Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design Re: Sir Walter Buffalo - "generic" soft leaf buffalo as good 41May 15, 2011 9:30 pm Looks great. I'm looking forward to comparing ours with our neighbour. We did most of the prep work advised in H1 (minus zeolite) and only one lot of molasses so far so I did raw sugar at the same time as the seamungus (which was AFTER laying rather than before). Our niehgbour only did the compost and water saver crystals and SW fertiliser. Ours has caught up, even thought we don't have a retic either. Re: Sir Walter Buffalo - "generic" soft leaf buffalo as good 42May 15, 2011 11:30 pm There is no way I would suggest for you guys to use water crystals. They were never made for horticulture. They should stay in the nappies they were made for. They are efficient at absorbing but not so good for releasing nutrients. Some studies I have seen have revealed that vital nutrients are locked away from the plants. We are all given short term info regarding root growth etc. Long term studies have shown poor root growth compared with better soil prep. Shallow weaker roots and on trees, smaller under developed roots. We still are not entirely sure what they do to soil health in regard to microbes. Many turf mobs are suggesting they be used, I don't. Now that situation you describe says it all. One lawn, it uses a large amount of resources and has a far greater environmental impact than your lawn. The very point I have spent so long trying to get across to everyone. Fertilisers contribute to environmental degradation on a huge scale. They offer poor value for money, particularly here in Perth and SW WA. The fella next door, his lawn would only be using a percentage of the fertiliser, not all of it. Now if that was anything else, you wouldn't waste your money would you. You wouldn't buy a coffee each day only to never drink much of it. Water, not only getting scarcer (especially in SW WA) but more expensive. In cities currently seeing good rains, water will still be managed because the populations are growing. Still less water to go round. Adelaide is about to experience more price increases. Now why would you prep a lawn that is only going to cost you and our resources? Crazy really. If you live in WA and have followed my soil prep info, you can start watering once a week as it establishes. Then you are watering 50% less than allowed and maybe far less than next door for more or less the same result. As for the zeolite, well that can still be added. You will just need a few applications over the next few years Re: Sir Walter Buffalo - "generic" soft leaf buffalo as good 43Jun 14, 2011 10:31 am I was considering SW or most likely Sapphire but now it appears that Kings Pride is the new kid on the block. It seems to have the colour and texture of Sapphire and all the other qualities of SW, but thats just the propaganda from suppliers. Anyone used Kings Pride or have an opinion? Building an Eden Brae Saville 27 http://karry327.blogspot.com/ Building thread https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=44247 Re: Sir Walter Buffalo - "generic" soft leaf buffalo as good 44Jun 14, 2011 11:50 pm our SW is going great guns havent had to mow it that much either very happy with it and by far the greenest in the street Harrisdale backyard finally done! Re: Sir Walter Buffalo - "generic" soft leaf buffalo as good 45Jun 20, 2011 1:45 pm Post some photos of those great buffaloes... Our is still looking good, even in winter. The neighbor's has gone pretty yellow... Re: Sir Walter Buffalo - "generic" soft leaf buffalo as good 46Jun 20, 2011 3:21 pm Hey Japonica, the grass looks great. May I ask how long your Sapphire Buffalo took to establish some roots? We laid ours 8 days ago today, and as yet there is not even an inkling of any roots making their way into the soil. (This was with some pretty thorough soil prep too - all the stuff discussed on this site) I'm wondering if it's just the weather over here in Brisbane keeping it slow - cool, windy days and nights don't seem ideal conditions. Re: Sir Walter Buffalo - "generic" soft leaf buffalo as good 47Jun 20, 2011 3:28 pm karry327 I was considering SW or most likely Sapphire but now it appears that Kings Pride is the new kid on the block. It seems to have the colour and texture of Sapphire and all the other qualities of SW, but thats just the propaganda from suppliers. Anyone used Kings Pride or have an opinion? Like you, I narrowed them down to Sapph and SW in the end ... but ... I vote for SW hands down Have a look at Amber Kellyville, they have a few turfs at the front on "display". I really like the tough wide blades of SW and also its nice medium green colour. The other 2 buffalos have much finer leaves, and I don't really like that (plus, they are darker to my eye ). You can also notice on the display how they behave when "let wild" - the other two remind me of kike, while SW is far more tame and didn't go up high half a meter. When SW is prepared and laid properly ( those who can control these things and don't have to employ the "experts" ), I still think it's the best looking and performing lawn (have a look at the latest pages of JohhnyD's build thread). Re. KP - I can't remember any more what I read (or saw), but it made me cross it off the list early on. My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Sir Walter Buffalo - "generic" soft leaf buffalo as good 48Jun 20, 2011 3:36 pm Hey Lex Sir Walter grows rabid down here in the