July 2020

How to install a new lawn

Posted on July 29, 2020July 29, 2020 by nathe

Install your own turf – It’s easy!

Prepare your soil for new turf

Kill off any existing vegetation using glyphosate or a similar non-selective herbicide. You may need 2 applications to ensure all existing vegetation is completely eradicated. Turn over the existing base and remove any excess vegetation that has been sprayed out.

Once you have a reasonable amount of underlay levelled (we recommend at least 100mm), apply a starter fertiliser, this will encourage deeper root growth and really support your lawn in the establishment phase. Note: Sir Grange and TifTuf customers please contact your local Lawn Solutions Australia member for installation and maintenance recommendations.

Lay turf in a staggered ‘brickwork’ formation

Start by laying slabs or rolls from the furthest point to the entry of the yard and work your way backwards so you are not working over freshly laid turf. Place your rolls or slabs of turf around the perimeter of the area and lay between the perimeter. Stagger the joints in a brickwork fashion to avoid erosion and butt the turf closely together to avoid gaps as this is where your turf can dry out and cause a patchy lawn.

Cut and shape turf to suit your area

When cutting is required use a spade, sharp knife or shears, but don’t throw these off cuts away. When you have finished laying you will probably find there are a few unusual spaces to fill and these bits will come in handy.

Watering your new lawn

Water your new lawn immediately after installation. You should be watering every day (2 or 3 times a day in hot conditions) for the first 3 weeks, before reducing the amount to once every 2 or 3 days in the following weeks. Your first mow should be after 3 or 4 weeks, ensure slabs/rolls have attached to the soil.

Lawn Diseases to Look Out for in Winter

Posted on July 28, 2020July 5, 2024 by nathe

Climate conditions in some locations can unfortunately provide the ideal breeding ground for particular lawn diseases. Generally, these diseases develop due to excessive shade, compacted soil, poor drainage, and lack of sufficient lawn nutrition. In winter, some of these problems worsened due to shorter daylight hours and fungal disease issues can quickly develop.

Here are Some of the Common Turf Diseases that can Occur in Winter:

Small brown patches with an outer ring? It could be…

Winter Fusarium (Microdochium nivale)

Winter Fusarium symptoms most commonly present themselves in the cooler months between May and September in wet conditions. It is primarily a cool season turf variety disease, but it has been seen in warm season varieties as well.

Winter Fusarium appears as orange/brown patches less than 5cm or so in diameter but can continue to enlarge to 20cm if left untreated. Smoke like rings can also occur on the outer edge of the patch with a water-soaked appearance.

Treatment

Remove thatch in spring and use a balanced, high nitrogen fertiliser. Avoid late afternoon/early evening watering. Treat with Mancozeb or Tombstone Fungicide. Commercially available options includes Heritage Maxx.

Red threads forming in a patch of your lawn? It could be…

Red Thread (Laetisaria fuciformis)

Red Thread is a fungal disease that often occurs during humid conditions. The first signs of this disease are small yellow/brown patches with small red threads or needles and pink soft mycelium fluff. The disease spreads to form larger areas. Small soaked patches in spring are another symptom. This disease is common in lawns low in nitrogen.

Treatment

A commercial option is Heritage Maxx Fungicide. Then apply a nitrogen-based fertiliser.

Dollar sized spots on the lawn? Straw spots on the leaf blades? It could be…

Dollar Spot (Sclerotinia homeocarpa)

Dollar Spot is a very common fungal disease and, in some areas, can develop at any time during the year. As its name suggests, the appearance of this disease is usually identifiable as dollar sized spots of discoloured grass appearing within your lawn. Up close, the discoloured leaves will have straw coloured lesions with red/brown edges to them. If left to spread the spots will get larger and form bigger patches of affected grass.

Another identifying feature of Dollar Spot is the web like fine threads that form through the leaves of your lawn on colder mornings.

Treatment

Remove the thatch layer in spring and use a high nitrogen fertiliser. Avoid evening watering. Treat with Mancozeb or Tombstone Fungicide. A commercially available fungicide for treatment is Banner Maxx.

