THE SIMPLE LAWN PROGRAM
While not everyone has a green thumb when it comes to lawn maintenance, looking after your lawn can be simpler then you think!
We appreciate the die hard lawnies and the results they produce in their backyard. But for some it may feel like a complex process. At Torn Turf, we want to make it a fun and easy process looking after your lawn so its still the best on your street!!
WATER
Sandy soils need water more often as the soil drains quickly leaving roots dry.
Clay soils need water less often as the soil retains moisture for longer periods.
If you find your soil pools with water after a short period of time, or drains too quickly, we recommend our soil wetter WET STUFF as a part of your regular fertiliser program.
Here is an average guide to how much water is needed weekly.
Spring/Summer 25mm of water per week.
Autumn/ Winter 25-50mm of water per month.
If you are unsure on how much water your irrigation expels out, we would recommend buying a cheap rain gauge and placing it in the driest part of your lawn and running your irrigation for 10 minutes. This will gauge how much water expels every 10 minutes through your irrigation. After that you can work out how much water your lawn will need daily to make up the desired amount.
MOWING
The lower you mow your grass the more water it requires during hot periods. This also can burn and stress your lawn as it has no protection for its root system. Consistent mowing every week at the correct height can reduce stress and produce a greener, finer leaf.
Mowing heights on average for lawn types:
Kikuyu: Spring/Summer 20-50mm, Autumn/Winter 30-60mm
Couch: Spring/Summer 10-25mm, Autumn/ Winter 15-30mm
Buffalo: Spring/Summer 30-50mm, Autumn/Winter 40-60mm
Tall Fescue: Spring/Summer 60-80mm, Autumn/Winter 70-90mm
If you are unsure how to check your mowing height, place your mower on a flat surface. Make sure it is turned off and can not be started easily for safety. Set the height to the lowest setting and measure the mowing blade off the concrete or flat surface. Record your measurements and repeat for each mowing setting on your mower.
FERTILISER
Fertilisation for lawns can get confusing with so many programs and different products. We have made it easy with one product that will cover all bases when it comes to feeding your lawn. LAWN IN ONE can be used weekly or monthly and everything in between. It is for all seasons and all lawn types. Simply measure out the desired amount (see bottle for application) and apply with a clean sprayer or watering can.
Watering Can: A watering may not cover your desired area in one fill, we recommend dividing up the correct amount of fertiliser over several watering can applications to get a decent coverage. After application, allow to soak in the soil for 12-24 hours before your next water.
Sprayer (foliar): Our
Why foliar?
While all methods of fertilisation are great, foliar application stands out!
Granular fertilisers are effective but costly with only 20% of the product being absorbed by the plant. Foliar application can be up to 90% effectively absorbed though the leaf and it starts working straight away. This not only saves your wallet but also the environment as it has less impact on the soil biology. Regular foliar applications are required to see great results.
BIOLOGY
While chemical fertiliser can be very effective it can affect the soils fungi and bacteria, slowly decreasing their populations. This leads to having to use more and more chemical fertiliser to get the same results. The soil biology plays a huge part in your plants wellbeing, just like our human gut bacteria does for us. If you have depleted soils we would recommend our
SUN/SHADE
Most lawns will handle some filtered light, they do require mostly sun to thrive. Here are some varieties and their shade tolerance.
Kikuyu: Up to 30% shade
Couch: Up to 20% shade
Buffalo: Up to 50% shade
Tall Fescue: Up to 50% shade
COMPACTION
While aeration of your lawn is a fantastic seasonal practice that provides air, water and feed to your lawns roots, it may not be required depending on your soil type which can save time and money. To check simply grab a screw driver or something similar shaped, roughly 100mm long and 5mm wide (screwdriver works well as it has a handle). Push the screwdriver into the lawn while dry before a water. If it easily pushes down into the soil then you may not have a compaction issue. If this is a hard task because the soil is quite hard, then coring or spike aeration would help greatly. Hard soils may need coring/spike aeration to be a yearly practice around springtime.
Clay soils: Clay can retain moisture and compacts, leaving no oxygen for your lawn to breathe.
Sandy soils: Sand can drain too quickly leaving your lawns roots dry and lacking in nutrients.
Both clay and sand can be slowly amended. Clay will require gypsum to break it down to create a better growing medium for your lawn. Sand will require more organics to help retain moisture and feed your lawn, we recommend EARTHWORX to help build your soil structure.
SCARIFICATION
Some lawns in particular can build up with thatch, making them quite spongy. Giving your lawn a scarification is ideal during spring but a scarifying machine may not be easily accessible. If this is the case, a method called scalping can be done with only a mower. During spring drop your mower deck to its lowest setting and cut out all the spongy/thatch in your lawn. This may take a couple of attempts. It will look brown initially but with regular water and fertiliser methods described previously, your lawn will love you for it.
Caring for your lawn doesn’t have to be complicated, it can be a simple and even an enjoyable process. Happy Lawning!!
If you like this free simple program, please leave us product and google reviews, we at Torn Turf would be forever grateful.