Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design Re: SOIL PREP help!!!! I need this ready for turf or seed in 4wk 21Feb 09, 2010 8:21 pm BeatrixKiddo, So you're saying the 'dirty' grass will survive 10 out of 12 month without water after establishment in that area, great! Then a warm season grass will survive 12 out of 12 mths without water, even greater!! Not the green in winter but no water in summer when it is being enjoyed, perfect Re: SOIL PREP help!!!! I need this ready for turf or seed in 4wk 22Feb 09, 2010 9:34 pm No disagreement from me grasshopper. Both are options in a cool area that rarely has any water restrictions and regular good rainfall all year round. Better option is warm season grasses, yes. Wonder why anco (your recommendation) suggested fescue though? Re: SOIL PREP help!!!! I need this ready for turf or seed in 4wk 23Feb 09, 2010 10:14 pm A cool season turf is not what we term cool season. These are relative to Northern America and Europe where it is cooler in Summer than here and very cold in winter. In those places, their summers are a little more like our winters (in the world of the fescues that is) and that is where the use of these really comes from. Over there, it is nice in summer and the stuff goes well with plenty of summer rain. Then in winter it is under snow in many cases. Here it is wonderful in winter (even our cold isn't really cold like other places) and then begins to consume resources in summer to keep it's needs catered for. Also as it ages, it becomes more problematic. After all in places where it's use is most common, it gets a nice rest. Here in Aus it is active all year. Re: SOIL PREP help!!!! I need this ready for turf or seed in 4wk 24Feb 10, 2010 9:49 am I just think it's a little unfair that people should be made to feel guilty for using fescue in the small percentage of costal oz that it works ok (with little strain on local water resources). Especially where the biggest turf farm in oz recommends it which also sells all the other warm season varities Just to be clear (for the people who live and breathe turf) its not ok for a homeowner to water their fescue lawn a little for 2 months over summer in Warrnambool (cool temperate) but its ok to water your warm season turf in Swan Hill (hot/arid) once a weekfor 4+ months of the year? The turf industry is full of double standards. Why don't they just restrict fescue instant turf to a certain size & climate area and put a levy onto it if used otherwise. Re: SOIL PREP help!!!! I need this ready for turf or seed in 4wk 25Feb 10, 2010 8:06 pm BeatrixKiddo I just think it's a little unfair that people should be made to feel guilty for using fescue in the small percentage of costal oz that it works ok (with little strain on local water resources). Especially where the biggest turf farm in oz recommends it which also sells all the other warm season varities Just to be clear (for the people who live and breathe turf) its not ok for a homeowner to water their fescue lawn a little for 2 months over summer in Warrnambool (cool temperate) but its ok to water your warm season turf in Swan Hill (hot/arid) once a weekfor 4+ months of the year? The turf industry is full of double standards. Why don't they just restrict fescue instant turf to a certain size & climate area and put a levy onto it if used otherwise. Here Here https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=19655 FINALLY slab down 5th SEPT Oct 16 Bricking/ plaster starting Dec 1 Painting started END OF CONTRACT IS UP SOON HURRY UP AND FINISH MY HOME..... countdown to 27th Feb. LATROBE 320 WITH DENNIS FAMILY HOMES Re: SOIL PREP help!!!! I need this ready for turf or seed in 4wk 26Feb 11, 2010 12:05 am Fair points and this is what I am saying in quite few posts of mine. The turf industry is very far from perfect. So is the Landscape industry and so is the nursery industry. BUT with in those industries are highly qualified people who have a drive and a passion for correcting those double standards. people who are working very hard to re educate those stuck in the old days. Re educate those in various horticultural areas who have stagnated their skills. Educating the public, educating the poorly skilled working within many areas of horticulture (which includes turf, landscaping and nursery as well as agriculture). These industries have associations with strong leadership and significant programmes being developed to change this situation, and in many cases are already put into practice. The almighty dollar is more often than not a strong driving force behind what some places recommend and not what we should be doing or using for the greater betterment of our landscapes or those that ultimately supply them. This just can not be maintained. There are turf varieties that make turf farms significant amounts of money with excellent return on investment and high stock turns and lower production costs. This is not in the best interests of long term sustainability of their industry. Just because someone says use it because we do shouldn't be why you should. That includes my posts on Empire. For me to say otherwise would be hypocritical but I do enjoy the argie bargie of the discussions. The public needs to make up their own mind on the suitability of turf for them. However it needs to be done from very well informed and unbiased sources. Now I can assure you that I get no accolades from Oz Breed to recommend Empire. I don't care for that matter. That isn't why I do it. I say what i do because I have never heard senior authorities say good word spoken of fescues relative to Australia and where they fit in the long term suitability of a changing climate. Much of Victoria is becoming