Fungicide Treatments

Mancozeb – Mancozeb is a trusted protectant fungicide that controls a wide range of diseases like powdery mildew, dollar spot and rust. For best results, a complete spray of the entire lawn is recommended.

Tombstone Fungicide – Tombstone Fungicide provides systemic and contact disease control, both on a preventative and curative basis, controlling Anthracnose, Brown Patch, Winter Fusarium, Leptosphaerulina, Curvularia and Dollar Spot in lawn situations.

Heritage Maxx –Heritage Maxx control and prevention of a broad spectrum to control turf diseases including – Pythium, Anthracnose, Brown Patch and Spring Dead Spot.

How to Avoid Fungal Diseases in Your Lawn

Aeration

Loosening of the soil to remove compaction and improve drainage. Aeration will improve your lawns ability to absorb water, nutrient and oxygen which will help your lawn stay healthier.

Fertilising

Overapplying fertiliser or underapplying to nutrient deficient soils can promote some fungal diseases. Check with your local Lawn Solutions Australia turf supplier for the specific requirements for your turf variety. Make sure that you stick to a fertilising program that provides your grass with the nutrient it needs in regular intervals throughout the year.

Remove Thatch

Over time your lawn can develop a thick layer of thatch, dead organic matter, excessive roots, and stems within the profile of your grass. Dethatching prevents waterlog in your roots and allows proper drainage; this will help to prevent the risk of fungal issues.

Irrigation and Shade Management

Avoid over-watering, particularly in shaded areas. Shade prevents the quick evaporation of dew or surface water and continued dampness will encourage fungal disease. When watering, do so early in the morning not at night, to allow the area to dry during the day. Water deeply, but less frequently, to encourage stronger roots and to allow the water to absorb properly.

Heavy dew and prolonged periods of dampness are common in winter, so it is important to increase sunlight access where possible to help the dew evaporate throughout the day. Aeration and improved drainage will also help with these conditions.

For more information on specific fungal diseases and how to treat them, contact your local Lawn Solutions Australia turf supplier.

Galahs! Kikuyu Starches

Posted on July 28, 2020April 28, 2021 by nathe

Why do they do it and how do you stop them?

How do I stop the galahs and other birds ripping up my lawn? We get this question often and usually from those with kikuyu lawns.

Let’s start by looking at why it’s occurring in the first place.

Kikuyu starch

Kikuyu lawns are the main target for galahs as their rhizomes contain a sugary starch. Other lawn varieties like buffalo, zoysia and couch that don’t contain as much starch are mostly left alone.

One particular delicacy they enjoy is the starchy underground runners beneath your lawns surface, particularly those in kikuyu lawns. The problem is that galahs need to dig around and rip at the grass roots to pull them out.

After the birds are finished, you will often see the runners scattered along the top of the lawn after they have been ripped up.

Grubs and beetle

It is important to check if you have any grubs or beetle larvae within the soil, these are a tasty snack that will attract birdlife. These are usually birds like magpies or crows that feed on grubs and beetles.

For the most part the birds are actually a blessing here as they will help to keep the grubs under control. If these grubs get out of hand, they can do quite a bit of damage, so the birds are doing you a favour and the damage the birds themselves cause is usually minimal.

Do I need to take action?

You can leave them to it and your lawn will be just fine. That’s our first recommendation. However, that birds have become more than just an inconvenience and are terrorising your lawn destructively, then there are a few things you can try to keep them at bay.

Fake Owls or Hawks

A common method many people look at is the use of fake predator birds like owls or hawks. Birds can be smart and figure it out very quickly, so to improve the deception look at moving the owl every few days. Also, best to not put it in an obvious position as real owls do not like to be seen too easily.

This fake owl also has eyes that flash and it makes a hooting sound when the motion sensor is activated.

Fake Snake

Fake snakes are another popular method to use to help keep birds away. If kept in the one place over a few days, they can work out that they are fake. So, try moving them to different areas in the garden every day. We have also heard that placing a whirligig near a fake snake can make birds become nervous and uneasy when near your lawn.

