February 2022

Autumn Lawn Nutrition

Posted on February 28, 2022March 1, 2022 by Sarah

Fertilising in Autumn will help keep your lawn healthy before the cooler temperatures start to set in. Here’s what you need to know…

Why fertilise in Autumn?

A lawn needs oxygen, nutrients, and water, along with sunlight to photosynthesise. With all these elements considered and readily available to your grass you should have a healthy thriving lawn.

If you have a warm season turf variety like buffalo, kikuyu, zoysia or couch the speed at which your grass will grow will slow as the soil temperatures drop below 14 degrees.

This means that if your lawn is unhealthy and nutrient poor, it will go into winter unprepared for the colder conditions. This will leave it susceptible to winter weeds, compaction, shade related issues and frost.

Now is an important time to address these deficiencies and prepare your lawn with the nutrients it needs during the cooler months. Any easy way to provide all of these nutrients is by applying a balanced fertiliser like Lawn Solutions Premium Fertiliser. This contains micro-nutrients and trace elements that will replace the important elements that may have been lost over summer, along with the nutrients that your lawn needs for the coming cooler months.

Potassium for Plant Health

Most people know about nitrogen and its ability to provide quick green up and leaf growth. But Autumn is the time to fertilise to boost the health of the entire plant. This is where potassium comes in.

Potassium functions within the cell of the grass and provides strength to the entire plant. It helps the internal processes including photosynthesis, respiration, and protein production, creating thicker cell walls to help it withstand drought and disease.

Without potassium your lawn would struggle to grow, be lacking in strength and suffer yellowing of the leaf. Potassium comes in the form of sulphate as soluble potash. It is a common ingredient in all lawn fertilisers but can also be applied on its own.

Iron for Strength

Another key ingredient you will find in increased amounts in most winter fertilisers is Iron. Iron helps to strengthen your grass and improve leaf colour. Provided you have fertilised in Autumn and have your lawn well prepared for winter. You will be looking at providing an additional treatment around July in most states.

You can apply Iron Chelate which will help to get better iron uptake for better results without the Nitrogen promoting unnecessary growth. Just make sure you don’t get it on any hard surfaces as it can stain very easily.

We recommend applying a balanced fertiliser with micro-nutrients and trace elements. This will replace some of the important elements that may have been lost over summer. This will also help the potassium and iron that your lawn needs for the coming cooler months.

A slow-release granular fertiliser like Lawn Solutions Premium Fertiliser will provide your lawn with nutrients for up to 12 weeks as it gradually breaks down.

Just remember, a lawn in dormancy can lose some colour as it is conserving energy. This is not anything to worry about. It is a completely normal part of the seasonal cycle for warm season grasses.

If you prefer using a liquid fertiliser during the cooler months or want to see a significant improvement in colour straight away, we recommend looking at Exceed, Lawn Kelper, or a pigment product like ColourGuard Plus.

For more lawn care tips and advice, you can check out our other lawn care blog here.

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Why Sometimes the Best Tool for Your Lawn Is You

Posted on February 28, 2022October 24, 2023 by Sarah

Often a bit of old-fashioned hard work is needed to get your grass looking great. To help you get the lawn of your dreams we’ve outlined a few lawn care activities to help get your grass back into shape.

Aeration

Aeration is a lawn care activity that will help alleviate soil compaction, better-allowing oxygen, water, and nutrients to travel in the soil profile.

Aerating your lawn will help when:

Water is having trouble draining away, making your soil profile sit damp.
Water is pooling on top of the surface.
The area receives a lot of wear, causing the grass to thin out.
The soil profile is compacted.
There are bare patches you and wanting to help the lawn spread back over.
You are wanting the lawn to grow a more vigorous root system.
You are wanting to improve the overall health of your grass.

There are a few ways you can aerate your lawn. Aeration sandals will give the area a light aerate, but aeration is best done with either a sturdy garden fork or a tyne aerator.

When aerating with a garden fork or tyne aerator, drive the fork into the ground and give it a good wiggle to help fracture up the soil profile. Best to insert the fork into the ground around 10 cm apart.

Regular Mowing

Some of us love regular mowing, but others hate it! However regular mowing has so many benefits for your lawn!

Regular mowing will:

Help keep a consistent growth pattern
Help make mowing an easier task as the lawn won’t become overgrown
Encourage lateral growth to become thicker
Help reduce stress to your lawn, helping it become healthier

When mowing it is best to mow frequently enough so that only one third of the leaf blade is removed with each pass. In the warmer months, this may require you to mow 1-2 times a week, and in the cooler months once every few weeks depending on your local climate.

Removing Weeds

Although hand weeding can be a bit of work, it is one of the quickest ways to remove weeds from growing in your lawn. When pulling out weeds, ensure you are removing the whole root system to help prevent them from growing back. When weeding try to grab the weed close to the ground, then pull straight up.

Tips:

If you have a bigger lawn, break up your yard into smaller sections. Over a few days, you should be able to tackle the whole area, while making it a less daunting task.
If possible, try weed after it rains or after watering’s while the soil is damp.

Hand weeding tools or weed pullers like the Wolf Garten Ergo Weed Puller can help make pulling out weeds by hand easier.

It is best to pull out weeds in your lawn sooner rather than later to help prevent them from spreading.

