LawnsOne News
How to Control Moss on Lawns
During the winter months moss can be a severe problem on all types of turf and lawns. The conditions that moss favour are as follows:
Poor drainage – This will encourage fern and tufted type moss.
Nutrient deficiency – A lawn that is low in nutrition will be thin and weak, this is an open invitation for moss to invade
Acidic soil conditions – Moss favours soils that are acid (low pH).
Shaded lawns – Shaded areas caused by buildings, trees and shrubs will encourage moss.
Cutting grass to short – Shaving your lawn to short that causes scalping will leave thin areas open to attack
Drought – Drought damage throughout the summer causes loss of grass cover, again leaving it open to moss invasion.
The most effective way of preventing moss is to tackle the problems that cause it, as outlined above. This can be achieved with good lawn care techniques. Reduce any shade by pruning back vegetation. Regular aeration will improve the drainage. Apply the correct amount of nutrition to keep your lawn healthy. Mowing at the correct height will keep the grass thicker with less chance of scalping. Remember by keeping your lawn healthy and vigorous you are less likely to have severe problems with moss.
If however moss does become a problem on your lawn it can be dealt with in the spring time with the following treatments.
The traditional way of controlling moss is with lawn sand. This product is applied in the spring when the grass is just starting to grow. Lawn sand contains iron sulphate (kills the moss), ammonium sulphate (encourages grass growth for recovery) and sand which is used as a carrier. This product comes in a powder or granular form and can be applied by hand or a spreader. Ideally apply to dry grass and water in thoroughly afterwards if there is no rainfall.
The alternative method is to use a product called Dichlorophen, which again should be applied in the spring time. This product comes in a liquid form and can be applied with a sprayer or watering can.
Whichever method you use it usually takes about two weeks for the moss to die. You can then remove the moss with either a powered lawn rake or scarifier or by hand with a spring tine rake. Once you have removed and cleared the moss away you can over seed and top dress any bare areas. Then if necessary apply an application of fertiliser to help speed up recovery.
For more information on all aspects of lawn care you can find us at http://www.lawn-craft.co.uk
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Simon_Whiley
July 8, 2011
Maintain Those Lawns With 2 Simple Rules
This article tells you the two important things to ensure your lawns remain green and look healthy. Browse for more
Some tips on cutting grass and caring for your lawn
Everybody wishes to have goodlooking lawns. The green llawns are a result of heavy attempts at caring for the turf. It is not very challenging to keep the turf green as that of golf course or the race course. You can do it here:
Tips to maintin the turf
A green that you see in the pictures and catalogues is in fact easy to maintain. All it requires is to figure out common sense pointers. You will be astonished if I told you that you could have a green turf if you abide by the convention of 25 mm and the convention of third. Let me elaborate
Irrigating the Lawn: You should regularly water the lawn to ensure that the loss due to evaporation is refilled and the grass gets enough water to grow. The convention of 25 gives the requisite water back that may be lost due to evaporation.
When you start irrigating the lawn, you should place a tray in the area to be watered. Then store about 25 mm of water in the dish. After you are done with the watering process, simply allow the water in the dish to evaporate. while this is happening, take note of the time required for evaporation. This is the time interval for you to water the lawn everyday.
The irrigation should be infrequent and heavy rather than shallow and frequent. With shallow watering, the roots start scouting for water and therefore is not able to penetrate deeply in the ground. Concurrently there should be no water clogging in the area dues to escess water. if it does, the excess water could destroy the grass in that arena.
excess-watering will not destroy the grass but water clogging will by all odds do it. In fact excess-watering is beneficial. Occasional over-watering coupled with ample use of fertilizers rich in nitrogen will help in acquiring spongelike grass on which you will experience an elated feeling while walking.
Irrigating of lawns should be taken up in the morning to ensure that the water has enough time to penetrate deep into the ground. Water dehydration is maximum during noon. Irrigating at this point, would only allow more dehydration. You do not want the water to vaporise, in fact you want it to extend to the ground and get through the surface, so irrigate in the morning or evening when dehydration rate is minimal.
Be careful while Mowing The turf
Cutting down the lawns cautiously and apropos is the second tip that you can give to the green lawns. The convention for the real turf care is convention of third. When cutting down the lawns, do not cut the grass over more than the t30% of the present blade length. Do not cut it too small. that is not healthy for the grass. It could die in the process and be unable to grow again.
The roots find it difficult to develop decently when it is cut very small. The growth of grass is brought down. Hence, the grass had better be cut properly. Depending on the type of lawn, the blade length could vary 30 to 40 mm. Abide by the convention of third and the blade length will be healthily maintained.
Once you cut the grass, you can allow the cut grass to remain instead of taking it away so that the grass gets its nutrition from that cut-grass. ensure that the soil does not get eroded in the process, else the decomposition may result in restriction of plant growth. These are the coventions one must follow to the core to get good green lawns. Happy turfing!