a Mediterranean climate and this is why I advise the Perth plant lists done by John Colwill as being quite suitable for Victorians too. A topic often discussed in weather circles. Our current landscape practices are grossly unsustainable and if we don't change them some very ugly consequences will occur. And they will occur. We just don't know exactly when but by the time we do it will be too late. I dedicate a great deal of my own personal time to help educate Homeone members and various guests as well as many others outside of this forum with some of the best advice and information you will find in Australia. This is because if I don't know it, I know someone who will. Many of them lurk here as members already. Here in WA we lead the country with freely accessible education programmes that are free of marketing and supported by a few Govt. agencies and depts. The importance the Government sets to this has been acknowledged. So it is therefore equally important for the rest of Australia to take these better practices and put them into place at home. The domestic market has the single greatest impact on the landscape we live in. So it stands to reason we have the potential to make the greatest change. It is said that Perth's metropolitan area uses 30% of the entire countries fertiliser supply. That includes all the agriculture! Now poor turf selection plays a very large roll in that. That is a hideous volume of nutrients being dumped in one place. Not many homes in WA go without a manicured lawn. Our waterways and near shore ocean is struggling. Now that serves as significant warning to the potential damage we can achieve in other parts of Australia. I do not set out to create a feeling of guilt. It is a serious topic. The magazines are filled with distracting examples of what some people pay money to make you want in the forms of many styles and products. How are you to know what is right or wrong? It's tough for you guys. You guys are getting an early heads up with a standard of advice that only the best can offer, and you get it free. Re: SOIL PREP help!!!! I need this ready for turf or seed in 4wk 27Feb 11, 2010 9:00 am Excellent post Fu, In no way was did I mean you personally making people feel guilty just in general the attitude towards fescue and lawn in general being the no 1 enemy in sustainability. There so many things a homeowner does eg driving one person to a car 5 days a week that is worse than growing fescue. Running the air con 24/7 because your house is surrounding with pebbles another. The information you share is the best i have read and past it on to everybody that is interested in listening. It has changed the way I garden and vistors to my placed are often surprised how my garden holds up better than their own. Especially having a super lush patch of EZ lawn when everything else is in brown town. Every town/city is different across Australia and as we are all finding out now a lot of these places would never have been built today if the climate continued as dry as it is now. Although some towns are ok where they are a more immune to the problems most of Australia faces. Every product has its uses, and as any Melbourne homeowner knows it is nearly impossible to grow fescue in the last 10 years over late spring/summer. Even if water restrictions were eased a couple of days of 40 (which is now more common) will knock off fescue and thats it for the rest of summer. No amount of water will bring in back to good condition till late autumn. It is not an option in 95% percent of Victoria and Tas and completely unsuitable for the rest of Australia. And even in the 5% its not the best choice agreed. A lot of people will come to this forum looking for "best" turf for their area. And the info provided is the "best" on any mainstream website. I only try and chip in on threads where I believe i can add a bit of localised knowledge or experience. It's great to have unbiased free knowledge from yourself unlike some posters in the other turf threads where the lines seem to have blurred some what. Btw if you can't tell i am certainly have no commercial interests in any product. I was brought up in the agricultural NW of victoria on a large vineyard, annual rainfall of 200mm a year, and some of the hottest weather conditions in oz. Getting anything to grow was a mission. Also I work in an industry that delivers huge amounts of information to the general public on a range of issues. Once upon a time I also used to create some of that misleading info you speak of. Re: SOIL PREP help!!!! I need this ready for turf or seed in 4wk 28Feb 11, 2010 9:36 pm That's cool. Yes there are many other things that act as distractions to doing things sustainably. The thought of, "well just my one little bit of syn turf won't hurt" or "just my bit of pebbles" won't matter. The thing that matters is the combined effects. That makes a difference. If I was knowledgeable enough on other areas, I would contribute to the public education of that too. What I do know is landscapes so therefore I post in relation to that. Together we all need to work together with the right consultants and advisors or correct information to make a difference because the current pathway we are on is not cool to say the least. Use a product like Equisol's Vitalise to clean the deck then coat with a penetrating timber oil. It will look 10 years younger and add value to your home. Visit for… 1 15782 They using concrete or timber sleepers? Timber or steel uprights? Any drainage behind sleeper? 3 5862 I am not sure whether Perth has its own way of doing things in regards to this. Most of Perth has class A (sandy soil), except for some areas near rivers or hills. 2 13082 |