How to use Lawnporn Fertiliser

Learn how to use foliar spray fertilisers

Lawnporn's foliar fertilisers. Learn how to use them. Foliar fertilisers are the most efficient way to fertilise and as the fertiliser is absorbed by the plant leaf, there is no need to water in and no wastage.

Soil Wetter

How to use Lawnporn Moist Soil Wetter

Soil Wetters are best applied during the spring and summer to help the lawn's moisture requirements in warmer temperatures. Especially during summer, the top of the soil can produce a waxy surface stopping the water getting in.
Moist is a professional soil wetter used in professional turf applications. It works 3 ways, breaking the surface tension on the top ground so the water can get into the soil. Once in the soil the water is locked into the root zone minimising the effect of evaporation and feeding the plant efficiently with water. Moist also distributes that water evenly over the plant area so dry patches don't occur. Learn how to apply it in this video.

Trying to get a Perfect Lawn?

Perfect lawns? There's no such thing but progress towards a great lawn is more important

So you're into lawns and want to get a perfect one? Easy cowboy (or cowgirl), there's a bit to it. Follow tips and do your best, you've got a lot to learn and even the pros are learning all the time. The thing is it can stress you out and lawn really shouldn't do that. It is more about progress than perfection and of course, enjoying the journey. Click the vid to explain.

Spring Renovation

Spring time is the time to renovate your lawn

Spring is the start of growing season for warm season grasses. It is the time to renovate your lawn. So it is time to low-mow or scarify if you have a couch, kikuyu or zoysia. Buffalo lawns need a lowering of height over a few mows, over a few weeks. Then aerate, top dress and fertilise, and keep the watering up while the lawn recovers.

Aerating

Aerating gets oxygen to the root zone and assists drainage

Lawn need air just as much as water and nutrients to grow. This is why aerating is important for a healthy plant. Aerating can be done at anytime but is especially important during growing season. It can be as simple as using a pitchfork to your lawn but hiring an aerator (during growing season as this process needs recovery) to pull out plugs/stolons/cores and topdressing with a sand to fill the holes is an excellent way of getting the needed air and oxygen to root zone as well as assisting drainage of water and getting that water into the all important root zone.

Topdressing

Topdress to freshen up the soil and level your area.

Topdressing gives your lawn some new soil and use the opportunity to level up your lawn area. Done during a spring lawn renovation and a couple of times during growing season is beneficial as it freshens up the base of your lawn and levels out the peaks and troughs in your lawn area.

How to install Instant Turf

Installing instant turf is a great way to get a great lawn

Installing instant turf is a great way to transform a yard. It is all about preparation and something you can do yourself. Instant turf may seem expensive way to start a lawn but doing it this way will save you water and keep the weeds at bay as the complete coverage acts as a weed-mat. Plus you get the dramatic effect of having a great lawn, instantly!!
Check out our guide to installing instant turf. It is easier than you think and extremely rewarding.

Growing a lawn from plugs

Haven't got the inital $ outlay for instant turf? You can grow from plugs from aerating.

So you can't afford instant turf. No problem. You can grow from plugs, cores, stolons and scarification clippings for most grasses. Prepare your surface and plant the cores etc, top dress lightly and watch them grow into a lawn in 8 weeks. Done during growing season and with a bit of planning and preparation you can have a great lawn in a few months. It will take a bit more water and care for things like weeds, but if you can't handle the initial outlay and are prepared to spend a bit extra during establishment it is the way to go.

Weeds

Weeds rob the lawn of nutrients. Get rid of them.

Weeds. Big subject! Essentially they grow faster than the grass and take nutrients from the lawn. This means that they can take over pretty quickly. There is many ways to get rid of them. As simple as digging them out, using selective herbicide or a pre emergent herbicide to stop them before they start. A common weed is the broadleaf range of weeds. They grow all the time and more dangerously, grow in winter when the grass is dormant. 
Get to them. I use Amgrow Kleen Lawn on my couch. Always check that a herbicide is suitable for your lawn type, especially buffalo as it has a broader leaf than other grasses.

Lawn Pests

Black Beetle and Grubs can wreck a lawn. Get rid of them!

If you got brown patches coming up in the lawn you could have black beetle or another pest eating the roots of your lawn which will cause it to die. You don't want that!
Treating in mid spring and mid summer is an effective way to control these problems. I now do a mid autumn treatment as well even if they are not about.

Grab a spray on treatment from your shop, follow directions and give it a good water in after application.

Mushrooms

Got mushrooms? Not a great thing in lawn. Let's get rid of them.

Mushrooms are fungus and it is in your lawn. If the conditions are right, moisture, humidity, warm and dark this is perfect for the mushroom to pop up. Check this vid to get rid of them.
Lawn fungus is a large and varied topic and look forward to future videos on the subject.

Mowing Height

Get your mowing height right

Getting your mowing height right requires some experimentation. Follow our video guidelines to start finding your ideal mowing height for your grass type.

Getting your first cylinder mower

We started the cylinder mower craze so here's some tips to get one

Cylinder mowers. They work like a pair of scissors in cutting your lawn rather than slashing at the blade like a rotary does. They produce a finer cut and the rollers push over the blade which reflect the sun and create the line effect on the lawn. If you are looking at your first cylinder mower us this vid as a guide to getting your first one and avoid some of the pitfalls.

The Basics of Cylinder Mowers

The basics to get you started with cylinder mowers

This video shows you the basic parts of a cylinder mower which will help you especially if you are new to them and are looking at purchasing one for the first time.

How to get Lines in your Lawn

Using a cylinder mower is the easiest way to get lines in your lawn

The benefit of cylinder mowers is that the roller pushes the blade over. By mowing in different directions you push the grass blades over in different directions. The sun reflect off the bent blades in the different directions creates the effect of the lines. From your view-point, mowing lines mowed towards you look dark and lines mowed away from you look light.

How to Mow

Mow right with a cylinder mower

After edging your lawn and whipper snipping the edges, mow around the edge of your area with a trim pass. Mow to your desired pattern at a height that doesn't cut more than a third of the grass height. If you stuff up your lines you can go over it again and fix it up. This is called a double pass and even without mistakes in your first pass, it really cleans up the first cut and defines those lines a lot better.

Edging

Clean up those edges for a professional clean look

There is load of different edging machines out there. Find one that works for you, practice a bit and keep those edges trim for a clean and professional look. 

Grooming. What is it?

Grooming is lightly vertically cutting your grass. It helps achieving low mow heights.

Grooming works by vertically cutting lateral runners in fine leaf turf such as couch and pulling out some thatch. This method has minimal impact on the lawn and recovery time is quick. The benefits of grooming is that you'll reduce thatch and lateral runners, create more growing points at the top of the plant for a nice thick lawn and this all helps achieving and maintaining a low mowing height so that when you mow, you won't expose thatch.