About the Author:
Andrew Caxton is the editor of http://www.lawn-mowers-and-garden-tractors.com . A website with tips on cutting grass, amongst many related topics. You are welcome to reprint this article – but get your own unique content version here.
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution No Derivatives
Grass Lawns As Green As It Can Get
Looking back at the 1960s and ’70s the greenness of our lawns was not as important as it has evolved to be in the past 30 years or so. People have been putting much more money, effort and time into creating better lawns with all the professional lawn treatment services that are on offer. People want garden lawns as flawless and carpeted as a golf courses. A few weeks of rain is all it takes the lawns for a burst of green, requiring you to be mowing on a regular basis. If you are still planning to put in a new lawn, this is your last chance to sod or seed before fall. The use of a high nitrogen feeder would encourage greening but never let your lawn grow too tall between mowing. If you cannot get to it in time, set your mower high and then cut again on a lower setting. It is necessary to top dress and reseed bare spots in established lawns. Rake hard and add a thin layer of compost, spread seed lightly over the entire area and sprinkle another thin layer of compost. Be sure to use a lawn seed that is clearly marked for planting in the Kansas or Missouri (Midwest) area.
One of the biggest problems in good lawn maintenance is the growth of weeds. There are a couple of natural products that inhibit their growth. When controlling weed, it is necessary to fill up all visible gaps with grass seed and keep it moist as open spaces are invitations for weeds to move in. Lawns that have moss will continue to have moss unless the surrounding conditions that cause it to grow are changed.
White grubs are said to plague upon yards for years as they feed on grass roots and attract skunks and raccoons who find the grubs irresistibly tasty. The rodents tear up the lawns to get at them. To control white grubs Nematodes are sprayed on the lawn, which eats up the grubs.
Grass get healthier with proper watering practices and it is also very important not to over-water as the grass can develop lazy roots if moisture is too accessible, close to the surface.
Grass seed has to be kept very moist until it germinates, which can take 10 to 14 days by which time, birds eat some and the wind carries some other. It’s best to consult a professional lawn care specialist to be sure you are making the right choice for your property. There are professional lawn care and maintenance service providers who would be willing to be of service in any ways possible, as long as it comes to satisfying your garden lawn maintenance needs. By watering as less as one inch per week – the roots will reach down deep into the earth to get the moisture the grass needs, and deep roots will help grass stay strong. But well ahead opf you investing money on sod or reseeding your lawn, educate yourself about the best types of grass to grow in your climate zone. When blades begin to wilt and footprints stay visible, your grass needs water. Early mornings are the best time to water your lawn. Expert opinions vary about the number of times per year one should fertilize the lawn – ranging from one to four.
About the Author:
If you are living in the Kansas City area, all you need to do to find all the best lawn care providers is to check in the KCmetro.com Business Directory (www.kcmetro.com) when searching for the most reputable lawn services.
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution No Derivatives
Cheating Tips For Your Lawns
The perfect English home has a perfect green lawn. This perfect green lawn is like a living carpet: it has a uniform texture of grass with no daisies, dandelions or worm casts, it is perfectly smooth and flat (perfect for croquet or lawn bowls), and it is a consistent shade of pure emerald green. It is always clipped to an exact height of about an inch or so long. And when it is mown, a subtle damask-like pattern of stripes running back and forth should appear.
Now it’s time to wake up. This sort of lawn was the ideal set down in the days when stately homes employed a small army of full-time domestic cleaners, including several gardeners. This idealised lawn is a full-time job, requiring weekly (or even twice-weekly) mowings, not to mention watering, rolling and careful weeding. Most of us – even if we hire a professional gardener to take care of our lawns – can’t afford the time to do this. These days, you should only put this sort of effort into a lawn if you are a full time gardener at a stately home, or if you are the groundsman/woman for your local cricket club – and even then, only the pitch needs quite such grooming.
The first thing most of us can do to make life a bit easier for ourselves when it comes to lawns is to stop worrying about having a perfect even texture. You will save yourself a world of bother – not to mention problems with chemicals – if you leave lawn “weeds” in their place. Daisies, for example should be left. As somebody once said, if daisies were sold in bunches, we’d appreciate them more and go to great lengths to have them on our lawns. The same goes for other things like dandelions and clover. Besides, a lawn with more than one species of plant growing in it is more resistant to diseases and is more natural.
However, if things get too weedy, it could be good to re-sow your lawn just to readdress the balance of things. Grasses are tough plants and will take over, given a bit of encouragement.