Please note, when removing Nutgrass, Onion Weed, and Soursob it is best to use a selective herbicide as they have underground bulbs which spread when pulled out.

Watering Your Lawn

When watering your lawn, it is best to make sure you use a sprinkler that covers your area effectively. If a whole area can’t be reached by the one sprinkler, you will need to move the sprinkler across the lawn sections at a time to allow for an even coverage.

Watering in the morning before the heat of the day is best as it will help prevent the lawn from sitting damp overnight.

Like with many things, consistency is key to achieving a great lawn! With regular mowing, watering, weeding, and aeration your lawn will start to take shape!

For more helpful tips and advice, check out our lawn care blogs here.

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Lawn Care Essentials

Posted on February 28, 2022October 24, 2023 by Sarah

Lawns need sunlight, water, oxygen, and nutrient to thrive. In this blog, we are getting back to the lawn care essentials and looking at what it is you need to do to provide these key elements to your lawn so it can flourish.

Aeration – Your lawn needs air!

We talk about lawn aeration a lot and for good reason. If your soil can’t absorb oxygen, or water and nutrient effectively, the roots of your lawn will always struggle. This means your lawn will never be as healthy as it can be.

A compacted, hard soil base caused by high clay composition or excessive wear needs to be addressed and aeration is your first point of call. There are a few different ways to aerate your lawn, with both solid and hollow tine options.

Please have a look at our blog on aeration for more information here.

Soil Composition

Soil is the foundation or bed for your grass to grow on.

Following core aeration with a top-dress of sandy loam or straight washed sand, gypsum, lime, or other soil amendments can be ideal in addressing soil composition issues or for pH rectification.

The ideal soil underlay for grass and new turf is generally a mix of the following –

Washed river sand, medium to course particles – some % of clay is present which helps to compact and form a base.
Some heavier soil to help hold moisture, mixed with the sand creates a free-flowing profile for water movement.
Composted material and organics – this can be green decaying matter like clippings, chicken or animal manure, and some natural nutrients to help balance your pH levels.

If your soil is too high in one of these, amendments with other components during the growing months will be required to get the balance of your soil closer to the ideal base.

If your lawn hasn’t been performing as you would like, it might be best to test your soil’s pH.

Fertilising – Your lawn needs nutrients!

Grass is like any other plant – It takes in nutrients and air through the soil and sunlight through the leaves for photosynthesis where the conversion to sugars and energy takes place.

It is the job of lawn fertilisers to keep this in balance and help provide your lawn with essential nutrients.

The three numbers on the side of most lawn fertilisers represent the value of the three macro-nutrients required for your lawn. These three macro-nutrients are Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium – NPK

(N) Nitrogen – Nitrogen is largely responsible for the growth of leaves on the plant and is the most talked about nutrient when it comes to lawns.

Lawns love Nitrogen, but it is important to strike a balance between strong leaf growth and strong roots capable of supporting it as well. This is where Phosphorus comes in.

(P) Phosphorus – Phosphorus is largely responsible for root growth and is quite a low percentage of the overall NPK ratio, so some is needed but not a great amount.

(K) Potassium – Potassium is a nutrient that helps the overall functions of the plant perform correctly. It also helps the plant to use Nitrogen more efficiently.

If you are looking for a slow-release feed for your lawn for the entire season, then granular fertilisers like Lawn Solutions Premium Fertiliser are the way to go.

There are also liquid fertilisers like Exceed. These fertilisers are foliar, so the nutrient is absorbed and taken in through the leaf. These fertilisers are much faster acting, so they are good for when you are looking for a quick boost.

How to water your lawn

Water is another essential for your lawn. Water is fundamental for grass to transport nutrients, maintain cell structure and for it to create its own food through the process of photosynthesis.

The highest amount of water you will ever need to apply to your lawn is during establishment. Once established, it is best to only water your lawn as it needs.

It’s important to understand that when you are watering, you are watering the soil. While some water is absorbed through the leaf, most of it is absorbed through the roots.

When you water your lawn, do so for longer, less frequently. This will encourage deeper roots that can delve deeper into the soil to find moisture. This will allow your lawn to stay hydrated for longer, even if there has been an extended period without rain.

Make sure your sprinkler can cover the lawn evenly, regardless of whether it’s a manual shift or automatic sprinkler system.

Sunlight

Just like all plants, sunlight is an essential for your lawn. Sunlight allows grass to produce the food your lawn needs to survive through the process of photosynthesis. Glucose, otherwise known as sugar, is produced by the grass, and is used as food to help your lawn grow. Without sunlight, your lawn will not be able to produce glucose, causing the grass to thin out and die.

Grass also uses sunlight to produce a pigment called Chlorophyll. Chlorophyll absorbs light at two different wavelengths, blue light, and red light while reflecting green light. When light is present chlorophyll can then be produced.

In winter when there is less sunlight available, many types of grass will start to lose their green colour and can turn brown. When this occurs, this does not mean that the lawn is dying, it is just not receiving enough light to produce chlorophyll.

If your lawn is in a shaded area, we recommend regularly pruning back any trees, bushes, and other foliage around the lawn. This will help increase the amount of sunlight your lawn receives.

