Lawns and Gardens

[Beerlust]

1 hour ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

It's probably also that the hedge and the pear tree take up more of the available water in the soil meaning the grass misses out on a fair bit. I notice it a lot here where trees are that the grass doesn't grow well, even if it's shade tolerant.

Thanks for your insights Kelsey. I was hoping you would offer up something given your experience. 

What should I be doing different to maintain a grass in this area?

Lusty.

[Otto Von Blotto]

9 hours ago, Beerlust said:

Thanks for your insights Kelsey. I was hoping you would offer up something given your experience. 

What should I be doing different to maintain a grass in this area?

Lusty.

Get rid of the hedge and pear tree  

Seriously though, I would start by trying to water it more. If there's more water available then the grass should be able to get more. TifTuf could be a good option to put there as well as it is shade tolerant but also doesn't require a lot of water (once established). Any grass with similar traits would work though. The soil may need work as well. 

Edited February 18, 2020 by Otto Von Blotto

[RepSpec]

Question about thatching...

My backyard is mainly Kik and it is very thick in some places. Looking closer at it, is very thatchy and needs to be dethatched.

Whats the best way to do this, i have been looking at hiring a thatcher, mainly because of the size of my lawn. But could get away with a hand rake style.

Also, whats the best order to do this.

Cut then thatch and pick up

or

Thatch, pick up and then mow?

 

Also, is it worth rolling the lawn to try flatten it out to minimize the thatching in the future?

Im not going full reno, but would like to get rid of the tatch and level out places.

[Otto Von Blotto]

Mow then dethatch, much easier to do if the lawn is shorter, especially if you're doing it by hand. I did it at my olds one year with a steel tine rake. Obviously a scarifier would be easier, and I would have done this if it weren't for all the rocks hidden under the topsoil. 

I mowed it first, pretty low, then ripped it up with the rake, raked the stuff up then mowed it again to get the last bits and neaten it up, then fertiliser on, top dressed with sand and watered it in. It took a few weeks to completely re-cover the yard but it only took a day or two to see that it would be much improved, and it was. 

Depending on the lawn it may be easier to simply cut the lawn down to the soil. I did this with the Sir Walter crap in the front yard as it was quite spongy, and it definitely sorted it out. 

Have had a reasonable amount of experience doing this, used to do it every September at the golf course, on the greens at least. The tee boxes and fairways only got the coring machine treatment. 

 

[Beer Baron]

What has happened to my Murraya??

I have about 15 across the front of my house and this one looks sad. All the leaves are drooping and it looks a bit more yellow. 

Any idea??

[Beer Baron]

I have this weed growing in my lawn. Does anyone know what it is and how to get rid of it??

Thanks

[Red devil 44]

1 hour ago, Beer Baron said:

I have this weed growing in my lawn. Does anyone know what it is and how to get rid of it??

Thanks

Where’s Otto when you need him, he would know.

[Popo the Reprobate]

2 hours ago, Beer Baron said:

I have this weed growing in my lawn. Does anyone know what it is and how to get rid of it??

Thanks

I hate that thing. Very invasive. The roots run a long way. I've removed a fair bit by hand but it hasn't proved very effective in the long run.

[Otto Von Blotto]

53 minutes ago, Red devil 44 said:

Where’s Otto when you need him, he would know.

Doing my own lawns still got edging to do and snip off those bits that were too long for the mower, but other than the dog pee burns it's looking pretty good. Bit browned from being left to get too long but that'll disappear in a couple of days.

As for that weed, not sure exactly what it is but selective herbicide should get rid of it without affecting the lawn. Look for broadleaf weed killer that contains MCPA and Dicamba. I have to get some for mine as well, some weeds are starting to invade it. If it's a buffalo lawn you can get a selective herbicide for it too, it will be labelled as such. 

 

Edited February 29, 2020 by Otto Von Blotto

[Malter White]

@Beer Baron 
I've had that weed before so +1 for what Otto says here about broad leaf weed killer. Be sure to make sure your lawn can tolerate it though. The label of the herbicide will tell you which lawns aren't suitable. 

[Classic Brewing Co]

Talking Lawns I have a smallish backyard with some lawn in reasonable shape, however due to the large trees in the back which give great shade & privacy, the lawn simply dosen't get enough sun. I would rather pave the back section than stress about it, good part about it not much to mow !!  

 

[Maurice79]

We have a decent size yard and have two sections of grass. The bottom suffers a little bit on one end due to a row of large pine trees and has wintergrass Im trying to eradicate.