Dogs – especially bitches – can burn patches in a lawn with their urine. To prevent this happening, dilute the urine after they have “been” to stop it burning the grass. Don’t worry about worm casts. Worms are vital for the health of the soil, so don’t try to kill them. Those worm casts are very rich in nutrients. If you absolutely can’t stand them, rake them off and put them into a flower patch or vegetable garden – the plants there will appreciate them.
A well aerated soil is a healthy one. An old trick for improving drainage and aerating the soil is a to drive long thin holes into it. In the past, gardeners used something like clogs with an inverted bed of nails on the bottom to drive in the holes. You could make your own out of pieces of wood and driving nails into them – tie these onto the bottoms of your shoes (point side downwards, of course!) and walk about the lawn in them – possibly while you’re mowing the lawn.
If you live in a drier area and hate mowing the lawns during summer, make life simpler for yourself and don’t water the lawn. In the British climate (and even in drier climates), the lawn will not die off for lack of water. It won’t have the perfect emerald shade of a well-watered one and may look a more dusty khaki, but you won’t have to mow it in the heat.
The ultimate cheat for lawns is not to mow them at all. This is not recommended if you have children who like to play outside and will inevitably lose beloved toys in the result. It will also make outdoor games like croquet and petanque rather difficult, if not impossible (picnics, however, have a delightfully secluded nature in a long lawn). Long grass is quite beautiful, especially in the wind and/or with a mixture of wildflowers growing inside it. Cats and other small animals love lawns like this, as it gives them plenty of space to hide in.
To avoid people thinking that you’re slovenly and lazy and to show that you are leaving your lawn long by choice, mow a path or two through it and keep this neat and well maintained – it makes things easier for you to walk through, too.
About the Author:
Nick Vassilev is the founder of Anyclean, a successful cleaning company based in London, UK. His extensive knowledge about the cleaning industry helps him provide excellent cleaning services London and increased value for money to his clients.
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution No Derivatives
June Lawn Care
This month you should be mowing your lawn little and often to keep it in good shape. Use a high nitrogen summer lawn fertiliser to feed your lawn; this will help it look as healthy as possible. If you have plant pots or ornaments on your lawn, move them around regularly to ensure you don’t get yellow patches. Remember to recycle, use the grass clippings to layer your compost heap.
Treat lawn weeds by removing them completely. There are new tools on the market that will help with real stubborn ones.
Try not to let the lawn dry out in the hot weather. If you live in an area that suffers from hosepipe bans or drafts maybe it’s time you thought about recycling rain water. There are systems designed to collect rainwater for use in the lawn and garden. Using recycled rainwater for garden irrigation is the most natural way to keep your garden looking beautiful all year round.
Looking for Premier Lawn Care Services in Kent or souroung areas? Try LawnsOne.
June 6, 2011
Considerations for Lawn Care Maintenance
It is important that you care for the exteriors of your home just like the home interiors. The exteriors of the property include your lawn or garden, landscapes, hardscapes and so on. As these form a part of your property, these will also be noticed by outsiders. Lawn care is a very important factor that decides the beauty of your lawn. There are a number of websites on the internet that will provide you information on lawn care.
There are a plethora of factors that need to be considered during lawn care. Climatic conditions, the type of grass and plants that grow in the lawn, soil condition etc are some of them. Depending on the climatic conditions, the lawn care will vary and one needs to adopt the right methods. As the weather changes, lawn owners need to cultivate and sow the grass and other plants. When the climate is dry, there are greater chances of the grass and flowers wilting away, hence it becomes important to take extra care. Windy climate, extreme snow and rainfall are other challenges which may have to be faced by the lawn owners.
The location of your lawn or garden also plays an important role and you may have to plant trees or flowering plants, taking this into consideration. There are specific plants that can be planted in shady weather. Some plants may require very less sunlight, so try planting them in lawn areas that provides shade to your plants. Try rating the various factors depending on the traffic of pets, humans on your lawn. Try identifying the type of climatic condition which persists through the year and do the needful. Some trees may require a lot of sunlight and you need to ensure that you plant the trees in areas that have bountiful sunshine.
Lawn care also means thatching, removing of weeds, supplying the requisite fertilizers and pest control measure for your lawn. Fungal growth can prove to be really dangerous for your lawn. It makes sense devoting time and efforts towards the upkeep of your lawn, if you want to maintain it in the right condition. It may not be possible for each of us to spend time in lawn care. This has been cashed in by many lawn care companies who offer regular lawn care services to lawn owners. With the increasing demand, there are so many lawn care companies who provide professional services. Professionals are hired by the lawn care companies. The prices may vary depending on the size of the lawn, location and so on. The company will send their executive to assess your lawn and send you a quote for lawn care.
When the executive calls on you, write down all your doubts and get things clarified before signing them for a contract.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/landscaping-articles/considerations-for-lawn-care-maintenance-4734382.html
About the Author
The author is in touch with some of the Dallas lawn moving and Dallas lawn care agencies on a regular basis .
