Sarah, Author at Lawn Solutions Australia

Our Top 5 Lawn Care Icks

Posted on June 6, 2024November 14, 2024 by Sarah

From time to time, we happen to see some pretty cringeworthy lawn care habits! From overgrown lawns to burning from over-applying products, we are dishing out the dirt on what not to do to your lawn so that you can keep your lawn game strong.

Ick Number One | Not Reading Product Labels

We totally understand that when you get a lawn care product, you can’t wait to apply it to the lawn and see it do its thing, but it is always important to ensure you read the product label first. If too little of a product is applied, it won’t work to its full potential. If too much product is applied, issues, including burning can occur.

When applying lawn care products:

Ensure the product is safe for your lawn type.
Apply at the correct label rates.
If your product has a critical comments section on its label, ensure you read and follow instructions. This section will usually outline if the product needs to be applied to a dry lawn, needs watering in, needs mowing to be delayed after application etc.

Ick Number Two | Over Watering Lawns

Water is essential for your lawn’s health. If correct watering techniques are used, your lawn will become more resilient, hardy and drought tolerant. Too much water can lead to the grass sitting damp for extended periods of time leading to disease and depriving the root system of nutrients and oxygen.

Generally, if you need to water your lawn, do so in the morning, before the heat of the day. Water for longer, less frequently. Watering this way will prevent fungal diseases from the lawn sitting damp for too long at one time. It is best to avoid shorter frequent waterings as the roots will stay shallow in the soil, reducing its drought tolerance. For more information on correct watering techniques, please check out our blog for more information here.

Ick Number 3 | Mowing with Blunt Mower Blades

Mowing with blunt blades can make it harder to get a cleaner cut. Using blunt blades can lead to bruising of the leaf and ripping and tearing rather than a clean cut. When your lawn has had a cleaner cut with sharp blades, it will allow for more efficient nutrient uptake and water absorption, leading to a healthier lawn.

You should be able to tell if your mower’s blades need to be sharpened or replaced by inspecting them. If there are any cracks, bends, extremely thin blades, or even holes in the blade, you will need to replace it. If there is plenty of blade left and it is still in good shape, it may need to be sharpened.

You can find more information on inspecting, sharpening and replacing your mower blades here.

Ick Number 4 | Scalping Your Lawn

When grass grows too long between mows or is mown too short, it can cut into the stem, removing all the green leaves on top, leaving brown patches behind. This is known as scalping.

Mow regularly to help avoid scalping your lawn. It is best to mow regularly enough to remove only one-third of the leaf or less.

If your lawn isscalped during the cooler months, the best way to amend this is to raise your mowing height by a notch to allow the new green leaf to grow back in. Once the temperatures have warmed back up, you can then consider doing a height reset. If scalping has occurred due to uneven soil levels, you can consider top-dressing the area. You can find more information on this process here.

Ick Number 5 | Letting Your Lawn Become Overgrown

Letting your lawn become overgrown will not only decrease your curb appeal but also damage your turf in the long run. Overgrown grass can make your grass more susceptible to disease and interrupt your lawn’s growth pattern. Furthermore, it creates environments for unwanted animals, especially snakes and mice, which are not ideal around your home.

If your lawn has only been left unmown for a few weeks, you should be able to raise your lawn mower to its highest setting and bring down the height from there if required. If the lawn has grown above knee height, we recommend firstly using a whipper snipper to help aid bringing the grass down to a height that can be used with a mower. Then mow over the area. You can find more information to help tackle an overgrown lawn here.

If you are struggling to keep up with mowing regularly throughout the warmer months, we recommend using a plant growth regulator like Primo Maxx. Primo Maxx will help slow the growth of your grass, reducing mowing by half!

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

The Right Way to Prune Plants in Winter

Posted on May 30, 2024November 14, 2024 by Sarah

Did you know winter is an ideal time to prune many trees and shrubs? Pruning back plants now will benefit your plants and can also help create more light for your lawn to help it thrive throughout winter when sunlight is limited. Here’s a guide to what you should consider pruning during this time:

Why Can Pruning Back Trees and Shrubs Be Beneficial for Lawns?

When lawns receive plenty of sun, they absorb more sunlight through photosynthesis and grow faster than shaded areas. If you have any overhanging trees or shrubs on your lawn, pruning these back now will help your lawn further when sunlight is already limited throughout winter.

