OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums General Discussion Forum Lawn Care & Maintenance New Playground for all my Scotty's

This one is more so for the people here on the ODK Forum that know me personally and know that I haven't had a lawn at my new home to hone my craft on. The last house we owned had a snooker table finished front lawn and now it sadly looks like a wilderness gone wrong, it's really sad when you do all that work and people just go and dump their wrecks on the lawn like a Westfield parking lot.

Anyway here is a shot of my new Scott Bonnar playground that I've just planted 2 weeks ago and will post progress shots of as it spreads it's wings.

I've not been totally out of SB territory as I planted a small lawn at the side of the house midway through last season and it's looking pretty good so far. I'll post a shot of that section tomorrow,

Meanwhile here's the new one............






Here's the side lawn as promised, remembering it's only about 9 months old

Hello Mod BB

Westfield parking lots never look good...
I'm glad that you are now defining your territory - as an SB oficianado.
The green-coloured missile silo is very cunningly disguised.
Do the neighbours suspect your plan to ...

Best of landscaping.
-----------------------------
Jack

At least your lawn will be the envy of all the neighbours, albeit that the scotty may be overkill on a lawn that size.

Hi Mod CyberJack and Mod Bigted

Sadly that Dr Evil style missile launcher silo is a Power connection point in the street that many of us have. I rubbed it back and painted it cottage green and will make up a small cylindrical trellis to slide over it and then plant a small climber around it so as to hide it. Once all the plants go into the feature garden that's in the part you can just see that is not yet done it will hide it anyway.

As far as not enough lawn for a Scotty is concerned there's plenty more around the side (not pictured) that will require mowing.

I will agree with you that a 20 inch is definitely overkill and not viable, but a 14 and 17 will most certainly get a good run around the park.

I still to this day have my 14 inch daily driver (unrestored) that I bought back in 1985, gee that's 30 years ago now, how time flys.

More update photos to come.

Cheers,
BB

That side lawn is sensational!
Your daily driver should do a very nice job.
Next photo should show SB stripes.

--------------------------
Jack

For you Jack I shall do that and take a photo and post it up, the mini MCG look.

Cheers,
BB

Just for you Jack,



I've just cut it today and given it some Scotts Lawn Builder as it's due for it's next dose.

Not forgetting this lawn is only 9 months old.

Cheers,
BB

For only 9 months it looks amazing

Fantastic!

There's nothing like a reel stripe.
I wonder how old folk walk down the footpath though?
Has Adelaide come to this!

The grass is coming along nicely.
I'm envious.

----------------------------
Jack

Hi Jack,

Basically as we are in a short street that's not a through road we don't actually have a designated footpath and one has to walk on the road surface. The footpath where you see the two cars parked on is in fact my property as council didn't want to lay a footpath and the previous owner put it down. I'm the only one in the street that has a paved section out the front and down the side since we're on the apex of a 90 degree bend in the road.

Cheers,
BB

Progress Shots !




I must admit that it's happening rather slowly compared to the Santa Ana of many years ago when you bought it in 12 inch square blocks and it was made to be cut into plugs. It seems that now with it only being able to be purchased as roll out lawn there is not enough root system attached to the lawn (much thinner) thus it spends more time initially trying to re-establish it's root system before it wants to spread and grow outwards. It has had two hair cuts already but it's not really sped the process up like it used to in the earlier days of Santa Ana.

Cheers,
BB.

Looking really good.

People would have no idea that this was once the norm when 'growing' a new lawn.

Looking good.

Newbie question here but is that Santa Ana you planting? Is this the normal way to grow it? I used a seed based couch, so this process is new to me.

Also I notice that you used I think sand instead of soil how come, or am I looking at it wrong lol

I'm not much of a grass grower , but it seems everytime I do try with seed, the pigeon problem here in S.A holds its head up high, they can clear a paddock in a day !!!

Santa Ana is a hybrid (inter-species cross) couch. It does not produce a viable seed so the only way to establish the grass is with actual turf.

Hi Solman,

Yes your observation is correct it is an 80/20 sand mix. In my case where I have a rather raked slope this gives far better drainage than soil. Basically soil will have the water just flow straight off the top while sand allows deep root drainage.

