Austalian lawn fanatics -easy maintenance lawn program
Spring
| Timing | Product/Activity | September | October | November |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start of the Month | Maintenance Tasks | Soil Testing or Ph Kits Test kits can be purchased from ALF store and mailed for testing | Major Renovation Scarify, Aerate and Topdress | Mower maintenance and charge-up Regularly check blades to ensure clean cut, change to reel if possible |
| Nutritions | Landscape Professional Formula All Round Rate 3.5kg/100m2 | |||
| Surfactants | Hydraflo 2 Granular (Wetting agents) Rate: 2..5kg/100m2 | |||
| Biostimulants | ||||
| Insecticides | Acelepryn GR (Insecticide) Rate: 1.5kg/100m2 | |||
| Herbicides | Post-Emergent Selective Herbicide Follow label directions and use products specifics to lawn needs | Pre-emergent herbicide Follow label directions and use products specific to lawn needs | ||
| Plant Growth Regulators | ||||
| Amendment | Gypsum or Lime (Soil Amendment) Rate: 10kg/100m2 | |||
| End of the Month | Maintenance Tasks | Mower maintenance and charge-up Regularly check blades to ensure clean cut | ||
| Nutritions | ||||
| Surfactants | ||||
| Biostimulants | ||||
| Insecticides | ||||
| Herbicides | Post-Emergent Selective Herbicide Follow label directions and use products specifics to lawn needs | |||
| Plant Growth Regulators | ||||
| Amendment |
| SEPTEMBER - Notes, Hints and Tips | OCTOBER - Notes, Hints and Tips | NOVEMBER - Notes, Hints and Tips |
|---|---|---|
| Now is a great time to get a Soil Test taken or simply Test the ph of your soil to ensure you use the right amendments coming into renovation time in mid-spring. Soil tests kits are available through Australian Lawn Fanatics and ph test kits are available from most leading hardware stores. Apply Acelepryn GR with and irrigate in with 5-10mm of irrigation. September is a great time to clear up any undesired weed species in your lawn before heading into your mid spring major renovation Generally 2 applications of post-emergent selective herbicide 10-14 days apart will clear up most weed species within your lawn. Ensure you follow label directions and identify your lawn species and the weeds in your lawn so you use the right product. Thorough hand weeding is also a good practice. Use an implement such as an old screw driver or hand weeding fork to completely remove the roots of the weed. | 1-3 days prior to your major renovation irrigate heavily a few days leading into aeration to ensure a soft surface for deeper penetration of the aerator. Ensure you have the right tools and machinery lined up to do your major renovation. Scarifiers and aerators can be hired from most machinery hire outlets. Alternatively, if you want the job taken care of by a professional you can have the Australian Lawn Fanatics own Lawn Rescue Squad undertake your renovation. After aerating and topdressing apply, Gypsum or Lime followed by Landscape Professional Formula All Round and Hydraflo 2 Granular Wetting Agent. Pre-emergent herbicide can than be applied and irrigated in with 5-10mm. | After your turf has recovered enough and the topdressing material is less apparent on the turf surface it is time to make a call on mower maintenance and mower change-up. Now is the time to move from rotary mowing to reel mowing (if you have one) Alternatively if you have a rotary Mower now is a good time to change your mower blades. Due to the abrasiveness of the topdressing material on the mower blades within 4-6 weeks post renovation it can significantly wear on the blades. Keeping the blades sharp will ensure a cleaner cut and greater speed of recovery of your turf as well as minimising potential for disease on a sheared leaf blade. |
Summer
| Timing | Product/Activity | December | January | February |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start of the Month | Maintenance Tasks | Irrigation Audit and Mower maintenance Undertake irrigation audit and regularly check blades to ensure clean cut | Mower maintenance and localised aerating, plugging and lawn repair Regularly check blades to ensure clean cut. Repair areas on lawn | Mower maintenance and localised aerating, plugging and lawn repair Regularly check blades to ensure clean cut Repair areas on lawn |
| Nutritions | Landscape Professional Formula All Round Rate: 3.5kg/100m2 | |||
| Surfactants | Hydraflo 2 Granular (Wetting agent) Rate: 2.5kg/100m2 | |||
| Biostimulants | ||||
| Insecticides | Acelepryn GR (Insecticide) Rate: 1.5kg/100m2 | |||
| Herbicides | ||||
| Plant Growth Regulators | ||||
| Amendment | ||||
| End of the Month | Maintenance Tasks | Mower maintenance and localised aerating, plugging and lawn repair Regularly check blades to ensure clean cut. Repair areas on lawn | Mower maintenance and localised aerating, plugging and lawn repair Regularly check blades to ensure clean cut. Repair areas on lawn | Mower maintenance and localised aerating, plugging and lawn repair Regularly check blades to ensure clean Cut Repair areas on lawn |
