A bit of extra maintenance each spring and autumn can be enough to take your lawn from average-poor to pretty good, writes Gareth Carter.
Gareth Carter is the general manager of Springvale Garden Centre in Whanganui.
OPINION
A good-looking lawn sets off a house and garden and gives much street appeal and, according to some experts, can even add to the sale price of a home.
Some straightforward principles around lawn care make a good lawn achievable. Timely maintenance (beyond mowing) each spring and autumn can be enough to take your lawn from average-poor to pretty good.
Now is a good time to take stock of your lawn and look at its health. Do you have many weeds invading? What about prickles? Are there weedy patches that you want to resow? Has moss become prevalent during the winter months?
Like all plants, regular feeding will keep grass in good health and the turf thick and more resistant to the invasion of weeds. Here are two good products.
In heavier soils, it is beneficial to also fertilise with Garden Lime once a year. Garden Lime should be applied in August or September, two to three weeks before the application of lawn fertiliser. Garden Lime increases the pH of the soil, making more nutrients in the soil available to the lawn to use. It also has the benefit of adding calcium to the soil that plays a major role in the physiology of the plant, strengthening its physical structure, increasing nutrient uptake and protecting it from disease.
When sowing a new lawn, use Yates Lawn Fertiliser for New Lawns. This is designed to give your new lawn the right nutrients to encourage fast establishment of new grass, while feeding for up to 12 weeks. Its slow-release nitrogen gives lawn seed a great start without burning. It has a rich blend of ingredients to boost germination and strong root development, natural seaweed biostimulant helps reduce lawn stress, and humic acids stimulate beneficial microbes to boost soil health
It has iron, magnesium and trace elements for a deep green colour, and a natural wetting agent to boost water penetration into soil (though this has limited benefit for heavy clay soils), while the methylene urea formula reduces leaching into groundwater.
Lawn grasses establish best either in spring from September to November or in autumn from March to the end of May. The soil is warming and spring rain provides moisture, so now is the time to get cracking if you want to redo your lawn this year.
A really good lawn can be obtained only by intensive soil preparation before sowing; once the lawn is established, it is difficult to level off an uneven surface or eradicate undesirable grass and weed species.
The first step is to remove all pasture-type growth. Most grasses and perennial weeds are effectively controlled with glyphosate-based sprays such as Grosafe Glyphosate, Yates Zero or Roundup. Harder-to-kill species such as blackberry, onion weed and English ivy can be removed with the use of Roundup Tough. The spray is taken in through the foliage then translocated to all parts of the plant including the roots and rhizomes. Visible effects are a gradual wilting and yellowing of foliage, and brown-off may take 7-14 days or longer, depending upon growing conditions.
If topsoil has been brought on to the site, it is advantageous not to sow immediately but to leave bare for two or three weeks (or longer) to allow any weed seed present to germinate — this can then be sprayed with an appropriate weedkiller.
It is important at this stage to consider drainage. Most grasses prefer a well-drained loam or sandy loam soil rather than heavier, wetter soils. Good drainage means better penetration of water and air to the roots. It also means moss and hydrocotyle weed, which can thrive in moist lawn areas, are less likely to invade the lawn.
On some very heavy soils, it is wise to import some sandy loam soil, spreading it over the area 8-10cm deep and incorporating it into the topsoil. In extremely wet situations, permanent drainage may need to be installed. If soil is added, you may need to destroy any secondary emerging weed seedlings.
It is worth putting time into preparing the soil to the correct levels and contours. For small areas, a rake, fork and spade will suffice, but for larger areas a rotary hoe will save time. The soil should be worked up to a depth of about 8cm using a rotary hoe or garden fork until the soil is a fine tilth. Any lumps or clods should be removed or broken down. Level and compact lightly, making the surface as even as you can to avoid “humps” and “hollows”. The area should be left to consolidate for a week. Walking over the area for grading, raking and destroying weeds, plus watering or rainfall, will help with this process. If the soil is still soft and spongy, all-over rolling may be necessary. To avoid too much compaction, roll or tread the soil only when it is damp, not wet. Rake the area again after rolling or treading.
There is a wide range of seed blends available to suit your particular requirements or the situation. We recommend a range of seeds called Ican Specialty Lawn Seed. This has a range of blends to suit property conditions. They include Everyday Blend, All Seasons, Hot & Dry and Premium.
Information is available in the garden centre, so you can decide which blend best suits your property.
A calm day is best when sowing grass seed because it is small and light. To assist in achieving an even sowing, it is recommended you divide the seed into halves and then spread the first half in one direction and the other half at right angles to it. After sowing, the soil surface should be lightly raked. On light, sandy soils, a light covering of Tui Lawn Preparation Mix is recommended. This will help to retain moisture and prevent the seed from washing away during watering or rain. The soil surface should be kept moist with light watering until seedlings have germinated and are well established. Water the lawn less frequently as the seedlings grow stronger; this encourages the roots to grow deeper.
It is important that young, germinated lawn seed is kept moist otherwise it will die. If watering may be a problem, it would be wise to sow your lawn in small sections over a few weeks. This may seem more intensive, but it is better than having patchy germination over the whole lawn because of inadequate watering.
Watering should be cut down to once a week and when grass is 3.5-4cm high it should be mown lightly and clippings removed. Ensure your mower blades are sharp for a clean cut. The first mow should not remove more than 10% of the height of the grass. After the third or fourth mow, the cutting height can be gradually reduced.
Putting in the hard work now will have you relaxing and enjoying your lawn in the months to come.
For more gardening information, go to www.springvalegardencentre.co.nz.
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