Why Should I Prune Back My Plants?

Pruning back your trees and shrubs will help promote new growth, improve the shape of your plants, and improve their overall health. An added advantage of pruning deciduous trees now is that the foliage should have mostly fallen off, making it easier to complete.

Where Should I Cut When Pruning?

When pruning, it is best to make your cut just above the node on the plant. The node of the plant is where the stalk of each leaf joins the stem. When a plant is cut just above this, the plant will be able to grow new shoots.

General Tips for Winter Pruning

Inspect the plant: Look for dead, diseased, or damaged branches and remove them.
Use clean, sharp tools: Make clean cuts to reduce the risk of infection.
Make proper cuts: Cut just above a bud facing the direction you want new growth to go or just outside the branch collar for larger branches.
Consider the plant’s growth cycle: Ensure you are pruning at a time that won’t disrupt the plant’s natural growth and flowering cycle.

Trees and Shrubs to Prune in Winter

Deciduous Trees and Shrubs

Winter is an ideal time for pruning deciduous trees and shrubs because they are dormant, making it easier to see their structure and prune effectively:

Fruit Trees:

Apples and Pears: Prune to maintain shape and remove old, non-productive wood.
Stone Fruits: Prune to open up the centre and remove inward-growing branches.

Roses: Winter pruning encourages strong growth and more blooms. Remove old canes and shape the bush.

Ash: Prune to remove dead or diseased branches and to shape the tree.

Hydrangeas: Prune in winter for flowers throughout summer and autumn.

Evergreen Hedges and Shrubs (Light Pruning)

While heavy pruning is not recommended, light pruning can be done to maintain shape:

Boxwood (Buxus species) in late winter, early spring.
Privet (Ligustrum species)

Trees and Shrubs to Avoid Pruning in Winter

Evergreen Shrubs and Trees

These plants should generally be pruned after their flowering period or during the growing season to avoid frost damage and to preserve blooms:

Camellias: Prune after flowering to avoid removing flower buds.
Azaleas: Prune after they finish blooming in spring or early summer.
Gardenias: Prune after flowering to avoid frost damage and to preserve blooms.

Native Australian Plants

These plants often have specific growth and flowering cycles, so avoid pruning them in winter:

Grevilleas: Prune from spring to late summer.
Banksias: Prune after flowering to avoid removing flower spikes.
Callistemons (Bottlebrushes): Prune after their flowering period.

Fruit Trees

These frost-sensitive plants should be pruned in late winter or early spring:

Citrus Trees: Prune in late winter or early spring to prevent frost damage.
Avocado Trees: Prune in mid spring when there are no more frosts.
Passionfruit Vines: Prune in late winter or early spring to maximize fruit yield.

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

Tips from a Turf Guru | Simon Adermann

Posted on May 6, 2024November 14, 2024 by Sarah

Do you want to know the industry tips and tricks to help get the most out of your lawn? We catch up with turf guru Simon Adermann, a well-known turf industry insider from a greenkeeping background, to gain some insight into how we can better care for our lawns, plus tips on how to take your lawn to the next level.

What are the three most important aspects of caring for a lawn?

There are many aspects, but the three most important ones are – fertility, mowing, and regular watering.

1. Fertility – It is important to ensure that correct nutrition is provided to your turf. If you want to get specific with your fertiliser regime, soil tests are highly recommended and based on these results, a fertiliser program can be put in place. If you want a basic plan, I recommend fertiliser applications four times a year – September, December, March, and June. This can be done by a straight fertiliser-only application like Lawn Solutions Premium Fertiliser or with a combination product like Oxafert or Oxafert Plus. Oxafert and Oxafert Plus offer the fertiliser component as well as pre-emergent herbicide for weed prevention.

2. Mowing – It’s important during the active growing season to mow your lawn regularly. For most regions this might be twice per week and as the growth slows down you can back off to once a week and once per fortnight. If you don’t mow regularly, the lawn will tend to build up thatch, which can also lead to scalping. Ensure the mower has new and sharp blades will help you get a cleaner cut and will help avoid bruising to the leaf tip for best results.

3. Watering– Watering is an essential part of a healthy and even coloured lawn. The amount of water needed is based on your soil profile and weather conditions. Generally, a sandy profile will require more water than heavy/clay profile.

