​Thatch can be the result from poor soil, irregular mowing and neglectful maintenance.

​Excessive chemical use (particularly herbicides and pesticides) can kill beneficial insects and microbes that usually live in your soil and help eat the thatch.

Good news is removing it doesn’t need to be complicated.  It is likely that you even have the equipment on hand.

1. Scalp your lawn by mowing it as low as possible with a catcher.
2. Rake the area severely to remove the dead vegetation. 
3. Mow again.
4. Fertilise.
5. Water well.
6. Topdress if necessary.
7. After dethatching, try and keep mowing your lawn regularly at a low level.

If your real keen, you can investigate hiring a lawn dethatching machine.

Dethatching will leave your lawn a hot mess for a few weeks, but it will recover if done properly. It is best to dethatch your Townsville lawn in August, any later and it can be too hot.

Dethatching your lawn at the wrong time of year will result in slow recovery and provide bare areas for weeds to grow in.  If you, do it when its too hot (particularly from November to February) you can burn the stolons or runners and kill the lawn completely.  If you, do it when it is too cold, it just won’t grow at all because the grass is dormant.

Do not scalp your lawn too early (its first growing season) as it needs time to develop a strong root system.

The intermittent use of an organic fertiliser, like Dynamic Lifter can help reduce thatch because it will improve your soil condition and stimulates the growth and activity of beneficial microbes.

Test your soil pH level and correct if needed.  A healthy lawn full of rich organic matter will have less thatch.

​Grass clipping can be very beneficial for the lawn when you have a healthy soil as they decompose quickly and provide nutrients and organic matter, however, clippings can add to a thatch problem once it exists.  It is best to collect grass clippings in the warmer months when they are dense and more likely to sit in piles on the lawn killing the grass underneath.  In the cooler months, can be the perfect time to leave them on as there are less.

​Thatch is the matted decomposed layer of dead grass leaves, old runners and roots that builds up between the grass leaves and soil.

Gradually the thickening thatch layer will prevent the entry of air, water and fertiliser into the soil.

It can make your lawn look and feel spongy to walk on. We can sometimes encourage thatch because we initially like the extra soft feeling underfoot or we miss a mow or two over the wet season and mistakenly just keep lifting the mowing deck, instead of slowly bringing it back to the right height.

It can also be an indication that there is something wrong with the soil because it is not healthy enough to promote the decomposition of dead organic matter. 

This could be cause by:

1. Lack of microbes
2. Poor pH level in soil (too acidic / alkaline)
3. Excessive herbicide / insecticide use
4. Excess fertiliser use
5. Compaction
6. Clay
7. Your soil is not soil, it is crusher dust.

​Thatch is undesirable because it brings the grass roots to the surface so that they are barely in the soil, making your lawn weak and vulnerable to disease, insects and our harsh growing environment (hot and humid summer, sometimes prolonged wet seasons, cold winter nights).
When the thatch layer does prevent water from reaching the soil, it renders any short frequent watering schedules useless.  The soil will completely dry out and the grass roots have no alternative but to grow in the thatch.

Lawn grubs hatch from eggs that have been laid by beetles / moths just under the surface of your lawn. Once they have hatched, the grubs live in the soil eating the roots or leaves of the grass and organic matter in the soil until they become beetles / moths themselves.

It is widely said on the internet that the easiest way to tell if you have lawn grubs is by the irregular brown patches throughout the lawn.

Increasingly, “it’s lawn grubs” seems to be the popular rapid response answer that is fired back in conjunction with a quick-fix insecticide solution for many “what is wrong with my lawn” questions, regardless of whether it is shared with friends around the backyard bbq or within an online group.

This is somewhat unfortunate because sometimes the recommended product can often be applied two or three extra times before either the “damn grubs” (which is now actually the overuse of insecticide) has wrecked the lawn (far more that the grubs ever would have) or the actual real cause has been established.   

With Townsville at different times of the year having some of the most difficult growing conditions on the Australian coast, it is very important to realise that irregular brown patches in the lawn are more likely to be caused by: 

• Heat stress
• Uneven watering
• Under watering
• Over watering
• Unseasonal maintenance
• Poor mowing habits
• Fungus
• Dog pee
• Fertiliser burn
• Incorrect application of other chemicals
• Poor soil quality or crusher dust underlay
• The grass being cooked by the sun after extended wet season rain/sitting in puddles
• Grass clippings sitting on the grass after rain for extended hot periods

​Without giving it much thought, it can be our own ingrained distaste for insects that can have us rushing to detonate the backyard when in fact, there are lots of good bugs out there too. Sadly, insecticides do not discriminate and will annihilate beneficial insects and microbes living in your lawn as well. Excessive use of chemicals can leave your soil barren. 

