Well I have been on the phone this week with a lovely Developer who went and invested thousands of dollars into seed because he thought it would be cheaper than turf. Unfortunately for him, not all the seed germinated and grew, and all his investment went in vain. That’s the problem with seeds. Like when you through some seeds out in the garden, not all of them grow. And the ones that do are cared for and nurtured into full life. Seeds thrown on the ground or into soil still need work before they can become a lawn. Believe us we do it every day on our farms on the Tweed Coast. We take little seedlings and turn them into gorgeous turf so that they can be laid at your house to become a Beautiful lawn.

So our developer called to get more turf put down over his seeds and was really surprised how cheap it was to turf and install. And it only had to be done once because it was done right. That’s the best part.

So in my probably biased opinion its best to get the green down on your lawn and installed properly so your grass is green and growing. You pay once and that’s it. If you choose to seed, who knows what grass you get and if and when it may grow.

Chat Soon
Sare

No its not the A Britney Song re-done grass style…

I have broken my other foot! That means that I have now broken firstly my ankle on my left foot and now my foot bone on my right! Hurray for me. How uncoordinated can a girl get! All I did was walk down another step. I have decided that concrete and me are not friends, and that I should grass everything! At least it will be soft then to land on when I fall next time – Oh yes there will be a next time and NO I was NOT drunk.

I’m thinking sweet smother directly near the house, because it is super shade tolerant, and then some Palmetto buffalo around the more shadier of areas around the house and of course the wonderful Queensland Blue Couch for the outskirts – hardy and tough. That means that my yard will be super lush and spongy for the next time I walk down a step and fall. No broken anything else for me this year…hopefully anyway. I think I may need a lucky token of something. Maybe a rabbits foot, except my sister-in-law-to-be may be upset if I chop of the leg of her rabbit. I know; I’ll grow clover and hopefully get a four leaf one. No that’s no good Dad and the boys would kill me for introducing clover to their beautiful turf.

No I think I am just going to have to make my own luck and stay away from steps. So if you see a Lady in a blue turf shirt walking around on crutches please warn me about the steps that are coming up, and direct me to the closest soft spongy grass I can land on..

Thanks
Sare

Well our six weeks of having Lauren come in and push papers and answer your calls in the office are over. I for one will really miss her. It has been wonderful coming to work knowing Marcus, my youngest, was in her safe hands, and lovely knowing that while she was here, Coastal Turf was in safe hands. And so starts the Marcus come to work times again. He is not enjoying as much as he thought he would. Turns out Mummy really does work at work, not just play…Who knew. Oh well might get hot chips for lunch and say we had too because Marcus needed them…hehehehe

But I think we may have shifted her kids to the farm life as well. They loved to play on Marcus’ tractor.

So Turf is not just in the blood, but is contagious I guess. At least the riding cool tractors is.
Yours in Turf
Sare
Oh don’t forget to check out our FaceBook page now. Something Lauren set up before she left. Thanks Lauren!

Well in the continued experiment for the winter, “What grows Better in the Shade”, I have the updated pictures for this week.

As you’ll remember, Mum has this shady wet spot in her back yard that she really doesn’t look after. We put it down and walked away. Mum occasionally gets Tony (my husband) to mow it, but that is it. No professional turf farmer care. It has 2 medium size dogs that eat bones and run (well its kind of a run. Betty the Black dog is rather large and does have some difficulties running quickly) all over it. So it gets a work out. Not to mention grandkids playing their version of world cup soccer on it…

Palmetto on the right at back and Empire Zoysia on the left

So as you can see, we are now into the swing of it. May is nearly over and June will bring in the cold. I am enjoying watching these grasses. At this point the Palmetto seems to have that extra greenness that the Empire Zoysia lacks. And that what is all the Palmetto experts do tell me.. So lets wait and see. And I would like to point out I am not clever enough to mess with the photos. I can’t change colours etc for the life of me. I tried to make my daughters face sharper one and ended up giving her an extra head in the photo. So now photoshop for me. Completely natural me. And a bit useless with cameras…

Thanks
Sare

Well Coastal Turf is going REALLY Green! Today we are having our first environmental meeting with Ben Gibson from EPAR to discuss environmental procedures and records tht we now have to keep under Australian Law. Its really interesting and I am proud to say that 99% of what we are doing is in line with the law! We just aren’t keeping the records in the right way. So that is just down to me. I will do better at the paper work. Now that Ben has given us these awesome fill in paper work t will be great. I am so excited!

