Vaughan and KJ use John Deere equipment to renovate a struggling lawn, walking through leveling, seeding, fertilizing, and mowing. The video shows practical turf management techniques and how to improve a problematic yard over time.
Hi, everybody, it's me, Vaughan today. Got a big job on our hands. We're doing a lawn renovation. Now, we've got the best equipment for the job with the John Deere, but we need the best person for the job. And that's where my new mate KJ comes into it. And look, he's just arriving right now. What fortuitous timing that he should arrive right as I point at him. Okay, Jay, Good to see you, mate.
G', day, mate. How are you?
Very well, thank you. Now, this isn't the sort of turf you're probably used to because you turf manage Seddon park in Hamilton.
Yeah, I do, mate. Yeah.
You don't run a big, knotty Kikuya?
No.
Okay, well, we've got a bit of a problem.
Love problems, mate. What have we got?
Let's go and solve it.
Let's show you.
What we got here is the problem that needs a solution. The new septic tank went in in March. It was a real mess. Over winter, it's kind of settled down. Spring we've had a bit more growth come through, but as you can see, it's all uneven, bumpy as well. What do you reckon?
Well, I think what we need to do, the first thing is get your levels right. So we'll just have a look here.
You can kind of see we're going down.
We're going down and have a look here because this is the. This is the dance floor, right? This is the dance floor. I can just see that there's a lot of work needed on your levels. What I propose we do, we might just get in and shave all this down. We'll get in some soil and compact it all and we'll spread it around, get it nice and level, smooth it all out, sow it with a bit of kikuria seed, beautiful starter fertiliser on it. And then I'd love to see you put a bit of water on it, mate. And then sunshine and beautiful grass growing and. Yeah, it's pretty easy really, eh?
Sounds.
It kind of looks like. Have a look. It shows up that the levels are pretty bad. If you just throw this rake across here, you can kind of see the gap that we've got under there. Can you?
Now I get to drive the tractor.
Bring some soil.
Another one down there.
Good job, mate.
Oh, thank you.
I think that's looking pretty good so far. So I'm going to introduce you to a bit of technology in the turf world.
Huh?
So how we level this now is called.
Oh, okay. I've heard about these things.
Yeah. You know, that we can spend getting the levels right. There's a few little areas that are not perfect. I can imagine.
You could lose hours chasing perfection.
Weeks.
Weeks. Get me on a rake. Let's level this thing.
Let's go. He's on the tracker. I'm on the rake. I've got this wrong, haven't I? Just call what they call a lawn leveler. Look at that. All right, mate, so we'll just close that off for a start. We'll tip the seat in. Now, the best thing about it is you're putting on some. A seed starter or a fertilizer Starter.
Okay.
So what it is, the npk, it's got nitrogen.
Yep.
Phosphorus. Yeah. Potassium. And you'll have a higher phosphorus, which helps root development. So I always love to put a starter on.
Okay.
Because what you want is for any new seed, whether it's hor. Like what you've got, or whether it's any other variety seed, you want the roots to go down because that is the. That is the key. Get the roots down because that's where all the. The strength of the plant will come from. Do the honors, mate. Like pouring champagne, isn't it? Look at that. Put it there. How good? So good.
Ah, it already looks so much better, doesn't it? And the grass hasn't even grown yet.
You wait. We haven't totally finished water. Yeah.
Doesn't rain. Should I be watering it every day?
Yeah, you just need to watch. It just doesn't want to dry out.
This is good, mate.
You've done it before.
Yeah, I've ordered a couple of things in my time.
Yeah, you just don't want to have it blowing down on the jets. And that's perfect. This is peaceful, isn't it?
This is the good stuff. Well, I mean, I can. I can ruin it from here, but here's hoping I don't. We'll see you in six weeks.
Can't wait.
I'm paddling. I was talking. I was distracted and now I puddled.
Okay. J. How you going? I'm good.
Sunshine and grass is growing.
It's growing.
It is growing.
Will you show me?
Come on, have a look.
Fantastic. Can't wait to see it.
Well, here it is. Too much grass. So it's a very dry summer here. So I've been watering it every day and, well, here's the result.
So we now need to have a bit of a plan for what we do now, eh?
I assume mow it, but not with these. You reckon no.
What have you got to mow it with? I've got a John Deere. Stuff it. Have you?
I do. Snuck up on you.
It's not going, is it? It's just electric. It's electric.
Does the job too. Let me show you.
Last time that we were here, there.
Was no grass, holes, bumps, clay, mud. It was a real mess. Full of anything that was growing in. It was a weed. Look at it now. Looking great.
You look very proud.
Very proud to see my summer's work come to fruition.
Can I leave you a clip?
Yes, please.
One of the wee things. People don't mow their lawns enough, so I always say mow often. Right? So more times you mow. You can just keep tipping the leaf and that'll help it to thicken up a bit as well. Mate, it's been an absolute pleasure. I look forward to perhaps coming back and celebrating. Another glass of Watershed here and this mate's been outstanding.
How are you with hedges? I've got more job than me.
