June 2022

Caring for Your Lawn This Winter

Posted on June 27, 2022October 17, 2023 by Sarah

The summer of 2021 – 2022 brought more rainfall than many of us expected. Unfortunately, this has left many lawns sitting damp and stopped us from mowing for weeks at a time. This blog looks at what you need to adjust to your winter lawn care regime so it can thrive heading into spring and summer.

Soil leaching

When there are extended periods of rainfall your soil will absorb water. When the layer of soil absorbs as much water as it can, the water will travel further down into the subsoil and rock underneath. As this water travels down, it will take many nutrients like nitrogen with it to the subsoil. This process takes away nutrients that were once available for your lawn to use.

To help the soil replace lost nutrients, we recommend applying a soil conditioner like Lawn Solutions Lawn Kelper. Lawn Kelper contains a balanced formulation of trace elements, seaweed kelp, and fulvic acid, combined with a balanced NPK fertiliser. Lawn Kelper can be reapplied at monthly intervals.

If the lawn needs a nutrient boost over winter, we recommend applying a liquid fertiliser like our Lawn Solutions Exceed. This will be absorbed through the leaf for quicker uptake of nutrients.

Aeration

With recent rainfall, we have seen many lawns struggling with excess moisture within the soil profile. If prolonged, it can be detrimental to turfgrass, causing fungal diseases and rotting.

To help this excess moisture drain away, give your lawn an aerate. We recommend using either a garden fork or a tyne aerator for aerating. To aerate your lawn, drive the fork into the lawn. Then wriggle it back and forth to help fracture the soil profile. Then, repeat this process across the affected area.

Increase light

If your area has particularly struggled to dry out, you may need to increase the amount of sun your lawn receives. Although you won’t be able to reduce the shade caused by structures like your house or fences, pruning back trees and shrubs will help.

Get on top of weeds

Increased rainfall will also increase weed pressures on your lawn. If you notice weeds popping up throughout your lawn, it is best to get on top of this as soon as possible to prevent the spread.

For removing common broad leaf weeds like Bindii, Clover, Oxalis, Cudweed, Thistles and more, we recommend using a broad leaf herbicide like Amgrow Bin Die or All Purpose Weed Control.

Another weed common for this time of year is Winter Grass. Winter Grass is best removed with two different products.

We recommend using a post-emergent herbicide like Winter Grass Killer (not safe for use on kikuyu, rye, or fescue) to remove what is currently there. We also recommend using a pre-emergent herbicide like Oxafert or Oxapro to help stop any winter grass seeds that have been dropped into the soil.

ColourGuard Plus

If your lawn lacks colour and you want to give it a quick green-up, we recommend using a lawn pigment product like ColourGuard Plus. One application of ColourGuard Plus can provide up to 3 months of fantastic colour. It is safe for all lawn types and can be used anytime throughout the year.

For more lawn care tips and advice, you can read our other lawn care blogs here.

Rye Grass | Removal and Oversowing

Posted on June 27, 2022May 27, 2024 by Sarah

Here at Lawn Solutions Australia, we usually don’t recommend over sowing lawns in winter. Instead, we prefer to use an easier lawn pigment product like ColourGuard Plus or iron to help green up your lawn throughout the cooler months. While rye grass is effective, it is an expensive product to not just purchase but to transition in and out. However, if you do want to sow your lawn this winter, here is how to do it.

Is my grass suited for oversowing?

It is preferred that you have an existing couch lawn when it comes to oversowing. There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, couch grasses have a fine leaf like rye. This helps the rye blend into the couch. The second is that more commercial herbicides are available to remove rye from couch than other turf varieties.

With other lawn varieties like buffalo and kikuyu, there are not as many safe to use herbicides. Rye grass also has a much finer leaf than buffalo and kikuyu, making the introduced grass stand out.

What should I oversow my lawn with?

If you are going to oversow, perennial rye is usually the best option. However, we generally don’t recommend this unless you have some experience oversowing. It is important to note that there isn’t a seeded grass on the market that is wear tolerant. This means you must rely on the existing grass to handle regular wear and heat. The rye is purely for winter colour. For this reason, oversowing is primarily done on high-profile sports grounds and stadiums and not home lawns.

