<\/p>\n
How to ensure your lawn stays pristine and avoid pesky patches. Photo credit: Lawn Solutions Australia<\/p>\n
A cheap household item has been hailed as an affordable lawn hack for patchy grass, buy an expert warns it could do more harm than good.<\/p>\n
A common gripe for homeowners wanting to keep their lawn pristine are pesky patches and holes that seemingly pop up out of nowhere.<\/p>\n
Lawns Solutions Australia spokesperson Nathan Edwards said there were many reasons why these patches might appear including general wear and tear, heat stress, pest related issues as well as poor lawn maintenance practices. <\/p>\n
Yet despite what many may find, there are some easy solutions to ensuring you won\u2019t have to endure the pain of a patchy lawn.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegular maintenance of a lawn will go a long way to preventing bare patches from occurring,\u201d Mr Edwards said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sometimes the best solutions were the simplest when it comes to lawn maintenance. Photo credit: Lawn Solutions Australia<\/p>\n
MORE: Man pulls out 20m \u2018monster\u2019 in Aus backyard<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cSo regular mowing and watering, aeration to alleviate the compaction caused by wear, and promoting a healthy soil base that will support your lawn and allow water and nutrient to permeate effectively. <\/p>\n \u201cInstalling the right grass in the right environment is also incredibly important for long term success.\u201d<\/p>\n A solution that has been gaining popularity on social media involves a common household item you most likely have hanging in all your bathrooms.<\/p>\n Hundreds of videos of people using toilet paper to create a mulch-like substance with grass seeds has been praised as a new way to fill and fix holes in the lawn.<\/p>\n Many of the social media posts claim to fix their patchy lawn in only two or three weeks.<\/p>\n People spruiking the hack video themselves mixing toilet paper, grass seeds and water together to create slurry they then use to fill dead patches.<\/p>\n Mr Edwards said using the toilet paper was an attempt at recreating a process called hydro-mulching or seed germination.<\/p>\n \u201cThe thought behind it is that the toilet paper helps protect the seed from birds, wind etc. while also providing moisture and an environment ideal for germination,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Some of the many videos going viral over the toilet paper mulching hack. Photos: Instagram<\/p>\n MORE: Tradie\u2019s colossal 5.5m find in Aus backyard<\/a><\/p>\n Although many swear by the hack, Mr Edwards said for most turf types in Australia it wouldn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem however is that in most cases, your lawn variety will be a different species of grass,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cSeed germination can still be quite hit and miss and generally, if the patches are small enough you will get a much better result by promoting healthy recovery from your existing grass or from laying turf.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Edwards said it could also end up creating a mix or patch of \u201cinferior grass\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cMost commonly available warm season turf grasses in Australia like Sir Walter DNA Certified buffalo grass, are not viable in seed, so they cannot be supplied or repaired in this way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cSo you can end up with a variation of grasses that don\u2019t perform well or with different growth habits.<\/p>\n \u201cThe best grass varieties for Australian conditions are commonly not available in seed, so if you use a seed, it\u2019s likely to be an inferior grass.\u201d<\/p>\n Mowing, watering and fertilising regularly will aid recovery of your lawn. Picture: Jonathan Ng<\/p>\n Most Australian lawn varieties are warm season grasses that can self-repair.<\/p>\n \u201cThey will be able to spread laterally across the surface and fill back in during the warmer months,\u201d Mr Edwards said.<\/p>\n If the patches are quite large, the quickest and easiest fix \u2013 and often the most cost effective \u2013 is to simply cut in and lay some fresh new turf from an accredited turf supplier, he added.<\/p>\n If patches were smaller, you don\u2019t have to extreme changes to your standard lawn maintenance.<\/p>\n \u201cImproving your soil, regular watering and mowing, fertilising, will all aid the recovery of your grass helping it to fill in and thicken again.\u201d<\/p>\n MORE: The Aus suburbs most overrun by possums<\/a><\/p>\n Crazy\u2019: Aussie told to rip up lawn or lose bond<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018Nasty\u2019: Man\u2019s 20-day Aus lawn causes stir<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"How to ensure your lawn stays pristine and avoid pesky patches. 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