If your lawn is shaded by the house or other structures, choose a shade tolerant turf variety that will be suited for your area. Sir Walter DNA Certified Buffalo tends to do the best in shaded areas due to its soft broad leaf. This broad leaf allows the grass to absorb more sunlight due to its larger surface area. Sir Walter DNA Certified can thrive in areas that receive as little as 3 to 4 hours of direct sunlight each day or speckled sunlight from trees for most of the day.

For more lawn tips and advice, check out our other lawn car blogs here.

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What Lawn Care Products Should I Use?

Posted on February 25, 2022April 11, 2024 by Sarah

With so many different types of lawn care products available, knowing what to use can be a difficult task. To help, we have put together a guide on what lawn care products you should use in different situations.

Giving your lawn a boost

A well-balanced fertiliser will provide your lawn with the nutrients it needs to not only stay healthy but thrive. Fertilising is best done only 2-3 times a year, once in Spring, Summer, and Autumn. However, you can also fertilise outside this if the lawn needs a boost.

When looking at fertilisers there are a few different types available; slow release, fast release, granular, and liquids, all with different nutrient components.

Lawn Solutions Premium Fertiliser contains a combination of slow and fast release granules that will give your lawn a quick initial boost and will continue to feed the lawn for up to 12 weeks. This is a well-balanced fertiliser that contains all the essential nutrients your lawn needs to stay healthy and is suitable for all lawn varieties.

Exceed Liquid Fertiliser is a great liquid fertiliser option. Exceed will give your lawn a quick boost as it is absorbed by the leaf of the grass.

Reducing mowing

During the warmer months, warm season varieties will grow at a much faster rate, increasing the amount of mowing required. One way to help reduce the growth of your lawn is to use a Plant Growth Regulator (PGR) like Primo Maxx.

Primo Maxx suppresses the plants vertical growth and increases the plants lateral growth. This helps your lawn become denser while reducing the number of times you need to mow.

Stopping and preventing grubs

Lawn grubs and army worm can cause significant damage. If your lawn has been affected by grubs, use a fast acting product like Battle Insecticide which is a concentrate for mixing in a knapsack. This will help provide a quick knockdown of grubs present. Follow up applications of this may be needed if there are still grubs present in the following weeks.

A great way to help prevent grub attacks is to use a preventative insecticide like Grub Guard Ultimate. These products will provide your lawn with protection from a grub attack for up to 6 months with one application. They are best used in September/October and again in March/April but can be used at any 6-month intervals to protect the lawn year-round.

For more information on lawn grubs, check out our blog here.

Stopping lawn weeds before they appear

Pre-emergent herbicides like Oxafert can help stop lawn weeds before they appear and take hold. Oxafert works by creating a barrier at the soil level that affects the germination of any new seedlings without inhibiting the foot growth or establishment of your turf. Oxafert remains active on your lawn for around 3 months. It is best applied before germination occurs – when the temperatures start to become cooler, usually around mid to late autumn, and again when the temperatures start to get warmer, usually in early spring. However, Oxafert can be applied at any time throughout the year.

Stimulating root growth

A soil conditioner like Lawn Kelper will help increase turf vigour, stimulate leaf growth and strengthen roots. Lawn Kelper is also a great product to help your lawn through establishment as it helps stimulate root and shoot growth. This can be applied at any time throughout the year on new or established turf. Lawn Kelper can be used in combination with fertilisers.

Giving your lawn an instant green up

ColourGuard Plus is a lawn pigment product designed to instantly green up any lawn type! It can be used at any time of the year – working in extreme heat, cold and frost, and won’t bleed, run or stain once absorbed. It is a natural and organic product with no harmful chemicals. ColourGuard comes in an easy to use 2L hose-on bottle, a 100ml concentrate and commercial sizes 2.5L Concentrate, and 10L Concentrate.

Still unsure about what products you should use on your lawn? We have lots of other lawn care blogs you can check out here, or you can give our team a call to discuss your lawn care needs.

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Fertiliser Spreader Settings

Posted on February 3, 2022May 20, 2024 by Sarah

What setting do I need to put my fertiliser spreader on?

Fertiliser spreaders come in a range of different sizes and brands, with many also having different settings for application.

In this blog, we look at how to adjust your fertiliser spreader settings to ensure you apply your fertiliser evenly and at the application rate you are trying to achieve.

Why should I fertilise my lawn?

Fertilisers contain a mix of essential nutrients that your lawn needs to stay healthy and thrive. Soils usually don’t contain all these nutrients or enough of what exactly is needed for optimum plant health, so additional inputs like fertiliser are required.

A fertiliser with a well-rounded formulation of nutrients, specifically formulated for lawns, can help improve growth, encourage stronger roots, and improve the overall health of the plant.

When should I fertilise my lawn?

Fertilising your lawn at specific times of the year will help you see the full benefit and nutrient uptake. We recommend fertilising with a slow-release granular fertiliser around 3 times a year, once in Spring, Summer, and Autumn. Fertilisers can have different lengths of time that they last for and pacing of nutrient release so make sure you adhere to the recommendations provided by the product manufacturer.

Fertiliser Spreaders

Granular fertilisers need to be applied at an even rate to ensure the lawn is getting a balanced amount of nutrient. Not applying evenly can lead to uneven growth, colour and health, so it’s an important thing to get this right to ensure you are getting the most out of your fertiliser application. This is where fertiliser spreaders come in handy.