How do I remove rye grass

Once spring comes and the weather begins to warm up, rye grass must be transitioned out (killed) to allow your existing grass to be dominant.

To transition rye grass out, you need to use a herbicide like Monument or Duke. As these are primarily commercial herbicides, they can expensive and difficult to apply correctly. If you don’t do this and just let nature take its course, you will have a patchy-looking lawn that will be a random mixture of rye and your existing grass.

Applying these commercial-style herbicides is not as straightforward as using domestic products. Look at our blog on How to Calibrate Your Sprayer for more information on applying these herbicides.

Monument Herbicide

Monument is safe for use on common couch, hybrid couch, QLD blue couch, and zoysia grasses. This herbicide is not recommended for use on kikuyu or buffalo lawns. Monument can also be used to treat a range of other weeds, including Burr Medic, Bindii, Winter Grass, Catsear, Chickweed, Clover, Cotula, Creeping Oxalis, Curled Dock, Milk Thistle, Mullumbimby Couch and Nutgrass.

Duke Herbicide

Duke is safe for use on couch, kikuyu, and most buffalo varieties. This herbicide can also be used to remove broadleaf weeds including Bindii, Black Thistle, Catsear, Cotula, Cudweed, Guildford (Onion) Grass, Medic, Mouse Ear Chickweed, Oxalis, White Clover, Onion Weed and False Onion Weeds. Duke will also remove other grass weeds including Winter Grass (Suppression), Bahia, grass (suppression and seedhead reduction).

Removing by hand

If there is only a small amount of rye growing or over a small area, you can also pull it out by hand.

Alternatives to oversowing

If you want to keep your lawn green and vibrant in winter without applying rye, we recommend using a pigment product like ColourGuard Plus or iron to achieve the desired colour.

Check out our other lawn care blogs here for more lawn care tips and advice.

How to Fix Tyre Marks in Lawns

Posted on June 27, 2022October 17, 2023 by Sarah

Do you have unattractive tyre marks in your lawn? In this blog, we look at a few methods you can use to help repair these, plus tips on how to avoid ruts from occurring.

What causes tyre marks or ruts?

Ruts can occur when objects like cars, motorbikes and even the kids’ bikes move over grass with saturated soil. When this happens, the soil can often sink and become compacted, creating divots.

Assessing the damage

The first step is to assess the damage. Are the ruts only shallow (up to 10 cm deep) or deep (over 10cm deep)? After you have determined this, we can look at the best way to repair it.

Small ruts

Small ruts up to 10cm deep can be fixed by loosening up the soil base below the lawn.

To do this, use a garden fork and insert it underneath the rut. Then pull the fork down, lifting the turf back up. It is best to lift the affected turf a few cm above the unaffected turf so it can level out over the coming days. Continue to do this around the affected area.

Big ruts

For larger ruts there are a few extra simple steps to follow.

Firstly, use a spade to cut 3 sides along the rut. Then lift and fold the grass over so you can access to the soil underneath the rut. Then use a garden fork or your spade to loosen up the soil underneath. If your soil is not level after this, bring in some sandy loam or turf underlay to bring the soils level back up. Then you can fold your turf back onto the soil and let it grow back in

If the turf in the rut is badly damaged, you may want to look at using a few turf rolls from your local turf supplier. When doing this, it is best to use the same variety as your existing lawn. Cut the turf to the required size and lay it over the prepared soil.

After repairing your rut, it is important to keep traffic in the affected area to a minimum while the grass is repairing itself and irrigate regularly. In winter, most warm season grasses like buffalo, couch, kikuyu and zoysia will need the warmer temperatures in spring to start repairing. In spring, you can also give these areas a fertilise to help promote extra growth.

How to avoid ruts in your lawn

The easy answer, stop people driving and parking on your lawn.

Roping off your area is an easy way to help stop others driving on your lawn. You can place small stakes into your grass and tie rope to them. This will act as a small reminder to others to not drive on your lawn.

