Growing Gardens

with Julia Hancock

Nice weeds, shame about the lawn

Lawns must be just about the most controversial element to modern gardening – you either love 'em or you loathe 'em. Those for the green stuff justify their fondness by listing the great benefits of having a lawn: they offset the flower beds; they provide an area for the kids to play on; and they act as a buffer zone between inflammable plant material and one's house. Those who vote against lawns complain of their labour intensity, their cost and the fact that they take up space where other more useful plants can be grown.

Those of us who have lawns (whether or not we approve of them) often despair at the condition they are in. Turf weeds are many and various, and they can turn a healthy sward into an infestation of undesirables. The usual suspects include paspalum, summer grass, winter grass, dandelion, cat's-ear, lamb's tongue, cudweed, chickweed, clover, oxalis, moss and bindii – the list goes on and on.

Using glyphosate-based products such as Zero and Roundup are useless because they kill everything they touch, unless you get down on your hands and knees and paint it on the leaves of larger weeds such as dandelions. It's much easier to identify your main weed problem and treat it accordingly.

Several companies manufacture general purpose, selective control 'weed and feed' products which come with easy-to-use hose dispensers. However, consult your retailer before using anything on buffalo lawns as some products affect them adversely.

Some persistent weeds such as moss proliferate where the conditions suit them better than the turf grasses. If this is the scenario at your place, consider redesigning the area to overcome the problem. Other weeds flourish in either acid or alkaline soil, so if necessary test your soil pH.

Remember healthy lawns, consisting of grass species suitable for their designated use and mown regularly to prevent seed-set, resist weeds.

Lismore Garden Club News

The Lismore 2003 Garden Competition was judged this week. The prize presentation is tonight, Sept 11 at 7.30pm at St Andrews Parish Centre. The winning gardens will be open to the public from this Saturday until Sept 20. For further information, phone Mary on 6621 5293. Make the best of the most magical season of the year, because Spring is the most fleeting season here in beautiful North Eastern NSW. By the end of next month we can kiss it goodbye, so put on the gardening clothes roll up your sleeves & plant up that garden that you prepared a couple of weeks ago. You can either plant seedlings or buy some seed raising mix & a few packets of seed & raise your own.

WHAT TO PLANT NOW: Flowers-Roses, Alyssum, Candytuft, Marigold, Petunia, Phlox, Coleus, Amaranthus, and Cockscomb. Vegies- Beetroot, Herbs, Cabbage, Capsicum, Carrot, Lettuce, Spring Onions, Radish, Silver beet, Tomato, Beans, Cucumber, Eggplant, Marrow, Melon, Pumpkin, Squash, Sweet Corn, Zucchini.

GARDENING TIP: To raise you own seedlings, plant seed into punnets, place into plastic storage crate, wet punnets with tepid water in a spray bottle. Place lid on crate with thin wooden spacers for ventilation & weight on lid. Place crate where it's exposed to morning sun only.

Happy Gardening
Ron Burns