Scarecrow

Traditional scarecrows have had some success in deterring galahs and other birds away. The more human like they look the more likely they are to stay away from the lawn. You will need to move the scarecrow around every few days in order for them to be effective. We have also heard that changing the scarecrows clothes every so often helps make it more effective.

Bird seed

If the birds are hungry, try enticing them to stop picking at your lawn with a better food option. Place a bowl of bird grain and seed or fruit and vegetables such as apple and carrot and see if they prefer this over your lawn.

Motion Sensor Irrigation

There are also some irrigation products with motion sensors available as well.

Motion activated sprinklers can detect bird movement on the lawn and quickly jet a stream of water at the target area. The sound of the sprinkler turning on combined with the water will frighten them away quickly and harmlessly with only a couple of cups of water required before it turns off again.

Bird Repellents

There are products you can spray on your lawn that the birds won’t like the taste of. They usually contain the active Aluminium Ammonium Sulphate like this one here by Multicrop called Scat.

The active provides a bitter taste that the birds don’t like but it is completely safe and won’t harm the birds. You can also source alum and mix it up with water yourself, with one teaspoon per litre the advised mix rate.

Other spray mixes we have seen people try include weak black tea and wasabi, all with mixed results for effectiveness.

We are yet to see a method that is 100% effective, but hopefully one of these methods or a combination of all of them will work for you.

For more lawn care advice, check out our other blogs here.

How to prepare for a spring lawn renovation

Posted on July 28, 2020September 2, 2024 by nathe

It’s easy to get excited about doing a lawn renovation and all the things you might want to do to have your lawn the envy of the street. The best advice we can give you is to not go too early with any vigorous lawn maintenance activities like dethatching or top dressing. Your lawn needs to be actively growing and performing strongly during the warmer months before undertaking these activities. October long weekend in most states is a good guide.

You can prepare by organising the necessary equipment you need for each step, so you are ready to go when the lawn has started growing strongly again.

Do I need a lawn renovation?

A lawn renovation may be necessary if your lawn has developed a combination of thatch and compaction. It can also be a good time to do so when your lawn is looking unhealthy and specific soil improvements are required to improve the lawns foundation.

A full lawn renovation could be required every 3-4 years. Its not a must to do all the steps, but it can be highly beneficial from time to time if you are looking to achieve the best results with your lawn. Dethatching or top dressing will only be required more regularly if the lawn is a bit neglected. Some turf varieties require more frequent renovations, couch grass for example, depending on the level of inputs and preferred height of cut.

You can read more about Spring Lawn Care here.

How do I do a lawn renovation?

Making sure you undertake a lawn renovation in the best order will ensure you get the best out of each activity and you get your lawn recovering from winter as quickly as possible.

Here is what you need:

Knapsack/Pressure sprayer
Herbicides like All Purpose Weed Control for weeds treatment
Dethatching rake/machine (or hired machine)
Manual aerating device, like a garden fork, tine aerator or manual corer (or hired machine)
Fertiliser like Lawn Solutions Premium Fertiliser
Pre-emergent herbicide like Oxafert
Top dressing soil/sand
Soil spreader
pH test kit
Soil amendments if required (gypsum, lime, sulphate of ammonia for e.g)
Irrigation or sprinkler

Now that you’re prepared, here are some helpful videos to guide you through the process when the weather warms up:

Short, long, or even unmown… this grass can do it all!

Posted on July 28, 2020August 4, 2020 by nathe

Sir Grange (Zeon Zoysia) is a very low maintenance grass when it is established and requires half the mowing of traditional warm season grasses, it can even be left unmown. But what makes it so incredibly versatile is its ability to be maintained at a broad range of heights.

Sir Grange was originally bred for the golf market where it is commonly maintained between 5mm and 50mm and holds a beautiful appearance at all levels. Even when left unmown.

Sir Grange Zoysia Unmown

In this particular photo below, the longer grass is Sir Grange that has never been mown after being installed approximately 12 months ago. It provides tremendous contrast to the short grass next to it, also Sir Grange, that has been cut at what you would consider a normal backyard height.

The unmown look is perfect for difficult to maintain areas, such as raised areas which require the carrying of equipment up steps, and very steep slopes around the landscape.