Another option is to add a sign on your lawn to keep off the grass. Like this one available at Bunnings.

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

What You Shouldn’t Be Doing to Your Lawn This Winter

Posted on June 27, 2022June 14, 2024 by Sarah

During winter, most lawns across Australia will enter a level of dormancy, slowing down the growth of your lawn. In this blog, we look at what lawn care activities you should avoid over the winter months.

Scalp/Dethatching Your Lawn

Scalping and dethatching involve giving your lawn a low mow to remove the excess build-up of thatch. Scalping can also be done to reduce the height of your lawn, especially if it has grown too long in between mows, or during a lawn renovation.

Scalping/dethatching is beneficial when done in spring and summer. Removing this thatch layer will help aid more nutrients and air reach your soil profile so it can more effectively feed your lawn. It will also help allow for proper drainage, helping prevent the risk of fungal issues.

When this is done, your lawn will often need a few weeks to grow back to repair itself. If this is done when heading into or in the cooler months, the lawn will not be growing at a fast enough rate for it to repair itself. Therefore best to avoid doing this to your lawn over winter and wait till spring and summer.

Top Dressing

Top dressing is also best avoided in winter. This can be done to either help improve the nutrients in your lawns soil base or to help fix holes and uneven lawn. Top dressing will help increase nutrient retention, improve drainage, and increase disease and pest resistance. This will also help reduce the accumulation of dead grass clippings and stems, known as ‘thatch’.

When top dressing to improve levels, it is often best to use sand. When top dressing to improve the soil profile it is best to use a sandy loam that contains a blend of sand and organic material.

Although top dressing does have many benefits, it should only be done throughout the warmer months. If top dressing is done in the cooler months the lawn will often not be growing at a fast enough rate to repair itself, smothering the lawn and limiting all/most sunlight for extended periods of time. Therefore it is best to avoid top dressing your lawn in winter.

Watering

For the most part, fully established lawns shouldn’t need much additional irrigation. However, throughout the warmer months in spring, summer, and autumn, additional irrigation may be needed if:

The leaf is wilting or losing colour.
If a footprint is left behind on the lawn when you walk across it. If your lawn is well hydrated it should be able to bounce back.
During hot weather, if it is looking dry, taking on a brown colour, there’s a good chance it needs water.

If your lawn needs water, it is best to irrigate it early in the morning. This will help reduce water loss due to evaporation and limit fungal disease. In winter, rainfall should provide sufficient irrigation to your lawn. During winter most lawns will receive less light throughout the day. When additional watering’s are done, the lawn can often sit damp without the opportunity to dry out. In some cases, this can lead to the grass developing fungal diseases.

Granular fertilising

Granular fertilisers are a great way to help give your lawn a sustained boost, delivering nutrients that your lawn needs to thrive. These fertilisers are best used throughout the warmer months when your lawn is actively growing. When the lawn is actively growing, it can absorb these nutrients as they are released.

If your lawn looks like it needs a boost during winter, it is best to use liquid fertiliser products like Exceed and soil conditioner like Lawn Kelper.

While all these lawn care activities are and provide many benefits for the lawn, they should be avoided during the cooler winter months. For more information on what lawn care activities you can do during the cooler months, check out our winter lawn care blog here.

Attracting Native Birds to Your Garden

Posted on June 1, 2022October 17, 2023 by Sarah

Native birds are an important part of many ecosystems, pollinating plants, seed dispersal, and insect and rodent control. By attracting more native birds to your lawn, you will help keep your local ecosystem balanced. But how can you attract these native birds to your garden?

Birds native to each region

In different regions you can expect to see different types of native birds.

In Sydney, some native birds you can see outside the city include Nankeen kestrel, Superb fairy-wren, Rainbow lorikeet, Red wattlebird and more.

Native birds you can encounter in Melbourne include White-plumed honeyeater, Bell miner, Eastern rosella, and more.

For more information on what nativebirds you can find in your backyard, check out the Australian Museum page here.

