Centipede Grass
Lawn care in Melbourne is a full time occupation in our warmer climate. Grass can suffer a lot with the constant sunshine and heat making lawn care a difficult task. One answer is Centipede Grass which originated in china but made its way over here in the early 20th century. As it is very low maintenance and adapts well to a warm climate it is becoming more and more popular. It is currently in use around Florida as lawn grass and in parks and on golf courses.
If looked after properly it will give you no problems whatsoever. It is highly resistant to pests and moss on the rare occasions water logging is an issue. It thrives in acidic-sandy soils like we have round Naples and can grown almost anywhere warm. It is slow growing and not as soft as St. Augustine grass for example, but this is offset by the hardiness and low maintenance properties. The main benefit is that it can tolerate heat and direct sunlight for a long period of time without suffering any ill effects.
Centipede grass does need good old Melbourne lawn care with plenty of water once a week and infrequent feeding with a nitrogen based food. Don’t overfeed it though as it can cause more problems than it solves.
For homeowners who live in our beautiful state Centipede grass is an ideal alternative to standard lawns if they aren’t living up to your expectations, or suffer in the heat.
Repairing a Compacted Lawn.
Most family lawns have to cope with a lot. They get walked on, played on, rolled on as well as pecked and tunnelled through, especially with the weather we have here in Naples. Soil compaction is a big problem for your lawn, and although it happens through use, it can be addressed fairly simply in an overall lawn care plan.
Compaction is where the soil within 4 inches of the surface gets compressed and squashed. This blocks the flow of air, nutrients and moisture through the soil, which in turn leads of poor quality grass. Unfortunately, even though grass can’t grow very well in these conditions, weeds and moss can. Therefore another problem with compaction is the following explosion of weed and moss growth.
There is one simple technique that can alleviate this problem within days: aerating. Aerating is where you punch holes into the ground to add ventilation and space to move. The easiest way to do it is with a garden fork. Poke the fork into the ground at least 4 inches deep and repeat all along your lawn spacing them out. You should do this at least a couple of times a year anyway, but certainly is your grass is beginning to suffer.
The effect of aerating is the loosening of the soil and provides space for water and nutrients to reach root level. It also adds oxygen to the soil which will stimulate growth and allow the helpful bacteria to grow. As a side effect it also increases drainage which should be the end of any moss that grows on the lawn.
Tools of the Trade: The Lawnmower
Using the right kind of lawnmower for your garden is essential in keeping a healthy lawn. Cut it too low and you starve the roots, leave it too long and weeds can encroach.
The best way to create a healthy lawn, even in Naples, is to mow frequently but not cut it too low. By cutting regularly excessive leaf growth is reduced while not allowing weeds and the coarser grass a chance to grow. The best lawnmower for your needs is one that is big enough to keep the lawn under control and small enough to be manoeuvred easily. Budget is a factor in any purchase, but there are lawnmowers of each type available for a variety of budgets nowadays.
The most popular type of domestic lawnmower is the rotary type. They are easy to use and can cut quite quickly which is why it’s so popular. They can also cope with wet grass, and the first winter cut when the grass may be longer. They come in two flavours, electric or petrol. The petrol version is more powerful and has no leads to run over, but is mainly suitable for larger lawns. The electric version is lighter and ideal for the smaller lawn.
The hover type mower is ideal for older gardeners as it is light and easy to use. Most of the weight of the device is supported by the air cushion it creates when switched on. They perform similarly to the rotary mower and come in the same petrol and electric varieties.
Manual lawn mowers are very cheap to buy and maintain but are much harder work to use. They are ideal if you don’t want to use petrol or electric. They are cylinder mowers which do give a good cut, but all of the momentum and energy needed to do the cutting comes from you. These are really only suitable for very small lawns.
The cylinder mower gives the best cut to any lawn. They come in the manual as described above, petrol and electric types. Petrol rotary’s are the most powerful but all will give a great cut. These mowers will give your lawn the traditional striped look if you wanted one.
Although they are the best, rotary mowers are also the most expensive. There are a couple of other choices to be made here too. The size of the cylinder should be scaled to the size of lawn. The average lawn in Naples would need a 16 inch cylinder with at least 8 blades to give a good finish. Larger versions are available but they mower becomes less manoeuvrable when you increase the cylinder size. Anything bigger than the 16inch would only really be suitable for exceptionally large lawns.