Gardening Thread

[rocker_oz33]

Brought some Catus from a woman who turned out to be a man .

What a prick.

 

[Cruyff14]

Geez it's hard work this time of year trying to keep the grass green.

 

[Beerfish]

Brought some Catus from a woman who turned out to be a man .

What a prick.

 

[ScrappyCoCo]

Geez it's hard work this time of year trying to keep the grass green.

Just got back from bunnings with a huge bag of wetting agent and some scotts lawn builder. Mines gonna go gangbusters.

 

[Cruyff14]

Just got back from bunnings with a huge bag of wetting agent and some scotts lawn builder. Mines gonna go gangbusters.

Mine is a little yellow in places but I am just keeping it watered each day.

Will be fine after the heat but bloody hell it's gonna be a long week for the garden!

 

[Beerfish]

I have sir Walter buffalo and whilst it is difficult to keep green in summer (having a bore helps) it always comes back. Bloody good stuff.

 

[ScrappyCoCo]

I have sir Walter buffalo and whilst it is difficult to keep green in summer (having a bore helps) it always comes back. Bloody good stuff.

I have lots of customers with it...and have some very mixed results. It does not like shade (or big trees nearby), heavy traffic or being cut too short. I had one put a jumping castle on it and it killed the whole area underneath it (one day). The curator at Wesley put some down in a common area and as soon as students got on it it failed as well. It's a pain from my point of view as it really doesn't like cutting when it doesn't need it, which is not practical for me as my business is based on regular cutting...and really it is very dormant down here for 6 months. Having said that some are really good though. Probably 50/50 from what I can tell. You must be one of the lucky ones!

 

[Beerfish]

It does not like shade (or big trees nearby), heavy traffic or being cut too short

That's weird. I have one big patch near big trees that gets shade and one big patch that gets full sun. Never have any problems with the patch in the shade.

Very true about being cut too short. I keep the blades quite high. I have to mow once a week in summer but it's worth it for the result.

Barely have to cut it at all in winter (which goes for 9 months a year in Perth these days) due to the dormant period you speak of.

 

[ScrappyCoCo]

That's weird. I have one big patch near big trees that gets shade and one big patch that gets full sun. Never have any problems with the patch in the shade.

Very true about being cut too short. I keep the blades quite high. I have to mow once a week in summer but it's worth it for the result.

It might depend on where the big trees are and where your grass is. In Melbourne our rains generally come in from the South West....so any grass on the North east of a big tree will not get much natural rain and get dry. I also think a bit has to do with how well it's laid and where it comes from...and how different the soil is (if you are in a clay area...you will have clay, then top soil then the soil the grass is grown in which creates layers which can be bad). The types of trees will have a bearing as well...some have deep roots and attach them selves to the clay layer but others will be more shallow and compete more with the grass. Trees like cypress drop there needle like leaf which has acid type stuff which makes it harder to grow things around. except other cypress type plants. Gums drop leaves that have oil and as they break down it coats the soil particles and basically makes the ground water proof (hard to grow much around them...although there are some plants that can tolerate and go ok). It does not go great here on the southern side of a house as the Sun drops lower over Winter and the grass is permanently shaded for a long time...and it's cold and damp.

Having said that one of the best ones the grass grows well and it's on the north east side of the trees. It's definitely different...stays a bit greener than the stuff out in the open, thins off a bit over winter but comes back nicely right now. It loves heat and a good old thunderstorm.

Yours being in Perth, the warmer climate would be perfect for it.

And to get real technical..it is probably a C4 plant (kikuyu and buffalo) which come from tropical areas and prefer that climate. C3 plants are better adapted to cooler climates. This refers to the way they photosynthesis. It's slightly different.

 

[Cruyff14]

I have Sir Walter out the front and Kings Pride at the back.

Wish I had SW out the back too.

 

[ScrappyCoCo]

Would love to know if anyone has Zoysia. It's expensive and looks difficult to establish but seems hardy as , versatile and can look amazing from what I've seen on the internet.

You can have it perfectly manicured

Or you can leave it never cut which creates an interesting effect

I know it's used on some golf courses and it's one of the only grasses that is used for the rough, fairway and green....just cut at different heights.

 

[rocker_oz33]

Chocolate lab Wally not impressed with these palm trees.

 

[FRUMPY]

just moved into our new house - the guy we bought it from was a landscape gardener.....fair to say he just used left over materials on his own place

• Decent entry with nice decked walkway/stairs from footpath to front door.
• Fake grass out the front (that'll be gone quick smart) but outer edges covered in nice river rocks. Ill keep them and use them somehow.
• Backyard - the grass is terrible, and he must have had 2 metres of lawn left over from a job and just plonked it in the middle of the lawn - thats growing crazy while the rest is almost dead
• Really wide garden beds around the backyard fenceline - ill probably halve the width of the garden beds and hedge the fenceline. Smallish backyard so any gain in grassed area is a bonus imo.
• all plants he had purchased for the sale of the property were all dead upon arrival - long 4 month settlement. i didnt care, didnt like any of his plants anyway.