Beneficial insects reduce the number of unwanted pests, pollinate plants, improve the soil ecosystem, eat thatch and enhance plant growth.

Microbes (also known as microorganisms), whilst they might be too small to be seen by the naked eye, are a critical component of healthy soil.  Microbes break down soil’s organic matter (thatch) into a form that is useful for plants. Microbial activity causes important nutrients in the lawn to be released. Again, there are good and bad microbes.  Good microbes help to suppress the bad microbes from causing problems in your lawn.
​
​SO, WHAT EXACTLY ARE WE TRYING TO SAY?

Even if there are lawn grubs present, you may not need treatment. We recommend that the best approach may be being prepared to wait a little longer and see. 

If you have one of the best lawns in the street, your lawn will be attractive to insects because it is the most fertile and full of nutrients. That said, a healthy lawn can withstand some grubs without any action whatsoever.

You may in fact save yourself a lot of money and heartache as the lawn grubs may complete their life cycle quickly with the lawn recovering as seasonal conditions change or with a little extra care (fertiliser and appropriate seasonal watering).  

If you are concerned about lawn grubs, assess and monitor the situation properly yourself:

• There is a significant increase in beetles / moths flying around
• If neighbouring properties have had significant problems chances are the insects will find your lawn too
• By counting the number of grubs you can find before deciding on your treatment plan

Granted more than 20 grubs per square metre in an already stressed lawn and you will likely require treatment.

Sometimes trusting in nature will help you work things out…naturally, with the best indication that it may be grubs is that there is an increased number of birds gathering on the grass.  Beauty is that these birds are doing you a favour and having a great (chemical free) feed.  Another tact, if available to you, is letting chickens have free rein on your lawn for a bit.

It is worth bearing in mind that if you go to a store to ask for advice, they will want to sell you something (or anything) to fix it. That’s how they make money after all!!

Just a new lawn? It is possible that having a fresh new lawn is like you have put up a ** flashing ** sign to attract lawn grubs.  It is recommended that you wait until at least six weeks for the turf to be more established before spraying chemicals of any kind.  By this time, all the lawn grubs may have grown into beetles/moths and moved on anyway.  Fertilising your lawn to encourage healthy new growth may well be the best form of treatment.

On a personal note, Lachlan has never seen a lawn die from lawn grubs in 32 years of working with turf in Townsville.

Chances are, if you have a lawn problem in Townsville, it is most likely not lawn grubs.

No, we have made the choice not to grow it.

Couch (Cynodon datylon) and hybrid couch varieties are a fine leaf, durable grass. It is a warm season grass that has both stolons (above ground runners) and rhizomes (underground runners).

Couch is mostly considered as cheap budget option and is frequently used in situations where the installer doesn’t care about the long-term outcome only that it gets them out of an immediate jam.

Couch is also considered easy to grow. Of course, it doesn’t help that Couch is used as a sports grass that can look top notch. What can be overlooked though is that behind those beautiful fields are teams of qualified staff giving the turf exactly what it needs when it needs it and often with a large operating budget. When used in these situations, it is likely that the Couch:

• is mowed every day or nearly every other day
• is aerated 
• receives the appropriate treatment for weed management
• has a fertiliser program
• gets precise amounts of water at the right time
• is laid on the proper turf underlay base, etc

From our experience, in a typical residential situation, Couch:

• can appear poor without regular fertilising and water
• requires lots of sunshine and is not considered shade tolerant at all
• requires very frequent mowing
• can be prone to scalping if cut too short in one mow
• is resistant to many herbicides, which helps to keep the weeds out, but can make it invasive if not properly confined to lawn areas

It is also susceptible to Couch Mites. Couch Mites are tiny pests that feed on new growth and are visible only through a magnifying hand lens or microscope. Couch Mites are believed to be a native species and is now widely distributed across Australia. Despite having a short life cycle, they can take hold quickly and cause damage.

