Posts tagged as: webisode

How to fertilise your lawn / lawn mowing & feeding (Video)

Posted on by

If you want to use a fertiliser that the experts use, Sir Walter fertiliser is the one for you.  It is specially formulated for Sir Walter lawns but in fact you can use it on any other type of lawn.It is a premium lawn food specially developed for Sir Walter.  It contains the right balance of nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and all the trace elements that your lawn will require.Now this special blend will improve the growth and colour of your lawn be it Sir Walter or any other type. It is economical too, only 25grams per square metre of lawn.  You can get your Sir Walter fertiliser in a 4kg tub or for the bigger jobs the 10kg tub.

Launch your lawn / Lawn Installation (video)

Posted on by

Starter Fertiliser

Sir Launcher is a fantastic new water saving starter fertiliser that will save you time, money and water.  Sir Launcher consists of some starter fertiliser, essential nutrients, and water crystals that act like water magnets.

The water crystals rehydrate themselves with each watering lasting several years before biodegrading harmlessly.  It also helps lawns survive water restrictions by less frequent watering during establishment. It needs to be raked into the top 50-75mm of soil.  You would be crazy not to use this product when laying a new lawn.

It only costs around 35cents a square metre to water restriction proof your lawn and give it the great healthy start it needs with Sir Launcher, which is money well spent!

Mowing tips / Lawn mowing and feeding (video)

Posted on by

Mowing tips / Lawn mowing and feeding

Your first mow is a special moment and should take place as soon as the lawn needs it, generally 1 to 3 weeks after laying and all you need to do is just take the tips of and remember whenever you are mowing never take off more than a third of the leaf blade. Mowing can take place every 7 to 14 days during late spring and summer. During autumn and winter about every 2 to 5 weeks or as required.

The mowing height is best kept between 40 to 60 mm throughout the year. Mowing at a higher level will improve drought tolerance and leaf softness  as well as shade out weeds and keep the soil cooler, in turn saving water.

If weeds appear mow them off to prevent them from going to seed. Any type of mower is suitable for Sir Walter as long as the blades are sharp and always remember, never mow your Sir Walter too low – about 50mil is ideal.

Sir Walter Environmental Benefits (video)

Posted on by

Sir Walter Environmental Benefits

Sir Walter is a major source of beauty and comfort in our lives and a cleansing answer for our environment.  It absorbs carbon dioxide, produces oxygen and acts as a filter for our waterways and cools the area around our homes, it really is the perfect green choice.

Helping Reduce your Carbon Footprint!

Turf has a positive role to play in combating the build up of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases caused by the burning of fossil fuels and a range of other human activities.  In this way Turf can help in the fight against global warming.  It sequesters carbon from the atmospheres and stores it in the soil.  It has a greater flexibility to do this than trees which means it can also produce oxygen more efficiently.
Studies have shown that grasses keep sequestering carbon even at high levels of carbon dioxide unlike trees that shut down when overloaded.

Cooling your home

Sir Walter greatly reduces heat.  The temperature of a Sir Walter lawn in midsummer is 10 degrees less than bare soil, 20 degrees less than asphalt concrete or pebble mulch and 40 degrees less than dry synthetic turfs.  In fact an average front lawn has the cooling effect of 8.75 tonnes of air conditioning without the accompanying negative effects on the environment.  An average home air conditioner only has a 3-4 tonne capacity and increases carbon dioxide omissions.Something else you may not know is that there are a huge number of good bacteria and fungi in every lawn that can break down any organic pollutant.

Grass provides a greater cooling effect than trees and can achieve the same as an open water pool or lake but is 40% less wasteful in water evaporation. Another great thing about having a healthy lawn around your home if you live in a bushfire region is that it helps reduce the risk of bushfire damage.

Balancing the eco-system

Turf is a natural breeding ground for certain animals and insects that play a vital role in maintaining a balanced eco system and also it helps create a safer environment by restricting around the home the sort of vegetation  where you might find snakes and rodents that can pack a nasty bite.