Even after several years unmown, Sir Grange will not get higher than about 30cm, and will not grow an ugly seed head or get out of control at different lengths. What you will get is a beautiful native looking grass that has high shade and drought tolerance and won’t be invaded by weeds. All of this on an area you won’t have to mow!

Another fantastic option is mowing Sir Grange at a normal height for your yard, and then leaving it unmown around the edges or around trees, creating a fantastic natural border.

Unmown Sir Grange is great for the environment as it saves on emissions with less mowing, requires far less fertiliser and you won’t have to water it near as much. All of this combined with an aesthetically pleasing surface.

Key Traits:

Wide range of acceptable mowing heights for retaining grass health
Less frequent mowing requirements
Easily maintained with a standard rotary type lawnmower or cylinder mower
‘Barefoot Grass’ qualities – soft, densely matted grass, great for walking barefoot on

To learn more about Sir Grange click here.

Continue reading “Short, long, or even unmown… this grass can do it all!”

Spring Planting by Charlie Albone

Posted on July 28, 2020August 27, 2020 by nathe

Spring is the best season to be establishing plants and gardens including your new lawn as the weather heats up the increase in temperature promotes new growth and a move from the dormant winter into a season filled with life and exuberance.

Whilst the increase in temperature promotes new growth early spring never has spikes in heat that can be damaging to new plants so it’s a fail safe season to get things in the ground and growing. The heat also penetrates the soil which aids in root growth and the more root growth you can get the more drought tolerant your plants can be as we move into Summer.

Good soil is key

Before planting in spring you really should take a good look at your soil, plants and lawn can be an expensive item so you want them to perform to their best and safeguard them so they don’t die when they get installed. Understanding what plants you are putting into the ground as far as their drainage and nutrient requirements go is important so you don’t do the wrong thing to the soil and provide the wrong environment for your plants. Succulents, herbs and Mediterranean plants like olives and lavender like free draining sandy soil, much like a lawn does. Heavy feeders like perennial plants and vegetables like nutrient, organic rich soils.

Adding compost to sandy soil will help the soil bind together which improves its structure and aids in holding onto water and nutrients for longer. Adding compost to clay soils can also help to break it up as it brings in lots of worms however it can clog unstable clay so the addition of Gypsum clay breaker can help with this.

When it comes to prepping for a lawn, most lawn varieties wont tolerate wet feet, free draining is important. So consider adding sand for heavy clay if the addition of gypsum doesn’t work. Its also important to remove any stones that will be felt under foot once the lawn has been laid – like painting, a professional finish comes in the preparation of the soil.

Spring Planting Tip

Planting in spring is a delightful experience as the weather is perfect for a good day on the shovel digging, not too hot or cold. When planting dig your hole twice as wide as the pot you will be planting but only as deep – this ensures the roots have well cultivated soil to grow into but they don’t get planted too deep and rot around the stem of the plant. Laying a lawn is also a fun experience and very satisfying, once you have your level smooth base to lay on ensure the edges of your pieces of lawn meet together snugly, this helps to reduce the edges drying out and turning brown. Running a boarder around the edge of your new lawn area and staggering your lawn in a brick bond when it goes down will also help to prevent the edges browning.

Choose the right plants

Choosing the right plants depends on the style of your garden you have. Foliage plants are great for those after low maintenance gardens as they provide year round interest. Perennial plants like Salvia, Echinacea, foxgloves and Asters are all perfect for a cottage style garden. Getting some structure in the garden now through trees and shrubs is also a great way to maximise the growth before next winter.

Establishing plants and lawns in Spring is an easy process however you need to ensure your plants get the water required, when plants go in the ground they only have the capability of taking up water from the existing roots – they don’t suddenly grow new roots out into the soil. Lawn is supplied on limited soil too so dries out quickly once rolled out. Water according to the weather but ensure your new plants and lawn get a daily soaking until they have the chance to grow new roots out into the soil.

Once established you can teach your lawn and plants to be more drought tolerant by teaching their roots to grow deep in the soil. From daily watering you need to slowly move to watering once or twice a week, the trick is to use the same amount of water so you soak when you water rather than sprinkle – the same water less often helps promote deep root growth which in turn safe guards against drier hotter periods.