Here in Adelaide, one of our best football grounds (Football Park at West Lakes) was based on sand and thus it could rain all night and most of the day and 20 minutes after the rain stopped you could play footy on the surface with no water pooling effects what so ever.

BTW. the new Adelaide Oval redevelopment was resurfaced with 72 Semi-Trailer loads of roll out "Santa Ana" from Bormann's Turf Farm at Langhorne Creek, SA, specially grown on plastic.

I've grown all my couch lawns in sand and have never had an issue, in actual fact Munns Lawns recommended a 80/20 sand soil mix back in the 1980's when Santa Ana was all the rage.

The way I've used plugs is the standard way of sowing Santa Ana, you can also shred it and bury it and get a rather even growth, but on a raked surface I've chosen the planting plugs method.

Hope this explains what it's all about.

Cheers,
BB

Thanks BB, very helpful as usual. Is Santa Ana a preferred grass say over bent grass? Reason I ask, is that I started to grow a section of my lawn in Mumms pooch cooch, but now I'm considering grow a small putting green in either Santa Ana or bent.

Hi All,

Well here is an update on my Scotty's new playground.






Also an update on the Weeping Maples in the centre of each quadrant, they suffered from transplanting stress and looked as if they were both going to pass on, but they have started developing new shoots and are coming good, phew !, was starting to get worried about two new trees at $150 each.


Cheers,
BB

Well, here is another update on the progress on my new front lawn.







Here's an update on the weeping maples,complete with their gazebo's to keep our 44 degree sun off them while they are still finding their feet.




Cheers,
BB

Oh wow is that the proper way to do grass?

I just did my small back yard and used roll on turf from a farm. Screeded and everything but that just looks super smooth.

Have you got sub surface irrigation?

Hi roverdude45,

I don't know about it being the proper way but it sure is the cheapest. If I had done it in roll out turf then it would've cost me about 1.75 K, but the way I've done it cost me around $68.

Honestly, in the early to mid 1980's this was the only way of planting Santa Ana Couch. You bought it in 12 inch squares and it was around 3 inches thick, thus it had a good root system attached and when cut up into one inch square sods and planted it would spread rather quickly as it still had a good root system attached. All you had to do was cut it's head off weekly to encourage sideways spread rather than upward growth. I did a lawn back in 1986 which had full coverage within 4 weeks which isn't possible nowadays.

Now, basically all you buy now is roll out in 2.1m lengths and the thickness is only 1.3 inch thick which means most of the root system is still with the lawn farms and all they do is top dress the sliced out areas and 6 months later they have another crop ready to harvest. It's a win win for them.

So with such a reduced thickness when you cut it into sods it spends well over a month in self survival mode due to having its root system cut away from it and thus is the reason why lawn sellers tell you to keep roll out lawn very wet for the first 4 to 5 weeks while the root system attempts to re-establish itself.

If you look at the first post I put up with the initial photos you'll see that the lawn was planted in mid October 2015 and now we have full coverage and it's mid January, so thus why it's taken so long, but I will say that many folks in my street had a bit of a dig at me on why I did it the way I did, but when they walk past now they are full of compliments on the result so far and also when told what my outlay was they are staggered compared to what they paid for roll out and to also have the job done by a contractor.

I guess one can always say self gratification is the cheapest form of pleasure. LOL !!!!

Cheers,
BB

PS. Just to answer your question on sub-surface irrigation, no I don't as I could have issues when scarification is done and tubes may get hit or sliced.

That result speaks for itself really! Me and a mate were looking at your thread post dates and 3 months doesn't seem that bad!

I've just built a place here in Perth and the front landscaping you get 'free' as part of the developer package. Means you don't have to pay for it directly out of your pocket - so everyone just gets it done. But they're typically smashing these jobs out and the results aren't anywhere near as good.

Mine is coming along OK. I leveled it out as much as I could and mixed in some stuff to give it a boost before the landscaper guys came in (although I see in the thread you've never had a problem turfing on sand!).

Can I ask does it need to be top dressed soon after full coverage? Is it lumpy at all in between the gaps or does it even out?

I don't see any retic heads in the pics, do you handwater - it looks so even? I recently replaced all my heads with the MP rotators because we're close to the coast and most of the water was getting lost to the sea breeze on normal spray heads. Results seem to be good so far - less dead spots and lawn is making a comeback where it was previously patchy.