Sir Walter Derivatives (video)

Posted on by

Sir Walter Derivatives

Sir Walter enjoys the title of Australia’s most successful ever Premium Lawn grass and it has achieved this quite simply by being the best Aussie all round lawn grass Australia wide.It is so successful that even the Americans and many other breeders claim to have breed from it.

With success comes substitutes

Of course with success comes substitutes trying to ride on the back of this unique success, there are many wild claims out there by other varieties such as son of, breed from, just like etc. But let us assure you there is only one genuine Sir Walter, so assist on it by name.  Homes in time will get shade and there is no other variety that will grow as well in full sun and part shade.

With over 35 million square metres sold in over 200,000 homes Australia wide,
they all know there is only one Sir Walter and that is the best gear.

More information

Lawns and Extreme Heat (video)

Posted on by

Lawns and Extreme Heat

No matter where you live in Australia, periods of extreme heat may occur but remember Sir Walter is one of the most heat tolerant grasses out there. But if extreme heat does come around you need to make a decision.  Do I let my lawn brown off and wait for normal conditions to return and for the lawn to bounce back, because it will do that.  Or do I water my lawn to keep it looking good. If you do decide to water, water with one deep watering at the first signs of stress then don’t water again until the lawn starts to wilt.  If you are on pure sands this will be more frequent than if you are on a heavier soil.

Encourage deep root systems

Remember that frequent light watering is bad news because this encourages shallow root systems.  What you want to be doing is less frequent deeper soakings because they encourage deep root systems.  This will give your lawn the legs and strength to get through the hot periods. Also if you use Sir Launcher when you put your lawn down this will help because it has the moisture magnets that will give your lawn more strength and more moisture for hot periods. A light top dressing is a good idea also because this will act a bit like a mulch and lock in that valuable moisture.

How to feed your lawn (video)

Posted on by

How to feed your lawn

If you want to use the fertiliser that the experts use, Sir Walter fertiliser is the one for you. It’s specially formulated for Sir Walter lawns but, in fact, you can use it on any other type of lawn. It’s a premium lawn food especially developed for Sir Walter.

It contains the right balance of nitrogen, potassium phosphorus and all the  trace elements that your lawn will require. Now this special blend will improve the growth and colour of your lawn be it Sir Walter or any other type. It’s economical to only 25grams per square metre of lawn. Now you can get your Sir Walter fertiliser in a 4kg tube or for bigger jobs the 10kg tub, personally I love this stuff so much I order it by the tonne.

Controlling lawn weeds (video)

Posted on by

Controlling lawn weeds

Spraying for weeds in Buffalo lawns can be tricky but not with Sir Walter Weed Control, it is especially designed weed control spray for your Sir Water lawn and it will get rid of Bindii, oxalis, clover and all sorts of other uninvited broadleaf weed nasties.  It contains Bromoxynil so it is safe to use on Buffalo lawns and this value for money size will treat over 400 square metres.

Always follow the instructions

Always follow the label’s instructions and make sure you adhere to the applications rates. A good way to do this is firstly measure out 50 square metres of area, fill up your sprayer with just water and spray the 50 square metre area. Then measure how much water your sprayer used to cover the area and mix 30ml of weed control product with this amount of water and you are ready to go.

Remember

A couple of things to remember, don’t mow for 2 days after application and don’t be concerned if your lawn takes on a slight brown appearance in summer, that is perfectly normal and of course like with all garden products always read the instructions.

Lawn Aeration – What is soil compaction? (video)

Posted on by

Lawn compaction

Lawn compaction is a common problem; it is caused by wear and tear and heavy traffic.  For example if you like your backyard cricket, around the batting crease or bowlers run-up you will find the soil can get compacted, or if you are walking back and forward to the washing line.  It is easy to check for and it is pretty easy to fix.

