Lawncare Tips

Watering

Watering your grass is an important step of the lawn care process. Especially after seeding. My commercial customers get a handout with every new seed job that basically explains that we have done our part, now it's your turn to do your part. Start watering now and when you think you have watered too much, water some more and your probably just getting there. Also I stress that with No Water.... you get NO GRASS. I am amazed at the people that will pay us hundreds or even thousands of dollars to establish a lawn but then won't spend a little time on watering to be sure the grass comes up or the sod lives.

Two main types of watering are Establishment and Maintenance. The establishment watering is done by watering every day if not 3 times per day every day for short periods of time. First, water as often as possible, if you have an automatic system set it to water 3 times per day morning, early afternoon and 6 or 7 at night. Most of our automatic systems will be set to run from 5 to 15 minutes per zone depending on what kind of heads we have running on that zone. If watering by hand, water until the point of runoff then move the sprinkler. Use this method until the new grass is out of the ground and about 3 inches tall. At this time you are going to want to start cutting the grass. Turn the water off for a couple of days to let the ground dry out before mowing, then use a new or freshly sharpened blade with your mower set at 3" or higher. After mowing start watering again except back off by half, water every other day once a day for a longer period of time to start soaking deep. Slowly change your watering schedule to watering once or twice a week and watering for long periods on each zone to soak the ground to 6" deep. This will encourage deep root growth. Also, do not water at night except during establishment. The first watering session to knock off is the night watering. Watering at night will encourage fungus' to start on the grass and this is a very bad thing. Fungus will spread across the lawn in a week or less and kill the new grass as it goes. Fungus will look like straw colored spots in the lawn in a circular pattern. It looks like the grass is dyeing for lack of water. But more water just increases the fungus. Once a fungus gets started a Fungicide application is needed to kill it out. Fungicides are usually label Danger, the strongest signal word on Pesticides. So you are best to call a local lawn spray company to come handle it for you. Besides, the chemical is very expensive and sometimes only sold in gallon or larger containers that you would never use up.
Automatic Irrigation System Design

We now offer Irrigation System Design. E-mail us for complete details. With information you provide us about your property such as size, dimensions, type of grass, water source, etc., we can design an irrigation system for you providing you with a CAD designed Blueprint with detailed instructions on installation, pipe sizes to use, head sizes and placement. All information to do the job, you supply the labor and save thousands over having a professional install it for you. We can even set you up with the needed electronic timers, valves and other needed materials to install the system. E-mail us to get more information
Key Benefits

Keeps the Grass Growing Healthy

Protects Your Investment

Keeps the Soil From Compacting

Mowing

Mowing is they most often incorrectly performed part of lawn maintenance. Each grass type has a height range that it prefers to be mowed at, if you will cut the grass at that height the grass will be healthier, look better and most importantly last through the season without dying out from lack of water. The depth of the root system is in direct correlation to the height you mow at. So, the higher you mow the deeper the roots, the more water the grass can get and the less you have to water.

Weed Control

Weeds germinate and grow during all seasons of the year. Because of this many people fail in trying to control the weeds themselves since they will use a weed control product in the Spring only and then wonder why they have weeds in the Summer. Weed control products need to be used regularly just like the regular fertilizing schedule. Most people will use a "weed and feed" product that contains weed control products and fertilizer together. This is the easiest way to do both tasks. There are two types of weed control products. Pre-emergent and Post emergent. Pre-emergent products control weeds before they germinate and come up. Post emergent products kill existing weeds. This is another reason the average home owner will get discouraged after attempting weed control, often the wrong type of weed killer is used on the wrong weed. Good weed control is achieved only when you use the right product for the right weed at the right time.

Fertilizing

Without Fertilizer most turfgrasses will struggle to maintain vigor and color. Fertilizing increases growth, color, vigor, hardiness, thickens the grass and is the mainstay of having a rich dark lawn. While Fertilizing alone will not provide a perfect lawn, it is one of the 5 most important parts of lawn care.

Fertilizer has three main elements. Nitrogen, (the first number) Phosphate, (the middle number) and Potash (the last number). Each element has a particular purpose as to what it does to a grass plant. Let's be simple here and just say that your lawn needs all of the above, but in different amounts. Nitrogen is the most used of the elements. It produces fast growth, dark color and helps thicken the grass. But a Fertilizer that is high in Nitrogen and low in Phosphate and Potash will

General Lawn Care

Most all Lawn Care items fall into one of the following categories. From Establishment to Mowing or Watering. We will follow the example of a new lawn being established and cared for over the course of a season and list the things that may need to be done. We can't cover every single item that there is possible to be done to a lawn here for lack of time and space, however, if you don't find it here you will find it in our Lawn Care Manual or Sprinkler System Installation Manual that you can order elsewhere on this site. Let's start with Establishing Turfgrass.