Hi roverdude45,

It's a very interesting bunch of questions you bring up.

I had another resident in the street stop yesterday to congratulate me on the "now" best lawn in the street, honestly I get rather embarrassed by these comments as I know that the lawn is basically like a young child just entering primary school with much development to go before it leaves school.

If you look closely you can see the original mother plants by the light dotted bits. This is from constantly mowing it low and sending a message to the original sod to grow sideways instead of upwards. You are not really achieving much by filling in the low spots early in the period of the lawns development as we are trying to achieve the same thickness in the low spots.

This all takes time and there are no real short cuts. At the beginning of the next season I shall be doing a harsh cut back to the soil level and then doing a re-screeding of sand over the top of the whole lawn area and then applying fertiliser, then within 3 weeks I should have a totally even surface that will have a groomer reel used on it every second cut just to keep it thinner and not thatch up.

Currently I am cutting the lawn with my 14 inch SB 45 every two days.



Cheers,
BB

Hey BB

I swear last time I had a quick read of your reply there was more about that car! Sounds like you're passionate about at least one other thing than turf/mowers!

I've had a few buzz boxes myself growing up, 2 or 3 180sx's, s15, evo, skylines. My old housemate had an rx7 fd and boy did that thing go. Getting older now though (past 30) and now have one car between me and the missus...lol. Cx-5 to make it easier towing/transporting stuff for the house. Although I'm sure she was sold on it more for the potential baby carrying capacity!

But back to your lawn! So how do you water!? I couldn't see any retic heads in any of your pics and its got me bugged!

Roverdude45

Great job BB! Those progress shots were fantastic

After doing some research and looking at your lawn in this thread I think I'll go with Santa Anna over windsor green. Also I've been told by many people that if you have kids then Windsor Green is useless as its growth rate is so slow it doesn't repair in time

Hi roverdude,

Yes you are correct that there was quite a bit extra about the car but it was basically written for you and once I knew you had read it I edited the post as it's really not relevant to the thread. Hope this explains it for you.

Cheers,
BB.

Hi Cirillo,

Thanks for the words of encouragement as I appreciate it. I've also had many comments from most of my neighbours in the street and I have to say it's becoming a bit embarrassing as I now have some pretty high standards to keep displaying.

I think you've made a wise choice in normal SA Couch. Now all you have to do is decide on how you're going to do it ? either like myself and only spending $68.00 on lawn rolls and cutting it up in to plugs, or shell out over $1,000 in using roll out turf.

I must admit for instant gratification (now that sounds a bit sus) go with the roll out, but if you're a bit more of a saver then plugs are the only way to go. The only issue with plugging your lawn is that you've now missed the season for it to grow and gain full coverage. This needs to be done later October early November.

There is also another way that it can be done and that is to shred instant turf through a chipper machine (mulcher) and then rake it into your prepared surface and spreading a bit more soil over the top and watch it grow with plenty of watering. If I had my time again I would use the shredding method as it eliminates the scenario of mother plant bumps in the lawn which I'm going to have to deal with over the next season until I've scarified them out at the beginning of the next season.

Cheers,
BB.

Being mid to late summer and having small kids that are bursting to get on to the lawn I think roll out is my only option. Being just under 50m2 it's not too bad. I've called Paul munns and they'll deliver for $9 a square meter. Garden grove are around the same price. I grew up and work in Virginia (live in the western suburbs) and there's a turf grower there but he's not too keen to supply direct. I've got trucks so I'd be happy to pick up myself. Oh we'll no biggie.

What irrigation do you use? I was thinking underground irrigation to water the roots directly

HI Cirillo,

I use above ground irrigation with my pipework being far enough down and also being on the outer edges as below ground irrigation is just too susceptible to being hit when scarifying every couple of years.

As far as lawn choice is concerned, I pretty much thought that roll out would be your only option at this late stage of the season.

Cheers,
BB

Ahh this explains it


This sounds like a real interesting way of doing it.

How often do you scarify BB? Is it as required or do you do it periodically?