Baseball Field Trials Sir Grange

Posted on July 23, 2020July 23, 2020 by nathe

Sir Grange trial on a baseball oval at Robina Common on the Gold Coast.

A Sir Grange Zoysia trial square was laid in early September on the oval at Robina Common.

The photo below was taken on day 1 where it was heavily top dressed.

The Gold Coast had the water cut on oval irrigation for 8 weeks and had basically very little rain until mid-January when they received around 700mm and close to 1000mm for 2020.

As you can see now that the grass is established, it is obvious how the Sir Grange is holding up in comparison to the surrounding grass – Wintergreen Couch.

Peter Apps
Senior Management Officer Sports Facilities & Turfgrass

“The Zoysia looks fantastic, I sure haven’t seen any warm season turf that grows like it before.”

“If I didn’t know what it was I would swear it’s a good strain of Perennial Ryegrass at 16 weeks of age sown at a high rate and no mow since germination.” Mr Apps said.

Peter Apps comments are very encouraging, with Jimboomba Turf now planning doing more trials in semi wear areas and heavy wear areas with Sir Grange.

For more information on Sir Grange Zoysia and other Lawn Solutions Australia Sports Turf varieties click here.

Setting a New Benchmark for Turf Quality

Posted on July 15, 2020July 15, 2020 by nathe

Daleys Turf Ensuring Genetically Pure Turf on the Sunshine Coast

Written by Terry Daley, Director Daleys Turf

Daleys Turf is a beautiful boutique turf farm in Bells Creek Queensland on the Sunshine Coast. Daleys Turf grow and supply a range of turf varieties suited for the East Queensland climate. What makes Daleys Turf so unique is their attention to detail in all facets of production, things that could impact on the quality of the turf produced or the genetic purity of their varieties. Daleys Turf leave no stone left unturned and are leading the industry in this area, not just in Australia, but right across the world.

The History of Daleys Turf by Director Terry Daley

In the late 80’s, turf on the Sunshine Coast (QLD) was in very short supply. This gave our parents the idea to start a turf farm. It wasn’t until October 1991 that the land was purchased for the purpose of building a turf farm. At the time my brother Joe and I were working between the Sunshine Coast and the Kimberley’s in WA, so this was a way for us to get back to the coast to start a family run business.

Unfortunately, our Dad passed away before the business got off the ground. We took a while to decide whether we would continue with his idea, before pressing ahead.

Farming commenced in February 1993 on 35 acres which was previously farmed for small crops. An irrigation system was installed, paddocks were cultivated and levelled, machinery sheds built, equipment purchased, and roads installed. We purchased our first tractor-based harvester in 1997 and our first truck later that year.

Our first turf sale was in June 1994. It was a very slow start, neither of us had any turf experience and very little farming experience. Lucky for us a couple of prominent local business people encouraged us to proceed, providing us with a lot of advice and support in those early months.

Wintergreen Couch was new to the market, so that was our first turf variety grown, followed by Greenlees Park, QLD Blue Couch, ST-91, ST-85, followed by many others.

We were the first turf farm to introduce palletised turf deliveries here on the Coast. We were hiring a crane truck for our deliveries until we could afford our own truck and forklift system. We then later improved that system to pallet-less deliveries.

The Sunshine Coast had, and still does to this day, the most turf farms per capita than anywhere else in Australia. In the year 2000 there were at least 26 turf farms supplying our area. For this reason, we decided we had to move away from the mainstream turf varieties and look for something better. That’s when we discovered soft leaf buffalo.

Sir Walter

The real game changer for us was when Daleys Turf accepted an offer to supply Sir Walter and we never looked back!

The introduction of Sir Walter to our product offering led to our business growing and we hired staff, purchased trucks and tractors, a harvester, and we had new sheds and an office built. Our farming land increased to 65 acres, and a new dam was built to meet our growing needs.

Our sister, Carmel joined the business in 2001, then later in 2007 Rose, another sister, also joined us to work at the farm, making it a true family business.

We currently have 8 employees, the longest serving has been with us for 21 years, and we had a trainee join the team in early February.