To test if you have a compacted lawn, simply push a garden fork or screwdriver into the ground.  In a good lawn, the tines of the fork should easily go down halfway or more, if they don’t the chances are the lawn is compacted and it needs some fixing.

Lawn Aeration

You can aerate compacted lawns with a garden fork or power aerator or coring machines.  You can hire petrol driven lawn aerators from equipment rental companies.

You can also apply gypsum to compacted lawns at the rate of about 1 kilo per square metre. Once the lawn is aerated it will grow strongly again and outcompete bindii and other nasty broadleaf weeds.

Army Worm Eradication (video)

Posted on by

Army Worm Eradication

Army worm or sod web worm can be really bad news and attack all sorts of lawns in various parts of the country. These guys are bad news and very destructive.  It depends on where you live to what time of year they will attack.

Tell-tale signs

What you want to watch out for are moths, either flying around a light or flying off as you walk across the lawn, because what they are doing is laying their eggs. Now the worms themselves they can be green, brownish green or black in appearance, sometimes with a stripe or triangular markings. They will hatch after about 5-7 days and that’s where the big damage is done.  They attack the lawn eating it and interestingly they don’t just attack any lawn they go for a nice healthy looking lawn a bit like your Sir Walter so you need to be very careful.  And once they have exhausted the food supply, they all get up in big groups and move on a bit like an army on the march.

If you do notice a patch or areas of your lawn that look a bit thinner or shorter or look like they have been mown you could have army worm.

One way to check for it is to get down on your hands and knees where the damaged area meets your normal lawn and prise the lawn apart because this could well be the army front line.  What you will see is maybe some worms or some little green balls which is the waste product, basically your old lawn gone wrong. What you need to do is treat this with a fast acting insecticide such as the Sir Walter pest control, remember always read the directions first.

For more information

Lawn Care Article: Eradicating Lawn Grubs from your lawn

When to fertilise your lawn (video)

Posted on by

To keep your Sir Walter in peak condition you will need regular applications of fertiliser.  Healthy deep rooted lawns are better equipped to deal with stress, maintain their winter colour and prevent the germination of weeds.

When laying you should always use a starter fertiliser such as Sir Launcher, then approximately 6-8 weeks after installation we recommend using Sir Walter Premium Lawn Food at 25grams per square metre.  Then as an ongoing guide, fertilise your lawn with Sir Walter Lawn Food at the start of spring, middle of summer and autumn.When it is raining it is the perfect opportunity to get out your Sir Walter fertiliser, because you don’t have to water it in, you are saving water and your grass will love you for it!  You can spread by hand or with a fertiliser spreader.

As a benchmark feed one small section of about 1 square metre with twice the amount that you apply to the rest of your lawn and water that in well too.  If the rest of your lawn looses colour and this area retains its colour, it is telling you that it is time to feed again.So don’t forget regular applications of Sir Walter Premium Lawn Food will give you a nice healthy lawn all year round.

Preparation for a new lawn (video)

Posted on by

Preparing a New Lawn

The preparation for your new lawn is just as important as the installation and crucial to its success.

Always spray the area with a weed killer such as Glypho 360 to remove any unwanted weeds, vegetation or an existing lawn and remember always follow the instructions.

Digging out existing grasses is not always a good way to kill them as some roots can go down over a metre.  If your soil is not ideal and you need to improve the structure, cultivate with Gypsum organic matter for clay soils and plenty of organic matter for sandy soils before spreading a 100mm layer of turf underlay soil mix.  For more specific advice do not hesitate to contact us 1300 554 442 – or ask us a question on our Facebook page.

If you have a 150mm of good soil already there is no need to bring in any new soil, just cultivate with a rotary hoe or by hand.  In some situations you may want to bring in a layer of turf underlay soil mix, just to help you fine tune those levels before putting the turf down.

