Gardeners in northern Australia can test if they need to tend to their lawn by taking a tiptoe over their turf. If your sensitive tootsies hit a prickly spine of a bindii (Tribulus terrestris) within a few metres – it’s time. Lawns get a bad rap for using high levels of precious resources to keep them looking decent, but Jerry says it doesn’t have to be that way and he offers some hints to make life easier.
1. Weeding – keep on top of weeds that can quickly infest the rest of your garden, such as flickweed (Cardamine hirsuta).
2. Hot water treatment – some weeds are best not disturbed, such as oxalis (Oxalis sp.), as this will simply spread their underground bulbs. Jerry treats these weeds by pouring boiling water over the plant. You might need to treat each plant more than once.
3. Iron out the problem – for larger infestations of flat weeds such as bindii, Jerry uses a broad-scale approach – he treats them with iron sulphate. Mix 2 tablespoons of iron sulphate with 9 litres of water. HINT: To avoid any undissolved granules from blocking the watering can rose, Jerry puts the powder in finely-woven piece of fabric or pantyhose and dunks this in the water until it is dissolved.
WARNING: this solution will stain clothes and paving and kill other plants too, so wash off any spills immediately.
As well as treating weeds infestations, keeping lawns healthy helps them resist weeds and pest attacks. This includes:
1. Don’t mow too low. Don’t cut below about 5cm, in summer especially. This creates a thicker, healthier sward that will shade out invasive weeds. It also traps more evaporation and dew, keeping the soil moist. Mowing too low creates bald patches that makes it easy for weeds to take hold.
2. Aerate your soil. Aerating soil allows the grass roots to penetrate more deeply, helping them out-compete weeds. The easiest way is to take a garden fork, dig it into the lawn about halfway down the tines, and gently lift the turf to create air pockets in the soil that allow water and nutrient to penetrate. It also boosts earthworm activity, which benefits soil health. Jerry aerates his lawn each spring, as growth resumes.
3. Feeding. Jerry uses pulverised sheep manure, which he sieves over the lawn so the fine particles cover any exposed grass rhizomes and the nutrients stimulate growth. It also feeds the worms and keeps them active in the soil.
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