We have a fantastic in-house installation team which gives us greater control of our business. This, along with the new turf varieties, is what sets us apart from our competitors.

The Daleys Turf team are always active in research and want to be involved in all sort of trial opportunities – fertiliser, new grasses, cutting height evaluations.

In 2017 we were appointed Lawn Solutions Australia (LSA) Foundation Farm for QLD. We also received the contract to supply and install Sir Grange Zoysia at Teven Valley Golf Course in NSW.

Ensuring Genetic Purity

Daleys Turf has plots of the original turf material to ensure genetic purity and maintain certified paddocks for harvest to other licenced LSA members through the expansion program.

Turf quality and purity are taken extremely seriously at Daleys Turf. Being a foundation farm means that we need to keep original stock in a separate area away from all possible contaminants for the life of the variety. All foundation stock sold is recorded and documented so everything can be traced back to the specific paddock it came from. Access is restricted to these foundation paddocks to limit the possibility of contamination.

Each turf variety has its own dedicated machinery – tractor, mowers and turf harvesters. This machinery is blown down with air and washed at the end of each day. Each variety also has its own pallets to ensure there is no cross contamination between any of the varieties.

Mower blades are removed and sharpened every Monday morning. A practice that is very uncommon, if unheard of in the turf industry.
Once a month paddocks are walked to check for any contamination with individual staff members allocated a specific variety.
All turf is palletised and transported via forklift to loading bays to keep road vehicles away from paddocks.

Daleys Turf prides itself on being known as an industry leader in ensuring the genetic purity of our turf. To ensure our varieties stay true-to-type we undertake DNA testing and regular paddock checks conducted by AusGAP, the Australian Turf Certification Program. This ensures that we are providing the genuine article to our customers.

STRI Sports Turf Trials

Posted on July 15, 2020July 15, 2020 by nathe

The Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) are the largest and most prestigious sports turf consultancy and research group in the world. STRI’s clients span over 50 countries throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America and they have research centres in the UK, Qatar, Hong Kong and right here in Australia. STRI specialises in sports turf research as well as delivering world famous sports tournaments including the FIFA World Cup, the English Premier League, the British Open and The Championships Wimbledon.

STRI Australia

The Australian STRI research facility is located at Redlands QLD and is led by STRI Australia research manager Carlos Sartoretto. Carlos has conducted research on a host of turf grass varieties all over the world, recently being based in Qatar in preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The STRI Australia research facility is host to a wide variety of works including product development, turf chemical testing and a selection of turf trials including a warm season lawn tennis turf variety trial on behalf of Wimbledon as well as a sports turf trial for Australian ovals and stadiums.

Couch Grass Trial

This sports turf trial is the first of its kind in Australia and sets out to test all commonly sold sports couches against each other to find their respective drought, shade and wear tolerances. The turf grass cultivars included in the trial are as follows;

TifTuf
Agridark
TifSport
Santa Ana
Legend
Wintergreen
Grand Prix
OzTuff

The trial was established in January of 2019, with 16 different replicates of each variety randomised in the trial. Each turf variety was established as sod and allowed to be in full sun to establish for a period of 6 months. After the establishment period, a rain out and shade structure was constructed over part of the trial to be able to control irrigation deficit and to mimic medium shade to best replicate a real-world scenario. A wear machine was used on part of the trial to simulate common sports field usage.

Each replicated turf layout was used to simulate different scenarios that are commonly seen on Australian sports surfaces. The trial was broken up into sections to adequately cover each scenario. Half of the trial was in full sun and half was set up in 50% shade. Each half-had sections that had consistent wear and no wear, full irrigation and deficit irrigation and a combination of each factors to ensure all basis were covered.

The below illustrates this set up;

50% Shade		Full Sun
No wear & Water	Wear & Water	No wear & Water	Wear & Water
No wear & Water	Wear & Water	No wear & Water	No wear & Water
No wear & Deficit	Wear & Deficit	No wear & Deficit	Wear & Deficit
No wear & Deficit	Wear & Deficit	No wear & Deficit	Wear & Deficit

Carlos made data collections every 2 weeks and scored each variety on turf quality, turf colour, sward density and Normalised Differential Vegetative Index (NDVI) to totally encompass how each variety performed. Below are preliminary results from this trial, with a full report to be released and made available shortly.