Last month w got our Solar panels in, and now we are getting the peice of paper from EPAR to say that we truely are GREENIES. How funny, I always knew Turf was Gren but now I have a piece of paper to prove it. I definetly recommend that you go to the EPAR website and check it out.

www.epar.com.au

Thanks Ben

Chat Soon

SARE

Brr, Winter is creeping its head around the corner isn’t it? Gone are the days of shorts and singlets and the days of long pants and cold hands are upon us. That is unless you area toddler and feel no cold…My toddler is still trying to get naked and play outside. And now has the worst snotty nose. If I was a mean mother I would say nananenanar I told you I was right, but I’m not so I will just wipe his nose with my really cold hands and say gross, where are your socks?

In winter we all get less sun in our yards and in fact in our days, so I think the true test of preformance of all grasses is how they cope in winter. Do they die off and go brown in winter? Do they go patchy when you still have active kids on them? Do they rest and still look green? Do they slow down conserve and not need as much mowing, but still look healthy?

At the moment I have put down two grasses in Mum and Dad’s back yard that were left over from a couple of different installation jobs we did. At Coastal Turf we always believe that when we are installing we take an extra 5% than measured to make sure we definitely have enough turf after cutting into corners and the rest (don’t want to give away all our trade secrets; But we do recommend that customers get an average of 35 more when cutting into corners and werid shapes). And that means that we usually end up taking some home. The back yard in winter is dark and wet at the moment (we have the septic tank coming out onto this spot)so it needed a thirsty grass there that would also thrive in the dark. So we decided to conduct a quick little experiment for the winter, so when I say on the phone that this really is the best grass for your lawn I have tested it.

We installed these grasses about 3 weeks ago so they are rooted into the ground. We decided to get Mum to look after them because she isn’t a turf Farmer, and will look after the grass like a customer who would have put it in and walked away. And this is how they look now…

Empire Zoysia on the left and Palmetto Buffalo on the right

Now also bear in mind that they were off cuts. But lets see how the winter takes us. I hope this gives you an educated opinion.

Thanks Sare

Well my beautiful daughter has just turned 5! Its a big number for a little girl. It means to her that she is now old enough to do the dishwasher herself, maybe pick her own towel up, and of course pour her own milk, and now answer the phone for Coastal Turf ( said sorry you have to be at least 12 to do that, but don’t be surprised if one day you ring and she answers). To me it means that my little pink child is now a person.

It also means that I have been in the Coastal turf office now for 4 and a half years. I came back in with Hollie on the floor playing when she was 6 months old. Holl took her first steps across the office. She is definitely the least shy of my 3, weather that is because she is a girl or because her whole life she has been with adults. I think she was 8 months old when she went for her first turf delivery, and 4 when she was able to sit on the tractor with Poppa while they cut turf. Don’t get me wrong, Holl is very VERY girly, but when she needs to she can muck it out at the Turf Farm. I think she was giving out Turf advice at school the other day. I guess having a Turf Farmer for a Grandfather, a Mother who works in the Turf Office and sometimes on the farm, and a Turfman as a father really makes you know your grass. As long as all she ever knows is the green in the ground and walk on it Grass, She’ll be fine

Thanks Chat soon
Sare

Well wasn’t the Easter break lovely. Having 5 days off in a row is very relaxing. But we were trapped in side most of the  time down here because of the beautiful rain. We are starting to call the rain not so beautiful now. Kinda getting very sick of it. And the kids are going a little stir mad. But to the rain’s credit the grass does look great. Its just no one can play on it at the moment. After much rolling we were able to cut turf, but not able to sell it because so many people who had ordered soil couldn’t have it delivered to do their prep work to lay the turf on. But a lovely lady in Banora Point had her Coastal Mix delivered late Thursday afternoon and laid it first thing Friday before the rain started and says that it is looking fantastic! That was a wonderful  Easter present for her I think. Not only did she have a lovely lawn to look out at from her new house, but no one walked mud through her house either. And that is wonderful!!!! I am very sick of the mud that is being tramped through the office by well meaning farmers…(Hope they get the hint. Probably don;t even read it but venting does make you feel better).