[Pezzza]

On 2/13/2020 at 11:32 AM, Otto Von Blotto said:

stupid bloody rain

Geeze Louise Kelsey... down here... after fkkkn years of drought and six months of fires I reckon you should wash your mouth out with soap.... or maybe some XXXX Gold! 

If you are having ponding issues mate you need to sort out your drainage.  Rain is good.

[Pezzza]

My back yard is looking a bit greener after the rains (which also have calmed the fires which is great)

[Otto Von Blotto]

1 hour ago, Bearded Burbler said:

Geeze Louise Kelsey... down here... after fkkkn years of drought and six months of fires I reckon you should wash your mouth out with soap.... or maybe some XXXX Gold! 

If you are having ponding issues mate you need to sort out your drainage.  Rain is good.

We've had our share. Totally hope it falls where it's really needed but where I am it's not anymore. I'm over the overcast depressing shit to be honest, but if it falls out west or wherever else then absolutely keep it up. I'd agree drainage could use some work, but it's all clay down there which I discovered while driving holes for the little picket fence. I know how to fix it but actually doing that... probably not worth it since we don't get a heap of rain in a short time very often. Plus, clay holds nutrients well; my olds yard is pretty much all clay and I was able to keep it looking great when I was living there. Bit different to a golf course but the basics still work. 

[Malter White]

I recently put together a little raised vegie patch and have been waiting for the hot weather to ease before doing some planting. I'm glad I waited because I jagged some packets of organic seed from Aldi today. $1.49 a packet. They had quite a few varieties of vegetables and herbs - spinach, lettuce, cauli, broccoli, basil, beetroot, chives, dill, parsley and more but I can't remember the rest.
Thought I'd share the info in case anyone else was interested.

[Malter White]

3 hours ago, Maurice79 said:

We have a decent size yard and have two sections of grass. The bottom suffers a little bit on one end due to a row of large pine trees and has wintergrass Im trying to eradicate.

All nicely maintained too, Maurice.  And we've seen the results of your hop plants. You must be full time in your garden. Very impressive.

[Maurice79]

23 minutes ago, MUZZY said:

All nicely maintained too, Maurice.  And we've seen the results of your hop plants. You must be full time in your garden. Very impressive.

A lot of work to get it where it is today. It would be hard to believe I've only watered the lawn 3 or 4 times in the last 12 months. I've spent a lot on mulch and time in the yard manually weeding but its starting to pay off.  Trying for a balance of bee attracting plants and drought tolerant proteas.  The hops are are great bonus providing screening in summer then dying back in winter. The cooler summers are offset by cold winters so I expect thats why the hops do so well.

[Malter White]

10 minutes ago, Maurice79 said:

The cooler summers are offset by cold winters so I expect thats why the hops do so well.

Are you in Tassie?

[Pezzza]

15 hours ago, Maurice79 said:

A lot of work to get it where it is today. It would be hard to believe I've only watered the lawn 3 or 4 times in the last 12 months. I've spent a lot on mulch and time in the yard manually weeding but its starting to pay off.  Trying for a balance of bee attracting plants and drought tolerant proteas.  The hops are are great bonus providing screening in summer then dying back in winter. The cooler summers are offset by cold winters so I expect thats why the hops do so well.

Besides your great work Maurice I do think you might also benefit from a reasonable rainfall and climatic regime... I've only mowed the lawn three or four times in the last 12 months ; )

Though things have changed now with the rains...

[Pezzza]

16 hours ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

We've had our share. Totally hope it falls where it's really needed but where I am it's not anymore. I'm over the overcast depressing shit to be honest, but if it falls out west or wherever else then absolutely keep it up. I'd agree drainage could use some work, but it's all clay down there which I discovered while driving holes for the little picket fence. I know how to fix it but actually doing that... probably not worth it since we don't get a heap of rain in a short time very often. Plus, clay holds nutrients well; my olds yard is pretty much all clay and I was able to keep it looking great when I was living there. Bit different to a golf course but the basics still work. 

Good luck with it Kelsey... it seems the seasons are a bit fkkked up... other than for our Hop Champion @Maurice79 Maurice!

Edited March 1, 2020 by Bearded Burbler

[Pezzza]

On 2/29/2020 at 10:42 AM, Beer Baron said:

What has happened to my Murraya??

I have about 15 across the front of my house and this one looks sad. All the leaves are drooping and it looks a bit more yellow. 

