Lawn care tips

TONY'S LAWN TIPS #1

For many years, I have been asked, “what’s the best grass for my lawn?” It’s a question that normally requires more information for me to give a good answer. What will the lawn be used for? Is it a play lawn, a summer beach lawn or just purely ornamental? Is it in full sun or is there shade? What is your soil like? (clay, topsoil, sand etc). Will you commit to a maintenance programme? (watering, fertiliser, weed spraying and wetting agents).
Often when these questions are not asked, the lawn owner ends up unhappy with their results because the wrong grass species was selected or the maintenance requirements weren’t carried out. At Newton Seed we always try to help you make the best decision for your situation.

Let's focus on the play lawn. When we think about a play lawn, we are wanting a grass type that will be dense with grass, that will not easily rip up and provide a soft landing for the kids, or adults in many cases! The most used grass in the world on sports turf, such as football stadiums, council sports fields and parks is ryegrass. It’s quick to germinate and establish, mows well, is dark green and attractive and best of all, it handles wear and tear like a star. BUT it needs to be treated well to retain all these amazing features. It needs a regular feed and a reasonable amount of watering over summer. This might sound daunting but it’s not overly time-consuming and will give you a lawn to be proud of. For many years the only difference between ryegrass varieties has been how dark green it is and the fineness of the blade but now there's a truly new type of ryegrass!

Barlibro RPR - Regenerating Perennial Ryegrass is the first perennial ryegrass having the specific characteristic of spreading horizontally via stolons. This makes RPR stronger than other types of perennial ryegrass, while also growing at the same rate. The result is a ryegrass with a high wear tolerance that is perfect for use in sports pitches and your play lawn at home!

 

TONY'S LAWN TIPS #2

Like many of us, you may have sown a new lawn this year, or worked hard to improve or maintain your lawn, only to watch it struggle and go backwards during summer. I thought I would share a few tips around management techniques and some clever products that you can use to give your lawn the best chance of staying in top condition.

The first issue to deal with is watering. How much and when. This varies a little depending on your grass species. For example, a Ryegrass lawn will need frequent watering over a hot dry spell, whereas warm season grass such as Kikuyu or Bermuda grass (Couch) will need far less. Let’s focus on cool season grasses for now, as they are the most likely to struggle over the summer months.

We all know that water is precious, whether you have town supply, tank water or have another source, we need to maximise the efficiency of any watering we do to ensure we are using this resource well. Be careful not to put your irrigation system on a timer to go on every day, as in most cases this will be too much water and often not the correct type of watering and can cause issues such as fungal diseases. Think about deep watering less often to achieve good vertical movement of water.

The other tool you have is Greenkeepers Choice Lawn Wetter Granules. These granules work in three distinct ways.

  1. Enable water to penetrate dry, water repellant soils
  2. Helps water spread vertically and horizontally around the root zone
  3. Attracts more water to the root zone
This product comes in a fine granule that doesn’t burn your lawn even on the hottest day and can be watered in when it’s convenient.


The other important thing to note is that the healthier your lawn is going into summer, the better it will cope with stress. This is where Greenkeepers Choice Vitality becomes your best friend. This go-to stress management product is specifically formulated with a complete range of plant derived amino acids, humics, kelp and carbohydrates to support lawn survival during stressful periods. It also contains beneficial bacteria to assist root health. This is a very safe, organic product and comes in a handy 1L liquid form which should be applied once a month for best results.

 

TIPS FOR OVERSOWING OR REPAIRING YOUR LAWN

  • Mow the existing lawn (if any) right down to ground level. Remove all cuttings. Mowing it this short won’t kill it.
  • Scarify up the whole area to be oversowed (with a scarifier). OK; use your rake as a last resort if that’s the only option you have but expect some damage to existing plants.
  • When there’s a nice seedbed there fill in any hollows with weed free lawn soil, level then roll the filled in bits.
  • Broadcast Newton’s starter fertiliser.
  • Try and match the new seed with existing. If origins are not known - use Vintage rye grass blend. It matches nicely most turf grasses.
  • Broadcast your seed - be generous - say 20m² to 1kg on bare areas, less over existing grass. Rake the new seed in a bit then do a second broadcast.
  • Light covering of top soil over the lot - I often use a sieve here but not compulsory.
  • Get the roller busy again on the lot this time ($20 to hire for half day). Rolling helps moisture retention around the seed and helps protect against washouts or sinkage.
  • Water night and morning (at least) until germination then nights only. Sneak in some extra watering if possible on overcast days because dried out seed won’t germinate.
  • First cut - take only a third off and the plant will throw some new growth out and start to thicken up.
  • Talk to it often.

TIPS FOR SOWING A WHOLE NEW LAWN

  • Spray out all existing vegetation with a glyphosate spray. (Takes about 3 weeks to be obvious). Dig out anything that doesn’t die. Kikuyu has to be sprayed not dug.
  • Set the lawn mower to ground level and take away all that dead matter.
  • Either - Scarify up the surface to create a seedbed. You can hire motorised versions which make the task less onerous. Use your rake or a hand scarifier as a last resort (if you’re tough) but remember you have to create a nice fine seedbed over the whole job to give the seed a fair go.
  • Or - If the surface was uneven, compacted, or the dirt was just plain bad -rotary hoe instead. This is a last resort because firstly its hard work and secondly it brings unwanted weed seeds to near the surface so they can pop up in the nice new lawn. No - the weeds weren’t in the Newton’s lawn seed.
  • If you have the time - fertilise and wet the soil to encourage the new weed seeds to grow - spray out before seeding your lawn.
  • If rotary hoeing does prove necessary then consider enhancing the soil while you’re at it. A brew of compost (no bark thanks), weed free lawn soil and gypsum can bring new life into tired soil. Spread it on top and mix the whole lot up together when you hoe. Level and roll.
  • Spread Newton’s starter fertiliser.
  • Make sure you have the right seed for the job (ask us) and broadcast it generously. 20m² to 1kg.
  • Rake it in and give it another broadcast for good measure. Light covering of good top soil over the lot.
  • Roll again to keep in the moisture around the seed & help prevent washouts.
  • Water is the secret so at least night and morning and preferably more often until germination. Some varieties have to be damp the whole time or they just won’t fire up.
  • Cut no more than a third on the first mow.
  • Job done.