Fertiliser spreaders like this one will have an adjustable opening or valve at the bottom of the hopper where the fertiliser goes through into a chute. The fertiliser is then released through a spinning mechanism that rotates and discharges the fertiliser as you crank the handle on the side of the spreader. The rate at which the product will be dispersed is dependent on how open this valve is.

The valve can be adjusted through a notch that is located on the side of the spreader.

Move the notch between the numbers displayed while holding the spreader trigger in. This will give you an indication of how open the valve is at the different spreader settings available.

How to Use a Fertiliser Spreader

To apply the fertiliser, put the recommended amount of fertiliser for your area size in your spreader, or if it’s a large area, a portion of what’s needed if you need to break the area up into smaller sections for application.

This ICL Professional Hand-Held Spreader holds around 2 to 2.5kg of product depending on the fertiliser you are using. As an example, if the recommended application rate for your lawn is 2kg per 100sqm and that is the size of the area you have, that is the amount of fertiliser you need to put in your spreader ready for application.

As each fertiliser has different granule sizes and application rates, there is no one answer as to which setting you need to use without first testing out the spreader and making necessary adjustments.

When using the spreader for the first time, you want to go over the area by walking lines or passes back and forth on the lowest setting that allows constant flow for your granule or prill to be released. Starting on a low setting will help to ensure that you don’t overapply the fertiliser when using it for the first time.

Be sure to avoid overlapping so distribution is even and rotate the handle on the spreader at a consistent pace as you go.

After you have completed this full pass you can adjust the spreader’s settings to be more open if required and complete another pass in the opposite direction if required. If you used roughly half or 1kg worth of fertiliser, in this situation you are perfectly set to do another full pass for even distribution. Going across the lawn in two different directions will help to ensure even coverage.

If you only used a quarter or third of the fertiliser you need to apply, you can look to open the valve further for your second pass and future applications. Next time you need to fertilise you will now know what setting is ideal specifically for the fertiliser or product you are using.

After you have applied your fertiliser, water it in really well to ensure you avoid any unnecessary fertiliser burn to the leaf. Not all fertilisers need to be watered in, but if you are unsure, it is always best to check with the product label or manufacturer.

Applying Lawn Solutions Premium Fertiliser

Our Lawn Solutions Premium Fertiliser has been designed to provide the best results when applied at rates that fulfil the nutrient requirements of different turf varieties. This ranges from 1kg to 2.5kg per 100sqm.

For more information on fertilising your lawn, check out our other fertilising blogs here.

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Troubleshooting Lawn Problems

Posted on February 3, 2022May 1, 2024 by Sarah

Is your lawn having problems and not sure where to start? In this blog, we look at troubleshooting common lawn care problems to help you get your lawn back in good health.

Step 1 – Is your lawn getting the amount of sunlight it needs?

Different types of grasses need different amounts of sunlight to thrive. If your lawn isn’t getting enough sun, it can become thin and sparse, and will eventually die out.

Buffalo grasses have a high shade tolerance needing a minimum of 3-4 hours of direct light or scattered light.

Couch grasses require at least 5-6 hours of direct light.

Kikuyu grasses love full sun areas, needing direct light throughout the whole day.

If your lawn isn’t getting the amount of light it needs, regularly prune back any trees, bushes, and other foliage. This will help increase sunlight to the lawn. If your lawn is shaded by the house or other structures, choose a shade tolerant variety that will be suited for your area.

For more information on why your lawn needs sunlight, check out our blog here.

Step 2 – Is your lawn getting affected by wear or a compacted soil base?

Does your lawn get lots of foot traffic either from pets or kids? When the soil base underneath your lawn becomes compacted, it can be difficult for the grass to grow its roots deep into the soil, affecting the lawn.

To help the soil deal with a compacted base, aerate the soil. Aeration is best done with a garden fork or tyne aerator. To aerate your lawn simply insert the fork into the lawn and give it a wiggle back and forth. This will help fracture the soil profile, allowing air, nutrients, and water to flow better throughout the soil and allow the grass to grow a deeper root system.

Check out our blog on aeration for more information here.

Step 3 – Are you watering too much or not enough?

When watering an established lawn, it is best to only give it a water when it needs it. Usually, you will only need to water when there is not enough rainfall to meet your lawns needs. The tell-tale signs your lawn needs a water are:

If the leaf is wilting or losing colour
If your lawn leaves a foot print behind when you walk over it
During hot weather, if your lawn is dry and crusty, and taking on a brown colour.

If you do need to water your lawn, it is best to water in the morning before the heat of the day. Avoid afternoon and evening watering as the lawn will sit damp overnight as this can cause fungal diseases to develop.

Step 4 – Does your lawn need fertilising?

Is your lawn lacking the nutrients it needs or is in need of a boost? If so, a well-rounded fertiliser with a balanced ratio of nutrients may be needed.

For fertilising we recommend using our Lawn Solutions Premium Fertiliser. This contains a combination of slow and fast release granules that will give your lawn a quick initial boost and will continue to feed the lawn for up to 12 weeks. This is a well-balanced fertiliser that contains all the essential nutrients your lawn needs to stay healthy and is suitable for all lawn varieties.

