Author: Sarah

Are you looking for better results with minimal effort when it comes to caring for your lawn? This blog looks at a few different lawn care hacks to help get the best out of your lawn.

Skip to: Get green grass fast with ColourGuard Plus, Prevent weeds with a pre-emergent, How to prevent lawn grubs and armyworm, Use your whipper snipper at full speed for best results, Weeding your lawn with a weed wand, Use plant growth regulators to reduce mowing.

Hack 1 – Get Green Grass Fast with ColourGuard Plus

Have you ever heard of lawn pigments? Sounds a bit crazy, right? They are the same idea as hair dye but for lawns! You can spray them onto your lawn, giving it a quick and easy green-up. As the lawn grows, the pigment will grow out and will be removed when mown. So, if you apply in winter your results will last longer as the grass will be slower in growth.

Lawn pigments like ColourGuard Plus are great to use if you are preparing for a party, house inspection, or if you are just wanting to help improve your curb appeal!

For some homeowners struggling with dormant or brown lawns, non-traditional approaches like lawn pigments have become popular — see how RealEstate.com.au explores this idea and why we recommend also maintaining efficient lawn care practices through these dry periods.
Learn more – Why painting your dead lawn might be the best thing for it (RealEstate.com.au)

Hack 2 – Prevent Weeds with a Pre-Emergent

Pre-emergent herbicides like Oxafert and Oxafert Plus can help stop seasonal weeds, like Winter Grass, Summer Grass, Creeping Oxalis and Crabgrass before they even start to appear in your lawn! These styles of herbicides are especially great for use if you have previously or are facing these seasonal weeds types growing in your lawn.

Oxafert works by targeting weed seedlings during germination before they start to appear in your lawn. So, getting your applications down just before they are set to germinate will provide you with effective control.

For targeting winter weeds like Winter Grass, it is best to apply your application around mid- to late Autumn or when the temperatures are set to start to cool in your region. To prevent summer weeds like Summer Grass, apply just before temperatures warm back up in your region. Usually around mid-spring for most regions.

Hack 3 – Prevent Armyworm and Lawn Grub with Grub Guard Ultimate

Has your lawn, or a friend or neighbour’s lawn ever been attacked by lawn grub or armyworm? If so, then you will know that they can cause lots of damage to the lawn almost overnight. So why not get the upper hand and prevent before they become an issue.

To help prevent damage causing Lawn Grub and Armyworm, we recommend using Acelepryn powered Grub Guard Ultimate. With just one application, you can protect your lawn for up to 6 months, so 2 applications a year will provide your lawn with seasonal protection!

Hack 4 – Use Your Whipper Snipper at Full Speed For Best Results

When using a whipper snipper to edge your lawn, it will work its best when at full speed. So, keeping your trimmer line away from the edge and working your way in, is key to maintaining speed. Avoid starting the line trimmer already in the grass you’re cutting for the quickest, cleanest cuts. It’s the tip of the line that is cutting, so keeping most of the line clear will result in a cleaner cut.

The best edges are ones that are kept on top of and not allowed to get out of control. So, the more you do it, the more likely your edges will stay uniform, the easier they will be to tidy up, and the better you will get at it.

Hack 5 – Weeding Your Lawn with a Weed Wand

Weed wands are handy to use when treating weeds, especially if you are only wanting to treat a small amount. Weed wands are a stick that disperses herbicides to a small, selected area of your lawn. These sticks are usually around 1 metre tall, eliminating the need for you to bend or kneel to treat weeds.

Weed wands are used to precisely apply herbicides. They are mostly used in situations where there are no herbicides that will selectively treat the weed or grass without harming your lawn, like invasive grasses and hard-to-remove weeds like onion weed. Non-selective herbicides like roundup are poured into the wand and is dispersed by an applicator on the end of the wand.

Hack 6 – Use the Long Weekends as a Guide on When to Apply Granular Fertilisers to Your Lawn

Generally, your lawn will only need 2-3 applications of a granular fertiliser per year to provide your lawn with the nutrients it needs to thrive. If you are unsure of when to apply a fertiliser to your lawn, we recommend using the long weekends as a guide. The October long weekend, Australia Day, and the Easter long weekend.

