Village Green standing the test of time

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1 Village Green standing the test of time Essendon Fields Melbourne The Essendon Fields business park in Melbourne is a shining example of how Village Green premium kikuyu turf can transform an environmentally difficult site into an outstanding long term feature, growing green from the moment it is installed and only improving in the years after. The investment in Village Green premium kikuyu turf at the Essendon Fields business park by Linfox Property Group in Melbourne more than six years ago has proved the turf can continue to give aesthetic benefits to an area long after the gloss of a new installation has gone. Laid during 2009 and 2010, almost 5,000 square metres of Village Green premium kikuyu was installed around the Melbourne business park during its development. It is now regarded as one of the best examples of Village Green premium kikuyu turf in the Eastern States of Australia. Expanses of immaculately groomed turf make the entrance to the park an outstanding feature of the business hub. It is complemented by streetscaping also with Village Green premium kikuyu ornamental pear trees and bluestone and stone features throughout the park.

2 When we undertook the landscaping, the goal was to produce the nicest looking business park in Australia, Linfox Landscape Manager Jason Vickery said. I think we have achieved the brief. Almost seven years later, that investment in both Village Green premium kikuyu turf and a dedicated management regime has meant the business park continues to receive compliments from both the general public and users of the area. With a greenkeeping background, Jason admits a Kikuyu grass wasn t his first turf choice, but the prevailing environmental conditions mean Village Green premium kikuyu has been the best choice for the site. I originally wanted a rye grass and fescue mix for this area, given how good these grasses look around that 30 mm mark, he said. But it gets nasty with wind and heat on the site, and we had to contend with water management issues which led to Village Green being investigated. After visiting a nearby site in the middle of winter which had been recently sprigged with Village Green, Jason s immediate reaction was to how well the turf held its colour even in the middle of winter.

3 We wanted it to look good year round, which is why our original plan included the mix of varieties. While harbouring some concerns about the Kikuyu trait of a thick thatch, Jason said the management of the turf was tailored to ensure it did not create issues. Jason actively manages the thatch through regular verticutting, scarifying, and other management techniques. This regular maintenance program keeps the grass tight which means it crowds out weeds creating virtually a weed free environment.

4 The project made the most of a tricky site which now features large areas of turfed roadside verges. Completed by June 2010, the turf was laid on sub-base a 200 mm of turf sand which was levelled over the site s clay base, which had been ripped and had gypsum applied. The large scale project was undertaken by Victorian turf company, Lilydale Instant lawn. "The project was one of the first to use Village Green Premium Kikuyu and it s just such an impressive thing to look at now, Lilydale general manager, Steve Cole, said. It is just such a pleasing thing, from a grower s perspective, to see an area of real turf we put down so long ago, continue to be so well maintained and look so good, that it almost looks fake. Immediately after the grass was installed, Linfox set about ensuring it was kept it in the pristine condition it is today, contracting Melbourne-based landscaping company, Super Gardens, to manage the turf. Super Gardens turf manager Matt Richardson said the turf had come into its own in the last 12 months as it matures as a plant and new management techniques have been applied. We have seen an increase in its wear tolerance, particularly in high traffic areas, which is one of Village Green s bigger strong points as a turf, Matt said. We have also really seen improvement in how it s holding on to its colour through the winter that has become even better as it s matured.

5 Matt said this was most obvious in areas where the Village Green turf abutted an area of existing common kikuyu on the site. The existing common kikuyu had quickly lost colour after a frost last winter while Village Green had retained its colour. This year, changes to the mowing height and growth management have seen it develop into an even more aesthetically pleasing turf area. A new focus on growth regulation in summer has improved the turf density considerably and increased its wear tolerance, Matt said. The idea of growth regulation is where you still apply fertiliser regularly and growth regulator at a reduced rate every 200 growing degree days, he said. It s the first summer we ve used it (2015/2016) and certainly we have seen good results from it. The regular fertiliser program every three week usually and every two weeks in summer is completed with a maintenance application of Gro power applied at a rate of 0.1 kg of actual N/100 square metres. In order to present a premium looking surface Village Green is cut twice a week in summer and once every week-and-a-half over winter to a height of 18 mm. The turf is mowed with a Triplex cylinder mower which Matt said gave a higher quality cut than a standard rotor mower. The direction of mowing is altered regularly. Seven millimetres of topdressing occurs annually, spot treatments of topdressing are undertaken when required. Matt said the fertiliser was applied in a foliar liquid form or greens grade granular form to avoid any hold up in the turf. Turf areas are irrigated through a Hunter two wire decoder system with Hunter MP Rotor sprinkler heads from mains water. Irrigation is intensively managed, and irrigation requirements are determined by a moisture probe. We don t have set days we irrigate, we run the VMC (Volumetric Water Content) of the sand profile down to 15% VMC and then we irrigate with 10 mm, Matt said. The site maintains an active pest control regime with the site having a history of African black beetle and Argentine scarab beetle populations, which are treated with preventative measures at the beginning of the life cycles of the insects. Jason said the company took its natural resource management seriously and as such, the site uses wetting agents to ensure water is effectively transferred through the turf and soil profiles. There are also plans in place to store water runoff from the business park underground and use it as irrigation water to reduce the reliance on mains water. This careful selection of the correct turf for the location and continued program of

6 improvement and maintenance ensures the Village Green premium kikuyu turf continues to mature on the site and remain one of the features of the business park.