Frog Grass Lawn

Lawn Grass

One of the significant decisions was to choose an appropriate lawn grass type. Having grown up pushing a lawn mower each weekend, I did not want to do that again, but the choices were few, it was Bermuda grass, Blue grass and a relative unknown locally called "Korean grass" or "Frog Grass".  I typically avoid anything that people cannot provide a botanical name for; however after seeing a small patch and taking my shoes and socks off to feel it on my bare feet, then a brief discussion with the contractor/ grower, I decided to cover about two thirds of the property with it. 

Frog grass looks like  a short form of carabao [buffalo] grass that exhibits compact lateral growth on ground creeping stems therefore it does not need cutting and does not get "leggy" in the shade. Its short leave blades extend across the ground slowly filling up any gaps, it tolerates partial shade and some foot traffic, but not a combination of both. It cannot grow faster than weeds, so they need to be completely removed first, indeed I would call this grass a "slow grower". This coarse grass is not soft or rough, perfect for kids to play on, hence my bare feet test as I often walk around the lawn in bare feet

It is planted by taking sprigs of the plants and then laying then on the ground, sprinkling of soil on top, rolling flat, followed by abundant watering until they root and show some growth. Grass height is about 5 cm or less, never higher. 

Originally I thought the grass was producing very very delicate, small translucent white flowers on very small stem that just peak above the height of the grass and are everywhere. These small white flowers were best seen in the mornings and I think there is symbiotic relationship with some fungi that is responsible. I have seen flowers occasionally as they are green and lay horizontal to the ground they are not really visible, plus I never saw what I would consider to be seed, so propagation seems to be by division only.

With so much green in the property because of the grass, I tend to focus on border plants with some brighter colours in the foliage or stems to avoid the mono green colour overload. This means that I avoid those shrubs with similar green coloured leaves,  also the path layout used for the Driveway & Paths was was an attempt to break up the monolithic lawn with the use of a redish brick colour that reflected the reds in the boarder plants.  

Fertilization

I use to fertilize quite regularly, eg once a quarter with a slow release fertilizer; but now I think that the weeds benefit more than the frog grass, so have stopped doing it for more than 2 years. I think that because frog grass is such a slower grower, it cannot take up the fertilizer faster than the weeds.

Grass Problems

Pest and weeds are obvious problems and mentioned below, however there are areas that just seem to die or become bald areas. Bald or damaged areas can arise for several reasons and have shown a few below. 

Lawn Pests

In May 2019 I had someone watering the garden while I was traveling and within two months had killed a big section of it, probably through over watering and doing the watering during heat of the day instead of evening or mornings; plus not recognizing the grass was suffering because of a pest invasion; then watering more and more until it rotted / was overtaken by weeds. Unfortunately I have found that there is no local knowledge about lawn care, so what would be considered common sense in Australia or New Zealand is not present as most people do not have lawns here in the Philippines.

The caterpillars, possibly sod webworm, were about 6 - 20 mm long and hard to see,  indeed only when I had got the expert back to redo a big section, he was able to show me them.  Insecticide shown below was applied a couple of  times to cure the problem. when in doubt apply this  and within minutes you will see the grubs wriggling all over the surface of the grass. 

Some examples of insect damaged grass with some small bits removed from the leaf blades, the first two pictures have had insect killer applied, hence the caterpillars are visible. On the far right very damaged grass, but will recover quite quickly once sprayed. When in doubt spray, it doesn't take long.

Weeds

A lot of time has been spent on removing weeds, which is a never ending battle common to every gardener. I have three types, 1] the garden plant that self seeds and becomes a bit of a pest; 2] the noxious kind invasive kind; and 3] the weed that is probably impossible to remove.

1. An example of this is the Alocasia [Elephant Ear] and guava fruit regularly sprout all over the garden as the birds and bats distribute the seeds around the property. The course of action to to remove the Alocasia seed heads before they ripen. Bats leave a surprising amount uneaten food/seed/fruit items about under the trees where they must hang temporally and have a snack before returning to their roost. I did have one that liked to eat in the Nipa hut and had to leave the light on a few nights to persuade it to eat elsewhere.

2. The 2nd kind  also requires a lot of commitment to remove like Kangkong. Kangkong is a tasty vegetable when cooked, but a nasty weed in the garden. It is easy to spot, but its deep roots make eradication hard. Then there is the small vines that I do not know the name off, that try to strangle the plants, early intervention is required for these and always get the vines before they produce miniature melon like fruit. The fruit is also editable, but it is a weed requiring dedication to remove.

3. The rogue grass types. The grass in the back third of the property is not Frog Grass but a local type that is kept short by regular cutting. This sedge grass puts nodules deep under the surface and has hair like runners connecting them.  I just live with this for the moment as trying to remove this stuff would be next to impossible. 

Weeds are expected and they need to be controlled or they will ruin your lawn, it is this ongoing maintence that needs to be implemented forever. I can understand why some people just put artificial grass down or just concrete their entire surroundings.