June 2017 - Lawn Solutions Australia

Month: June 2017

Best Winter Lawn Care Cheat

Posted on by Anthony
  • Lawn paints can instantly improve the colour of a lawn with amazing natural-looking results
  • Lawn paints come in different types and plant-based pigment types are said to be the safest
  • Lawn paints can add quick colour to a lawn – ideal for a function or ‘for sale’ photos.

Lawn Paint

Lawn paint, such as Lawn Solutions Australia’s ColourGuard, can be used on drought or frost affected lawns, and instantly restores the natural colour of your grass while reducing watering needs. ColourGuard lawn paint is actually a natural plant-based pigment that allows your lawn to remain green all year round, even during droughts and extreme temperatures. So, what’s the catch? It sounds too good to be true! If you use high quality lawn paint then good news, there is no catch! ColourGuard for example, is 100 percent organic, making it safe for the environment, people and pets. However, using lower quality lawn paint can make your lawn prone to staining feet, clothing, and fixtures. Lower quality lawn paints may also not be natural or biodegradable. ColourGuard lawn paint allows you to boost your kerb appeal, ideal for ensuring your property is sold for the highest price possible.

A glowing, green lawn is also a must for backyard parties and BBQs, or for just showing off your lawn. When using ColourGuard, if you accidentally spray a hard surface, simply wash off the spray into the lawn with hosed water or use the cleaner solution available from the same suppliers. Your lawn will take about two hours to dry in full sunlight, or slightly longer if your lawn isn’t in full sun. ColourGuard is a permanent colourant, it will only disappear as the grass blade grows, it will not be washed off by rain or water, once the spray has dried. Other benefits of ColourGuard for the home lawn: – ColourGuard instantly restores the natural green colour of grass – year round – Substantially reduces watering needs and stays green during droughts and water restrictions – Is UV fade resistant and won’t bleed, run, or stain once absorbed into the grass – Is organic and natural – no harmful chemicals and safe for the environment, pets and people – Works in extreme heat, cold and frost – Reduces the amount of fertiliser and water used on lawns to achieve amazing results – Can be simply applied by the home-owner as easy as applying a spray fertiliser Early winter is a perfect time to apply ColourGuard so look into an easy cheat and get your lawn looking great – even over winter.

For further information on ColourGuard and where you can get it go to Lawn Solutions Australia’s specialty ColourGuard pages here

Pets and your lawn

Posted on by Anthony

There are members of your family who get a big kick out of your lawn. They come in all shapes and sizes and they’re never happier than when they’re outside.

Some lawn varieties might look great but can they handle the action from some family pets? Wear and tear, digging, urine burn and faeces are common problems, and sensitive lawns just can’t handle it, especially with large dogs. So choosing a pet friendly and tolerant variety will make life easy for all concerned. Just like humans, some pets may to be sensitive to allergies so choosing a low-allergenic variety is the go. Dogs can be rough on lawns. They dig holes, cause urine burns, and tear around wildly on the lawn.

Wear and Tear

If your pet continually uses certain tracks causing that area to wear more than others, placing an obstacle like a pot plant on the track will force them to take a different route, giving the lawn a chance to repair itself. This may have to be done more often in winter or shady areas. Extra aeration may be necessary to help rectify and compaction that may have occurred. With excessive activity, a more comprehensive maintenance program may be needed by way of more regular fertilising and aeration. Moist and shaded areas will suffer most so some extra drainage and attention will be required.

Finally, choose a turf that has a high tolerance for heavy traffic. Despite the soft feel of its leaves, this is a tough soft leaf buffalo grass that can deal with heavy traffic, including the family pets.

Compaction

Compaction is a common problem with lawns particularly those with dogs and it is important that you address it regularly. What compaction does is prevent oxygen, nutrient and water from being able to penetrate properly to the roots of your lawn, which in turn leads to poor lawn health. Aerating your lawn will help to alleviate this compaction and allow better penetration of oxygen and nutrient, and will also allow your lawn to root down deeper making it more drought tolerant and resilient.

Digging

If your dog likes digging then a self-repairing lawn with a dense growth habit is best. Newly laid lawns need time to establish and are particularly vulnerable to damage so try to prevent your dog from digging and pulling up sections of the turf.

Often digging is a sign of boredom, so a few toys will help to keep them amused while you work on their training program.

pets and lawn

Safe lawn care around pets

When fertilising or using pesticides, keep your pets inside and off the lawn for a while until the danger has passed. Check the product safety recommendations to ensure that no tragic accidents occur. Once fertilisers have been spread, water it in really well and it will disappear into the lawn profile. For herbicide use, wait until it has dried and absorbed before letting your pets back out onto the lawn. If your pet is likely to eat fertiliser granules, make sure you always use an organic or liquid fertiliser instead.

Urine Burns

If you are having problems with urine and burnt patches in the lawn then you might want to try dog rocks. Putting Dog Rocks® into your dog’s water bowl may be the answer for preventing any more urine stains from affecting your lawn. They will stop any new yellow spots from appearing, and are perfectly pet friendly. The burns already existing will come good on their own within about five weeks.

LSA On The Road

Posted on by Anthony

Lawn Solutions Australia (LSA) has become a leading authority on many aspects of the turf industry, with increasing influence both here and abroad. Industry involvement has been steadily increasing by LSA staff and member-growers; being regularly engaged and called upon to share their knowledge and expertise across a broad range of activities and events. Recent involvement has seen speaking and presentation roles by Lawn Solutions Australia staff at key planning events including Living Cities Forums held in a number of Australian states and Australian Institute of Horticulture (AIH) Conferences and Expo’s staged as far afield as Cairns and Singapore.

