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Gardening Tips

Prepare Lawn for Winter

How Do You Prepare Your Lawn For Winter In Australia?

The winter season is coming. The temperature is cooling down. This means it’s time for you to prepare your lawn for the colder months ahead to ensure that it stays healthy throughout the season. In this article, we covered the basics of keeping your lawn healthy for the winter months. We also included some tips to resolve your lawn’s dry patches. 

How Do You Prepare Your Lawn For Winter In Australia?

Winter is just around the corner. The temperature’s cooling down, which means it’s time to prepare your lawn for the cold months ahead. If you’re unsure about how to keep your lawn at its healthiest for the winter months, we’ve listed down a few pointers below.

Fertilise your lawn

Autumn is an excellent season for homeowners to fertilise the lawn. Doing so before the winter season hits gives the yard a boost of strength. Experts recommended applying a quality, slow-release fertiliser with a good Nitrogen Phosphorus-Potassium ratio to ensure that your lawn is fortified in the months to come. Some also use foliar liquid fertilisers during winter. Several tests have shown that foliar feeding can be up to 10 times more effective than soil feeding. 

Fix bare patches in your lawn

Autumn is the perfect time to fix the bare patches on your lawn. Several factors cause bare and patchy lawns, including frequent use, wear and tear, pet urine, and excess shade. Before fixing the patches, you have first to determine what may have caused it. If you’re unsure how to identify the cause of your patchy lawn, we made a brief guide.
  • Dry patches
Lawns in Western Australia often see dry patches because of the sandy soil in the region. When the soil dries out, it can be challenging to get it wet again. During the summer season, the sandy soil produces wax that coats the topmost layer. This prevents water from seeping down to the roots.You can resolve this problem by aerating the soil. This will allow water or a wetting agent to penetrate the soil. 
  • African black beetle infestation
Many homeowners mistake patchy lawns for an African black beetle infestation. One simple way to confirm this insect’s presence is by pouring a bucket of soapy water on problem areas. The water flushes out the beetles and their larvae. Experts recommend using chemical products only when your lawn shows signs of severe infestation. You can replace chemicals with a piece of moistened carpet to attract the beetles. You can also install and turn on garden lights at night to allow beetles to converge on these spots. This makes it easier for you to collect the pests the following morning.
  • Dollar spots
Generally, dollar spots are seen on grasses that require a high amount of water. These spots are actually a type of fungal disease caused by humidity and lack of nitrogen. Dollar spots do not grow bigger. However, some areas can merge to form larger bare patches. The fungus causing the problem can also cause more damage to the turf. Some of the best preventive measures include thatch control, using the right amount of fertiliser, and irrigation early in the morning. 
  • Bare patches
Several factors cause bare patches. If the patches are found along the edges of decks and pavings, they may be caused by heavy foot traffic. Patches near the edges of garden beds are caused by a lack of sunlight. Bare patches in various locations on the lawn are caused by dog urine, especially from female puppies. 

Collect leaf litter and debris

During autumn, trees shed leaves, which means more leaf litter and debris on your lawn. The accumulation of leaves and debris blocks your lawn from getting much-needed sunlight. The leaf litter and debris can also become damp. This can lead to bare patches caused by fungal diseases. If you notice the leaves building up, rake them into a pile and add them to your compost bin. 

Mow the lawn higher

List most plants, grass thrives on sunlight for photosynthesis. The longer the grass blade, the more sun the plant catches. Raising the mower blades before winter gives your lawn a more generous cut. This allows the grass to collect more sunlight, keeping it healthy throughout the colder months.The winter season doesn’t have to mean an unhealthy lawn. Here at The Mower Place, we carry a wide range of outdoor equipment to help you prepare your lawn for the colder months. View our catalogue of push mowers or zero-turn mowers and get your product today by calling us at 1800-558-400. 

You can also follow us on your YouTube Channel or our Facebook page for more tips and tricks on how to care for your lawn. 

