soil and either plant grass seed or lay turf. First, when would be the optimum time of year to do this - before, during or after the rainy season? And do you reckon seed or turf is the way to go? Lastly, any recommendation on where to buy top soil and turf/seed?
(I'm a total novice at all this kind of stuff so should be grateful for any advice, however obvious it might seem, and sorry for so many questions!)
How should I go about making a new lawn?
Re: How should I go about making a new lawn?
My advice is to cement it all in and paint it green or lay astro turf if you really must have a lawn... 
My brain is like an Internet browser; 12 tabs are open and 5 of them are not responding, there's a GIF playing in an endless loop,... and where is that annoying music coming from?
Re: How should I go about making a new lawn?
I've seen two of my neighbours do it recently and basically they layed turf on a base of sand. I believe that the turf itself is actually very cheap, laying it is more expensive unless you do it yourself, and I imagine that enquiring at one of those local style open garden shops at the side of the road would get you in the right direction.
Re: How should I go about making a new lawn?
... and then keeping it alive and green is the difficult part. seriously, there is a type of grass here that is very broad bladed and lays flat to the ground. It requires much less water and maintenance than "golf course grass" and looks and feels just as good imo. I planted fine grass and my water bill and gardener bill for mowing, weeding, and feeding is close to 10k per month. True, I have a big garden but I will never try to keep regular grass here again. Something more natural to the environment and more drought tolerant would be much better.
My brain is like an Internet browser; 12 tabs are open and 5 of them are not responding, there's a GIF playing in an endless loop,... and where is that annoying music coming from?
Re: How should I go about making a new lawn?
Yes, I'm in complete agreement on that; I've got a rai of garden to fill at the moment and it's going to have the minimum amount of grass that I can get away with. I was thinking of putting in a lot of trees and bushes with gravel paths and ground-cover plants.
Re: How should I go about making a new lawn?
Landscaper doing our project is currently having a lot of trouble just finding grass after the floods destroyed much of the seed fields. Is having to pay 100 baht per meter when he can find it over 50 baht per meter before the floods. With water so scarce in Hua Hin don't know if I would want to cover much with grass but more droubt resistant ground cover or just cement or rocks.
Re: How should I go about making a new lawn?
Well, you've already been given the best advice IMO. Thailand, and Hua-Hin in particular, is not the place to have a lush green lawn. Depending on where about you are, you could go for days on end without government water, and trucking in water to water a lawn is expensive. I see neighbors forking out 500 baht per day on water for their lawns, and their lawns are far from being lush and green. Ground cover plants and etc are a much better choice, unless your garden is very small, as in only a few square meters.
Seriously, think very carefully before you commit to having a lawn, unless you have money to throw down the drain.
Seriously, think very carefully before you commit to having a lawn, unless you have money to throw down the drain.
Don't try to impress me with your manner of dress cos a monkey himself is a monkey no less - cold fact
Re: How should I go about making a new lawn?
Back to my first post... cement the whole thing or use astro turf... 
My brain is like an Internet browser; 12 tabs are open and 5 of them are not responding, there's a GIF playing in an endless loop,... and where is that annoying music coming from?
Re: How should I go about making a new lawn?
That football pitch on Soi 10 stays nice and green!.....or use astro turf...
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margaretcarnes
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Re: How should I go about making a new lawn?
hhfarang wrote:... and then keeping it alive and green is the difficult part. seriously, there is a type of grass here that is very broad bladed and lays flat to the ground. It requires much less water and maintenance than "golf course grass" and looks and feels just as good imo. I planted fine grass and my water bill and gardener bill for mowing, weeding, and feeding is close to 10k per month. True, I have a big garden but I will never try to keep regular grass here again. Something more natural to the environment and more drought tolerant would be much better.
When in Rome....A sprout is for life - not just for Christmas.
Re: How should I go about making a new lawn?
Thanks for the useful info and advice. I'm having my patio extended, which will reduce (the already tiny) remaining patch of lawn. Actually, the existing grass is in pretty good nick but the level needs to be raised ten inches. I'm definitely thinking more toward hardy 'buffalo' type grass as opposed to a typical UK village green variety as I'm not into struggling to replicate clipped Surrey suburbia in Thailand, though I see a lot of people choose to, but each to their own! I want my little garden to be a lush and tropical paradise. My gardening and water bills are very reasonable, so it looks like it's not going to be prohibitively expensive to achieve my aim. 