How can you get the best cut when mowing?

Another lawn tip to help you get the best cut possible, if you have time, cut your lawn twice in different directions during the growing season. This will give a better cut, remove extra excess leaf, and help to tighten your lawn surface, which can help prevent weed germination. Sharp mower blades are essential at all times. Again, this will help with a cleaner and better cut without damage or bruising to the leaf tip.

How can you keep a weed free lawn?

The healthier your lawn is and the tighter the surface is the less chance you have of getting a weed infestation. Other options are to apply pre-emergent herbicides like Oxafert and Oxafert Plus to prevent weeds from germinating. Pre-emergent herbicides are best applied at times prior to seasonal germination, usually around March and September. Or you can use selective contact herbicides to control weeds that have already germinated in your lawn.

If you are unsure of which weed you have growing in your lawn or are unsure of how to remove it, check out our Ultimate Weed Guide here for more information.

What 2 top lawncare products you would recommend for someone who is new to caring for a lawn?

If you are new to lawn care and want to improve your lawn and want a simple option – I would use Oxafert Plus in September, December, March & June. This covers fertiliser, pre-emergent herbicide, and insecticide prevention, all in one simple granular application. Then the only other product to use is a wetting agent like Lawn Soaker during the long hot summer months – applied monthly.

What are the pros and cons of using a cylinder mower?

The pros of using a cylinder mower are that they can turn an average lawn into a good lawn. They can obtain a cleaner cut, while also having the advantage of a roller attached to help create patterns and stripes.

The cons are that you need a yard that suits a cylinder mower. Areas with too many corner and small areas to turn around can be difficult to use a cylinder. Another con to using a cylinder is knowing how to keep the bed knife sharp and adjusting the cutting cylinder and ensuring the cylinder mower goes in for an annual service and sharpen.

Knowledge is power – understanding how to adjust the cutting cylinder and sharpen bed knife before you start using it. Also walk the yard first to ensure there are no stones, rocks and things that will damage the cutting cylinder and bed knife.

How can someone take their lawn to the next level?

In spring, I suggest scarifying your lawn. Then remove all the build-up of dead thatch, fertilise and allow to grow back. This will give new leaf and you can reset your cutting height. Again, perfect timing to allow even water movement into the soil profile, less suspectable to disease and with regular mowing and fertiliser your lawn will improve massively.

How should I maintain my home lawn?

Firstly, regular fertiliser applications and mowing are your number one priority. Then, manage timing to apply curative treatments for weed and insect seasons. I like the simple and effective approach. There is a saying, don’t kill your lawn with kindness…

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

All You Need to Know About Herbicides

Posted on May 6, 2024November 14, 2024 by Sarah

There are so many different types of weeds and herbicide options that it can often be difficult to know what product to use to remove them. In this blog, we will look at all you need to know about applying herbicides to your lawn.

When using any product on your lawn, always ensure you read the label instructions to see its suitability for your lawn type.

What Herbicide Should I Use?

When selecting an herbicide for your lawn, it is important to ensure the herbicide will treat the weed you want to remove. If you are unsure of what weed type you have growing in your lawn, check out our Ultimate Weed Guide Blog.

Treating Broadleaf Weeds

Broadleaf weeds are one of the most common weed types that can grow in our lawns. As the name suggests, they will usually have a broad and flat leaf, often with flowers that is easy to identify in your lawn. These weeds will come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some broadleaf weeds like clover will have oval shaped leaves, whereas others like Capeweed and Thistles can have a more jaggered leaf. Broadleaf weeds generally won’t have a woody stem and are not grassy weeds.

Some common types of broadleaf weeds are Bindii, Capeweed, Clover, Chickweed, Creeping Oxalis, Cudweed, Dandelion, Fleabane and Lambs Tongue just to name a few.

Bromoxynil – Treatment for common broadleaf weeds

Bromoxynil is safe on most common lawn types including Couch, Bent, Kikuyu, Fescue, Buffalo, Zoysia and Rye. Both Amgrow Bin Die and All Purpose Weed Control are Bromoxynil herbicide options.

Dicamba – Treatment for common broadleaf weeds

Dicamba based products are not safe for use on Buffalo lawns, but they are suitable for Couch, Kikuyu, Zoysia, Fescue, and Rye. Amgrow Multiweed and Kamba M are Dicamba based herbicide options.

