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TG'sFM · 05-12-2006, 05:20 AM posted to aus.tv,aus.gardens,aus.general

lynx wrote:
TG'sFM wrote:

lynx wrote:

TG'sFM wrote:

lynx wrote:

TG'sFM wrote:

Oz wrote:

"HeadRush" ( . )( . wrote in message
...

"^T^" wrote in message
...

TG'sFM wrote:

wrote:

...everyone's lawn is dry and yellowing due to water restructions,
except for your neighbours which is in pristine condition? It looks
like a ****ing golf course next door.

Maybe you neighbour has different grass than the others. There are
species like "Sir Walter" which don't need any water other than dew to
keep it green and healthy all year round. He may also have water
crystals or other form of wetting agent under the lawn to retain what
moisture it does get. So in other words, your neighbour may have
learned to "manage" the water restructions, while you and your ilk have
not. So if you want a pristine lawn like your neighbour, stop
complaining and get off your backside and do something about it.

Another management tool for a nice lawn is only water once a week, if
you water it too often the roots get lazy and stay shallow but if water
once a week they grow deeper looking for water giving you a stronger
lawn.

Is Sir Walter as good as they say it is?? I saw an ad for it last week
saying it could go months without water and was as drought resistant as a
gum tree.

Compacted soil is a major problem in lawn maintenance. I've seen lawns die
because the soil was so compacted it felt like concrete - water could not
permeate deep into the soil and root growth was restructed.

Aerating the lawn using a spiked lawn aerator helps loosen the soil around
the roots promoting strong root growth and exposes the root to oxygen. A
sprinkle of nitrogenous fertilizer afterwards and a weekly watering will
do wonders. Also, never mow your lawn too short - might look good, but you
remove vital sun absorbing green leaf which feeds the grass through
photosynthesis.

and mowing your lawn too short also increases the amount of direct sunlight
that is able to hit your top soil, thus creating more evaporation, causing
your lawn to dry out faster, this is one of the benefits of having a
mulching mower :-)

Everyone's an expert it seems. Mulching mowers should be outlawed.
Cut grass needs to be caught in a catcher, left to die, and THEN used
as mulch. If you use a mulching mower, the cut grass does MORE DAMAGE
THAN GOOD, as it drains the soil of the good nuitrients.

You're either ignorant or trying to be a smart arse. Mulching mowers
deposit the finely cut grass back into the lawn where it decomposes,
nourishes, and fertilizes it, and provides covering for any exposed soil
to help with moisture retention. Besides.. mulching mowers avoid the
necessity to keep stopping to empty the catcher. So they're great for
lazy bums like me.

Sorry, but you are wong on this one. Mulching mowers are NOT good for
your grass. Just think about it for a tick. If it was good, then why
wouldn't mowing contractors do it? After all, it'd save them trips to
the dump, plus if it's so good for the lawn, it would grow quicker
which would mean more mowing jobs. But they don't do they? Here's
something else I bet you don't know. Most mowing contractors use a
Honda Buffallo self-propelled mower. They actually come with a
mulching kit as an option, yet in all my years, I have never, ever seen
a single contractor take up that option. The reason? Freshly cut
grass is NOT a good mulch. In fact, it is bad because it draws badly
need nutrients from the soil. In fact, most plants act in this way.
If a plant thinks it is dying, it will try desperately to reproduce or
grow. That is why shrubs thrive after you cut them back, and why fruit
trees flower after being trimmed.

Well that sounds good in theory, except that the mulch produced from
mulching mowers is extremely fine. It is NOT 'freshly cut grass' as such.

Now be a good boy and stick to a
subject that you have at least SOME knowledge about. That is all.

"Mulching mowers feature a patented four swing-back blade system which
works like a fan, drawing the cut grass in from the blade tips. As they
mulch, these mowers return rich nutrients from the fine grass clippings
back into your lawn to promote lush, green growth without the need for
blood & bone or other products. So you'll get a great lawn and save on
fertilisers too! What's more, mulching reduces evaporation, which is so
important in todays environment! "

http://www.victa.com.au/index.cfm?p=...81C657C866099B

"The grass clippings left behind by a mulching mower essentially
function as a lawn fertilizer, as if you were applying compost to the
lawn. For this reason, it makes more sense for most urban and suburban
homeowners to use a mulching mower, rather than bagging their grass
clippings and dumping them in the compost pile."

http://landscaping.about.com/cs/gift...ing_mowers.htm

"Using a mulching mower saves in several ways. It saves time, since you
don't have to repeatedly stop the mower to empty and reattach the bag.
It saves money, since the nitrogen in the clippings fertilizes the lawn,
reducing the amount of supplemental fertilizer you have to apply."

http://www.hometips.com/help/gardene.html

"Mulching mowers are made to chop grass into fine pieces that drop down
into the mowed turf that remains. The result is a clean-looking lawn
with no visible clippings. The clippings that drop into the turf dry out
and quickly decompose."

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl...88/ai_12400799

Just a sample of the hundreds (thousands?) of articles that can be found
supporting my comments. But hey, everyone else could be wrong, and you
could be right! But we've (we've?) yet to see any proof that you are.

So if it's so good, how come mowing contractors don't use mulch mowers?

I have no idea. I haven't canvassed mowing contractors, and I only have
your word that they don't.

My good word is all that's required.