Hi roverdude45,

I will be scarifying every two years as I hate SA Couch getting high and spongy, also SA Couch doesn't like being thatchy as it prevents the sunlight getting to the base of it.

Cheers,
BB.

Hi Bonnar_Bloke and others
Glad I came across this thread with your guidance. That is an awfully impressive lawn that you have coming along. Your thread and replies have also answered a number of questions for me regards my new turf

The one question it did raise however, you say you will be scarifying every 2 yrs. Is there a reason scarifying doesn't happen every yr? I too like to keep my lawn free of thatch and find certainly with the kikuyu out the front, I need to scalp it each yr and even then find that 2/3 of the way through the growing season I end up filling a 240 litre wheelie bin full of clippings from just 35 sq metres of nature strip in a single mow

Between you and Simrice's ideas of a grooming roller.....well let's just say I feel I'm learning. Thank you both
Perhaps the grooming roller negates the need for scarifying each yr. Any and all help appreciated
Regards
Mondays (Joe)

Hi Joe,

Firstly welcome to the ODK Forum and I'm glad you're enjoying it.

Now,

The only reason I suggested every second year is many people find it an arduous task to do it every year, thus every second year would be the furthest I'd leave it, 3 years is just way too much. My neighbour across the road hasn't done his for 5 years and he has 125mm of built up thatch and is wondering why his lawn won't green up, basically it's strangling itself.

Yes you are correct, if you are using a grooming reel every so often this will reduce the amount scarifying that will need to be done, but remember scarifying also thins out the root system as it goes subsurface while grooming doesn't.

I'm really glad that you benefited from this thread as we don't have a lawn maintenance sub-forum at this present stage, but we're working on that. The more support we get the more likely it is to happen.

BTW I haven't added the final full coverage shots as the lawn has just gone into dormant mode and as such I'll do those at the beginning of the next season while the lawn jumps into super green mode.

Cheers,
BB.

Looks as though the forum gods have provided.
A huge thanks
The key now I guess, is to keep it an active place
Mondays (Joe)

any update pics or too early into spring still?

Hi Mikeo,

Not as yet as it hasn't become active as yet and I'm going to cut it right back to the base level soil, top dress, re-screed and fertilise, once that's done it should be super green 4 weeks later. Then I'll put up the last set of photos. The little Japanese Weeping Maples have jumped into spring mode and look really lovely though.

I haven't cut the lawn since last Autumn when I fertilised it for the winter, yes it still looks lovely and green, even though it's still in dormant mode, but it's now way too high.

Cheers,
BB.

i gotta swing by for a looksee soon , last time it was just on the get go , and looked good even then , i get depressed looking at mine lol

Here are some progress shots that marry up with earler photos in this thread. Now one has to take into consideration that all the lawn is only 11 months old apart from the lawn which is adjacent to to the lattice type fence which is a season older.




That's the whole lawn compacted down hard into the trailer






and the two "Japanese Weeping Maples" seems to have survived their fertiliser to the bare roots shock treatment. At $150 per tree the wife wasn't too impressed in having an impending funeral for them.



Cheers,
BB.

Looking good BB.

The process of educating on this site is never ending for me. Thanks for the information brother

Hey BB how's your lawn looking now?

Mine is starting to green up really well now, I think spring has finally sprung in my backyard. I had to fix a couple of holes in my irrigation 2 weeks ago and it has almost completely fixed itself already.

Hi Cirillo,

I've just finally finished my landscaping and full frontal transformation. Every morning when I go outside to water the lawn it's looking better by the day. It's had an affect on one of my neighbours up the street who has just this afternoon scalped his SA Couch after discussing mine with me.

I'm about to take another series of photos to put up and you'll notice no blue tarps over the half finished paving and the feature garden on the corner is now complete. I've just got a few little niggly bits to do (relevelling some driveway pavers) which you wouldn't see on any photos, so I'm considering it as "Done".

Stay Tuned !

Cheers,
BB.

Great to hear! It's an awesome feeling when you're finally done! Can't wait to see the photos

Well here is where it currently stands.

I decided as it's such a new lawn, only 12 months old and our season started really late, also we had a wedding which was going to utilise our home for all the girls to do their Saturday morning getting ready thing, I wasn't going to top dress it this season, but rather just scalp it to promote sideways growth and then get it back up and fully green as quick as possible, thus this is the current state of play for the front.

