HOW TO SOW AND CARE FOR A LAWN. |
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Lawns are perhaps the most noticeable feature of the home garden as they provide the focus for outdoor activities, create a feeling of spaciousness and enhance the surrounding garden. This lush, green carpet effect is easily obtainable but the type of lawn you choose could make all the difference. Stop and think, what purpose will it serve? What is your soil type? And more important, how much time do you have to maintain it? The all important water bill could be reduced by simply selecting a drought tolerant variety of lawn seed. LAWN SEED is a prime example of "you get what you pay for". Seed is sold by weight. One rye grass weighs 20 times as much as a blue grass seed and therefore one kg of blue grass seed has 20 times as much seed as one kg of rye grass. A quick check of seed mixes will ensure value for money. The tall fescues available in your Greengold Garden Centre are most suitable of the non-running type grasses. We recommend Yates Go Grass, which is a blend, and Munns Arid lawn seed which is also a tall fescue. These seeds are the "best" general purpose mixes available. They are:
WHEN TO PLANT: Spring and autumn are ideal but lawns can be sown successfully over many other months. Do ask for advice. Avoid planting in high summer heat. WHERE TO PLANT : Lawn grasses grow best in an open, sunny, well drained situation. They prefer not to compete with the roots of trees and shrubs for water and food. Your area of grass should be designed to complement your garden and help turn it into your outdoor living area. Most lawn grasses grow best in an open sunny position. The tall fescues are, however, tolerant of up to 80 percent shade. Any heavier shade than this would almost certainly require a shade loving ground cover instead. Ask for advice from your Greengold Garden centre if you are unsure. In many gardens, size, drainage conditions, shade or slope can make lawn maintenance both time consuming and costly. You may find instead that what you need is just a low maintenance area, such as a rock garden or some native plants mulched with wood chips, or perhaps an aromatic ground cover. For alternatives to grass ask for advice. PLANTING - PREPARATION IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS.
WATERING : New Lawns: Initially slow and deep. Use a fine mist to keep the seed bed moist. Never let it dry out. You may have to water several times daily in very hot weather. When lawn is showing clearly, water daily then reduce watering to a soaking once a week after the 3rd or 4th mow. Never let it "look" dry. Watering after sunrise is best but avoid watering after sunset unless absolutely necessary. Established Lawns: Most lawns do without watering for much of the year. It's mainly through the summer months that you need to turn on your sprinkler. The following can help to reduce your water costs without detriment to the quality of your lawn.
MOWING : - New Lawns: Mow when the grass is 8 to 10cm high so you can just cut the top 2cm off the grass. This encourages root growth. (Young grass can be damaged by close mowing). As the lawn matures the blades can be lowered gradually on each successive mow. - Established Lawns: Many home gardeners make the mistake of trying to create a bowling green in their garden. This can be expensive in time, money and water. VARIETIES As mentioned before, of the narrow bladed "tufting" grasses, the tall fescues are currently the most suitable. Also the blends of "Sun and Shade" varieties. Of the "running" grasses, there are choices with YATES SPEEDY COUCH - a fast germinating sun loving grass, MUNNS POOCH COUCH - a hardy variety Buffalo varieties do not come as seed - only turf, which requires special preparation and care. EXTRA MAINTENANCE
Autumn Lawn Care Autumn is a very important season in the lawn care calendar because it’s the last chance to get the lawn back into tip top condition before the cold weather arrives. Lawns are often exposed to a lot of stress during autumn. Apart from the gradual shut down that’s taking place in the grass plant as the cold weather approaches, there are often the ravages of insect and disease damage to be mended. Insect Damage Army Worm – This is a grass eating caterpillar that moves through the lawn like a raiding army (hence its common name) and can reduce grass leaves to tattered shreds almost overnight. Army worm is effectively controlled by the synthetic pyrethroid, Baythroid. Sod Webworm - This is another grass eating grub that often attacks summer/autumn lawns and can also be kept in check with Baythroid. African Black Beetle – A form of scarab beetle (a group that has thousands of species worldwide) that eats grass leaves and grass roots, both in its adult and its larval (curl grub) stages. Hortico Lawn Beetle and Slater Killer Granules will control both the adults and the larvae. Baythroid will almost miraculously ‘flush’ the adults to the surface. Once these pest numbers are reduced it’s important to get as much growth as possible out of the lawn before the cold weather really hits. A fast acting soluble fertiliser such as Thrive, distributed through a hose-end Thrive ‘Easy’Feed, will give the lawn a quick shot of nitrogen to promote rapid leaf growth, and provide the potassium and phosphorus that will strengthen the root system and build up the grass plants’ disease resistance. There’s one extra trick that will help a wounded lawn to recover. For centuries, seaweed has been recognized for its ability to heal wounds and promote growth. Yates Kelpak Seaweed Plant Tonic can encourage damaged grass roots to start growing again. Fungal Disease Autumn is also the season of ‘blots and spots’ on the lawn. These patches are often caused by fungal diseases and autumn, ‘the season of mists’, is the time of year when they really flourish. Brown Patch, Dollar Spot, Fairy Ring, Rusts – the names seem endless and these diseases can be difficult for even the experts to diagnose. Many lawn diseases can be treated by watering with Mancozeb (or Bayleton for Dollar Spot), by aerating the lawn with a garden fork, and by feeding with a fast acting fertiliser. Thrive Flower and Fruit contains boosted levels of potassium, the nutrient that gives plants added disease resistance. |