Symptoms of Couch Mites include:

• stunted growth
• leaves turn light green / yellow
• leaves curl abnormally
• damaged stems do not grow new shoots
• looks tufted with clumping patterns appearing across the lawn
• thin / bare patches appear in infested areas that will continue to expand if not treated

 
Couch mites are likely to be more severe during hot, dry conditions (the Welcome mat to Townsville is rolled out for at least 9 months of the year). They can be spread by lawn clippings, wind, equipment, shoes or on the back of other little critters. An outbreak may be controlled by spotting the damage early and prompt invention. However, left untreated Couch Mites can quickly overrun an area and research shows that they then can be very difficult to get rid of completely and that Couch can take a long time to recover from infestation.

Carpet grass (Axonopus compressus) is a tropical, warm seasoned grass grown predominantly in Northern Queensland, but can be found in Darwin and sporadically as far south as the Tweed. 

It is a broad leaf grass that is fairly dense, coarse-textured with a waxy leaf and dark green colour.  It is shallow rooted, which is why it is considered drought intolerant, yet overall it seems mostly well-adapted to North Queensland growing conditions. It is very popular choice for local parks and botanical gardens.

In Townsville, for the last 30 years it has been called Buffalo.  We coined ‘NQ Buffalo’ here at Paragon Gardens when we launched our website in 2018 to avoid confusion between it and the true fine leaf buffalo turf varieties that have become more readily available, like Kings Pride and Sir Walter.

= Brace Yourself =

Whilst we consider it to be a lawn grass, most in the turf industry consider Carpet grass to be a broadleaf weed. 

Taking this into consideration, this would make NQ Buffalo's biggest downside the fact that most weeds that you get growing in it are other broadleaf weeds, like clover, white-tip bindi and crowsfoot.   

It is for this reason, you can understand why we shudder when we hear the words NQ Buffalo and 'Bow and Arrow' in the same sentence.  

Broadleaf carpet grass is sensitive to broadleaf herbicide. 
'Bow and Arrow' is a herbicide used for broad leaf weed control.
 
Exceeding recommended application rates with a heavy-handed dose or overlapping sprayed areas will have dire effects on your lawn and may well leave it worse off than it was already.

Being forewarned is forearmed.  It is important to understand that:

• turf and weeds should always be actively growing at the time of treatment
• you never ever apply if weeds or turf are under stress (hottest weeks of summer) or dormant (winter months)
• complete weed death may take up to six weeks, so wait the time out patiently to see full result before reapplying
• there is real risk that transient discolouration may occur

In addition to this, it is nearly impossible to get a grass out of a grass, particularly Couch.  This explains why most turf growers (including ourselves) will use a disclaimer, such as, blend or mix.
​
We believe the best method to combat broadleaf weeds and other invading grasses in a residential situation is to keep your NQ Buffalo healthy and robust by fertilising regularly in the growing season. 

A weed that can be treated more easily is nutgrass using Sempra, Sledgehemmer or something similar (active ingredient:  Halosulfuron methyl).

Being a tropical, warm seasoned grass, NQ Buffalo does not like Winter when the night temperatures drop.  Its shallow roots retract even further from the cold soil. Because of this, it is never recommended to do any maintenance between Anzac Day to mid-August.

NQ Buffalo:

• Competes with weeds in the wet season
• Will die back when there is no rain (poor wet season)
• Prefers a loam turf underlay (to hold the moisture) instead of a sandy base (too quick draining)
• Can survive in bad soil conditions
• Can be mowed at any height without risk of scalping (unless it is growing in heavy shade)
• Has the best shade tolerance (because of its broad-leaf)*
• Maintenance in the Winter months should be avoided
• Doesn’t like to be waterlogged

 
*Note:  all turf varieties require four – five hours of direct sunlight to live and grow.

Does water make your grass green?

​We think the concept that water makes your grass green, particularly for us here in Townsville, comes from the end of the dry season.  We are driving around looking out the windows at a dust bowl – open spaces, footpaths, unirrigated lawns, Castle Hill are super crispy and drab brown; when the sky finally opens up, it’s like the place turns a vibrant green overnight.

The dead grass was given a drink of water. 
Did the water make it green? No, the water brought it back to life.

​Water does not make grass green.  It sustains it.  Water allows the grass to transpire and provides a means for chemical reactions to take place.  The nutrients (chemicals) in your soil can react with each other in the water and be made available to the grass.

Most people think they are making their green lawn greener by watering, hence most people overwater.