The very rear side lawn (not currently pictured) which is a season older was scalped and top dressed with bricky's sand. It is far superior to the front and side of house lawn as the mower doesn't pick up on the original plugs which creates a slightly bumpy look.

So here it is as it stands. It will be much better after next seasons scalping, scarification and top dressing and as such I'll post up more photos once that's done in around 10 months from now.






Cheers,
BB

Here's some more similar shots taken the very next morning with a shot of the older lawn at the rear side showing.









Below is the slightly older lawn that's been top dressed and is still a tad thin.




Meanwhile, enjoy using your mower and whatever lawn care machinery that you've repaired or restored as that's what this sub forum is all about.........."The Results"

Cheers,
BB.

BB looks fantastic you must be the envy of the people around you, how are you doing the edges?

Hi Norm,

Firstly thanks you very much for your kind words. Yes you are on the right track as our unofficial street committee have approved the works taken out. It's been a 2 year project that started out with it being a native overgrown jungle when we bought the house and it looked so dowdy especially sitting in the prominent part of the street with fantastic views of the Adelaide Hills which were previously blocked out. Now it's open, inviting and certainly gets the "Jehova Witnesses" talking about the lawn rather than what they originally came for and that is to sell us a copy of "The Watchtower". No Offence intended BTW.

As far as edges are concerned they are all done freehand with my trusty old McCulloch Whipper Snipper.

Again thanks Norm.

Cheers,
BB.

Fantastic BB! You should be proud of everything that you have achieved.

Thanks Simon also for your kind words.

As I'm just writing the JW's have just turned up and are walking all over it testing it out to see if it's real or fake and pointing to this and that amongst each other.
I'll have a "Watchtower" magazine beaten over my head shortly.

I'm thinking of posting some really early prelawn preparation shots up so that everyone can see what's been done from start to finish.

Cheers,
BB.

Hey BB, I remember you started your lawn with plugs, it has covered beautifully and now looks fantastic!

There's nothing better than knowing your neighbours are green with envy ;-)

Hi Cirillo,

Thank you very much for your kind words of support. I feel that it's this type of support which keeps me striving to achieve something better everyday and then pass on some knowledge gained.

Yes it's amazing what $68 worth of lawn can turn into and it's much more satisfying than spending around 1K for instant gratification I guess which anyone can do.

I guess that this thread has probably been a bit more of a landscaping thread and what can be done and also the end result achieved and if this motivates just one person out there what they can achieve with a shovel, wheelbarrow and some string lines, then it's all been worth it from where I sit.

I really have to thank a few other members on here that have been an inspiration, I'm sure they know who they are.


In the meantime it's back to repairing Scott Bonnars..........................

Cheers,
BB.

Well done BB I don't normally look too hard at threads like these,but this one of yours wow,that lawn looks absolutely fantastic. I just wished I had a lawn that would even look half as good, but being in a rental propriety kind of stops you from that. Hopefully soon once I have worked out the permanent job situation (and not being casual) I can look at continuing the purchasing of a property and then I'll be asking what your secret is and say goodbye to my bindi lawn.
Once again BB well done and thanks for sharing, I absolutely love your lawn. Great work.

Hi Blumbly,

Thank you for your supportive words.

You'd be surprised to know how popular this "Lawn Care and Maintenance" sub-forum is. It's in the top two of categories for hits on the ODK site, so we really appreciate you dropping by to check it out.

I can certainly relate to what you are saying regarding the rental issue as we have been in our fair share of them and even though they weren't our properties I always did well beyond what the average renter would do to the owners lawn, thus we were never given our marching orders from any of them, rather they never wanted us to leave. I guess lawn has always been a passion of mine and working at it always instills some pride in the presentation of the property. You probably think I'm nuts helping someone else's cause but that's just in my nature to do.

Once again thanks for your really kind words and btw it's great to have you back here again.

Cheers,
BB.

Cool thanks and no I don't think your nuts I reckon it's good,and when we do get our own place I will be asking questions.
Yep it's good to be back I kinda missed it.

I concur with the others. It's been awesome to see how your lawn has progressed. Thanks for sharing and I eagerly await the next installment. So great to be able to pick up tips and tricks
Joe

Hi all,

Hows everyone going with the season now fully kicked in ?