Exceed Liquid Fertiliser is also a great option for a liquid fertiliser. Exceed will give your lawn a quick boost as it is absorbed by the leaf of the grass.

It is best to apply a fertiliser around 2-3 times a year, once in Spring, Summer, and Autumn.

Step 5 – Is your lawn being mown enough?

During the hotter weather, warm-season varieties like couch, buffalo, kikuyu, and zoysia will be growing at a fast rate and will need to be mown more frequently.

For mowing, it is best to ensure you are mowing frequently enough so you remove no more than one third of the leaf with each pass.

If your lawn has become overgrown or you are wanting to reduce your mowing height, mow a notch or two lower than your preferred mowing height. After this, the lawn won’t look great for the first few weeks, but the lawn will be able to recover and grow back at a lower height. Then on the next mow you can raise your mower to your preferred mowing height and continue to mow regularly. This is best done when the grass is actively growing in spring and summer and should be avoided in the cooler months.

Step 6 – Is your lawn affected by grubs?

Has your lawn become dry and straw like? Is their brown patches gradually spreading throughout your lawn? Common signs of a grub infestation include brown patches, increased bird activity and a spongy lawn.

If you are unsure if your lawn is affected by grubs, it is best to do a grub test. To do this, mix a bucket of soapy water and pour it over the edge of an affected area. Keep an eye on it and after about 10 minutes or so, usually if there are grubs there, they will come to the surface. This is best done at dawn or dusk when grubs are most likely to be active.

If your lawn is grub affected, a fast acting product like Battle Insecticide will provide a quick knockdown. A preventative insecticide like Grub Guard Ultimate will help prevent another grub attack from occurring for up to 6 months.

For more information on how to stop grubs in your lawn, check out our blog here.

Step 7 – Is rain and humidity affecting your lawn?

Over the last few months, lots of areas across Australia have been facing hot, humid, and rainy conditions. This creates the perfect conditions for lawn diseases to occur.

Here’s what to do if your lawn has been affected by disease:

Stop additional irrigation and only water if your lawn needs it. This will allow the lawn to dry out.
Give the area a good aerate with a garden fork. This will help drain away any excess moisture in the soil profile.
If the lawn is still showing disease after this, you can look at applying a fungicide like Mancozeb to help clear it up.

Please check out our blog on lawn diseases for more information here.

Step 8 – Do you have the best suited type of lawn?

In certain situations, different lawn types are better suited for different areas.

If your area receives a lot of shade, a shade tolerant variety like Sir Walter DNA Certified Buffalo (needs as little as 3-4 hours of direct sunlight per day) is an ideal choice.

If your lawn is going to be getting a lot of traffic from pets and kids, choose a grass with a high wear tolerance like TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda or Sir Walter DNA Certified Buffalo.

If you are after a high-end manicured look a fantastic grass to look at is Sir Grange Zoysia.

For more specific advice on choosing the best turf variety for your home and family, have a chat with your local Lawn Solutions Australia turf supplier.

Are you looking for lawn and garden products?

We have a great range of products to help you get the most out of your outdoor space! Shop on our online lawn care store here.

Price Effective Lawn Care Products | Ozito Cylinder Mower and More!

Posted on February 2, 2022October 25, 2023 by Sarah

Are you wanting to get bang for your buck when buying lawn care tools? Well, we’ve done some research and come across some great tools to take your lawn to the next level!

PXC 18V Ozito Cylinder Mower

If you are following any lawn care pages you have probably seen the hype around this mower. The precision-ground steel cylinder blades can provide a clean and precise cut similar to the bigger and much more pricey cylinder mowers on the market. The Ozito mowers adjustable cutting height is between 14-38mm, cutting a bit higher than larger cylinder mowers.

The Ozito Cylinder Mower is battery powered. You do need to buy the rechargeable battery separately. This battery is also compatible with a range of other Ozito home and garden tools.

Overall impression

For its price point it is a great alternative from the bigger cylinder mowers. It can provide a much cleaner cut than other rotary mowers around the same price point. It is easy to use, manoeuvre, clean, and store. The roller attached can be a bit light, we have seen a few people adding a steel roller attachment allowing for better stripes.

Ryobi 2 X 18V One+ Brushless Scarifier Tool

The Ryobi Brushless Scarifier is another popular product shared across many lawn care groups. Although small, this is a powerful battery powered scarifier. It can remove a lot of thatch build-up that is sitting underneath the leaf of the grass, allowing rain, nutrients, and sun to the soil.

The scarifier has adjustable working depths weighing in at 9.5kgs. This is powered by Ryobi’s ONE + batteries, which can make it a more affordable option if you are already using other Ryobi products but is an added expense if you don’t already have them.

Overall impression

It is a very powerful scarifier and can remove a lot of thatch and build-up quite easily. You should be able to fill a few bags of thatch build-up even on smaller lawns. This is a great addition if you already own other Ryobi products that run on the same battery, but can be a bit expensive if you don’t already own them.

ProPlugger

ProPlugger is a multi use garden tool, used to collect soil and grass from one section of your lawn or garden and replant. The tool can also be used to remove weeds and collect soil samples. The tool comes with adjustable depths.