Treating Sedge Weeds

Sedge weeds will commonly have thin, strappy, and waxy grass like leaves. They will usually grow faster than the rest of your lawn and will have an extensive underground bulb system at their roots. Because of these bulbs, it is not recommended to remove these by hand. The most common sedge weeds that are found in lawns are Nutgrass and Mullumbimby Couch.

Halosulfuron-Methyl – Treatment for Sedge Weeds like Nutgrass

When treating Nutgrass and Mullumbimby Couch, you will need to look for an herbicide with the active ingredient, Halosulfuron-Methyl. Halosulfuron-Methy based products are safe for use on most common turf types including Buffalo, Couch, Kikuyu, Zoysia, QLD Blue Couch, Bent Grass, and Tall Fescue. A herbicide like Sedge Control is ideal.

How to Remove Winter Grass

Winter Grass is another common weed type that grows throughout the cooler months. This weed will grow in a tuft with soft drooping leaves. Once the plant has matured, it will grow white seed heads.

Endothal – Treatment for Winter Grass

Endothal is a selective herbicide used in Amgrow Winter Grass Killer. This is safe for use on Couch, Blue Couch, Zoysia, and Buffalo. This is not safe for use on Kikuyu, Fescue or Rye lawns.

Propyzamide – Treatment for Winter Grass

Propyzamide is another selective herbicide option for removing Winter Grass. This active is used in Munns Winter Grass Killer. This is safe for use on Kikuyu, Buffalo, and Couch. This is not safe for use on Fescue, Rye, Bluegrass or Bentgrass.

Applying Herbicides to Your Lawn

When applying herbicides to your lawn, always ensure you are following all label instructions for the product you are using. To avoid over application of the product, ensure you are applying the correct amount over your whole area. Avoid heavy application over areas where weeds are growing and spray evenly over the designated area.

Pre-Emergent Herbicides

Pre-emergents are a great way to get your lawn ahead of the game and prevent seasonal weeds before they appear. These herbicides work by targeting the weed seedlings while they are germinating in the soil, stopping them before they even appear! They are especially great to use if you have continually faced the same seasonal weed, like Winter Grass, growing in your lawn year after year.

When it comes to using pre-emergents, we recommend Oxafert and Oxafert Plus. These products are safe for use on most common turf types, excluding Santa Ana Couch and cool-season grasses like Rye and Fescue. Oxafert will help prevent Winter Grass, Summer Grass, Crabgrass, and Creeping Oxalis from invading your lawn.

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

A Pro’s Guide to Turf Pigmentation | ColourGuard Plus

Posted on May 6, 2024November 14, 2024 by Sarah

Turf pigments like ColourGuard Plus are a great way to instantly restore the colour of your lawn during the cooler months. Once applied to the leaf, the pigment is absorbed into the plant providing a significant improvement to colour when it’s usually lost due to dormancy. In this blog, we look at how to use turf pigments, particularly ColourGuard Plus.

ColourGuard Plus is available in both a ready-to-use hose-on and in a range of concentrates for mixing in a knapsack sprayer for application. It can stain hard surfaces if there is overspray, and the product is not washed off immediately. So, it’s important to consider your area to ensure you use the best-suited application method for your needs.

Which turf pigment application method should I use, hose-on or apply from concentrate?

ColourGuard Plus – Hose-On

The most convenient way to apply ColourGuard Plus is by using the ready-to-use hose-on product.

All you need to do for application is attach the bottle to the hose, release the clip and spray evenly across the lawn. While this is the quickest and easiest way to apply the pigment, there is a limited amount of control and accuracy.

This can be an issue, if you have a narrow or irregular space or a lot of hard surfaces, in this situation it would be best to use a more direct application method using a concentrate mixed in a knapsack. But if you have a large or wide lawn area, with limited hard surfaces, the hose-on will be ideal.

If you do still, unfortunately, manage to get the product on a concrete path or driveway, you can still simply unclip the hose from the bottle immediately and wash it off back onto the lawn before it has the chance to cause any staining.

ColourGuard Plus Concentrate

There are a few reasons why you might consider the concentrate application with a knapsack sprayer as a preferred application method when applying turf pigment.

Firstly, as mentioned previously if you have a narrow area or one with a lot of concrete paths and other hard surfaces directly next to the lawn, you might want to use the knapsack wand which will allow you to be a lot more direct and targeted with your application.

