Faq

Establishing New Lawns

Preparation:Remove as many weeds as possible from the area you wish to sow then work so the surface is uniform with finely tilled soil or sand. The base should still be firm so that your foot does not sink too deeply when you walk on it. The following steps will help achieve this.

• Spray the area to be sown and cultivate then if possible leave for re-growth of weeds, then spray again.
• Remove any rock, debris and weed material from the chosen area, leaving the soil clean and finely tilled ready for seeding.
• Sow the seed, using a good strong rate which is specific to variety used to ensure full cover with the least amount of weed invasion. Best results are from spreading seed uniformly over the area’s surface, either by hand or with a commercially available spreader like the GTi Hand Spreader.

Tip: Spread half of the total amount seed over the whole area then repeat with the seed remaining. This can assist enormously in achieving a more uniform coverage. (The same tip applies when applying fertiliser or any other granulated products.)

• Apply Turfmaster Starter fertiliser then lightly rake the surface to ensure maximum soil to seed contact – without burying the seed too deep.
• Lightly roll the surface then ensure the area is moist thoughout the germination period by watering with a fine droplet sprinkler or by hand. (Don’t over water!).
• While the grass is establishing it is better to frequently water lightly than to infrequently heavy watering. Applying GTi Prolawn Aquaturf MAX G can greatly assist growth by holding moisture more uniformly in the newly sown surface.

Maintaining a Good Lawn.

To keep a top quality lawn all season you need to manage weeds, fertility, mowing frequency and height of cut. Here is a maintenance programme with some helpful hints.

Mowing
During the spring / early summer growth period mowing frequency and height of cut is very important – cut it too short and exposed soil invites weed invasion, too long and it will shade the roots inhibiting growth.

• Mow frequently cutting it no shorter than 50 mm at each mowing to encourage a thicker grass sward (grass blade).

Insect Pests
Pests such as grass grub and argentine stem weevil can damage you lawn very quickly – these are more visible in summer as brown patches of lawn.

• Apply GTi Pyrifos G for grass grub and argentine stem weevil.

Spring 

• Fertilise with Turfmaster Gold – very important to ensure the nutrients are available to the plans at all times.
• Spray weeds with a broad range weed killer such to control broadleaf weeds.
• De-thatch if necessary and overseed  bare or weak areas with the appropriate GTi Prolawn seed blend and fertilise with Turfmaster Starter.
• Fertilise again with Turfmaster Gold at the end of November

Summer – Watering and Dry Patch
Deep, less frequent, watering assists in maintaining a beautiful green lawn and reduces invasion from shallow rooting grass weeds. Watering alone is often not enough to maintain moisture in the soil, particularly in high drainage areas (thatch or sandy soils). Even with regular watering dry areas known as ‘dry patch’ affect growth as the water drains easily away. An early application (before hot conditions set in) of  GTi Aquaturf G wetting agent granules significantly reduces the issue and recovers areas that have already dried out.

• Apply GTi Aquaturf G in November/December
• Can be used in all garden areas including pots and tubs where difficulty in re-wetting exists.

Autumn 
Carry out one of these two:

• Fertilise with Turfmaster Gold – as important as in spring OR 
• De-thatch if necessary and overseed bare or weak areas with the appropriate GTi Prolawn seed blend and fertilise with Turfmaster Starter.

Winter
Winter is a time for reduced maintenance with mowing and fertilising being the main tasks.

• Apply GTi Pyrifos G for grass grub and porina.

Best practice in mulching

After the wet winter we have just had, now is the perfect time to capture all of that water that has fallen on your gardens and keep it in the soil, where it will do the most good.

Start by clearing the weeds away from your garden beds. You can physically remove them or use a herbicide. Measure the length and depth of each garden bed you wish to mulch and multiply these 2 figures together to establish the area you are going to mulch. If you have more than one garden bed, calculate the area of each one (as described above) and add all the areas together.

When mulching, you need to put the mulch on to a depth of 50-100mm, with 70mm being the optimum depth. Anything less than 50mm is a waste of time as the mulch will not be able to function properly.

To calculate the volume of mulch you will need to multiply the total area you are mulching by the depth you want (0.05 m = 50 mm, 0.07 m = 70 mm, 0.1 m = 100 mm).

Select your mulch from the extensive range at New Zealand Landscape Supplies, get it delivered or pick it up and lay it out. Your plants will thank you for helping to conserve all that soil moisture just for them!