By overwatering you are:

1. washing (leaching) a lot of the nutrients out of your soil
2. encouraging your grass to have shallow and fickle roots
3. causing fungal issues
4. causing compaction issues – vehicles, mowers, foot traffic on soggy ground forces the air out of the soil
5. wasting a valuable resource

One easy way to do a check on your current watering habits is to monitor your soil’s moisture level by digging a hole and having a look. 

• Muddy/sloppy = too wet. 
• Dry/dusty = too dry. 
• It needs to be somewhere in between, very technical terms, we know.

So, before you water your lawn ask yourself if it really needs water?
And, if you want to make your lawn greener, maybe you need to apply fertiliser instead.

It is true that the next couple of months are absolutely glorious here in North Queensland, however, our Winter is enough to impact grass growing conditions and our lawn maintenance habits.
​
NQ Buffalo Turf (Axonopus compressus, broad leaf carpet grass) is a tropical grass that is known for turning purple every year when the temperatures drop.

With seven nights in the last ten days reaching 16 - 17°C minimum temperatures and shorter days (less sunlight), it may now have been enough to cause this effect in your lawn.

At the moment, as it continues to gets colder and the days get shorter still, nothing needs to be or can be done to change this reaction to these conditions.  It is cold and winter stress.

It may be possible to fertilise when we have another warm stretch, however, you won’t see much change until mid-August when the night temperatures start to rise and the days are getting longer again.

Many popular gardening shows and websites often recommend spreading fertiliser before you lay turf.
 
Lachlan does not recommend this and here is why:

The information for most, if not all of those shows and websites are generated for lawns being done in southern states and certainly not north of Brisbane where our growing conditions are vastly different.

In Townsville, particularly in our summer months, your initial watering regime is not only critical to your turf’s establishment, but its very survival in those first few days.
 
When you are watering three to four times a day for ten to fourteen days, it is not difficult to imagine that any fertiliser spread on the turf underlay has long since leeched deep into the soil profile and out of reach of the turf’s roots by the time they recover from the shock of harvesting and start to grow again.

In those first two weeks, the turf is relying on the watering it is receiving over the top (onto its leaves from sprinklers) because it is not able to use its roots to draw moisture from the soil like a plant normally does.

Our preferred method is to spread fertiliser on top of the freshly laid turf to help spur it on, believing that it first must break down and then travel through the piece of turf into the soil.

One thing we would add though, is that if you are laying new turf at an existing home and your looking at your soil beforehand thinking that it could perhaps benefit from some extra umph, we would recommend spreading an organic booster, like Dynamic Lifter instead. Spread it evenly over the area, rake and water it in slightly.

It has decided to turn over a new leaf!!

Bore water can often be an excellent alternative to water lawn and gardens, thus making it a viable solution to decrease your town water usage and any excess water charges, particularly for those with larger residential blocks or acreage properties. 

Bore water is not an unlimited resource. It is dependent on rainfall and how much water is absorbed into the aquifers through the ground. Pumping too much water out of your borehole without adequate rainwater to recharge the aquifers will result in your bore delivering less water. 

The number of boreholes in an area can also decrease the water table. This can greatly reduce the amount of water available for you to use each time that it operates, but also have an environmental impact in the long run. A common indication that it is starting to run low is that you can hear the bore sucking air. Continuing to use the bore pump when there is a problem may burn it out.

Additionally, pumping large amounts of water simply because you can is not only wasting a valuable resource, it is problematic. Over-watering your lawn and gardens can cause just as many challenges as under-watering. Consider what your lawn as a plant needs, not what you can give it.

The water that flows into an aquifer may be contaminated by many things we do at or near the surface. It is not always possible to tell if your bore water is contaminated. 

Some indicators of a contaminated bore are:

• A chemical, sewage, petrol or rotten egg smell
• Soap suds/foaming around sprinkler outlets
• Abnormal colour or sediment
• A low pH (acidic water)

What does this mean for your lawn and gardens? The grass and garden plants may be yellowing, wilting or dying.

In our experience, we have found that Townsville’s bore water often leans towards being slightly alkaline and we have noticed that in recent times there is a tendency for it to be also slightly salty. Some can be high in calcium (white spots on plant leaves, fences, etc where the bore water sits and dries).  Others can be high in iron.