Calculating how much soil you will need is fairly easy.  For a depth of 100m you will need 1 cubic metre per 10spm and spreading is simple. Once your soil has been cultivated and you have spread your turf underlay soil mix, it’s a great idea to add some Sir Launcher which really helps get your lawn started and established.  Mix whatever you have added into the top 75mm, level it out and you are ready to go.

 

Sir Walter Spare Change Garden Created by Jason Hodges (video)

Posted on by

Sir Walter Spare Change Garden Created by Jason Hodges
Gold Medal Winning ‘Sir Walter Spare Change’ Garden – MIFGS 2012

Now this is my 2012 MIFGS Garden. We won the gold medal and we also won the best garden design award, the Calmetto Award.

My garden is a little bit different to most of the show gardens this year, because I put a lawn in it!

It’s not rocket science, grass gives your garden plenty of space and lots of places to entertain on when you’ve got more than just half a dozen people to spill out onto your lawn.

When you think about it, lawn’s one of the cheapest things you can put into the garden. This Sir Walter, which is the best grass you can buy – $500 and I’ve got all of this. If it was pavers or concrete I would be spending 10 or 20 times the amount of money.

The best thing about this is you can use it for a heap of different things – you can’t wash your car on a hard surface any more, but you can on the lawn. You can teach your kids to play a bit of footy and play a bit of cricket…

Jason Hodges

 

Lawn Lovers Lawn Rescue (video)

Posted on by

Lawn Lovers Lawn Rescue

Now one of the things that can happen to many lawns is the root zone dries out the lawn gets hungry and really starts to struggle. And for us the lawn owner we either think it’s all too hard and simply give up or go and spend a heap of money on the wrong products.

A few years ago Sir Walter launched a starter fertiliser called Sir Launcher. Sir Launcher is full of the best fertilisers and water storage crystals. The only thing is it’s designed to go on before you install your new lawn, so it doesn’t really work for existing lawn. But that problem has been solved thanks to the Lawn Lovers Range.

Lawn Rescue is an easy-to-use, clip on hose pack that contains no nasty chemicals and what Sir Launcher does to new lawns, Lawn Rescue will do to existing lawns.

Lawn Rescue is an effective starter fertiliser designed for the development of root systems and early turf growth, specifically developed to stimulate support and protect new root growth in turf while optimising water availability to the plant. It contains all the vital nutrients like nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous. It also contains organic seaweed kelp and polycrylamide water storage technology to keep the water in the root zone where the plant most needs it.

Laying new turf / Lawn Installation (video)

Posted on by

Laying new turf / Lawn Installation

Installing your turf is pretty straight forward.  Once you have got your preparation done you are ready to go. Turf is cut fresh at the Turf farm and delivered within 24 hours so lay it as soon as possible to avoid the roots drying out.

If the turf is left stacked for any period of time it will result in heat damage. Now the turf is best laid across any slope, this is particularly important on steep sites.

Start from a straight edge such as a driveway or pavement and lay the turf in a brick work pattern ensuring that the edges fit snugly together. Use a sharp spade, a strong knife or garden sheers to cut the turf and to fit it around irregular shapes in your garden such as trees, garden beds and garden edges.

Once you have got your lawn down it is really important to use a water filled roller, you can hire these on a daily basis.  What these do is ensure the roots are in good contact with the soil below.  Without this important step the roots can dry out, your turf can dry out and you will end up using a lot more water in the first 24-48 hours.

So whatever you do make sure you roll the turf.

Living with sun & shade (video)

Posted on by

Living with sun & shade

Sir Walter is an excellent lawn for shady areas but to get the most out of it here is a few handy tips for you. First of all you need to ensure that it does get some filtered light and also if you have it growing under trees don’t let any leaf litter build up, make sure you rake that off quick smart so the blades can get any available light.You may find that in winter the grass thins out a little a bit and that’s perfectly normal, there is no need to panic. Another thing is to reduce the traffic flow in the shady areas, keep that right down to a minimum because that may wear the grass out. And of course always follow a good lawn maintenance program.

