Geelong lawn enthusiasts share tips for pristine lawn

Are you a baron of buffalo or a count of kikuyu? Ladies and gentleman sharpen your blades, we are looking for Geelong’s lawn royalty. NOMINATE YOURS.

Geelong lawn lords Ricky Forte, top left, Ryan Yockins, bottom right and Harry O'Brien, right.

The Addy has touched base with some of Geelong’s lawn lords to get the inside word on what goes into crafting a perfect patch of green.

As suburban green thumbs ply their labour of love by sourcing niche products, the Addy has asked for an inside look at their lawn care routines. More on that below.

Backyard experiments sow seed for booming lawn care business

Owner of fertiliser retailer Lawn Addicts, Ryan Yockins, said his top tips for lawn care included frequent mowing early in the day; using a mower with sharp blades; fertilising every eight to 10 weeks; and cutting less than a third of the height of your lawn each time.

“When you mow you are wounding the grass so if you mow at night it just lends itself to infection in your lawn which translates to a poor looking lawn,” Mr Yockins said.

He said changing the soil make up of a lawn using with biostimulants helped keep it pristine.

That includes applying liquid fertilisers, humic acid, seaweed solution, wetting agent, and pesticides, herbicides and fungicides if needed.

“These are the most important treatments for a lawn because you are improving the soil; you are improving the environment the lawn lives in.”

Ryan Yockins, centre, with sons Baxter, 16, and Hudson, 15. Picture: Mike Dugdale

Mr Yockins said Covid lockdowns had increased interest in lawn care.

“A lot it comes down to, not just blokes but females as well, turning to lawn care as an avenue to keep good mental health. It’s becomes an outlet.

“There is certainly a culture for neighbour domination. People always want to try to have the best lawn; to the point where, at bigger estate’s like 13th Beach (at Connewarre), there is healthy rivalries for the best lawn.

“It is a sort of an underground world that is ticking along behind the scenes that a lot of people aren’t aware of.

“We are experiencing that by being a little bit of a pioneering business.”

Ryan Yockins backyard at Batesford.

Since 2018, Mr Yockins has grown his Lawn Addicts business from his Batesford backyard to a 300-square-metre North Geelong factory.

The business, a fertiliser retailer, has thousands of customers and has taken thousands of orders.

“I went through a stage where I was a little bit of a mad scientist where I was making my own fertiliser,” Mr Yockins, a former owner of a refrigeration company, said.

“It got to a stage where people wanted to use the products I was using.

“We’ve grown organically. I’m the type of bloke that I will take something and run with it. I’m really inquisitive.”

Mr Yockins said he was in the process of getting approval to become a fertiliser importer.

He has grown his business to become a big enough client of manufacturers who turn his fertilisers recipes into reality.

Lawn nut by night, real estate director by day

Geelong real estate director Ricky Forte said his top tips for lawn care are sharp blades on a mower, water heavily about twice a week, mow twice a week, and a product regimen for the lawn that included fertilisers, both granular and liquid, a wetting agent and seaweed solution.

Geelong lawn enthusiast Ricky Forte. Picture: Mark Wilson

“I use six or seven different fertilisers products regularly, “Mr Forte, who has 450 square metres of lawn, said.

“I mow twice a week, sometimes three in summer.

“Any lawn nut will tell you that your lawn has to look good on the weekend.

“You got to flex on the neighbours. I try to finish work early on a Friday and will mow on a Friday.”

Mr Forte uses a restored 1976 Scott Bonnar cylinder mower to keep his Kikuyu grass in tip-top shape.

“It is way more professional, you can mow down to 10 to 12mm. Your normal mower would only go down to about 20mm. A cylinder mower doesn’t slash at the lawn; it cuts your lawn like a pair of scissors.”

Mr Forte said attention to his lawn, and care for it, helped take his mind of the stresses of life.

“It just becomes banter between neighbours and competition between the dads. It’s good for my mental health, it’s just fun.

“Having a nice lawn is a conversation starter; even the bus driver who does the route past my house always waves to me.”

O’Brien’s top tips for lawn care

Harry O’Brien has lived at the 13th Beach estate at Connewarre for 20 years.

He’s watched his dad keep the family lawn in pristine shape for years.

Now he’s running his own business offering lawn care services to 30 clients.

Lawn enthusiast Harry O'Brien from 13th Beach Gardening Services. Picture: Alan Barber

The owner of 13th Beach Gardening Services said his top tips for lawn care are regular mowing, ideally twice per week; monthly fertilising; and regular watering, about two to three times per week, through spring, summer and autumn.

Mr O’Brien, who has 1200 square-metres of lawn at his home, said good lawn care included using growth agent, that was a “secret weapon”, to reduce the need for regular mowing; and using fertiliser, pre-emergent herbicide, seaweed solution and a wetting agent.

“My business started as a bit of a hobby and took off because (lawn care) is a bit of niche market.”

Mr O’Brien said he used a Mow Master HC26 mower to cut the grass of his clients to between 7 to 10mm.

Originally published as Geelong lawn enthusiasts share tips for pristine lawn