How to Prepare Your Garden Before Going on A Holiday

It’s summer and everyone’s getting ready to go on holiday! Don’t let your garden wilt at home. This guide will show you how to prepare your garden so they stay thriving while you’re out getting some sun:

How to Prepare Your Garden Before Going on A Holiday

 how to prepare your gardenIt’s summer and everyone’s getting ready to go on holiday! But jetting off means you have to leave your beloved garden to wilt at home. If you don’t have anybody taking care of watering and pest control for you while you’re away, you may return to find your prize marrows to become a slug’s dinner.But with the right precautions, you can ensure that your holiday relaxation won’t be interrupted by constant worrying about what’s happening to your garden back home. This guide will show you how to prepare your garden so they stay thriving while you’re out getting some sun:

Get on Top of Routine Jobs

The first step on how to prepare your garden is to get on top of your routine jobs. Weeding can quickly become unmanageable when you decide to leave it until you’re back. No one wants to come home to discover a rainforest in your backyard, so it’s best to do a thorough weeding job before you go.Weed the flower beds and borders, neatly clip any edgings and mow the lawn a day or two before you leave. If the weather is dry, set your mower blades to high to stop your glass from yellowing. Make sure you also lock your shed and keep any garden equipment out of sight to stay safe from light-fingered locals.

Preparing Your Pots

Ideally, your friendly neighbour or a good irrigation system will provide enough water for your plants while you’re away, but if you don’t have those, no need to despair. You can sink your containers partway into the soil in the area of your garden that gets shade. Then water them thoroughly and drench the surrounding ground too, preferably mulching with plastic to conserve water.This should keep your pots watered for at least a week. If you think you’ll be away for longer than that, drape a damp dishcloth between it and a bucket of water to serve as a wick. Make sure to pull any beginnings of weed out of pots too.

Neaten Your Beds

It helps to deadhead your bedding plants before you leave to keep them tidy while you’re away. Do this for your flowering plants too and remove any flowers that are fully open to prevent them from running to seeds and ensure the buds are flowering when you get back.

Pick Your Kitchen Garden

Summer is a terrible time to be away if you’re gardening because this is usually the time where you reap the rewards of your edibles. If you’re not away for too long, you can harvest anything you can, freeze and enjoy later. Plants like runner beans and courgettes will become tough if you let it grow, so popping them in the freezer is better. Fruits, berries and herbs can also be frozen or preserved.If you’re going to be away for a few weeks,  it’s better to ask a friend, neighbour, or family to help themselves with the harvest to avoid it from being wasted. It helps you and they’ll be grateful for the fresh produce too.

Ready the Greenhouse

If you have a greenhouse, remember to leave all ventilators open if it’s not automatic if you don't want to come home to crispy plants. If no one is available to water it for you, soak the border soil so your crops have plenty of moisture. Plants in pots will fare better if they’re moved off from staging and sink them to a moist stand while you’re gone.

Pest Prevention

Pests don’t go on a holiday when you do so some pest prevention is usually a good idea. If you don't like slug pellets, you can try making beer traps out of yoghurt pots filled with beer and sunk into the soil. They are effective and totally organic. You can also rake dead foliage and flowers to make your garden less attractive to pests.

House Plants

Large pots can usually manage even when you’re on a holiday as long as it’s in a shady place and has been watered before you leave. Smaller pots will do best on a damp towel in the sink or bath. If you’re leaving plants in the bathroom, don’t deep clean your toilet, because the bleach fumes will harm and even kill the plants.

On Your return

Once you get back, return your houseplants, tubs and hanging baskets to the usual position, water them too. Give our grass a good mowing and cut any edges around your lawn. Harvest anything that needs to be harvested and water your kitchen garden thoroughly. Any urgent weeding should be done right away as well.

gardening tips to keep pests away

10 Gardening Tips To Keep Pests Away

Gardening is a great hobby that a lot of people enjoy. But keeping the pests away is surely a struggle for most. Here are 10 gardening tips to keep pests away.

