Gday All,
So you are looking at laying down some new turf but you are not sure how to get started?…………. No worries !
Have a look at our comprehensive TURF TIPS section and our Frequently Asked Questions section of our website. It will give you all of the info that you need !
Good Luck with your turf project and I hope that you enjoy your new lawn !
Robbie Commens
B.App.Sc.Hrs (Horticulture)
Hello again,
Now it is time for the 2nd issue that MAY have a detrimental effect on your lawn –
LAWN GRUBS !!!!
Lawn Grubs (Spodoptera spp.) – feed of the fresh, young, green leaf of your turf just above the ground. They drastically reduce the quality and growth of your turf. This photo below displays a typical lawn affected by Lawn Grub –
Common symptoms are – brown, dry and brittle turf. Closer inspection reveals the leaf blade of the turf to be eaten by something (as this photo displays). The actual lawn grub looks very similar to a caterpillar. (as this photo displays). They are range in colour from bright green to dark green / brown in colour with black dots down there back.
*NOTE – Lawn grubs are also known as ‘Armyworm’. This is because they start in one section of your lawn and work their way across the lawn along a set line, similar to soldiers in a battle.
Lifecycle – To best understand how to control and PREVENT lawn grubs it is best to understand there lifecycle. The lifecycle of the Lawn Grub is explained below –
The adult Lawn grub is actually a moth, brown in colour. Please see the photo below –
The adult female moth flies around at night and is attracted to well maintained lawns. She lays her eggs into soft cocoons on the awnings of your house, under side of leaves and even your clothes line. These cocoons look like this –
These cocoons then hatch into the caterpillars (or LARVAE). These caterpillars are the ones (lifecycle stage) that do the damage to your lawn. They will live for approx 3 weeks if allowed to. However it is best get rid of them ASAP.
So how do we get rid of Lawn grubs ?
Control Methods –
Chemical control: A range of insecticides are registered for the control of Lawn grub in turf. These are readily available from your local hardware or nursery. If possible spray late in the day as the Lawn Grub / Larvae are active at night.
Cultural Control : By breaking the lifecycle of the lawn grub you are able to PREVENT any lawn grubs getting into your lawn in the first place. This is best achieved by keeping an eye out for the soft cocoons on your awnings and gardens and either brushing or hosing them off. This will kill the eggs, hence not allowing the Lawn Grub / Larvae to eat your beautiful lush lawn.
Additional info – Lawn grubs are more likely to occur after rainfall. This is because the grass is lush and green. Therefore keep an eye out for the moths and cocoons after rain.
*Turf recovery – even if your lawn has been completely eaten by lawn grub (lawn looks brown, brittle and dead). Your lawn will recover. The best thing to do is –
1). apply a chemical insecticide to kill all of the existing lawn grubs (make sure that you do this first BEFORE fertilizing, as if you fertilize first you will only be ‘feeding’ the existing lawn grubs).
2). Fertilize your lawn with ‘Scotts Lawn Builder + Grub and Insect Control’. Found in Bunnings a
nd most local hardware stores. This product will fertilize your lawn to enable a quick recovery and will also ensure that NO lawn grubs survive.
3). Water / irrigate your turf for 2 – 3 days after applying fertilizer to ensure a quick recovery !
I hope that this info helped !
If you have any questions specifically about turf please feel free to email them to us at coastalturf@gmail.com
Hello, My name is Robbie Commens and I am the Sales Manager for Coastal Turf. 
Thank you for visisting our website. I hope that the information is useful!
During these hot summer months there are 3 main issues that MAY have a detrimental effect on the quality of your lawn. They are –
For this weeks BLOG I would like to discuss the issue of HEAT. Heat causes small circles of turf to dry out and die, the circles will start off small but if nothing is done soon they will get bigger and bigger.This problem is very easy to manage and even easier to prevent, but first we need to learn how your lawn is very similar to the bitumen on the road and an old grizzly bear , sound weird?, heres the explanation why…….
The Bitumen on the Road is very similar to your lawn because they both absorb heat. We all know how hot the bitumen can get on a hot day, it might only be 35 degrees air temp but you try to cross that bitumen road in the middle of the day bare foot and you would swear it is more likely going to be above 45 degrees celcius. Your lawn is very similar to this. This happens because the bitumen (and grass) is last place for the heat to end up and is therefore absorbed. This means that the air temperature may be relatively cool at 30 degrees celcius but your the bitumen and your lawn will be much higher temperature than that !
Lesson to learn = *The ‘micro-environment’ of your lawn will be warmer than the air temperature.
Grizzly bears hibernate when the temperature does not suit them, your turf (all varieties) is exactly the same. If the temperature is too low, the turf will not grow / hibernates. If the temperature is too high the turf will not grow / hibernates. The growth of turf is similar to a bell shaped curve. The diagram below illustrates this (with Temperature being the horizontal X axis and amount of Growth being the vertical Y axis) –
As the temperature increase so too does the growth upto a certain stage (usually at around 32 degrees celcius). After that the growth of your lawn does not continue to increase with the increase in temperature. As the temperature increases the growth actually decreases. Therefore it is very important to keep your lawn at a constant temperautre of below 32 degress celcius as often as possible.
*Lesson to Learn = Your lawn stops growing once the temperature around the grass (micro-environment) exceeds 32 degrees celcius.
We now understand that the turf will be warmer than the air temperature and that once the temperature of the turf exceeds approx 32 degrees celcius the turf will begin to lose growth. But how can we use this info in regards to your lawn ? The best way to keep your lawn cool during hot summer days is a short irrigation / watering right in the middle of the day. THIS WILL NOT BURN THE TURF. The water, that is approx 15 degrees celcius, will cool the already warm turf (of approx 35 degrees celcius) back down to a comfortable 25 degrees celcius. Your Lawn will look greener, be softer and more resistant to pests if you do this, even just once a week !