right conditions. Check out older threads about people complaining it grows quicker than kik in summer. From quite a few people i know that now have sir walter the only thing they find bad about the turf is its growth rate (mowing) and seed heads (more mowing). Other than that they love it. Re: Sir Walter Buffalo - "generic" soft leaf buffalo as good 49Jun 20, 2011 3:40 pm Thanks, BK ... but ... On a brighter note, hope I can at least loose a few grams mowing it every week in summer / hot rainy periods My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Sir Walter Buffalo - "generic" soft leaf buffalo as good 50Jun 20, 2011 3:47 pm And lots of clippings for compost Re: Sir Walter Buffalo - "generic" soft leaf buffalo as good 51Jun 20, 2011 6:40 pm Thanks Lex for your wise words. I checked out a few display lawns and have to agree with you on the SW over the others as the front runner for my new lawn. Wish had given it some thought and looked at the lawns in summer, but on winter form SW has it. Building an Eden Brae Saville 27 http://karry327.blogspot.com/ Building thread https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=44247 Re: Sir Walter Buffalo - "generic" soft leaf buffalo as good 52Jun 20, 2011 8:17 pm Cheers Karry. Time will tell if/how wise my decision was If we get anyhing even similar to our current/old "unknown buffalo" lawn, I'd be happy. Come to think of it, it might even be SW, BUT, ... it's probably stretching it as, firstly, I dn't know when this turf was laid, and secondly, did SW exist at that time! ... Might ask the next doors if our turf was replaced since they got here ... which would be about 25 yrs ago ... My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Sir Walter Buffalo - "generic" soft leaf buffalo as good 53Jun 21, 2011 2:57 pm StartingOut Hey Japonica, the grass looks great. May I ask how long your Sapphire Buffalo took to establish some roots? We laid ours 8 days ago today, and as yet there is not even an inkling of any roots making their way into the soil. (This was with some pretty thorough soil prep too - all the stuff discussed on this site) I'm wondering if it's just the weather over here in Brisbane keeping it slow - cool, windy days and nights don't seem ideal conditions. If I recall, it was a couple of weeks, maybe three tops...to be honest, I didn't keep lifting it up to check the roots...just kept the watering and feeding up. Eight days is still early days...maybe Fu will have a definite answer, but I'd say at least two to three weeks. Plus, as you mentioned, it's winter...we put ours in back in March. Re: Sir Walter Buffalo - "generic" soft leaf buffalo as good 54Jun 21, 2011 3:47 pm StartingOut Hey Japonica, the grass looks great. May I ask how long your Sapphire Buffalo took to establish some roots? We laid ours 8 days ago today, and as yet there is not even an inkling of any roots making their way into the soil. (This was with some pretty thorough soil prep too - all the stuff discussed on this site) I'm wondering if it's just the weather over here in Brisbane keeping it slow - cool, windy days and nights don't seem ideal conditions. Cool nights and day temps would be the cause. Your weather looks better coming up, probably see some white fine roots in the next week. Re: Sir Walter Buffalo - "generic" soft leaf buffalo as good 55Jun 21, 2011 11:47 pm Folks you are all getting so hung up on what type of lawn is the best. You are all doing it wrong! All types of lawn will only ever look as good as the soil they are growing in. You could give me any of these turfs and I'll get everyone of them growing on bugger all water, no fertiliser or fungicides or pesticides and looking a million dollars. Not to mention never being a slave to the lawn. You can put the best plant in the world in a garden (lawn is a plant) and it's only ever going to perform as well as the soil allows. The less you do with the soil when laying the more expensive that lawn is going to be into the future. Do the hard yards now and enjoy the ongoing saving later. Like putting solar panels on the roof. Re: Sir Walter Buffalo - "generic" soft leaf buffalo as good 56Jun 22, 2011 10:05 am Thanks for the help Japonica and BK. It still is early days as you say, but I'm concerned that the soil isn't drying out despite the current weather. I'll start a new topic so I don't take this thread of course Re: Sir Walter Buffalo - "generic" soft leaf buffalo as good 57Jun 22, 2011 3:40 pm Sapphire in the photos does look darker Green, but its texture is the thing I like about it the most. It is so much finer when it matures. Everyone has there own Ideas about preference to leaf blade width, but in my experience most people prefer finer than broader. As for Mowing, Palmetto and EZ are the low mowing grass types. Both work well, so if less mowing is the aim, I think the choice is pretty clear. But again, is it not great that people buying lawns have a choice. Back 25 years ago it was Couch, Kikuyu, and Common scratchy Buffalo. Re: Sir Walter Buffalo - "generic" soft leaf buffalo as good 60Jul 27, 2015 3:36 pm same here, doing my research on which turf to go with in melbourne. it is just driving me crazy with so many varieties. I've dug some footings to embed a post anchor into. My holes are around 450mm deep which I'll put a 200mm stirrup into. The bottom of these holes seem firm enough. … 0 3327 9 24816 Thank you. Do I use timber floorboards for stairs or do people use timber treads? Or is both the same? 6 7310 |