Any idea??

 

Many many things can cause Chlorosis of plant leaves.... or yellowing of the leaves...

If you stick Murraya and Chlorosis into your search engine stuff will pop up... for example:

https://www.bhg.com.au/how-to-revive-murraya-plant

They mention pH, nutrient and water stress...hydrophobic soils (hard to get water in - phobia -  fear of - phobia of water - soil being water repellent) ... but Chlorosis can also be caused by waterlogging... or is classic indicator of Nitrogen deficiency for some plants... different macro or micro nutrient for others.

(My Stout goes yellow if I don't put enough Nitro Gas into it... mmm... just a quiet attempt at a joke here)

 

Photosynthesis utilising chlorophyll is the chief job of any plant... so Chlorosis - an "osis" - which indicates pathology or pathological state e.g. neurosis - means it's down on Chlorophyll...

which means it's crook as you know - but could be a plurality of causes.  Maybe that Murraya link will help mate.

 

And sometimes plants get the shittts and give up and die for some completely unknown reason. 

Biological systems are complex.

 

[Beer Baron]

5 hours ago, Bearded Burbler said:

Many many things can cause Chlorosis of plant leaves.... or yellowing of the leaves...

If you stick Murraya and Chlorosis into your search engine stuff will pop up... for example:

https://www.bhg.com.au/how-to-revive-murraya-plant

They mention pH, nutrient and water stress...hydrophobic soils (hard to get water in - phobia -  fear of - phobia of water - soil being water repellent) ... but Chlorosis can also be caused by waterlogging... or is classic indicator of Nitrogen deficiency for some plants... different macro or micro nutrient for others.

(My Stout goes yellow if I don't put enough Nitro Gas into it... mmm... just a quiet attempt at a joke here)

 

Photosynthesis utilising chlorophyll is the chief job of any plant... so Chlorosis - an "osis" - which indicates pathology or pathological state e.g. neurosis - means it's down on Chlorophyll...

which means it's crook as you know - but could be a plurality of causes.  Maybe that Murraya link will help mate.

 

And sometimes plants get the shittts and give up and die for some completely unknown reason. 

Biological systems are complex.

 

Isn’t it weird that all but 1 are looking sensational??

[Pezzza]

14 hours ago, Beer Baron said:

Isn’t it weird that all but 1 are looking sensational??

It is a buggger and a bit strange but does happen.... and is hard to say BB1 quite what could be going on - you never know what the builders did there - or the previous owners...

Builder could have dropped his 4WD sump full of oil there and just covered it over.... who knows?    Unless you built the place from scratch.

Then - do you know - what the prior land owner was doing/did in that specific area/spot?  Did they poison a tree in that spot earlier?

 

Plant starts well and then hits the layer of material that has some contam of some sort and decides it doesn't like living there.

Or is it beetle larvae - grubs - that have decided the roots of that plant are tasty?

I had a mate who planted a number of trees in the same spot in a suburban back yard and their other tree mates a few metres away were growing great and that spot was just no good...  everything died.  The trees grew up around it all ok and so it became irrelevant... but who knows why the spot was crrrrrrap without analytical investigations/history.

 

Have a look at that site - the problem is that the yellowing could be a symptom of a multitude of plant pathological sins.

Cheers

BB2

Edited March 1, 2020 by Bearded Burbler

[Beer Baron]

8 hours ago, Bearded Burbler said:

It is a buggger and a bit strange but does happen.... and is hard to say BB1 quite what could be going on - you never know what the builders did there - or the previous owners...

Builder could have dropped his 4WD sump full of oil there and just covered it over.... who knows?    Unless you built the place from scratch.

Then - do you know - what the prior land owner was doing/did in that specific area/spot?  Did they poison a tree in that spot earlier?

 

Plant starts well and then hits the layer of material that has some contam of some sort and decides it doesn't like living there.

Or is it beetle larvae - grubs - that have decided the roots of that plant are tasty?

I had a mate who planted a number of trees in the same spot in a suburban back yard and their other tree mates a few metres away were growing great and that spot was just no good...  everything died.  The trees grew up around it all ok and so it became irrelevant... but who knows why the spot was crrrrrrap without analytical investigations/history.

 

Have a look at that site - the problem is that the yellowing could be a symptom of a multitude of plant pathological sins.

Cheers

BB2

I looked at that site but might go to a nursery and see if they know. There used to be lawn there but I decided to make it into a garden. They lawn prior had no issues. Attached is a picture of the plant today