| Nutritions | ||||
| Surfactants | ||||
| Biostimulants | ||||
| Insecticides | ||||
| Herbicides | ||||
| Plant Growth Regulators | ||||
| Amendment |
| DECEMBER - Notes, Hints and Tips | JANUARY - Notes, Hints and Tips | FEBRUARY - Notes, Hints and Tips |
|---|---|---|
| Due to the warmer months being the peak demand for irrigation and turfgrasses higher water requirement, December is a great time to ensure your irrigation is running smoothly by running an irrigation audit. This involves visual observation of any leaks, misses or poorly running irrigation heads. Catch canning, measuring application rate, or the flow rate of your sprinkler versus coverage of your sprinkler. Once you know how much water you're putting on your lawn you can then look into the water use of your turfgrass and irrigate accordingly. Through the summer months it is always good to check for any areas that are struggling for growth and ascertain as to why. Tasks like localised aerating with a fork or hand aerator and plugging will help any areas recover effectively, | Apply Acelepryn GR with the spreader first followed by applying Hydraflo 2 and Landscape Professional Formula All Round. Irrigate all products in with 5-10mm of irrigation. Through the summer months it is always good to regularly clean and check. your mowers as they are being regularly used. Checking how sharp your blades are on the rotary mower or ensuring you have the right reel-bed knife tension will lead to a better quality after cut appearance, more efficiency in the machines and a healthier lawn. Through the summer months it is always good to check for any areas that are struggling for growth and ascertain as to why. Tasks like localised aerating with a fork or hand aerator and plugging will help any areas recover effectively. | Through the summer months it always good to check for any areas that are struggling for growth and ascertain as to why. Tasks like localised aerating with a fork or hand aerator and plugging will help any areas recover effectively. |
Autumn
| Timing | Product/Activity | March | April | May |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start of the Month | Maintenance Tasks | Autumn Renovation and Mower maintenance Aerate and light Topdress. Check blades to ensure clean cut | Shade check and Mower maintenance and increase cutting height Check the shading on your lawn and check mower blades | Irrigation Budget and Mower maintenance. Increase cutting height Undertake irrigation audit and regularly check blades to ensure clean cut |
| Nutritions | Landscape Professional Formula All Round Rate: 3.5kg/100m2 | |||
| Surfactants | Hydraflo 2 Granular (Wetting agent) Rate: 2.5kg/100m2 | |||
| Biostimulants | ||||
| Insecticides | ||||
| Herbicides | ||||
| Plant Growth Regulators | ||||
| Amendment | ||||
| End of the Month | Maintenance Tasks | |||
| Nutritions | ||||
| Surfactants | ||||
| Biostimulants | ||||
| Insecticides | ||||
| Herbicides | Pre-emergent herbicide Follow label directions and use products specific to lawn needs | |||
| Plant Growth Regulators | ||||
| Amendment |
| MARCH - Notes, Hints and Tips | APRIL - Notes, Hints and Tips | MAY - Notes, Hints and Tips |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 days prior to your renovation irrigate heavily a few days leading into aeration to ensure a soft surface for deeper penetration of the aerator. Ensure you have the right tools and machinery lined up to do your renovation. Aerators can be hired from most machinery hire outlets. Alternatively, if you want the job taken care of by a professional you can have the Australian Lawn Fanatics own Lawn Rescue Squad undertake your renovation. Mid to late March is a good time to apply Pre-emergent herbicide prior to germination of any weeds that grow under cooler temperatures. Make sure you apply after renovation if you are undertaking and Autumn Reno. Weeds that grow in cooler temperatures including Poa Annua and Clover begin germinating once the soil temperatures start to cool. If you live in a cooler part of Australia you may have to apply pre-emergent herbicide earlier. If you are looking to oversow your lawn with a cool season turfgrass variety such as perennial ryegrass steer clear of using any pre-emergent herbicides. Oversowing can be done immediately after the renovation and your renovation practice can be changed to allow a successful oversow. | Apply Hydraflo 2 and Landscape Professional Formula All Round. Irrigate all products in with 5-10mm of irrigation. With the season change and the large day and night temperature differences keep an eye out for dew onset in the mornings on your lawn. Dew will keep moisture on the leaf in the morning for a longer period of time and create the right conditions for the development of diseases such as dollar spot that are common this time of year. A short burst of irrigation or brushing or blowing the dew off in the mornings for a couple of weeks in mid