Thank you for getting in touch with Tui Products. Please find information below on common product queries.
Why is my Tui Strawberry Straw sprouting?
Tui Strawberry Straw is barley straw, this is baled after the barley seed has been harvested. There can however be residual barley seeds present in the straw because the crop has been grown for harvesting. These can sometimes germinate once in the garden.
The barley straw is a natural product and has not been treated to stop these seeds from germinating, this same barley straw is also supplied to commercial strawberry growers and mushroom farms and this type of treatment is not typical for the product. For this reason, our Tui Strawberry Straw label does state that this product may contain barley seeds. Before applying to the garden, we suggest shaking the bale away from garden bed to remove as many residual barley seeds as possible.
The picture below is of some of these barley seedlings, when these come up around your plants they should simply be removed by pulling them out at about the size shown in the picture below. This will ensure that they are strong enough to pull out completely but small enough not to disturb the ground. At this size they should pull out easily and they will all germinate around the same time, so removing them would not be an on-going job.
Why is my lawn seed not germinating?
In a garden situation the seed can be affected by a number of factors. This includes being too cold, too wet, too dry or a combination of the seed being wet enough to germinate then drying out, so the seed dies after initially germinating. If the germination rate was low there could also be external factors such as birds taking the seed, windy conditions, not covering the seed with enough soil or too much.
For best results we recommend following our 3 Steps of Lawn Care and using a product such as Tui Lawn Preparation Mix according to the instructions as this will help to provide a good, weed free growing medium for lawn seed germination and healthy growth. It would also be advisable to try to sow your lawn before we get into Summer when it becomes more difficult to establish lawn seed.
All Tui lawn seed varieties come from Wrightson seed. Wrightson seeds test the lawn seed to confirm that it achieves stringent percentage germination requirements, is true to type and weed free. In addition to this, Tui Products Ltd also has a quality system in place to ensure the lawn seed meets our requirements. This includes each batch of seed being grow-out tested under standardised conditions when received. This testing confirms the Wrightson results, including successful germination, before being added to any of our lawn seed products.
How can I attract birds using the Tui Nectar Feeder?
It can take some time for birds to become aware of the Tui Nectar Feeder as a food source and start to use them in the garden. However we regularly get positive feedback about birds feeding from the feeder.
How long this actually takes varies and will depend on things such as the type of birds that you have in your garden, the placement in the garden, the time of year and the other available food sources in the area.
The native birds which typically use these nectar feeders are tui and bellbirds. If you already have these birds feeding around your garden, there is a better chance of them identifying the nectar feeder as a food source and starting to use it. Follow our guide here to attracting birds into your garden.
Placement of the feeder is important and should be somewhere that the birds such as tui would feed from a natural food source such as in a flowering tree.
Persevere with using the feeder, following the instructions for making up the sugar water solution.
Still have a query or feedback?
If you need further product information or would like to share any product feedback, please don't hesitate to contact our team on (07) 5752160 or via email: product@tuiproducts.co.nz