Been too ****ing hot to do anyhting thus far in the 2 weeks weve been in the new house. Will also look at extending an outdoor area out from the 3x3 alfresco so wont do too much in the backyard just yet until i know what we want to do. Ideally would love to come out from the side of the alfresco to the fenceline (about 1m) and then about 3m from the back of the alfresco. Give me room for the BBQ and Smoker along the side fence and then plenty of room for table/chairs and a seating area. Then have a firepit area between the outdoor area and the back fenceline.

 

[Cruyff14]

Mowed the back lawn for the first time. Just need an edger but the grass looks great.

 

[Cruyff14]

ScrappyCoCo they are back from the dead! Lots of water and one application of Seasol (gonna do more today), I am shocked and pleased!

 

[ScrappyCoCo]

Mowed the back lawn for the first time. Just need an edger but the grass looks great.

Loves the heat and a thunderstorm...goes nuts.

 

[Gough]

just moved into our new house - the guy we bought it from was a landscape gardener.....fair to say he just used left over materials on his own place

• Decent entry with nice decked walkway/stairs from footpath to front door.
• Fake grass out the front (that'll be gone quick smart) but outer edges covered in nice river rocks. Ill keep them and use them somehow.
• Backyard - the grass is terrible, and he must have had 2 metres of lawn left over from a job and just plonked it in the middle of the lawn - thats growing crazy while the rest is almost dead
• Really wide garden beds around the backyard fenceline - ill probably halve the width of the garden beds and hedge the fenceline. Smallish backyard so any gain in grassed area is a bonus imo.
• all plants he had purchased for the sale of the property were all dead upon arrival - long 4 month settlement. i didnt care, didnt like any of his plants anyway.

Been too ******* hot to do anyhting thus far in the 2 weeks weve been in the new house. Will also look at extending an outdoor area out from the 3x3 alfresco so wont do too much in the backyard just yet until i know what we want to do. Ideally would love to come out from the side of the alfresco to the fenceline (about 1m) and then about 3m from the back of the alfresco. Give me room for the BBQ and Smoker along the side fence and then plenty of room for table/chairs and a seating area. Then have a firepit area between the outdoor area and the back fenceline.

I worked as a gardener for 8 weeks when I was waiting to complete on my pub, England in November is not a good time to do this but I went to my boss' place a couple of times and his garden looked awful and as he said, he spends all day doing other people's gardens and when you get home there's limited motivation to do your own.

 

[Beerfish]

Mowed the back lawn for the first time. Just need an edger but the grass looks great.

Looks fantastic

 

[Cruyff14]

Looks fantastic

Still a few patches, but they're getting smaller and smaller. Very pleased with how it's going.

 

[ScrappyCoCo]

I worked as a gardener for 8 weeks when I was waiting to complete on my pub, England in November is not a good time to do this but I went to my boss' place a couple of times and his garden looked awful and as he said, he spends all day doing other people's gardens and when you get home there's limited motivation to do your own.

Yeah mine used to be amazing...then as the kids grew life became all about them and I let mine go. I got so bored in our last long lockdown that I pulled my finger out and got it looking good again. Now I have to maintain it. It's hard when you have done 40 other ones during the week...motivation drops as you age and get more tired.

 

[Cruyff14]

ScrappyCoCo I put on some Seasol after work yesterday and it looks like we had a very small amount of rain overnight. This shouldn't matter too much should it?

 

[ScrappyCoCo]

ScrappyCoCo I put on some Seasol after work yesterday and it looks like we had a very small amount of rain overnight. This shouldn't matter too much should it?

No mate, makes no difference. Seasol is like a vitamin tablet for plants. At some point you might want to scatter a handful of fertilizer around them (dynamic lifter or the like). Now they are recovering don't kill them by over watering as the weather cools....a longer deeper water once every 2 or 3 days (even a week if its cold)will be enough unless we get another real hot blast. If we get decent rain don't do it for a bit.

 

[Cruyff14]

No mate, makes no difference. Seasol is like a vitamin tablet for plants. At some point you might want to scatter a handful of fertilizer around them (dynamic lifter or the like). Now they are recovering don't kill them by over watering as the weather cools....a longer deeper water once every 2 or 3 days (even a week if its cold)will be enough unless we get another real hot blast. If we get decent rain don't do it for a bit.

Ah right, OK.

Just says don't apply if rain is expected within 24 hours, though I am assuming that's a really good drop.

I will probably give them a water again on the weekend so they cope OK in that warm run coming up.

 

[ScrappyCoCo]

Ah right, OK.

Just says don't apply if rain is expected within 24 hours, though I am assuming that's a really good drop.

I will probably give them a water again on the weekend so they cope OK in that warm run coming up.

Yeah it would was away if it was a decent drop. Its mixed with water so i cant see it harming them in any way. I imagine you would lose a bit of benefit of it being on their leaves as it will wash off. Pretty sure the absorb some of it that way and it speeds up the process a bit.

 

[BuddysBiggestFan]

Chillies growing well. Thought I’d have more tomatoes by now but not a bad haul today.