andrew P

Ginger Green - total waste of money

<p>I purchased several bags of ginger green for some shaded areas of my garden (along edges of garden beds) ... I was quite liberal with the spreading of the seeds (using more seeds per sqm than suggested) ...  although the bags are much larger than the competition I noticed that they mostly contain empty husks with a small % of actual seeds ...  so you actually need double what they say you require . After a couple of weeks the seeds started germinating and growing fairly well ... I have a sprinkler system so followed the 3 x a day watering instructions and feeding/soil aeration instructions very strictly. The grass came out in individual needle type shoots (ie not tuffs). Initially they did fairly well in my opinion considering the areas were shaded/semi shaded - from a distance (due to the higher than normal height they need to be mowed at) they appeared thick but up close you can see the fine individual shoots and the soil between each shoot... I assumed they would spread and grow together (like claimed) but after 6 months of  constant attention to the ginger green they never did. They also need to be cut much longer than regular grass (at least  3cm higher than my kikuyu) which looks ridiculous. If you cut them at a similiar height to the kikuyu, the ginger green takes huge strain and starts dying.  Nonetheless, after 6 months, I assumed that the ginger green should be well established so I stopped "nurtering" it and paying so much attention to it... but 2 months later (ie 8 months after sowing) they are virtually all dead - something I am not overly upset about as it looked totally ridiculous with the kikuyu and ginger green at different heights and I was tired of having to put in so much effort just to make grass grow. The CLAIMS by the suppliers are hugely MISLEADING and bordering on BLATANT lies. This product does NOT spread at all and they make it sound like it grows so easily (under any conditions) which is total rubbish... it needs constant watering/feeding/soil aeration etc. None of which is mentioned upfront. Only once you physically get the product are you made aware of a long list of things that need to be done (in the leaflet included) to ensure that it grows successfully.  </p> <p>Ultimately, it is a very fine, non spreading grass that needs to be grown long and watered constantly to have any chance of success </p> <p>Btw I tried a  small packet of Starke Ayres Shady mix (in  a separate area) 3 months ago and at this stage  it seems a far superior product ... as it was only a small packet I basically sowed the seeds and have paid no attention to this grass and so far it is growing really well. I intend to oversow the ginger green areas in spring. I would recommend rather using this product for shaded areas</p>