Secondly, the concentrate provides you with the capacity to apply the ColourGuard Plus at a more specific concentration to your liking. If you are wanting to go quite a dark green, you can mix up the product at a higher dose. You just need to remember that the higher the concentration, the less coverage you will be able to achieve.

Lastly, there is the potential to apply the product as evenly as possible through a bit more control. A knapsack with a fan nozzle will allow you to direct the spray exactly where you would like, which can be important for straight lines and limiting overlap.

What happens if I don’t wash off overspray immediately?

ColourGuard Plus can stain very quickly if left to absorb or dry. If you are too slow to wash it off or do not notice the overspray until it is too late, there are some things you can try to remove the stain.

IMPORTANT CLEANING INFORMATION

For common hard surfaces like concrete, we recommend using a two to one mixture of white vinegar and bi-carb soda and scrubbing with a scrubbing brush. Leave this for 5 minutes or so and then remove with a clean cloth or hose it off.
For tiles specifically, but also sealed concrete, one of the most effective methods is to scrub with lemon juice concentrate, using the same method.
If the stain is on a porous hard surface or is being particularly stubborn you can use a dedicated concrete cleaner – If doing so, be sure to follow label rates and instructions to avoid damaging grout or concrete when using these products.

Due to the porous nature of some hard surfaces, some stains may not be removable, but should fade with time.

Unsealed Concrete or porous surfaces – Concrete Cleaner

Tiles or Sealed Concrete – Lemon juice, Vinegar & Bi-Carb Soda

ColourGuard PLUS is available in 4 convenient sizes

With the right application method for your area, you will get a fantastic result out of turf pigments.

ColourGuard Plus has an industry-leading natural colour and is the go-to turf pigment used right across Australia by turf farmers and residential homeowners.

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

7 Lawn Care Hacks

Posted on May 6, 2024November 14, 2024 by 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.

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!

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 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.

Picking Plants with Charlie Albone

Posted on May 6, 2024November 14, 2024 by Sarah

As a lover of gardens, picking the right plants for a space is one of my favourite things to do. When you get it right and you can watch a plant mature into the space, filling it perfectly adding character and layers to your garden. Get it wrong and you only add to the compost pile! I’ve been lucky enough to be picking plants for over 25 years and here are a few of the tips I use to help me get it right.

Picking Your New Plants

First up, you need to study where your new plant baby is going to go. This will stop you from buying things you like the look of but won’t grow in the spot you want them to grow in. Work out how much sun the spot gets, if it’s full sun, semi-shade or full shade. Then dig a hole and pour a big bucket of water into it and see how quickly it drains away, this will tell you a lot about your soil and how it drains.

When you’re at the nursery don’t be scared to ask for advice, plant people love to share their knowledge and now you know your sun requirements and how the soil drains you stand a good chance of getting the right plant for your spot.

Finding the Right Place for Your New Plants

The leaf of a plant will tell you so much about it, as a rule of thumb small leaves can take lots of sun and large leaves need more shade. If they are hairy, silver, or succulent, chances are they like baking in hot sun too.

Research the plant and find its mature height so you can plan your planting scheme, these are often given in perfect growing conditions in a natural habitat, so for your personal garden you can plan for it to get to 75 per cent of this height. If you are adding plants to an existing scheme, buy them at large as your budget will allow, as the existing plants will compete and can out-shade your new plants before they are established.

Planting in New Garden Beds

If you are planting a new garden bed buy slow growing plants as larger specimens and fast growers in smaller sizes. This will make your dollar go further and fast-growing plants establish quicker when planted in smaller sizes – as long as the soil preparation is done correctly.

Improving Your Soil

Improve your soil with compost, known as black gold, it helps to bind sandy soil together and break up clay by bringing in worms. (Heavy clay can also do with a handful of gypsum to improve the structure). If you are planting into full sand, it’s a good idea to treat the soil for hydrophobia, this is where the soil cannot absorb water and adding compost will only exacerbate the issue if used by itself.

Planting Your Garden

When planting, soak your plant in its pot in a large bucket of water before placing it into the hole to ensure it’s completely hydrated; leave it in there until all the air bubbles have stopped to maximise hydration. You can add some seaweed tonic or some half-strength liquid fertiliser if you want to help settle it in quicker. Remember, your plant is used to living like a king at the nursery, so keep this up and establish it with plenty of water, as this will ensure good root growth.