I must admit that I'm literally watching my grass grow, it's just going gang busters. As soon as I'm cleaning off my Scotty I'm just about ready to run over the lawn again. Honestly I'm mowing on a daily basis and all my neighbours think I've lost it and just love the exercise walking behind the 45 and I'm getting sun burnt in the process to.

Cheers,
BB.

It's still been a bit slow in Melbourne. Things have gone a bit backwards. Might have mowed a bit too low. But things are warming up now. A run of 5-6 days of 30+ coming tomorrow.

Thoughts on this?

FWIW I'm pretty sure this is due to blunt/gapped mower blades.

Have tightened it up, which has helped. But needs a proper grind I'd say.

That looks amazing Bonnar_Bloke if I get mine half as good as that I'll be a happy man haha.

This is a rather common issue with badly adjusted reel / bedknife clearance, thus bending and burning the plant. I developed this symptom on my 17 inch Scotty over Christmas and thus had to get my 14 inch machine out of hibernation which is in better working order. I've recently just overhauled my 20 inch machine and that's a wonderful toy to use opposed to a 14 inch machine.

Cheers,
BB.

Hi Clarkey,

Thanks for that. Hopefully it'll be even better next season after it all gets reworked in October and I'm not going to let it get as thick as it has. Hopefully I'll have a grooming reel going by that time.

Cheers,
BB.

Hi Bonnar_Bloke

It's probably a silly question but is October the best time to rework all types of couch grass just Santa Ana couch

Thanks,
Clarke

Hi Clarkey40,

Firstly sorry about the "very very" late reply as I must've missed your question above when you posted it.

*************** Yes October is around the normal time to start reworking couch lawns. Depending on how the season is travelling you could nearly start in mid September, but again this is depending on ground temperature. Last year was a very late start for all of us in Adelaide while this year was an early start.





To Everyone Else that's been watching this thread,


Now as I was incapacitated late August with Surgery, I wasn't allowed to do anything for around 8 weeks which really urked me big time as it was just around the time slot to do the follow up scalping and top dressing for the front lawn to eliminate those bumps that the original plugs left when the lawn was originally planted.

Anyway I've pushed myself and along with some good friends of mine which pitched in to help, I've just managed to do what is absolutely necessary for this season. Yes I agree it's a tad late, actually around 2 months late, but it's the best I could do apart from giving it a total miss this season and leaving the lawn looking like a disused thatched up golf course.


The following photos were taken this afternoon with the scalping work having being carried out last Thursday (9/11/2017) and the top dressing on the Saturday (11/11/2017).

I just need to follow up with some fertiliser now, but with the Adelaide temperatures currently reaching 36 degrees at the moment one can't use any fertiliser otherwise the lawn will be burnt by the temperature created with the fertiliser. That will be done in two days time when we are back to 23 degrees.

Check out the following shots in the next few posts as the file manager would only allow me 2 shots per post, bit annoying I must say.


BTW. A big thank you to both David and Justen that helped me out when I really needed it.

Continued.........

Continued.....................

Continued...........................

Continued...........................

Now the Following two shots are of the lawn that was a season ahead of the front and side lawns.

As can be seen it has sunk above the storm water pipe that's located underneath and thus needed only to be top dressed in those areas as it had its major dressing done last season. When running the Scotty over this lawn it is like running over a floating timber floor, it's that smooth, whilst the front still had it's mother plants bouncing the mower around a fair bit. That should be now eliminated with the current work that has just been done.


Now it's just a constant watering game and it should be at its best just before Christmas, better late than never I guess.

UPDATE...........................



Well here we are on the 11th. of December and it's all looking good apart from a few rather strange small crop circles which I can't explain. I'm starting to think a bit of sabotage from someone within the street, as it seems to look a lot like the result of a spray bottle as that's what the circular pattern reflects. Anyway give it another 3 weeks and those patches will have grown over and thus out of sight.

Jealousy is a really bad emotion which many people just can't deal with in a controlled manner.

Anyway here are this mornings shots, not forgetting that the scalping work was done nearly 2 months later than it originally should've been.

The 20 inch Scotty is loving the new smooth ride, as am I.