Installing a new bore has many hurdles that impact its installation cost and, ultimately, its success:

• Type of ground
• Depth of borehole
• Determining the yield (how much water is available)
• Determining the purpose (how much water is actually required)
• Piping and pumping the bore
• The machinery, labour and materials required
• Choosing the right pump for your situation
• The property’s location within Townsville (we’d be sceptical about the viability of a bore drilled one street from the beach per se)

It is important to consider that the success of a new bore is not guaranteed. It is critical that you go with an honest and reputable boring company with good local knowledge. We noticed that there was a significant increase in bore installations as the drought in Townsville pushed on past the first and second failed wet season (around 2016 - 2018), unfortunately these were not always viable.

With the excitement of overcoming all these factors, it is the actual quality of the water that is often overlooked. It would be advisable to carry out a proper water analysis test, particularly before investing further in your outdoor space with a bore pump, irrigation, turf and gardens. 

Is the water actually safe to use on
​your beautiful new lawn and gardens?

Further to this, it is recommended you test your bore water annually in Spring, when you start to increase the amount of bore water you are using due the change of season and warmer temperatures. Just because it has never been a problem in the past, does not mean that it will always be the case.

The pH of your bore water will affect the health and growth of plants in your garden. Bore water that is too acidic or too alkaline may affect the uptake of nutrients by plants. You can perform your own pH test on your bore water with a swimming pool test kit.

Poor bore water quality will have effect on your soil’s pH level as in time your soil will become whatever your water is. If you suspect that there may be a problem with the health and appearance of your lawn and plants, one of the first steps to take is a simple and quick soil pH test to check for acidity or alkalinity.

There is no doubt that bore water is a wonderful and valuable resource if it available to you.

Without doubt, one of the biggest disadvantages of automatic irrigation is the cost of installation. ​

Another would be finding an irrigation installer that is suitably qualified or being capable of installing it yourself properly.

The next catch is being able to use the controller. As an owner of an automatic irrigation system, unfortunately, it is not a case of set and forget forever.  You will need to have some knowledge of:

• operating the timer correctly so that you can adjust the programs
• what the run times should be

 
So, it is all true.
     There is a significant upfront financial hit and
          an automatic irrigation system does take time to plan, install and learn 
               … BUT…

If it is installed properly with the good quality products, an automatic irrigation system will ensure that your lawn and gardens receives a reliable amount of water at the right time for many years.

TIP * If you are having your irrigation system installed professionally, you should check that they will come back to reprogram it for you after the new turf establishment period (when you can safely change from watering 3 - 4 times a day to a normal seasonal watering schedule). It may also be worth considering asking them to include a handover lesson in your quote so that you can comfortably change the controller when you need to yourself.
 
A good automatic irrigation system will help you to be more waterwise as it allows you to water effectively according to the season.

When it comes to watering requirements, Townsville for the most part has two seasons:  Summer or Winter.

It is our very broad recommendation that in Summer (approx. 25 August to 25 April), it is best to water your lawn – deeply, early in the morning, three times a week.

Did you know that it is better to give a good soak less often than just watering the surface frequently?

Deep watering encourages your lawn’s root to grow stronger and penetrate deeper into the soil to seek out moisture.

Short frequent bursts of water are detrimental to your lawn’s health as the roots will be shallow and weak. It is really just wasting water, as the lawn is not getting enough to be useful and will soon be hanging out for its next drink.

In Winter (25 April to 25 August), make a point to cut back to only one deep, early morning watering session per week.

It can be detrimental to your lawn’s health to over-water during the colder months (when Townsville has much lower humidity and evaporation rates).

Some quick visual cues of over-watering include: 

• water runoff after irrigating
• saturated/soggy ground
• mower causes wheel ruts
• the lawn always has that just watered look

The lawn will also give signals, such as:

• dying or yellowing patches
• an abundance of weeds
• thatch
• green moss in shady areas
• fungal growth like white spots

Over-watering is drowning your lawn; it cannot breathe properly.

Over-watering can also occur during the wet season, it is important to turn off your irrigation system.  In most cases, the easiest way to do this is to:

• open the irrigation timer box and simply turn the dial to the ‘OFF’ position, so that you don’t lose your timer settings, and
• turn off the backflow device at the water metre to relieve the pressure from the mainline

Depending on how much rain is received, give the lawn time to dry out and turn the dial back to ‘AUTO’ / ‘RUN’ and turn the backflow device back on. Don't forget to do this if the rain has cleared out and the weather is back to stinking hot.

Although, it may well be that it only just gets turn backed on and you are back out there turning it off again a day or two later because we have had another big storm.  Don’t get too frustrated with this process, as rain is the best form of water for plants and it’s saving money too.