Geelong’s best lawn competition | vote now
Geelong’s lawn kings and queens have drawn their blades as they battle it out in the ultimate turf war. Vote for your favourite.
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Geelong’s lawn lovers have drawn their blades as they battle it out in a turf war never seen before in suburbia.
The Geelong Advertiser has done the hard yards and hunted down the region’s premium lawns from classy couches to best buffaloes.
Now it’s up to readers to decide who has the perfect patch of green in the ultimate turf war poll.
Scroll to the bottom of the story to leave your vote
Revenue in the lawn and garden segment in Australia has amounted to $6bn in 2022, according to Statista figures.
Fertiliser retailer Lawn Addicts owner 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.”
The poll will close at midnight on Sunday, April 23.
See whose grass is top class below and vote for your favourite in our poll at the bottom of the story:
Adam Barrett
Adam Barrett, of Armstrong Creek, uses fertiliser and lawn products from Lawn Addicts in North Geelong and has TifTuff Berudas grass. He mows his lawn three times a week during the growing season.
Paul Robson
Paul Robson said his children question if he loves his lawn more than them.
“It is like perfectly manicured outdoor carpet that receives a huge about of
love and attention,” he said.
James Thwaites
James Thwaites, of Colac, says he is just a bloke who loves a good looking lawn.
“I’ve had a passion for it since I was a little kid,” he said.
Adam Rollo
Adam Rollo, of Bannockburn, buys all his products from Lawn Addicts.
Shaun Gamble
Simon Anderson said several people had stopped and commented on his lawn.
“That’s what makes a lawn great,” he said. “Not to mention when everyone in your street ask you for tips and you help but don’t give away the real super secrets.”
Tim Stacey
Ocean Grove resident Tim Stacey regularly maintains his grass and has a whole program that he has developed with support from Ryan Yockins.
“I have a huge range of soil treatment, fertiliser, pesticide and herbicide products,” he said.
“Each year (in Spring) I do a ‘reno’ which involved scaling, scarifying, coring the lawn.
“I’ve got a string line out and level to work out where the low spots were and fill those with sand. Easily spend a few hundred hours a year on it.”
Chris Simmonds
Chris Simmonds, Little River, has grown his lawn from seed.
“Let me tell you it was a real challenge,” he said. “The seed didn’t take to the clay so I had to lay down tons of top soil, the birds and rabbits had a feast on the seed. It has honestly taken years to establish.
“I fertilise three to four times a year. Once or twice a year I scarify and aerate. Every year around November/December I do a full renovation which includes scalping to dirt, scarifying, aerating, top-dressing then fertilising and finally lots of water.”
Craig Pavey
Craig Pavey of Leopold said his backyard maintenance was a hobby.
“I think my grass is good but the ones I have seen put mine to shame,” he said.
He said he regularly mows his lawn and uses fertiliser and water to maintain it.
Brenton Walker
Teesdale-resident Brenton Walker said he was in peak season three times a week.
“The grass is just Kikuyu, and I use a Masport cylinder mower and two-spec fertiliser from a company called Lawn Addicts in North Geelong.”
Steven McKinlay
Steven McKinlay was nominated by his daughter and she said her father’s luscious green grass was obsessively tended to.
Matt Broad
Matt Broad, Armstrong Creek, also looks after his lawn three times a week and uses a cylinder mower.
Steven Luczo
Steven Luczo, who lives in Lara, said maintenance was key for a good lawn.
“Once a year I give it a good detach, scarify the entire area and a good core,” he said.
“I have then adapted my own lawn care program from using quality products I get from Lawn Addicts in North Geelong”.
Mr Luczo said he has made his own program past on past experiences.
“I generally cut my lawn with a cylinder mower cut around the 12mm mark once every five days or so depending on the type of season we are having. I generally give the lawn a deep watering once a week.
“My lawn type is Santa Ana couch. This variety is at the end of its growing season so it’s preparing for winter. Mine is by no means the greatest but for me I love it.”
Cameron Kos
Cameron Kos, of Clifton Springs, maintains a good lawn program with regular mowing, fertilisers and watering schedule.
“I mow about two to three times a week in the growing seasons and once a week during winter with a scalp, verticut and core aeration each spring.
“I use plant lawn rules products that are a variation of a seaweed solution, liquid iron, nitrogen and soil wetter.
“When we purchased our home I wanted to have a nice area to sit. I also love restoring vintage mowers and using them to care for my lawn.”
Ricky Forte
Geelong real estate director Ricky Forte said his top tips for lawn care were 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.