Marvelous transformation in just one month BB,looks great

Continued..............

Continued ............

Continued....................

Lastly a bit more "Lawn Porn" with the side lawn that's nearly a putting green, well so some people in the street think and wish to use it for practice.

This will probably be the last installment of photos from this project as I've pretty much gone through the full cycle and what is achievable with a lot of work over a couple of seasons.

I hope that this inspires some more Scott Bonnar Owners / Restorers and other brands of Cylinder mower enthusiasts.


Enjoy your Lawn !


Cheers,
BB.

Bloody good job BB, the lawn [garden] looks fantastic !

Great to see a good lawn now days.

Most people these days are too busy in their theatre rooms or on devices to bother with lawns which is a real shame because nothing looks better than a nicely mowed lawn.

Great for the kids to play on and it cools the house down as well, therefore saving money on the aircon LOL

Looks like the cover of "Home Beautiful" magazine. I can only wish I had a lawn that well ordered. My lawn only merits a Victa 550 really.

Hi Mowerfreak and Ken,


Thank you very much for your kind words of support, I'm nearly blushing. Yes it's been a long and arduous process, but it was all worth it in the end I guess.

Now it's all the ongoing maintenance that has to be done regularly.

As they always say no pain no gain.


Cheers and thanks again,
Bonnar_Bloke.

Why that's stunning Mod BB.
Members get to see the change in a lawn over time - from inception to maturity.

Many thanks.

------------------------------
Jack

I feel this topic will be of great benefit to lawn and garden design enthusiasts.

You know the best thing about having a good lawn
is the exercise you get from mowing it
[ cheaper than going to the gym]
and the enjoyment from seeing how good it looks
LOL

Guys I�ve just joined as a new registered member. I have a 17� SB Model 045-581. I recently installed a new Palmetto lawn on my verge, front and back yards. I need to cut this at a height of about 30-35mm but the max adjustment on my SB only does this at about 20mm. I leve in Perth and its 35 degrees today so I can�t have the cut too low. Any suggestions on how I can do a modification to the height adjuster to increase the cut height? Many thanks

Hi Sozjack,

Firstly Welcome to the ODK Forums.

I've never heard of anyone having an issue on Buffalo Lawn with a Model 45, in actual fact many 1960's lawns were cut using the faithful Scotty and in actual fact many Scotty's were bought purely because of the client having a large Buffalo Lawn and wanting a self driving mower.

Anyway the only way I know of how to extract an extra bit of height out of a model 45 is to remove the threaded adjuster shaft and run a die over it and increase the thread length to provide a bit of extra pull on the roller frame.

The only issue I can see here is that the roller frame will want to pull the shaft at a bit of an angle. Personally I've never had the need to raise the height anywhere near its limit of travel, thus I've never had the need to modify anything in that area of the mower.

I guess you might be the pioneer here so can you please report back with your results so that it can be documented.


Cheers,
BB.

Edit.........................

Regarding this answer to the above post there are now modified front roller frames being fabricated and available on eBay for sale. This will give anyone plenty of extra height.

Cheers,
BB.

Use another mower. These are for finely manicured low cut lawns aren't they, such as bowling greens?

Hi MF,

Please don't take this the wrong way, but there is a bit of misconception that cylinder mowers are purely for manicured lawns only and that these mowers turn weeds into golf courses, well that's so far from the truth it's not funny. One must remember that the cylinder mower was around long before the rotary and was the norm (sorry Norm) in mowing grass.

My father in law bought a Model 45 back in 1973 purely to mow his large Buffalo lawn in the back yard in Cheltenham SA, now anyone who knows this suburb will know how large the blocks are there and will realise that a self propelled mower was the best option and there weren't many rotaries back then that were SP.

The trick to Buffalo is, not to let it get too thick and spongy, which is what many Sir Walter owners seem to do thinking they might ruin it by cutting it down every few years. It's just another self rejuvenation species that you can't kill, same as Kikuyu.

Now the reasoning behind using cylinder cut machines opposed to rotaries is that the cutting action is far more finely controlled as you are cutting like a pair of scissors opposed to slashing with a fast moving scythe.

I hope that this clarifies the generalised misconceived views on cylinder mowers.