Lime & Gypsum (video)

Posted on by

Lime and Gypsum

Gypsum, also known as calcium sulphate helps to break down and open up a clay soil allowing water, nutrients, air and lawn roots to penetrate into the soil more easily which is exactly what you want.

Now if you’ve got a clay soil it’s best to incorporate the gypsum into the soil before you spread your turf underlay mix. You can do this with a rotary hoe or you could just use a mattock for small areas.

For an existing lawn use a garden fork, push it in while moving it back and forth. Broadcast the required amount of lime over the area and water it into the soil. Now sometimes you lawn will get damaged from general wear and tear from pets or high traffic and even cold weather. Gypsum will help repair these areas.

Now always read the instructions on the bag buy as a general rule for light clay soils you need to apply 1 kg per square metre and for heavy clay soils you double it to 2 kg  per square metre.  And remember this too, gypsum is pH neutral, if you want to raise your soils pH you need to apply lime or dolomite.

Loving Your Lawn – Your Guide to the Perfect Aussie Lawn (video)

Posted on by

G’day Nigel Ruck Here

I’d like to introduce my new book, Loving your Lawn, your guide to the perfect aussie lawn.

Created with the collective knowledge of 66 of the leading Australian Turf Growers, this book enables people throughout Australia to select, lay and maintain a lawn to suit their unique situation.

Published by Green Propeller and written by myself, this comprehensive lawn guide is a collaborative work. It’s the first book of its kind – aimed directly at all Australian lawn lovers and their lawns. Loving your Lawn combines the practical and localised knowledge of turf farmers across Australia with my hands-on knowledge and practical skills in both lawn and landscaping in general. Green Propeller’s creative, editorial and marketing team have crafted this knowledge into a unique fusion of how-to guides, practical information and outstanding photography — a book worthy of any coffee table, or lawn enthusiasts book shelf.

I hope you enjoy Loving your Lawn…

Measuring your lawn area / Lawn Installation (video)

Posted on by

Measuring your lawn area / Lawn Installation

Lawns come in all shapes and sizes. Here are a few handy tips to help you work out how much soil and lawn you are going to need.

To measure the area of a square or rectangle, just multiply the length by the width.  To measure the area of a circle, multiply the radius by itself and then by 3.14.  To measure the area of a triangle, multiply the height by the base divided by 2. You will need 1 cubic metre per 10 square metres.  For irregular shapes it is a good idea to break the area down, measure those and then add them all up. And always remember to add about 5-10% extra on your order for contingencies.

The Importance of Soil pH for Your Lawn (video)

Posted on by

 The Importance of Soil pH for Your Lawn

Sometimes you may find your lawn is not performing very well or not responding to fertiliser and this could be to do with the soils pH.

Now pH is a measure of acidity and alkalinity and Sir Walter lawns like to be in the 6 to 7.5 range for optimum performance. A pH in the right range of 6 to 7.5 is a bit like a plant with its mouth wide open, no food will go to waste here and it will all be eaten by the plant.

Adjusting the pH is easier on loamy and sandy soils than on heavy clays.  If your soil is a sandy loam and you need to raise the soil pH by one unit add the equivalent of 150g of liming material per square metre.  An adult handful is about 100g.

Heavy clay soils will require at least 250g to raise the pH by one unit.  A super fine grade of lime works quickest and generally costs around $8 a bag.

For an established lawn, which may be lacking magnesium, mix 50/50 lime and dolomite as the liming material to get the right balance of calcium and magnesium. Dolomite is only available in one grade and costs around $8 a bag.

After applying lime or dolomite make sure you water them well so that it moves into the soil. Testing the soil’s pH may seem like some mad scientific operation but it couldn’t be simpler with one of the soil pH test kits.  All you have to do is follow the instructions and it even tells you how to make the changes.

You can get all the lawn care products you will need here at our online Lawnstore.