Overall impression

This is a great tool to help you retrieve a sample of your grass. The plugger allows you to look at your lawns root system and soil underneath the profile. For replanting turf in larger areas, it will take some time for the lawn to grow back over. It is better suited for plugging small areas and patches where the lawn is needing repair.

Wolf Garten Ergo Weeder

The Ergo Weed Puller is a great tool that helps you pull out weeds without straining your back. It quickly and easily digs down underneath the weed and when extracted removes the entire weed, roots, and all.

Overall impression

This is an easy-to-use tool, with a good claw that can reach into the soil and remove the whole weeds and its roots. The built-in foot plate makes helps you push the weeder into the soil to help ensure all the weeds roots are removed as well.

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Smart Approved WaterMark – First in the World to Certify Drought Tolerant Turf

Posted on February 1, 2022April 24, 2024 by Sarah

Smart Approved WaterMark (SAWM) the one stop shop for water efficiency is the first water efficiency accreditation scheme in the world to recognise drought tolerant turf.

The only water efficiency label in Australia

SAWM has been certifying water efficient products and services since 2004 across many categories including irrigation, pool and spa, car washing, mulching, soil amendment products and commercial cleaning and more. Originally SAWM was established as the sister scheme to WELS, the Government program that uses a star rating system to classify household products such as taps, toilets, washers, and dryers. While the WELS program uses compliance with published standards to evaluate products SAWM requires applicants to supply evidence to support their license applications which demonstrate the water efficiency and water conservation characteristics of their product.

SAWM was born out of the Millennium Drought when the water industry was keen for an independent scheme to help identify which products and services would qualify for rebates. SAWM is a not-for-profit organisation and uses a panel of independent technical experts to evaluate information provided by applicants for licensing.

Our journey with turf

In 2017, the SAWM Expert Panel received an application from Lawn Solutions Australia for TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda grass. This presented a new challenge for the Expert Panel as the evidence required to demonstrate that a grass is “water saving” is complex. The range of conditions under which turf is grown, such different soil types and different climate zones, mean that clearly demonstrating that a particular turf variety is likely to use less water or be more drought tolerant is a difficult task.

Landing on the ‘Drought Tolerance’ eligibility criteria

SAWM has previously used guidelines to help applicants to the scheme prepare the right information to support their applications. It was decided to develop a new set of guidelines for turf grasses. After much deliberation and consultation, it was decided that the guidelines would focus on developing guidelines that would describe trials which would demonstrate the drought tolerance of grasses rather than try to measure their comparative use of water.

Smart Approved WaterMark working with the turf industry to develop turf grass guidelines

SAWM has developed detailed guidelines that outline the drought resilient criteria each application should aim to demonstrate and the appropriate research and turf tests to support the claims. From the outset the Jeremy Cape, Chair of the SAWM Expert Panel and Chris Philpot, CEO of SAWM, have led and facilitated extensive consultation with the Australian turf industry and with input from panel of independent turf professionals. For nearly two years expert Panel members and the independent turf experts drafted and revised the guidelines. In August 2021 the final guidelines were released which SAWM believes will meet the needs of the growers and reflect the quality of the SAWM label to prospective purchasers.

Chris Philpot, CEO, Smart Approved WaterMark said “We are very excited to be the first water efficiency certification scheme in the world to recognise drought tolerant turf. This has been a long journey for us and one that has taken careful consideration as it is critical we maintain the integrity of the labelling scheme. I’m pleased to say that we are launching the new turf category with confidence, acceptance, and a sense of innovation. I welcome all applications in this category”.

Jeremy Cape, Chair of the SAWM Expert Panel since its inception in 2004, facilitated the development of the guidelines for SAWM. “It’s great to see SAWM leading the way in water efficiency certification by developing practical guidelines for turf producers to make their applications to SAWM easier. The SAWM Expert Panel looks forward to reviewing many applications from here on in,” said Jeremy.

What does this innovation in certification mean for growers and consumers?

The selection of drought tolerant turf varieties for the home garden will help to conserve water as well as provide important amenity values. A goal of SAWM since its inception has been to identify products and services which consumers can use to optimise their use of water and reduce waste. Historically up to half of all domestic water use has been outside the home. Identifying turf grasses that are drought tolerant and require less water to provide valuable amenity, will ensure that gardens can remain cool, green sanctuaries.

Easy to follow guidelines ready to download at smartwatermark.org

The drought tolerance of turf grass varieties is best assessed by conducting an experiment or growth trials. While the expert panel does not insist on a specific trial methodology to demonstrate drought tolerance, the guidelines have been developed to inform applicants about the kind of trials that could generate the data to support an application.

It is important to emphasise that these guidelines are written solely to help applicants prepare submissions to Smart Approved WaterMark. These guidelines are not intended to set out a method for appraising all the characteristics of a turf grass. The aim is to evaluate the drought tolerance of turf grass to assist home gardeners who wish to use drought tolerance as their key selection criterion.

To evaluate applications, the expert panel requires objective, independent evidence that the turf grass demonstrates the drought tolerance characteristics claimed in the application (i.e., through independent testing or case studies). Note that unsubstantiated marketing claims are not regarded as evidence of water saving. All evidence submitted in support of an application to Smart Watermark certification must be prepared by an independent authority that has no financial interest in any turf varieties included in a trial.

TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda has led the way with independent testing through the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) with significant trial data provided in its application demonstrating its superior drought tolerance characteristics.

About Smart Approved WaterMark

Smart Approved WaterMark (SAWM) is the one-stop shop for water efficiency in Australia. Through its Smart Water Advice program, SAWM delivers a range of educational, interactive water-saving resources for councils and water utilities to take to communities about saving water around the home, garden, and business. SAWM certifies water-efficient products and services in Australia. With Smart Water Solutions, SAWM helps businesses reduce their water use and save money by delivering water audits and recommendations. SAWM has also published the ‘Water Efficient Australia’ 2019 report and ‘Water Efficiency 2017’ in partnership with Water Services Association Australia (WSAA). Smart Approved WaterMark works towards a blue future that celebrates the many amazing qualities of water, its strength, and its vulnerability.

Boyle Family Celebrates 100 years on Rosemount Farm

Posted on February 1, 2022 by Sarah

On the 7^th of October 1921 Nicholas and Maria Boyle and ten of their eleven children (seven boys and four girls) moved to Rosemount from Northern New South Wales and purchased the farm that would become their legacy, still supporting the Boyle family four generations into the future.

Ross, the current custodian, is an immensely proud third generation Boyle to work the land his ancestors bought and cleared in 1921. Nicholas and Maria, Ross’ grandparents started farming sugar cane on the rich river flats and a variety of small crops including beans, bananas, pineapples, pawpaw’s, and ginger on the hill land.

In 1939, four of the seven Boyle Sons were ‘called to arms’ and went to fight in World War II. Three of the boys returned to the property, while one was sadly killed by a sniper 45 days before WWII ended.

The story goes that Sam Boyle who returned after surviving Changi Prison and The Burma Railway, kissed the ground, and vowed to never leave Rosemount again… and he never did.

As per tradition the family helped establish all the boys on their own properties in the district with the home farm being taken on by Harry and Gloria Boyle (Ross‘ parents) in partnership with his brother Nicholas Boyle.

Harry and Gloria had four children; Barbara, Hugh, Geoff & Ross and continued farming sugar cane on the original property, while slowly buying neighbouring properties as they came up for sale. After 45 years on the farm Harry was ready to retire.

Ross had been living in Mossman in far north Queensland and was training to become a sugar chemist at the local mill. He was 18 years old when Harry asked him to come home and join the family business. Harry and Ross worked together for several years so that he could mentor Ross in the fine art of farming. Hugh Ross’s oldest brother who was working in the sugar industry in Ayre, also expressed a desire to return to the family farm and so from 1980 Ross and Hugh worked in partnership.

In 1998 Ross bought Hugh out of the partnership and Ross and Lynelle continued farming sugar cane on this property.

2003 threw a spanner into the works when the sugar mill shut down, which left the entire local cane industry without anywhere to process the cane. Selling the family farm was never an option, Ross had to find a crop to be productive and equally forgiving to grow on a flood plain.

After much research the family decided to go into farming turf. The beautiful farm is a long narrow farm on a flood plain with Petrie Creek and Petrie Creek Road as boundaries. They can get up to a metre of water over the farm several times a year in a wet year. Sugar cane as a crop was great for such an area as it would survive the deluge and so would turf.

This is when Rosemount Turf was born. In the blink of an eye, the family went from being sole traders to employers.

This ‘let’s grow turf’ became the thing that took over the Boyle families lives, and it was all they talked about, problem solved and made plans for. Rosemount Turf originally grew Wintergreen Couch and then bought a licence for Sapphire Soft Leaf Buffalo. A local turf farmer who had sold his farm for a housing development approached them to buy his goodwill and licences. The family were happy to acquire these licences and started growing other turf varieties to give their customers choices to suite their property’s needs.

Changing the farm from sugar cane to turf was not the only challenge faced, suddenly the bookkeeping for the cane farm that Lynelle managed on weekends turned into a fulltime job and they had to figure out a way to market and sell the product.

As sole traders there wasn’t any policies or procedures in place. These had to be researched, written and enacted. Training and managing staff were a whole new game and learning to grow a new crop was a daily challenge. Most of the machinery was for sugar cane farming which was unable to be utilised for turf farming, so sourcing and financing this change presented challenges.

Ross Boyle believes in serving and giving back to the industry that feeds them. He was on the Moreton Mill Suppliers Committee while a cane farmer and quickly became involved in Turf Queensland, followed by Turf Australia as a turf farmer. Ross was the president of Turf Australia from 2016 to 2021. Rosemount Turf from the get go have been regular attendees of turf conferences and being new to the industry learnt a lot from the organised speakers and from networking with other turf growers.

Rosemount Turf’s first turf sale was 10m2 of couch, which was sold for $3.00m2. “We had all the family down at the farm watching the first cut with the old Van Vuuren hand stacking turf harvester.” Things are a little different now, where they harvest on average between 5 and 10 thousand square metres of turf per week, using a Trebro SC2010 auto stacking turf harvester. Rosemount Turf service the Sunshine Coast and parts of Brisbane.

Rosemount Turf specialise in backyard renovations and are passionate about educating customers on how to get the best out of their lawns. The farm is centrally located on the Sunshine Coast, which means customers can collect their turf direct and buy products from the lawn shop.

