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Old 11-11-2009, 11:53 PM posted to aus.gardens
Jonno[_20_] Jonno[_20_] is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Sep 2009
Posts: 96
Default Restoring a Neglected Buffalo Lawn!......



"Bigbazza" wrote in message
...


"Jonno" wrote in message
...


There is lawn sand, which, as the name suggests, is for use on lawns
only. It is a mixture of fine sand, ammonium sulphate, and iron sulphate
and has been found effective not only against weeds, but against moss as
well. It should be spread over the whole of the lawn using a spreader -
but this method makes it impossible to use on a garden or flower bed.

Availalbe at bunnings stores. Around $12/15

Follow instructions carefully...Works well. Ive used it. May require a
couple of aplications.

"Bigbazza" wrote in message
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Hi....Bazza from Sydney, Oz.......

I have predominately Buffalo Lawns both front and back...... They were
once ALL buffalo, but having been neglected for a few years they now
have much other things growing as well....Paspalum, Clover, etc.....
Many weed killers will also kill the buffalo when used....

I vaguely remember some years ago I used to use a mixture of sand with
Sulphate of ammonia to kill the weeds.... It used to also brown off the
Buffalo as well for a couple of weeks, and then grow quite fast as a
deep green colour, and very lush!....I don't remember much about the
times of application or even how much to use.... There may even be
better ways to restore the lawns by removal of all except the
Buffalo.....Can anyone offer suggestions?

Regards...

Bigbazza (Barry) Oz




Hi there, Jonno...Thanks for that information.....Similar to what I used
to do....I forget the amounts used though......But I never added Iron
Sulphate though.....I do remember that the sulphate of Ammonia used to
make the soil too Acid and had to use Lime later on to return the soil's
PH to ??....

My son has picked up a bag of some 'Weed and Feed that is supposed to be
OK with Buffalo grass....

Bigbazza (Barry) Oz

As long as its safe, but I'd use the sulphate of ammonia myself.

Some grasses are ableto be damaged by Weednfeed.

Some more information i found re grass:

Question : Anyway, I bought Rich-Gro weed as you feed hose spray on the
advice of an assistant in a large well-known hardware/homeware store, who
stated that it would be safe to use on kikuyu lawns. However on closer
inspection of the label, it states that it is not recomended for these types
of lawns

Is there a product which is safe for kikuyu, but will kill off broad leaf
weeds etc (I'm being over-run by dandelions, thistles and an oxalis type
weed)

If I had the budget, I'd get rid of the kikuyu lawn, but at the moment I
have to live with it (and it does withstand the four-legged hooligan's
antics quite well anyway lol), so any help would be greatly appreciated

Answer : Go back to this hardware store and exchange the spray on WEED &
FEED for a similar product in powder form. It should contain suphate of iron
and urea. Mix equal amounts of this product and fine sand, water you grass,
or wet the weeds you want to treat. Later go around with the bucket of your
mixture and sprinkle a teaspoon of it on your weeds. Use gloves as sulphate
of iron stains black. Do not water for a few days. This mixture will burn
the weeds but will feed your grass after watering.
As far as acidity is concerned, most grasses arent too fussy it seems. (in
my opinion) but slightly acid is OK.