For granular fertilisers, we recommend using our Lawn Solutions Premium Fertiliser.

Hack 7 – Use Plant Growth Regulators to Reduce Mowing

Plant growth regulators, otherwise known as PGR’s, are great products to use throughout the warmer months to help reduce the number of times you need to mow. They work by slowing down the vertical growth of the grass. The lateral and below-ground growth of rhizomes, stolons and roots are stimulated.

PGRs like Primo Maxx 1L or Primo HG (500ml) are best to only be used throughout the warmer months when your lawn is actively growing. They shouldn’t be used in late Autumn, Winter and early Spring.

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

From the picturesque lawns at the Chateau De Versailles to the crisp striped tennis courts at Wimbledon, many acclaimed lawns from across the world help bring beauty to their surroundings. In this article, we look at some of the world’s most famous lawns and delve into what makes each one unique.

Wimbledon Grass Courts

If you are a tennis fan, you most likely have taken awe of the grass courts at Wimbledon. These grass courts are meticulously maintained throughout the year to ensure they look their best and perform well. The grass courts play from May to September (excluding courts used for the championships). One aspect that makes this a truly unique lawn is that the soil base of the courts must be hard and dry to allow the ball to bounce correctly. The courts are rolled and kept covered throughout competitions to ensure they are kept dry and firm for play.

Opera House – Bennelong Lawn

The Bennelong Lawn in the Royal Botanical Gardens overlooking Sydney Harbour, the Opera House and Harbour Bridge showcases Australia’s most iconic skylines. This area is used for some of Australia’s largest events, including the New Year’s Eve fireworks and Vivid, while regularly utilised for corporate events, gala dinners, and weddings. TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda was the chosen turf type for this area due to its high wear tolerance and fast repairing nature, all while being aesthetically pleasing.

Chateau de Versailles

The Chateau de Versailles, located in France, boasts beautiful gardens and meticulously manicured and unique lawns. Although the Main Lawn is the biggest grassed area throughout the garden, it is the four grass sections located at The Orangerie that are the showstopper. Each section is carefully manicured into unique circular shapes, creating a picturesque landscape.

Buckingham Palace

An iconic building known throughout the commonwealth is Buckingham Palace. It has beautiful gardens with 325 wild plant species, 1,000 trees, and 30 species of breeding birds. One of the standout lawns at the palace is the Main Lawn, which consists of mixed grasses and chamomile, which is always beautifully striped. This space is used for annual garden parties and official events for the Royal Family.

The White House

The world’s most iconic building is The White House, which has not only one but two spectacular lawns, the South Lawn and the North Lawn. The South Lawn boasts two ceremonial gardens (the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden and the Rose Garden), a tennis and basketball court, a swimming pool, a putting green, a running track and even a helicopter landing area. The North Lawn, often described as the front lawn, is commonly used as the backdrop for news broadcasters bringing the latest US political news across the globe.

Scott Morrison Told to “Get Off My Lawn”

Here’s a throwback to 2020, when we saw the Australian Prime Minister told to “get off my lawn” mid-press conference! During the press conference, which was held in Googong, NSW, media teams set up in a new housing development on the front lawn of a recently seeded lawn. Once the man told off the Prime Minister and press crews, they retreated to the nature strip.

Check out the scenes from the press conference here…

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.

Science is all around us and when we use it, we can better understand how plants grow and how we can provide them with their optimal growing conditions. In this blog, we delve into soil pH, soil health, nutrients that your lawn needs and the important role of photosynthesis and how they all affect plant health and growth.

Skip to: What should my soil pH be? Why is soil health important for my lawn? Why does my lawn need sunlight? What nutrients does my lawn need?

What Should My Soil pH Be?

If your lawn is not performing at its best, or is struggling to absorb nutrients, you may need to do a soil pH test. pH measures the acidity on a scale ranging from 0 – 14, 7 being neutral, below 7 acidic and above 7 alkaline. The ideal pH range for turf is 6 – 7.5. When your soil is outside this range it can make it either difficult or almost impossible to absorb nutrients.