10 Gardening Tips To Keep Pests Away

Gardening is a great hobby that a lot of people enjoy. And even if you think you already know everything, as time goes by, you’ll realise how much there still is to learn. It’s a craft that requires a lot of patience, endurance and creativity that can be enjoyed by all ages, even seniors.But doing organic gardening means pests will find you, so you need to have the knowledge to outsmart these pests or what you can plant to keep them away.From keeping stink bugs out of your garden to crop rotation, these gardening tips to keep pests away will show you how you can keep bugs away from your garden and create a balance in supporting what you love and getting rid of what you don’t.1. Try Crop Rotation Every YearThis method has been around for hundreds of years and is an old farming practice. The concept is that pests who find their way to a particular plant during this year won’t find it in the same location the next year by rotating your crops.Diseases and soil pests like root-knot nematode roundworms stay in the soil unless predators wipe them out. If you plant the same crop within the same family, the pests can find it again. If nematodes are the problem, be sure to plant something different next year.2. Attract Spiders to Your Garden Spiders are known to eat all kinds of insects. Some of them catch their prey using their webs while others hunt them. Some plants can attract spiders and serve as a safe place for them.A pile of mulch will be appealing for hunting spiders since they prefer closed-in, shadowy retreat. Petunias, asters, polygonum, sweet alyssum and St. John’s Worts are also appealing to them.Orb spiders prefer any location that is high enough to reach sunlight to weave their webs and lay their eggs. Blackberries, tall irises, and bell peppers are perfect for them. 3. Grow Catnip for Stinkbugs If stink bugs are causing you a problem, seal your home first so they can’t get in. Grow catnip in your garden and once it grows, you can cut it off and hang upside down to dry. Once it dries, crush it and sprinkle all over your garden. 4. Introduce Ladybugs to Eat Aphids And Other PestsLadybugs are totally harmless for vegetable gardens but fierce warriors when eliminating pests. It’s been studied that they can eat as many as 5,000 insects in their lifetime! They eat up to 50-60 aphids a day and can also consume bugs, leafhoppers, mites and other soft-bodied insects.You’ll need to plant sunflowers, cosmos, yarrow, goldenrod, fennel, marigold and angelica to attract them. Some nurseries also sell them live so you can just set them free in your garden.5. Plant Extra Parsley, Dill and Cilantro for Pest EatersParsley, dill and cilantro are three of the most beneficial herbs to plant in your organic garden. They also attract beneficial pests to combat unwanted pests than other herbs.Butterflies lay their eggs on parsley and cilantro so the caterpillars love to eat them. Rather than getting rid of them, just plant extra herbs to support their life cycle.6. Give Your Plants Room To BreatheIf you are trying to squeeze plants to fit in your garden, this will cause your problem in the long run. It’s crucial to give your garden some air circulation on a regular basis because they are very inviting to feeding insects because they enjoy the heat and protection from predators.7. Water In The MorningWatering in the morning has two advantages. First, they will keep your plants hydrated and make them less likely to become stressed and wilt. This makes them less appealing to pests who prey on stressed plants. Secondly, the leaves will dry off before the evening which will less likely become a hangout for slugs, snails and earwigs who love damp plants. 8. Attract Toads, Frogs, and Birds to Your GardenFrogs and toads should be welcomed in your garden because they feast on insects. All it takes is a bowl of water to inviting them over. You can also put up a toad house. Sometimes, they also carve out a depression in the soil where they wait for insects to eat.Birds may eat some of your harvests but they also chow down some of the insects. You don’t need to attract birds to your garden, as long as they are already in the yard. But if you do, you’ll need to plant more food sources and provide trees and shrubs for shelter. They also appreciate a fresh source of water.You can learn how to make a bug hotel for your garden here.9. Court The Beneficial InsectsNot every insect chows down on your harvest. Some are carnivores that can help you quickly reduce the population of pests but you’ll have to educate yourself to what they look like. The trick is to keep them around until all pests have been eaten. Beneficial insects also need pollen and nectar as much as they need protein from other insects so having plants that they eat will favour keep them longer10. Stay on Top of Your HarvestThe last gardening tip to keep pests away is to harvest on time. Fruits that fall off the plants into the ground are an easy mark for a lot of pests. Overripe fruits and vegetables that still clings to plants can affect the entire plant, and weak plants are what pests target.So be sure to harvest on time and clean up any fruits that fell. If you harvested some overripe fruits or vegetables, give the plant some extra water and light feeding to recover.

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