Lawn Tips - Day 1: 21 Days of Garden Fatigue

NOTE: THIS IS A REPRINT OF AN ARTICLE ON MY PREVIOUS BLOG AS I REBUILD THIS INFO HERE.

For every southern hemisphere gardener, spring has begun at a rapid gallop toward summer, so if you have a lawn you may be noticing some health problems already. In an age of considerable climate change, rapid population growth and limited water resources lawns are fast becoming a taboo gardening essential but try rolling around on the pea-gravel and you'll soon remember why you do.

The lawn to a garden is what carpet is to a home. It usually takes the most maintenance and resources in any garden (apart from xeriscapes) so it pays to understand the problems you may get and how to treat them.

Read on for tips to treat these problems...

Dead Circles or Dirt Mounds - these are caused by the African Black Beetle (Scarab Beetle) and are treatable so long as you get to it early. Queensland's Dept of Primary Industries has a great fact sheet on treating these or you can follow the directions below;
Biological control: An Entomopathogenic nematode sold by 'Ecogrow' +61 (02) 6257 0577.

Chemical control: Cyfluthrin, sold under the trade name ‘Baythroid turf’ and 'Baythroid lawn/garden'; Chlorpyrifos, sold under many trade names including ‘Lawn beetle killer’, ‘Lawn beetle and grub killer’, ‘Lawn grub destroyer’, 'Lawn beetle and slater killer' and 'Chlorpyrifos G'; Diazinon, sold under the trade name ‘Pennside lawn grub’ and Eucalyptus and melaleuca oil , sold under the trade name 'Nutri-gro plus' and 'De-Pact'; Imidacloprid sold under the trade name 'Confidor hose-on lawn insecticide'.

The African black beetle larvae can be very difficult to control, as it lives under the ground making it hard to bring the chemical in contact with this pest. To help overcome this problem the above mentioned insecticide’s should be applied to the lawn late in the afternoon and then watered in well.

Dead Patches - these usually occur through under-watering Check your reticulation or sprinkler settings - they may not be reaching far enough.

Dark Green Patches - this is caused from uneven spreading of fertiliser. When re-fertilising use a fertiliser spreader to control the rate at which it is dispersed over the lawn.

Worn Patches - these are caused either from high traffic usage or because the lawn is too shaded and can't receive enough sunlight. In both cases it would be best to reassess whether lawn is appropriate in this position. Perhaps paving the area or growing a different strain of turf would work better.

Sponging/ Thatching - you will notice this when walking across your lawn as you'll see holes between the lawn resembling a knitted jumper. The only way to deal with this is to de-thatch the lawn with a thatch rake, for small areas, or a mechanical vertical de-thatcher. This is best done while the lawn is still dormant.

Crop Circles - if you find these are occuring overnight you may want to contact someone who knows about these things.

Posted by Stuart on January 2, 2006 6:24 AM | Permalink | Check to Subscribe to this Comment:

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