Autumn goes a long way to culturally managing the disease susceptibility of your lawn. Rake up any leaves and prune any overhanging branches that may be reducing light on your lawn. The Autumn and Winter months are a great time to be mindful of the shade that encroaches onto your lawn if it is an issue. Once the sun angle becomes lower you will find areas that the turf grows leggy, becomes easily encroached by weeds, hold moisture for longer and even gets algae growth may be as a result of increasing shade during the cooler months. If it is building shade, consider changing areas to a garden bed with shade tolerant| plants otherwise if it is tree shade you may be able to lift the canopy of trees by pruning the lower branches. Now is a good time to start raising the height of cut on your mower if possible. Increasing the length of your turfgrass will allow the plant to capture more light particularly with the lower sun angle and increased shading through the cooler months of the year. | Rake up any leaves and prune any overhanging branches that may be reducing light on your lawn. Now that things are slowing down on your lawn it is a good time to work out what your irrigation budget is for the type of turf in your lawn and your local area for the next year. Use the evapotranspiration data from the local met bureau. This will give you an idea on how much water you will need in irrigation for your lawn each week and allow you to calculate how much you can expect on your water bill. For warm season turf you will need to irrigate 50-60% of the Evapotranspiration rate to your nearest weather station and for Cool season turf 75-85% of the evapotranspiration rate. Continue raising the height of cut on your mower possible, increasing the length of your turfgrass will allow the plant to capture more light particularly with the lower sun angle and increased shading through the cooker months of the year. |
Winter
| Timing | Product/Activity | June | July | August |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start of the Month | Maintenance Tasks | Adjust Irrigation Decrease irrigation frequency and application rate | Mower maintenance Regularly check blades to ensure clean cut ready for spring renovations. | |
| Nutritions | ||||
| Surfactants | ||||
| Biostimulants | ||||
| Insecticides | ||||
| Herbicides | Post-Emergent Selective Herbicide Follow label directions and use products specific to lawn needs | |||
| Plant Growth Regulators | ||||
| Amendment | ||||
| End of the Month | Maintenance Tasks | |||
| Nutritions | ||||
| Surfactants | ||||
| Biostimulants | ||||
| Insecticides | ||||
| Herbicides | Post-Emergent Selective Herbicide Follow label directions and use products specific to lawn needs | |||
| Plant Growth Regulators | ||||
| Amendment |
| JUNE - Notes, Hints and Tips | JULY - Notes, Hints and Tips | AUGUST - Notes, Hints and Tips |
|---|---|---|
| Now is a great time to adjust your irrigation. If you calculated your irrigation requirements you will see that irrigation can be greatly reduced during the winter months. It is often close to half the irrigation requirement during the cooler months of the year compared to the warm months of the year. Now is a good time if you haven't done so to raise the height of cut on your mower if possible. Increasing the length of your turfgrass will allow the plant to capture more light particularly with the lower sun angle and increased shading through the cooler months of the year. | Mid-winter is a great time to clear up any undesired weed species in your lawn. Generally 2 applications of post-emergent selective herbicide 10-14 days apart will clear up most weed species within your lawn. Ensure you follow label directions and identify your lawn species and the weeds in your lawn so you use the right product. Thorough hand weeding is also a good practice. Use an implement such as an old screw driver or hand weeding fork to completely remove the roots of the weed. Rake up any leaves and prune any overhanging branches that may be reducing light on your lawn. The Winter months are a great time to be mindful of the shade that encroaches onto your lawn if it is an issue. Once the sun angle becomes lower you will find areas that the turf grows leggy, becomes easily encroached by weeds, hold moisture for longer and even gets algae growth may be as a result of increasing shade during the cooler months. If it is building shade, consider changing areas to a garden bed with shade tolerant plants otherwise if it is tree shade you may be able to lift the canopy of trees by pruning the lower branches. | Towards the end of winter and going into spring in preparedness for your lawn renovation it is always food to regularly clean and check your mowers as they are being regularly used. Checking how sharp your blades are on the rotary mower or ensuring you we the right reel-bed knife tension will lead to a better quality after cut appearance, more efficiency in the machines and a healthier lawn. |