Re: How should I go about making a new lawn?
As an aside, I was talking to an architect who had designed and overseen the building his own rather large house here and he was on to the grounds.
He said that he wasn't going to have a blade of grass on the property and instead plant loads of trees, shrubs and plants. The reason was because grass absorbs heat during the day and releases it at night. If you've got grass around your house it will be noticeably warmer there after the sun goes down.
On the other hand, trees, shrubs and plants reflect heat. He reckoned that there would be up to a 2-3 degree centigrade difference between the two.
I assume what he said is correct. He certainly seemed to know what he was talking about.
He said that he wasn't going to have a blade of grass on the property and instead plant loads of trees, shrubs and plants. The reason was because grass absorbs heat during the day and releases it at night. If you've got grass around your house it will be noticeably warmer there after the sun goes down.
On the other hand, trees, shrubs and plants reflect heat. He reckoned that there would be up to a 2-3 degree centigrade difference between the two.
I assume what he said is correct. He certainly seemed to know what he was talking about.
Re: How should I go about making a new lawn?
If you're going to do it a few more tips:
1) The golf course grass needs sun to stay alive. If you have shaded areas use the Thai spider grass as HHF mentions above. It needs some sun as well to do really well, but will survive in shade.
2) The men who lay sod like to put down sand as mentioned above. Unless you instruct them and push them, they won't on their own loosen up the hard dirt beneath the sand at all. That's a recipe for disaster and a lot of dead grass in a few weeks. I break up the sub soil at least 50mm before putting any sand down. It gives the roots a good base and when watered the roots dig in quickly. As you'll see, the sod here has virtually no dirt at all attached to it. They shave it off right at the grass root level.
3) Don't mess with the straight white nitrogen grass food. Unless you do it right and water immediately after application, your grass will burn up and turn brown. Use 16-16-16 on the grass and everything else, it works well. You should still sprinkle the lawn after application to start to dissolve the pellets and get it sinking in. Once a quarter will give you a real nice lawn and garden.
4) If you want to have some ground cover, I use golden pothos, photo below. I stole a few short vines from a hotel in Bangkok and it not only grows quickly, but you'll be cutting it back after about 2 months. Does better in shade than sun and a good solution for areas where grass won't grow at all because of deep shade. Nothing will eat it except snails, but it does have some poison in it so pets need to be trained. It tastes bad to them so not much training needed. Good luck. Pete 
1) The golf course grass needs sun to stay alive. If you have shaded areas use the Thai spider grass as HHF mentions above. It needs some sun as well to do really well, but will survive in shade.
2) The men who lay sod like to put down sand as mentioned above. Unless you instruct them and push them, they won't on their own loosen up the hard dirt beneath the sand at all. That's a recipe for disaster and a lot of dead grass in a few weeks. I break up the sub soil at least 50mm before putting any sand down. It gives the roots a good base and when watered the roots dig in quickly. As you'll see, the sod here has virtually no dirt at all attached to it. They shave it off right at the grass root level.
3) Don't mess with the straight white nitrogen grass food. Unless you do it right and water immediately after application, your grass will burn up and turn brown. Use 16-16-16 on the grass and everything else, it works well. You should still sprinkle the lawn after application to start to dissolve the pellets and get it sinking in. Once a quarter will give you a real nice lawn and garden.
4) If you want to have some ground cover, I use golden pothos, photo below. I stole a few short vines from a hotel in Bangkok and it not only grows quickly, but you'll be cutting it back after about 2 months. Does better in shade than sun and a good solution for areas where grass won't grow at all because of deep shade. Nothing will eat it except snails, but it does have some poison in it so pets need to be trained. It tastes bad to them so not much training needed.
Good luck. Pete - gp.jpg (157.94 KiB) Viewed 2117 times
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Re: How should I go about making a new lawn?
I'm sure he is right; if you look at the average Thai village out in the countryside, they basically live amongst trees. This is the view from the upstairs of our house up in Buriram and there is actually a quite large village within all that foliage:On the other hand, trees, shrubs and plants reflect heat. He reckoned that there would be up to a 2-3 degree centigrade difference between the two.
I assume what he said is correct. He certainly seemed to know what he was talking about.
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Re: How should I go about making a new lawn?
I'm from Melbourne Australia and my mate has a synthetic grass business.The grass they use now is very close to the real thing. It is very popular here because we have water restrictions and can't wash cars or water lawns or gardens. He also does putting greens and you should consider this option.