The process of measuring your soils pH might be easier than you think. Some pH tests are as easy as putting a probe into the soil and others require you to collect a sample of soil and mix it with a solution to give a reading. Soil pH test kits are readily available to nurseries and hardware stores, or can be purchased on our online Lawn Care Store.

If your soil pH is out of range, please check out our blog on how to correct your soils pH here for more information.

Why is Soil Health Important for My Lawn?

In combination to looking at pH, there are a range of other factors to consider when looking at the health of your soil. The soils’ ability to hold water is one. If your soil has become hydrophobic and repels water, the roots of the plant in the soil won’t be able to absorb water effectively. One way to tell that your soil is hydrophobic is if water runs off or pools on the surface, without being absorbed into the ground. If your soil has become hydrophobic, apply a wetting agent like our Lawn Soaker and aerate the soil.

Another factor to investigate when examining soil health is compaction. When soil is hard and compacted, it can make it difficult for water, air, and nutrients to go within the profile. To help assist with this, you can aerate the soil to help alleviate compaction.

Importance of Sunlight to Your Lawn

Like other plants, grass will convert energy from sunlight into a sugar called glucose through the process of photosynthesis. Without getting sunlight your lawn won’t be able to produce glucose, causing the grass to thin out and die. Grass also uses light to produce a pigment called Chlorophyll and when there is less light available to the grass throughout the cooler months, this can cause the lawn to lose some colour.

Different turf types can survive with different amounts of light. Buffalo grasses like Sir Walter DNA Certified Buffalo can grow with as little as 3 to 4 hours of direct sunlight. While other grasses like kikuyu require full sunlight all day to thrive.

What Nutrients Does My Lawn Need?

When looking at nutrients and your lawn, you can break it down into two different sections, Macronutrients and Micronutrients. Macronutrients are the primary nutrients for the health of your lawn. These are Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K). Micro nutrients are needed in smaller quantities, but still help contribute to a healthy lawn. These include Calcium, Iron, Manganese, and Zinc just to name a few.

When it comes to giving your lawn nutrients that it needs to thrive, we recommend using a balanced NPK and Micronutrient fertiliser, like our Lawn Solutions Premium Fertiliser, or our Exceed Liquid Fertiliser. Granular fertilisers will generally release nutrients to the lawn over a slower period, resulting in a longer and more sustained boost over a couple of weeks. Liquid fertilisers are better used for providing your lawn with a quick boost.

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

Growing, Maintaining and Harvesting Turf

Have you ever wondered what goes on behind-the-scenes of a working turf farm. It’s a lot more than just watching grass grow, it takes years of experience and dedication to develop the skills required to grow and harvest quality turf.

Toolbox Meeting

Every day is different, but on a normal day on a turf farm generally at the start of the week, staff will get together for a toolbox meeting. Workers gather to discuss the tasks and goals for the day, ensuring everyone is aligned and aware of their responsibilities. This coordination is crucial for smooth operations and efficient workflow.

Field Inspection

One of the first tasks of the day is field inspection. Skilled workers walk through the turf fields, carefully observing the health and condition of the grass. They look for signs of pests, diseases, or any other issues that may require attention as this can dictate some of the tasks required for the day.

How Grass is Planted on a Turf Farm

Most turf varieties in Australia will be planted by sprigs, which are small sections of mature grass stems. These sprigs are carefully placed and pressed into the soil, allowing them to take root and establish themselves.

Water is essential for the growth and establishment of sprigged planted turf. Workers operate irrigation systems to water the fields, ensuring the grass receives the necessary hydration. They monitor the water distribution, adjusting as needed to prevent overwatering or under-watering.

Workers regularly inspect and repair any issues with the irrigation infrastructure, such as broken sprinkler heads or damaged pipes.

Application of Fertilisers, Herbicides and Pesticides

Another essential task on a turf farm is the application of fertilisers. Workers carefully measure and apply the appropriate fertiliser blends to provide the grass with essential nutrients. This step contributes to the vibrant colour and overall health of the turf.