Plant native plants around your lawn

Using a variety of native plants in your garden will help create a comfortable environment to attract native birds to your area. When planting to attract birds, we recommend using a variety of low lying and medium size shrubs and high trees. By using a variety of plants, you will provide more options for all bird sizes on your area.

Low growing plants will help attract many smaller native birds like Wrens and Finches and members of the Honeyeater family.

Medium shrubs provide a safe place for many smaller birds as they can provide a place to hide from danger.

If space allows high trees provide a high vantage point for birds allowing them to feel safe as they can see their surroundings and food sources.

Different native plant options include Grevilleas, Bottlebrush, Banksias and Gum Trees.

Some native plants are better suited to different regions of Australia, so it is best to chat with your local nursery to see which plants are suited to your region.

Bird baths and water features

Birds are attracted to areas with water. Bird baths as the name suggests provide a place to bathe and drink and socialise. Bird baths are best placed near surrounding trees and shrubs and placed off the ground. This will help them feel safer with their surroundings. It is also best to add a few rocks or sticks in the middle of the bird bath to help make it easier for smaller birds to use. Keep your bird bath clean with fresh water will help make it a more attractive place for birds to stop

Did you know that birds are also attracted to running water? The sound of moving water can attract birds to stop and drink, rest and bathe. If your budget allows, it can be a great feature for us to enjoy and the birds too!

Nesting boxes and nesting material

If you have large trees in your garden, you might want to try adding nesting boxes! These will provide a space for birds and other animals to live, rest and take refuge. You can buy nesting boxes from a local garden or hardware store or even build your own!

We also recommend leaving out nesting material like sticks, grass clippings and fallen leaves for birds to use.

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

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Trending Landscape Materials with Charlie Albone

Posted on June 1, 2022October 17, 2023 by Sarah

The last few weeks have been big in the landscaping calendar with the eyes of the horticultural world set firmly on a small square of land in London’s glitziest suburb of Chelsea. The most prestigious flower show in the world “The RHS Chelsea Flower Show” is known for setting the trend when it comes to materials, plants, and techniques for building for years to come and after a brief covid hiatus the 2022 year was a big welcome back.

This year’s show had a huge movement to rewilding the landscape. Making it look and feel untouched by human hand. The top honours and ‘best in show’ award went to a landscape that had been created as if beavers had been reintroduced into the English countryside. Although I can appreciate the artistry in making a landscape look untouched, I’m more of a ‘working with nature to achieve a garden that can be used an appreciated by the owner’ type of guy.

I’m sure most of us don’t or can’t really imagine having a beaver sanctuary rather than a garden. But it is food for thought on the way we create our gardens moving forward. How can we be lighter on our environment? How can we be lighter with our own personal spaces when creating gardens so wildlife (insects, bees and native animals like wallabies, possums, and echidnas) can still have a place in our gardens. Many of the show exhibits on display had an area dedicated to such a space, a bug hotel, a bee hive or a pile of twigs for lizards to live in. I feel this is something easy to do and beneficial for all gardens, no matter the location.

Many of the gardens had changed hard paved pathways and surfaces for gravel. This allows water to get into the ground quicker and lessen run off easing the strain on our drains and waterways. Most English people don’t go outside without shoes for the fear of frost bite so I can understand the heavy use of gravel. My alternative a well-maintained lawn will also allow water into the ground slowly but be easier on the eye and softer underfoot! I’m a huge fan of Sir Grange Zoysia for its soft foliage, but any of the premium Lawn Solutions turf varieties, Sir Walter DNA Certified Buffalo or TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda will do just the trick.

Closer to home the Australian garden is moving towards more plants to offset the often heavily constructed outdoor landscape. We tend to design our garden to be practical so we can make the most of our amazing climate. This comes with large areas of paving, pavilions or pergolas, bench seating and swimming pools. To really make these elements stand out in the garden you need large areas of garden beds and lawns. This will help offset the built elements and help them sit comfortably in the landscape.