Although I can’t really complain too much. Barbara from the office has gone on sick leave for a while so Lauren is now filling in for her. And doing a great job. She now has a handle in the grass (hehehe just a double play on words. She really does know her grass types now.), and we both agree that working here in the office is much easier than wrangling our 2 year olds at home. So now you can ring and chat to two wonderful happy  friendly ladies in the office for turf sales and advice. Have to get a photo of us and our 5 children to show you how fun and exciting we really are.

We are going to a 3 year olds birthday party that we replaced the lawn for with some sweet smother this weekend. There is going to be about 15 three year olds and their parents and siblings so we’ll give that grass a testing, as well as the cake of course.

Have a lovely weekend everyone and I will let you know Monday how sweet smother copes with a kids and cake.

Chat soon

Sare

Well how is that! Wonderful Blue sky for the Easter long long weekend! It should be lovely. Here are Coastal Turf we understand that during your 5 days off over this lovely break you might think that it is a great idea to turf that area you have been thinking of. So We are happy to cut and deliver grass to you this weekend on Saturday and Monday and Tuesday for the truly Turf Needy.
So Give us a call and we can arrange your new lawn for Easter now!
And watch out for the up coming Easter photos that will come. Also Coastal Turf is going to Facebook so keep and eye out and lets see what we can do !

That’s a pretty tricky question for some people. The right grass for you can mean a lot of things . Sunlight, traffic and Price are very important. And the knowledge behind them is just as important. I know nothing about, and I mean NOTHING about diseases and the intricate workings of our bodies. So when I get sick or my kids are sick and I need advice and help I go to someone who knows like a Doctor or Naturapath.

So i think it makes sense that when someone who knows little to nothing about Grass, types and installation and best best grass for you, you need to come to someone with expert advice, like Coastal Turf. I myself have been living Turf since I was 16, and now I am 31, so thats a lot time and experience with grass. (I said this to one of my friends with  teenagers the other day and they couldn’t stop laughing. Kids now a days…Is that showing my age?) Dad has been farming for near on 50 years (he is supper old) and Macca nearly as long. Mick is a young one only Farming for 30 years. So we know a bit about Grass, how it grows, and how to keep it alive.

So maybe a Zoysia is best for your yard with its low allergenic qualities, thin leaves and drought tolerance and soft under foot? Or is Palmetto better for you with its rough robust leaves that is excellent near the saltiness of the beach side towns,  and so green in winter. But then again you may need the Softness of Queensland Blue Couch, with its excellent drought tolerance and beautiful softness underfoot and really easy care. Or for people with families and on a budget the unique Softness and Robustness of the Coastal Mix. Its perfect for families who have kids and/or dogs who want to run on the grass, crash on the grass and generally play outside and still have great looking lawns that don’t require you to be fussing over it.

Palmetto Buffalo, from my Mums House

Empire Zoysia from our house and its miss match lawn

So give us the Turf-perts a call and we can help you decide on the best Lawn grass for you!

Thanks and chat soon

Sare

So my lawn is mosaic of all the left over pieces of turf that the boys have installed at peoples houses. And it grows really well cause we Buffalo’s in the shady areas, blue couch in the sun, and carpet grass/Coastal Mix in the kids high traffic areas. I love it. Its always green and the kids love it cause they always have somewhere green and soft to play. I also love it cause after a day of looking after everyone else’s lawns, my husband doesn’t want to take care of ours, so it can be neglected for a while and still look great!