Award-winning lawn enthusiast Simon Slade has shared his top tips to make your neighbour green with envy as summer approaches.
Speaking from Christchurch’s Mt Pleasant, where his green pasture was crowned NZ Home Lawn of the Year in 2022, Slade told Breakfast there was “a bit of science and a bit of art behind it”.
“For me, it’s definitely a lifestyle. But if you ask my wife she would probably say it’s an obsession or a way to get out of dinner duties,” he laughed.
“I usually get the soil tested once a year, just to check levels and from there just observing it to make sure it’s nice lush, thick and green.”
His best advice to tackle weeds: Overseed it.
“Making sure the canopy is thick… and there’s no way the weeds can get through.
“You’ll occasionally you’ll get them sort of pop up and stuff and I’ll hand pick them. There are chemicals you can use, but if you can it really thick, lush that doesn’t become a problem.”
He also advised putting seed down on any bare patches on the lawn with a good compost-sand mix to help “thicken it up”.
Lawn order
Another top tip from Slade was to invest in a good, all seasons granular fertiliser which would help “kick start” growth at this time of year.
“The last thing I’d advise people to do is just make sure you’re watering regularly. Better to water it for longer periods for less than sort of every day.
“So I’d recommend sort of, twice a week for 15 to 20 minutes depending on the position and where your lawn is.”
He said the “stripe effect” pattern could be achieved by using a weighted roller attached to the lawnmower, which was also used at cricket grounds.