NDVI

1. TifTuf	0.63
2. Wintergreen	0.57
3. Legend	0.56
4. Grand Prix	0.54
5. OzTuff	0.53
6. Santa Ana	0.47
7. TifSport	0.47
8. Agridark	0.47

Sward Density

1. TifTuf	69%
2. Wintergreen	55%
3. Legend	52%
4. Grand Prix	50%
5. TifSport	47%
6. Santa Ana	45%
7. OzTuff	45%
8. Agridark	45%

Full results available here. This trial will give unique and proper data to the sports turf managers and greenkeepers around Australia on the difference in turf grass cultivars currently available to them.

First Golf Club to Trial Zoysia in SA

Posted on July 15, 2020 by nathe

Glenelg Golf Club

Glenelg Golf Club is in the Adelaide suburb of Novar Gardens and is a highly regarded 18-hole private course. The course has couch fairways and bent grass greens.

Recently, Glenelg Golf Course Superintendent Tim Warren has been undertaking what he believes to be the first ever zoysia trial on a golf course in South Australia. The zoysia being trialed is the Zoysia Matrella known as Sir Grange, or Zeon Zoysia as it is known as in the US.

Mr Warren first became aware of Sir Grange at their annual tri-club meeting with partner courses Woodlands Golf Club in Victoria and Bonnydoon Golf Club in Sydney. Bonnydoon had put in some of the Sir Grange on a championship tee and a practice green collar, with great success.

“We looked at it and thought gee, this might be worth having a look at!” Mr Warren exclaimed.

Mr Warren’s team were building a practice green with bent grasses already under trial. This area was shaded, incurred high traffic and suffered from extreme conditions, so they thought they should give Sir Grange a trial as well. They needed a grass that would perform in such conditions, but that was also low maintenance so hopefully Sir Grange would be the solution they were looking for.

Turf Supply and Installation

Mr Warren found out Sir Grange was available in South Australia and contacted local Sir Grange turf supplier Sunnyside Instant Lawn. Andrew Rowett, Owner of Sunnyside Instant Lawn, made an appointment to visit the course and look at the area. After some discussions it was decided that they would proceed and 140sqm were installed. “Andrew was fantastic, very accommodating.” Mr Warren said.

Establishment

Mr Warren put some organic fertiliser down and laid the turf with a turf starter. The first couple of weeks it was important to maintain watering as it was quite warm when it was established.

“We were rapt at how quickly it established after laying the turf” Mr Warren said.

“Its response so far through a summer that’s a fairly harsh summer in terms of temperature and what not – it thrived” he continued.

The Sir Grange is being trialed at two different heights, as a collar to the green at 6mm, cut twice a week. The other height is the unmaintained area, where it’s simply having a whipper snipper run over it just to tidy it up. It’s sitting at around 3 inches.

Results

Mr Warren said Sir Grange has been great for the area – “it’s almost like a set and forget.”

“We’ve had a couple of warmish days where you see it go off in colour a little bit when we had the extreme dry heat we get here in Adelaide, but it perks up so quickly after a splash of water and away it goes” Mr Warren said.

“It’s copping a lot of wear from traffic and it’s standing up to that brilliantly. It’s handling the traffic with ease.”

The feedback Mr Warren has received from the committee has also been positive. He believes that they would have no objections to doing further trial work in other areas of the golf course.

“Like in tee surrounds or irrigated roughs where we don’t want to send guys in to be constantly whipper snipping, maintaining and having to water – that’s where I see it at the moment.” Mr Warren said.

“So far with the results we think it’s got some promise, we think it may be able to work well within our other warm season species that we run on our tees and fairways” he continued.

Sunnyside Instant Lawn have also now supplied some Sir Grange for trial on another course in South Australia, Sanctuary Gully Golf Course.

The key factor moving forwards for Sir Grange will be how it performs through winter. If it holds colour through winter like it’s believed it will, it will be a great option for bunker faces and green surrounds.