Renovating or Growing a New Lawn
This warm barmy weather presents an ideal time to renovate or re-sow your lawn. It means your new grass can be well established before the winter chill hits.
Living Earth Lawn Mix – our product is a premium blend of compost, sand, bark fines and fertilisers and is an ideal media for growing lawns.
Renovating an Existing Lawn: eradicate the weeds by hand-weeding or spraying with a selective weedkiller such as Yates’ Turfix. Warm temperatures such as we currently have are good for activating combination fertiliser/weedkiller turf products such as Osmocote Lawn Builder with Weedkill. Bare patches/ dips in the lawn can be filled with Living Earth Lawn Mix to a maximum depth of 30mm. Dampen the soil then broadcast the lawn seed, raking or lightly topdressing with more Lawn Mix afterward. Lightly irrigate in the dry days following.
Sowing a New Lawn: Cultivate your soil and spray re-growth with a contact weedkiller such as Round-up or Shortcut. (These herbicides do not remain active in the soil after spraying, thus allowing you to sow lawn seed in the days following. Note they are non-selective and will act on blades of grass as well as weeds). Top-dress your soil with Living Earth Lawn Mix to a depth of 30mm. Irrigate lightly then broadcast lawn seed, lightly topdressing with more Lawn Mix. Water gently in the dry days following.
Garden Diary
• Plant out brassicas and beets and sow carrots and parsnips into well composted soil. Note that Living Earth Organic Vege Mix is an ideal medium for vegetable planter boxes or directly onto garden beds.
• Trim, feed and mulch your hedges. Nothing looks better than sharply defined hedges in a garden and it means the flush of growth will harden off before winter. And yes, although it may be looking fantastic, do the lavender too!
• Trim herbs such as basil, parsley and coriander, so they’ll keep bushing up and won’t bolt to seed.
• Spray tenacious perennial weeds now – once the winter arrives many sprays are less effective.
• Autumn is Nature’s best planting time – dig plenty of Living Earth Compost through your soil and get planting. Just remember to water new plants deeply at their roots every few days.
• Plant new season’s bulbs of freesia, ranunculus, crocus and anemones. Other bulbs such as tulips, hyacinths and daffodils benefit from a spell (6 weeks) in the ‘fridge to get them into winter mode.
• Lawns: Knock out weeds, treat for grass grub and porina caterpillar and fertilise.
• Feijoa trees are available in garden centres now: Unless you select Feijoa ‘’Unique” which is self-fertile, you’ll need to purchase two different varieties for pollination. Try a combination of Feijoa ‘’Gemini” (early season) with Feijoa “Opal Star” (late season). Remember to encourage the thrushes and blackbirds into the garden in spring as they act as pollinators.
• Many deciduous trees are colouring now. Note any that impress you and check with your local Garden Centre if they grow well in your area and whether they can obtain one for you.
• Add general fertiliser around the garden to obtain that extra flowering and encourage growth. But remember that many South African plants such as leucadendrons and proteas don’t cope with fertiliser and avoid them.