The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) has recently held a number of events around the country that included LSA staff and growers sharing their experiences at their ‘Celebrity Lawn Series’ events. These events involved LSA growers talking in detail about particular sites where their turf had been installed. The whole raft of benefits of LSA’s products and services, from growing and harvesting, through to installation and maintenance, as well as the AusGAP certification system were all thoroughly explained to the design and maintenance participants in attendance. Similarly, knowledge sharing has been high on the agenda of the Turf Australia’s ‘Nx Gen Forum’ held in Canberra late last month, with LSA staff and growers again featuring heavily in the program. The Parks and Leisure Association of Australia (PLA), Housing Industry Association (HIA), the Australian Golf Course Superintendent’s Association (AGCSA) and Turf Australia, have all got national and regional conferences and events coming up over coming weeks; most having called on LSA staff and member-growers to participate in presentation roles, separate to any sponsorship commitments. “The level of respect now garnered by the Lawn Solutions Group in this type of industry representation is unmatched by any other,” says LSA Director Gavin Rogers when talking on the organisations involvement in forthcoming events. “Lawn Solutions Australia is now rapidly gaining broader-industry-recognition of our combined industry-knowledge and experience . . . testimony to this is the value placed on calling on our expert-knowledge for these events from our staff and extensive network of growers,” Rogers says.

Other sectors of the industry are also reaching out for LSA’s involvement, if recent industry-group announcements are anything to go by. Lawn Solutions Australia’s Simon Adermann has been awarded a seat on the Advisory Group for Horticulture Innovations Australia’s (Hort Innovations) Green Cities ‘Which Plant Where’ Project. This project is a five-year plan that will help facilitate greener cities by unlocking opportunities to develop sustainable and resilient green urban spaces. The project aims to bring together a consortium of researchers and growers to investigate the suitability of various plant species under current and future climate scenarios. “Having Simon on this advisory board will help our cause to better integrate turf to their plans and allow for the most recent and appropriate varieties to be included in this database for when turfgrass is specified,” Rogers explains. This follows on from Adermann’s recent inclusion along with other LSA members on Hort Innovation’s Turf Advisory panel that has a major say on how industry research investment funds are directed for the future benefit of the turf industry. “I can’t overstate how proud I am of all of our member growers and staff and particularly Simon’s work on these panels,” says Rogers. “Such exemplary representation of our group to industry has been paramount in cementing LSA’s credentials so professionally on the world stage.”

Onion Weed (Nothoscordum sp)

Posted on by Anthony
  • Onion weed is one of the worst type of weeds that can take hold in your lawn or garden
  • Onion weed can be eradicated with patience and a bit of delicate work
  • Keeping onion weed under control by preventing flowering is a must to prevent it spreading

Onion weed is a menace in lawns and garden beds right around Australia. It is one of the worst weeds that you can have take-hold in your yard as it is also one of the most difficult to get rid of. Onion weed is a proclaimed noxious weed for most of the country; for most of NSW and WA, and for all of Tas, SA and Vic.

onion weed

Onion weed is a perennial with thin green strappy leaves. These leaves grow from a mainly white bulb which gives off an onion smell when crushed. Flowers grow at the top of a long stalk and are mainly white. Seeds form in summer and autumn and are spread mostly by wind blowing the seeds into new areas. It has a ‘slow-release’ way of sprouting its bulblets, making it a weed you just have to admire for its adaption and ‘survivor’ skills. Onion weed’s thin, waxy leaves also make it difficult for herbicides to stick to the leaves, and even if it does, the wax makes it difficult for the herbicide to affect the plant.

onion weed

Removing Onion Weed

Eradicating onion weed starts with removing as many of the plants as possible. Do not try to pull the plant out of the ground, or shake excess dirt back off into the hole or compost. The small bulblets tend to pull away from the mother plant when pulled. This leaves more bulbs in the ground that will rapidly grow. If possible, dig the weed-clump out of the ground with a spade or a trowel, and throw the entire clump away.

The next step to total eradication of onion weed is to treat the area with either a non-selective herbicide (like Roundup / Glyphosate) or even boiling water. Both options will kill any plant it touches, so be wary of surrounding plants. You’ll need to use a paintbrush or a weed-wand to carefully target the onion weed plants and avoid your lawn if possible. It can help to add a surfactant or a slight amount of household detergent. Use about the same rate as the herbicide concentrate amount. When added to the mix helps the herbicide to stick to the waxy leaf and penetrate to do its work. Keep an eye out on your lawn, and repeat the process if any new onion weeds begin to grow. If you’re unable to treat the area, keep the plants trimmed near the ground if possible. This will prevent the onion weed from flowering and spreading to other parts of your lawn or garden through seeds.

Duke Herbicide

If you have an extensive problem, Onion weed and onion grass can be treated with a selective herbicide called ProForce Duke 10WG Herbicide.

Hopefully this process will allow full eradication of onion weeds from your lawn and garden. Be patient, it can be a tedious exercise, but show no mercy, and don’t give up hope. It will be well worth it to be onion-weed-free in the long run.

Lawn care doesn’t need to be difficult and simple hints from Lawn Solutions Australia. We can help with products to keep your lawn in top condition.