Pest and weed control are also a crucial aspect of turf farm management. Workers monitor the fields for any signs of pests or insects and implement targeted control measures.

Mowing of Turf Paddocks

Mowing the turf paddocks is a big task that is undertaken in some cases a few times a week to maintain the desired height and uniform appearance. Skilled workers operate tractors with large cutting decks to carefully trim the grass, promoting denser growth and a neat, manicured finish.

How Do You Harvest Turf?

Daily turf harvesting is an integral part of a turf farm’s activities and is usually started very early in the morning. When the turf reaches its ideal maturity, it’s time for a paddock to be opened for harvesting.

Skilled workers use advanced turf harvesting machines featuring robotics. These machines carefully cut the mature grass into turf rolls or slabs and stack it on a pallet. This task requires precision and attention to ensure the turf is harvested in optimal condition before loading onto trucks for delivery.

Machinery Cleaning and Maintenance

The day concludes with equipment maintenance. Workers clean and inspect the machinery, ensuring they are in optimal condition for the next day’s tasks. Regular equipment maintenance prolongs its lifespan and guarantees smooth operations.

We this gives you a good idea of how extensive turf farming can be and what goes into supplying premium quality turf. If you are in need of some turf, get in touch with your local Lawn Solutions Australia Accredited turf suppliers here.

You can find more lawn care tips and advice on our website here.

When mowing your lawn, there are a few golden rules to follow to get the best cut. In this blog, we will specifically focus on what height your lawn should be mown at and look at some helpful tools to help you measure your current height.

What are the Golden Rules?

1. Don’t cut your lawn too short for your variety. Measuring your lawn’s height of cut (HOC) will help you know if you are cutting either too high or too short for your turf type.
2. Measure how much you cut each time you mow. By doing this, it will help you stop removing too much of the leaf in one go. We recommend removing no more than one-third of the leaf with each pass.
3. Adjust your inputs to accommodate your HOC. The shorter you go, the more inputs your lawn will require. Measuring your HOC will help you adjust this appropriately.

How Do I Measure My Lawns Mowing Height?

There are a few different tools that you can use to help measure your lawn mowing height. Some mowers already have their mowing heights labelled for each adjustable height notch, but if your mower doesn’t have this, don’t fret!

Measuring Your Lawn Height of Cut with the Allett Grass Gauge

If you want an accurate way of measuring your lawn’s HOC, one of the best and most precise ways to do this is with the Allett Grass Gauge. This premium product provides accurate measurements while being easy to use. Push the prism firmly down onto the ground and look at the grass’s height against the scale.

The grass gauge also allows you to inspect the quality of your grass blade up close as if you were at a bug’s level on the turf. This will also help you inspect the quality of your cut and see if any your mower blades need to be sharpened or changed. The scale provides measurements up to 50mm high and has a 100mm wide viewing width.

Measure HOC on Your Lawn Mower

Another way to measure your HOC is to measure the distance between your mower’s blades and the bottom of the wheels. To do this, we first recommend disconnecting the spark plug from your mower to ensure that it won’t turn on. Then, turn the mower upside down on a flat surface. After this, use a tape measure and look at the distance from your mower’s blades to the bottom of the wheel. This will give you your lawn mowing height.

If you are using this method, we recommend taking note of all of the mower’s HOC at each notch, so you don’t need to repeat this process if you are changing your lawn’s mowing height in the future.

What Height Should I Mow My Lawn At?

Each turf type has a preferred range of mowing heights at which it can grow its best. So, let’s take a look at what height your turf type should be mown at:

Guideline for ideal mowing heights:

(General rule of thumb: shorter for summer, longer for winter)

• Buffalo grass (Sir Walter DNA Certified):    30 to 50mm
• Hybrid Bermuda (TifTuf):                               5 to 30mm
• Zoysia matrella (Sir Grange):                          5 to unmown
• Zoysia japonica (Zoysia Australis):               10 to ummown
• Kikuyu:                                                                30 to 50mm
• Green couch:                                                       5 to 30mm
• Queensland blue couch:                                   5 to 30mm
• Broadleaf carpet grass:                                    30 to 50m
• Fescue:                                                                30 to 50mm

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