The seeds we sow

Seeding looks like an easy solution to get the lawn you really want within a kinder budget. ​​

​Particularly when the packets all have beautiful lush lawns at homes that could feature on the cover of a House and Garden magazine, in shade or sun, with playing children or a cute puppy or sometimes the whole kaboodle.

Every now and again we will receive an enquiry for turf seed from people eager to cut the costs involved with buying a new lawn. 

We do not sell seed and never will.  The unfortunate reality is that our hot and harsh climate in Townsville can make growing plants a challenge for even the best gardeners. So whilst a seeded lawn will seemingly involve a much lower financial outlay initially, it will require care and dedication for the better part of a year.  

Some points to consider before purchasing seed:

• A certain amount of soil preparation will be needed whether you choose seed or natural turf as both require good preparation and quality fertile soil, consequently no cost savings there.
• Knowing which seed variety to pick for your region
• The amount of seed that is required to cover the area properly
• A seed spreader might be required to get good coverage
• It may need a light coverage of soil to protect it from birds, to stop it blowing away in the wind or washing away 
• It must stay moist until germination.  Germination can take 10 to 30 days. 
• Extensive long-term weed management
• Kids and pets must stay off the area until it is properly established, this could take six to twelve months
• It might be necessary to erect a fence to ensure that it remains untouched
• Incorrectly timing the first mow or mowing too low will likely result in the failure of the crop

Natural turf requires efficient and habitual watering during the turf establishment period of 7 to 14 days depending on the season, it can then revert to a standard watering schedule. You can usually walk on natural turf about a week after it has been laid.

We can see that our opinion might look like bias to our own product.  Understandable. Yet, in all our years, not once have we seen or heard that seed lived up to the expectation. Seed is that difficult, we don’t even use it on the farm ourselves. We use vegetative reproduction, which means we use grass to grow more grass (sprigging).

As we see it, seed has an incredibly poor rate of performance. We have received a lot of feedback from Clients who have come to us to buy turf frustrated with how much time and money they have wasted on the seed experience, all saying “we should of come to you in the first place.”

We genuinely believe that the likelihood of growing a lawn from seed is marginal at best and if successful, it will be many MANY months before it can be used as a lawn, let alone one worthy of a magazine cover with playing children and a cute puppy.