In 2016 Rosemount Turf accepted the opportunity to join Lawn Solutions Australia (LSA). Rosemount Turf believe in the research and development program and the dedication (LSA) have to their growers and how they strive to meet the modern and everchanging turf market.

“Sir Walter DNA certified Soft Leaf Buffalo has become a household name and we wanted to ensure the future of our business for the next generation.”

To mark the 100^th anniversary of the farm, a mural was commissioned for the machinery shed, painted by Ross Holloway, a local mural artist. It depicts our evolution from cane to turf. The family has had numerous people comment on how much they miss the cane trains and cane fires on dusk in the Valley, but also express their appreciation of the manicured and peaceful vista the turf farm presents now.

Rosemount Turf have also installed a 500m2 new display area called ‘Gloria’s Garden’ overlooking the dam ‘Lake Harry’ for customers to enjoy and help visualise what their backyard would look like with – Sir Walter DNA Certified Soft Leaf Buffalo, Sir Grange Zoysia or TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda.

Ross and Lynelle’s Daughter, Penelope Boyle and Son in Law Greg Pelka (married to Jessica Pelka nee Boyle), together with farm manager Sam Wasmund are ready to take the business into the future.

“We may not see another one hundred years but would like to give it a red-hot crack!”

The AFL Grand Final at Optus Stadium

Posted on February 1, 2022February 1, 2022 by Sarah

Field Construction and Surfacing by HG Sports Turf

Q&A with Tony Hemming, Arena Manager

In 2017, experienced Sports Turf Contractor HG Sports Turf were awarded the Design and Construction contract for the new Optus Stadium in Perth. Post construction HG were also selected to manage and maintain the new playing surface in the new jewel of the west. The field was officially opened in 2018 and is a mixture of HG’s Eclipse Stabilised Turf and HERO Hybrid Turf.

In an historic first for Western Australia, Optus Stadium was chosen to host the 2021 AFL Grand Final, the prestigious AFL Premiership event that has been held at the MCG in Victoria almost every year since 1902. Up until the Covid-19 outbreak, the AFL Grand Final had been played exclusively in Victoria, with the first hosting outside of the state being in 2020 at the Gabba in Brisbane, QLD.

Tony Hemming, Arena Manager, Optus Stadium is somewhat of a turf industry legend and is commonly known as ‘Hemmo.’

HG Sports Turf recently sat down with Tony before and after the grand final to get an insight into the preparations and challenges he and his team undertook to get the ground looking immaculate for the big day.

What was involved in the lead into the big day?

We spent the first week recovering from the heavy AFL season with the highest rainfall for 50 years, which was challenging to say the least! From there it was turf replacement, aerate, core, vertimow, divot repair, seed, fertiliser and groom the HOC (height of cut) to the height to incorporate the AFL extravaganza entertainment side of the event.

The field is ready by the Monday before and then we must manage the team’s training and rehearsals for artist and dancing crews. We also do a practice bump in of the stage with LED screens, fireworks, and lights.

On Friday there are Captains runs and then ground staff have the field for 13 hours to prepare before the curtain-raiser game. It’s a total whirlwind, but it’s totally worth it for the result.

How did the ground perform on the day and what challenges were faced?

We had a busy lead in with the 2019 Bledisloe Cup / AFL Change over into the next day with 4,000 seats on the ground. We flew the HG Turf crew in from Victoria to help and it was a great team effort.

On the day ensuring there was nothing left out on the surface from the pre-game entertainment or during half time was very important. I know the staff enjoyed being out on the ground while the players were warming up. This is one of the reasons you would choose to work in our industry, up close and personal with professionals while carrying out your job. All credit to the Frontier Group, there was nothing to pick up.

We were very happy with the performance of the surface during the two games, with pre, during and post-match commitments. On the Sunday morning the surface could have been ready for a second match, very little divoting was evident. We had full confidence in our range of HG Turf Products and our team’s professional know how to get it right on the day.

How do you find the technology helps you to produce the surface and the high standards within Optus Stadium?

We believe that it helps us in the wet and allows for faster recovery from damaged turf by major events, the fact that we only just replaced the centre circle for the AFL grand final (a 27-game season and training) is testament to that.

What achievement or contribution are you most proud of and what’s the best moment you experienced?

The entire month of September was a great achievement with just 21 days’ notice to prepare for the Grand Final. After the final siren, all our staff drove out onto the ground in an AFL Toyota vehicle for the presentations, it was a surreal atmosphere!

What were the main differences between the AFL Grand Final and other large-scale events you’ve managed and what was learnt in the process?

Usually, we have six to twelve months to plan for major events, so the turnaround was very short. We now have a check list ready for the unlikely next one, but it will be nice to enjoy the next Grand Final when it returns to Melbourne. I love the history of the game and the “G”, it’s hard to beat a 100,000 crowd at the MCG.

What does preparing the field mean to you and your team and where does it rank in your career in terms of preparing for major sports events?

We aim for the highest technical standards for each event. If it’s Rugby, we want to be Eden Park, Cricket – Lords and Soccer – Wembley. The AFL Grand Final at Optus Stadium is in my top ten events and I’m sure my staff will say it’s their number one day to remember.