Choosing the Right Lawn Type

All these points stand true for your lawns too, you need to make sure your future variety can handle the amount of sun you have and the drainage. Sir Walter DNA Certified Buffalo has a large leaf so can handle more shade than a finer leaf couch such as TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda. If you are unsure your local Lawn Solutions Australia member will be more than happy to advise on the best turf for your aspect and soil type.

Soil for New Turf

Most turf varieties like good drainage but adding some compost to sand will be of benefit to help in nutrient and water holding capacity of the soil. For heavy clay consider raising your soil with a new layer of sandy mix, but it’s important to combine a layer of the clay and sand before this top layer otherwise you can create a perched water table where the water doesn’t drain through and not many plants will tolerate that!

Establishment is key to the ongoing success of your lawns too, try to stay off them until roots have bedded in and water appropriately for your weather conditions and time of year.

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

How to Encourage Kids to Get into Gardening | Charlie Albone

Posted on April 16, 2024November 21, 2024 by Sarah

You may have children or grandchildren that you long to get outside, away from the television or their tablet, but it can be difficult to get them interested or even know where to start when it comes to introducing the great outdoors.

How to Encourage Kids to Play in the Garden

Playing outside is an obviously fun and easy thing to get kids motivated for, however play equipment like swings, slides and trampolines do tend to wear thin quickly and then you are stuck with unsightly equipment in the garden. I have found with my children that their own imagination is the best piece of play equipment they can own– you just need to give them a spark to get them started. I’m happy to play the fool and get them going on some games; it really is as simple as stepping stones through some plants that become exploring through a jungle. A few old logs stacked up easily become a shipwreck, or a flag planted at the highest part of the garden is transformed into a castle, of course! This type of natural play also means your garden still looks like a nice space for you to spend time in rather than a jungle gym of play equipment.

Why a Lawn is the Best Place for Kids to Play

A lawn is a must for those wanting to get children out into the garden. It’s a safe space for them to play the obvious ball games, but it’s also a place to set up a makeshift cubby house or to just sprawl out and watch the clouds go by. When selecting a lawn for a family, ensure you go for something hardwearing and fast-growing so it repairs itself quickly if damage occurs.

Setting some large boulders or stones to the edge of your lawn space will give you a designer look, a space to sit whilst the kids play, and something for the young ones to jump between. I love combining lawns, boulders, and lower native ornamental grasses such as Lomandra ‘Little Con’ to blend the space between the elements.

Kids Toy Garden Tools

The best thing I ever brought for my oldest boy was a toy set consisting of a hedge trimmer, whipper snipper and blower, so now he can follow me around and carry out all the jobs I do without damaging the plants! Obviously, you need to make sure you’re pruning in a safe way so the debris doesn’t fall on the children, but involving the kids like this means they can’t wait to get outside and join you, and you still get the maintenance work done. I would, however, advise you to buy tools with removable batteries as the sound of a toy whipper snipper during dinner does get very testing!

Getting Your Kids Excited to Grow Plants

Showing children how plants grow and how fun that can be really gets me excited but when selecting plants to grow with your young ones make sure you buy plants that grow quickly to keep their interest. Things like sunflowers, radish and tomatoes are great as they grab the imagination and reward it quickly with fruit and flowers in a matter of weeks rather than months.

If you are a keen gardener and the thought of a young terror in your own patch gives you the ‘wilts’, make sure you give them their own special patch in a corner of the garden or a couple of pots where they can do whatever they want. This will give them ownership over the garden without messing up all the hard work you have done.

Watering the Garden with Children

Watering is the best thing you can get kids involved with as it’s a necessary task and one they can’t really get wrong! A sprinkler on the lawn is something the grass will love and with the hot weather upon us a whole lot of fun too!

Once your children start to show an interest in gardening, you can expand on playing and growing out in the garden. ‘How many weeds can you collect’ is a game that admittedly only works some of the time, but even if it works half the time, it’s half the time, I get a hand pulling weeds out!

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.

Famous Lawns Worldwide

Posted on April 16, 2024November 14, 2024 by Sarah

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 of Lawn Care

Posted on April 10, 2024November 14, 2024 by Sarah

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.

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.