“I mow twice a week, sometimes three in summer,” he said.
“Any lawn nut will tell you that your lawn has to look good on the weekend.”
Ryan Yockins
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.
Luke Kinnersley
Luke Kinnersley of Lara had just put down some fertiliser with pre-emergence as a result of an African black beetle breakout.
“I must say though my son has been doing the majority of the work on it with my supervision as I was in a car accident last July and my back is not 100 per cent,” he said.
“I use Fertech Special Fex, Fertech Kelpro liquid fertiliser and Primo Maxx growth regulator, also have just put down Andersons OXA-PRO prill fertiliser which contains a pre-emergent herbicide, at different times of year may also apply HydroLink advance and to give the lawn a kick out of dormancy apply Fertech Fusion.”
Travis Dean
Travis Dean of Grovedale mows his lawn three times a week and fertilises it once every two months.
“I use pivot fertiliser which I apply till December and stop applying till April, then I would apply every two months till December again,” he said.
Chris Chapman
Chris Chapman cuts his lawn a minimum two times per week and his lawn is irrigated via pop up sprinklers.
“A balanced granular fertiliser is applied in spring, summer and autumn and provides year long supply of the essential nutrients,” he said.
“Additionally, I alternate monthly applications of an iron rich liquid fertiliser (for enhanced leaf colour) and a combination of soil amendments (seaweed and fish extract, humid acid, and a wetting agent) to promote all around plant and soil health.”
Ipy Killimbe
Ipy Killimbe said it’s pretty tough to look after your lawn when you have a border collie who’s primary goal is to try and destroy the yard.
He said he regularly mows and waters, and also top dresses and stays on top of weeds during the cooler months.
Scott Fitzgerald
Armstrong Creek-resident Scott Fitzgerald uses a range of products from LawnHub which include a mixture of wet and granule fertilisers, a soil wetter and a high nitrogen product that gives the lawn that deep green look.
“I do a full dethatch, core and top dress normally once a year in late spring,” he said.
“I mow approximately once a week in summer/spring and once every two in autumn/winter”
Luke Madden
Luke Madden of Marshall regularly mows his lawn.
He uses a top dress with sandy loam and also aerates his lawn.
On top of fertilising, he regularly weeds his lawn and provides it with plenty of water.
Daniel Peacock
Daniel Peacock, of Leopold, said he mowed his Santa Ana couch with a Rover 45 cylinder mower.
“I renovate and top dress it once a year along with plenty of applications of iron and primo,” he said.
Leigh Keast
Lara resident Leigh Keast follows the “Lawnporn”.
The program started off as a guy who just loved his lawn in Port Pirie.
Now he has his own products and has a way of using them to get the full look.
Couple that with an original 1970 Victa Imperial Cylinder Mower (still with the original owners manual) and this is what you get.
The house was purchased in July 2022, and the lawn is a mixture of Santa Ana and Kikuyu Leigh.
David Peel
David Peel, of Bell Park, looks after Kikuyu grass and aims to mow once or twice a week during summer.
“I currently don’t use fertiliser,” he said. “Just maintain with water and a regular mowing and line trimming schedule.”
Jarrod Bryant
Jarrod Bryant, of Lara, dehatches his lawn once a year, uses the odd fertiliser here and there and spent 11 years on a golf course.
During peak summer season he will mow two to three times but at the moment it’s just once a week due to the weather cooling down and being busy with work.
“I try to use a new fertiliser every summer season. Lawn addicts have a good selection. Grass is Santa Ana couch,” he said.
Ashlea Marr
Ashlea Marr is a single mother living in Corio. She has a strong passion for turf and lawns.
“My grass has been growing for nine years and I am a self taught grower,” she said.
“At the moment my lawn has several different strains of creeping bent grass which is growing beautifully in my front yard.”
Gavin Jolly
Gavin Jolly’s backyard consists of eureka kikuyu grass, which according to him is really good for having dogs and also kids running around on it.
“It gets a water once or twice a week during summer and as I work on a golf course, it’s gets the right fertiliser as it needs it to stay green all year,” he said.
“I renovate my lawn once a year to keep the thatch under control, fertilise with chook manure and top dress to keep the grass level. It gets a cut once a week but during the warmer months it requires another one later in the week.”
Nathan Bate
Nathan Bate, of Drysdale, regularly mows his lawn with a master cylinder mower and uses quality fertiliser/herbicides.
Aaron Langsworth
Shaun Gamble
Alex Hutchinson
Wayne Barrett
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Originally published as Geelong’s best lawn competition | vote now
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