Cheers,
BB.

Sorry BB, but that is analogous to saying pushrod engines in cars were around before O.H.C. Maybe the rotary was a better all round proposition with a similar result in most conditions, with a far simpler maintainance.
You have kind of defeated your own argument by saying buffalo grass is hardy and self regenerating but then pointing out how well the reel mower cleanly snips the blades of grass with precision.
You would need a magnifying glass to appreciate the difference of both finishes. A slashed lawn from a rotary still gives the same attractive result in most conditions.

Hi MF,

Santa Ana Couch is also hardy and self regenerating as is Kikuyu, so what's your point ?

Plants prefer to be cut than torn, its less traumatic to them so I don't see your last point between Rotaries and cylinder. My main point was that Cylinder mowers are just not suitable for manicured lawns, but I will agree that they are now the preferred weapon of choice in better finishes.

Cheers,
BB.

They have been relegated to more specialist duties these days. Grab the steel deck Powertorque Victa for everything else.

G'day Mod BB, MF and all lawn-loving folks.

I have pondered this issue for most of my life and I am compelled to say something
as the forum historian. It is, inexcusably, a long post.

It is true that reel mowers are now for 'manicured lawns'.
I guess 'manicured' might be defined as 'extra care' lawns.
In that case, both BB and MF make a similar point - but different!.

This does not mean they should be thought of as "bowling
green mowers". That is so far from the truth and ... my reality!

Reel mowers now have a niche domestic market; a stronger general
professional market (domestic, public areas, parks and sports grounds); and
a ubiquitous role in professional turf management.

In other words, there is an historical case here to favour Mod BB's comments.

Reel mowers are for manicured lawns, but MF's example of the bowling green is
deceptive. I feel Mod BB's points are good ones here.

I am always amazed - and amused - when reel mowers are described as
'bowling green mowers' in FOR SALE ads. Reel mowers have changed as a
single role (before rotaries) - to a dual role - in that they can deliver different
aesthetics in both domestic and professional spheres. But most reel
mowers could never be used on bowling greens!

Long live the reel mower!
Long live the rotary mower!

Not at all. The 'scissor' and 'slasher' action produce vastly different cuts to the naked eye.

But the conditions and resultant aesthetics vary too.
This is universally accepted as fact.

Some of the most beautiful spaces of lawn I have seen have been cut with rotaries.
But the aesthetic is hugely different to reel cut spaces.

Universally, public spaces for general use will be cut with rotaries.
Universally, public spaces for specific purposes will be cut with reels.

MF raises a great point in dire need of clarification.
History tells us the rotary mower is - almost - ubiquitous today.

It won the battle - with the reel - because of the reasons MF said:
- a better 'all round' proposition
- simpler maintenance (I would say, much simpler, and much cheaper, maintenance.)

I feel MF is right in saying, "...with a similar result in most conditions".
But there's the catch: and why Mod BB and MF seem to disagree ...
I do not feel they disagree too much at all.

The results are vastly different in specific conditions!

I feel Mod BB is right in saying that there are difference in the
aesthetic effects in the choice of cutting method.

I guess it is a question of: What do you want?

Cheers
Jack

p.s. Want a nice, 'manicured' Buffalo lawn?
Use a reel mower - but spend the time to make the right lawn!
The rewards are there for the right person!!

I certainly recognise this cracking example of a patch BB. I bought a 17 inch model 45 from you around March? last year. The patch is even nicer in person. Loved seeing how you got it established to this point. Well done

Hi GTX,

Thank you very much for your kind words. Yes I do recall the machine as it was one that I couldn't find a use for and I didn't want to see it deteriorate any further, thus I decided to give someone the opportunity to restore it and give it a second chance of life, something that you have done so beautifully.

Maybe you could put up a photo of the two machines you have onto this thread for historical purposes.

Cheers,
BB.

With pleasure BB.

From the state when taken off your hands, to complete - with a semi identical twin.

Cheers :)

And the side angles.

Gobsmacked is about the only word you can use, another word is incredible.

And just to clarify the mower in the before shot is now the one on the right which is a groomer.

I'm really glad one of the surplus machines that I've cut loose has gone to a good home and gets to see a second chance at life with a good Master.

Cheers,
BB.