Almost every design I have completed since the beginning of the pandemic includes a veggie patch or a space to grow your own herbs. With more people spending time at home and reflecting on their lifestyle a space to turn the dirt regularly and produce even the smallest number of edible plants is highly sought after. Displaying this area has become more than just a steel raised bed. Clients investing in sturdy, long lasting construction methods, such as brick, stone, or timber. This shows it’s a trend that is here to stay.

With more plants comes the need to improve soil more. This will help get the best out of the investment you plant into the ground. With the inundation of rain the east coast has of recent times, getting the drainage right for contemporary plantings of succulents and cacti is imperative. Getting the soil right for turf grasses is also vital for their success and consideration of surface run off into these areas should also be looked at when planning a space.

When it comes to a swimming pool the filtration system needs to be considered. Often the water from a pool will end up in your garden beds and lawns so less chemicals are preferred. Enviroswim and magnesium filtrations are really being pushed as a great alternative as the wash they create is easy on the plants and surrounding soils.

With our hard landscapes, stone and tiles have become more and more popular. They add texture, warmth, and a point of interest in the garden. Walling stone has more of a rustic touch with free from stone. Stone has being seen in various applications like feature walls, benches and boundary fences and pillars. Getting the right stone mason for the installation of these products will make or break the success of the stone in the garden. Get it right and the feature is a standout. Getting it wrong leads to an expensive problem. This problem will need to be fixed as if designed properly this will be a key area that needs to be perfect.

Feature tiles are showing a bit of an emergence, being used outdoors like they are used indoors. Fluted marbles and textural basalts are being used for key areas where the vista requires a standout element. The pros of this trend – it looks amazing. The con – the cost!

Landscape trends are forever changing with elements and products swapping place on the main stage. My best piece of advice is to select materials and finishes that you love. That way even if they are not ‘trendy’ they will put a smile on your face and enrich your lifestyle.

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Guide for Fertilising TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda

Posted on June 1, 2022August 15, 2023 by Sarah

TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda is a low input grass and when it comes to fertilising a less is more approach is best for great results. As TifTuf is already a fast-growing grass, applying too much fertiliser will increase this growth rate and can create a few issues if applied too frequently. So, how much fertiliser should you be applying to your TifTuf lawn and when? Let’s find out…

Why is applying the correct amount of fertiliser important?

When the correct amount of nutrients is applied, your lawn will be able to grow and perform at its maximum potential.

If it is lacking nutrients, your lawn may look hungry and need a boost of nutrients to get back to its former glory.

When too many nutrients are applied, in many cases the lawn will have a surge in growth and will begin to grow excess thatch. This will often leave the grass needing a renovation to remove this in spring and summer.

What fertiliser rates should you be using?

TifTuf is best fertilised with no more than 1.4kg per 100m2 of actual nitrogen every calendar year. For a larger area this equates to 14 kg over 1,000m2. It is best not to exceed this to help avoid a build-up of thatch.

Our recommendations

Granular fertiliser

If you want to use a granular fertiliser, we recommend applying Lawn Solutions Premium Fertiliser 2 times a year at 2.5kg per 100m2 (0.8kg of actual nitrogen). This will ensure you don’t over-apply nitrogen for the year.

For best results we recommend applying once in spring and again in autumn. This will provide your lawn with adequate nitrogen year-round, while giving an allowance for the nitrogen component within other forms of fertilisers applied to your lawn throughout the year.

Liquid Fertiliser

For liquid fertilisers we recommend using our Lawn Solutions Exceed Liquid Fertiliser. When applying Exceed we recommend applying this 4 times a year. Once in spring, summer, autumn, and winter at the application rate of 194ml per 100m2. This application rate will ensure you can apply it with the recommended amount of granular per year as outlined above, without exceeding the recommended amount of actual nitrogen.

Is your TifTuf growing too fast in between mows?

If you can’t mow TifTuf as regularly as you would like, a Plant Growth Regulator (PGR) like Primo Maxx can come in handy.

PGRs will suppress the lawns vertical growth diverting its energy into lateral growth activity, helping it become denser. This will significantly reduce your required mowing frequency. These plant growth regulators are best applied during the warmer months when the lawn is actively growing.

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