May 13, 2011
Spring Lawn Care
If you neglect spring lawn care, you could end up paying for it the rest of the year.
Most of you will need to implement only about half of the following ten tips for spring lawn care, depending upon your own unique circumstances.
Spring Lawn Care Tip #1: Raking
Raking will be your first task of spring lawn care. Raking is for more than just removing leaves: it is for controlling thatch, too. Discovering a thatch build-up of more than 1/2 inch while raking indicates the need to dethatch! I use an organic bio-enhanced liquid dethatcher. It is more effective than mechanical dethatching, and it puts all the nutrients and trace elements captured in the thatch back into the lawn soil creating fertile humus.
There is another good reason for a spring raking if you live in colder climates. As you survey your lawn in spring, see if there are any matted patches, in which the grass blades are all stuck together. This can be caused by a disease known as “snow mold.” New grass may have difficulty penetrating these matted patches. However, a light raking will be sufficient to solve this problem.
Spring Lawn Care Tip #2: Check for Compaction
- Aerate your lawn – Compacted soil hinders water, nutrients and air available to the plants and deters root growth. Bio-enhanced liquid aerators are much more effective than core aerators and less expensive to utilize.
- Core aerators are less efficient (2-3 inch penetration)
- Promote lawn weeds
- Are very messy
- Aerate only I inch every 6 inches
- -Liquid aerators penetrate 8-12 inches
- -Aid in natural dethatching
- -Leave no lawn mess
- -Afford 100% lawn coverage
Spring Lawn Care Tip #3: Check and adjust your soil pH
All grasses do not have the same ideal pH requirements. They range from 5.4 for Centipede Grass to 7.2 for St. Augustine Grass. In addition, most broadleaf weeds such as Crabgrass like a soil pH greater than 6.6.
I use Liquid Lawn Sulfur to lower pH and Liquid Lawn Lime to raise pH. Pelletized lime and sulfur can take years to change pH. Chelated sulfur and lime take only days.
Spring Lawn Care Tip #4: Over seeding
Is your lawn riddled with bare patches due to dog spots, heavy traffic or neglect? If so, you may need to apply grass seed to fill in those bare patches. This solution is known as “over seeding lawns.” Apply an organic fertilizer when you over seed.
Spring Lawn Care Tip #5: Fertilizing
Lawns can be fertilized organically by using compost teas and mulching mowers. Chemical fertilizers are rapidly becoming outdated. Eleven States have banned the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. I use bio-enhanced liquid fertilizers.
Spring Grass Care Tip #6: Applying Pre-emergent Herbicides
If you know that you have a problem with the annual weed, crabgrass, then fertilization in spring should go hand in hand with the application of pre-emergent herbicides. As their name suggests, pre-emergent herbicides address weed control not “after the fact,” but before their seedlings can even emerge. Pre-emergent herbicides accomplish this by forming something of a “shield” that inhibits seed germination.
Over seeding is incompatible with the application of pre-emergent herbicides.
Spring Grass Care Tip #7: Organic Weed Control
We can tell the health of the soil below a lawn by the weeds that are successful in the competition for space. They are a problem because they are not as effective as grass in achieving the desired results of a lawn. Safety, erosion control, water purification, water infiltration, atmospheric carbon reduction and other environmental benefits that are the result of lawn grasses are reduced by most weeds.
The best defense against weeds is a healthy lawn, because grass can easily out-compete weeds when conditions are maintained in the grasses favor. Nutrient deficiencies, nutrient excesses, soil compaction, acidic soils, excessive shade, wet soils, bioactivity and many other problems can be detected by what plants are successful in infiltrating a lawn. Below is a list of some of the common names of indicator weeds that can help determine what issues are making your lawn less than perfect. Correct the problem that creates a competitive advantage for the weed and you will have an easier time getting the lawn results you are looking for.
Weeds Associated with Different Soil Problems
Acid soil: sorrel sow thistle, prostrate knotweed, lady’s-thumb, wild strawberries,, plantain, rough cinquefoil ,silvery cinquefoil, hawkweeds, knapweeds
Alkaline soil: field peppergrass, goosefoot, gromwell, true chamomile, bladder campion
Soil pH maintenance has been harmed by the misnomer that turfgrass grows best in a pH of 7.0. The different grass types require different pH soils for best growth, health, weed control and disease resistance.
Wet or poorly drained soil: horsetail, sedges, lady’s-thumb, joe-pye weed, silvery cinquefoil, curly dock, mosses, Pennsylvania smartweed, tall buttercup, creeping buttercup, sheep sorrel, Canada goldenrod, lance-leaved goldenrod, meadow pink, jewelweed, coltsfoot, sweet flag, ground nut, annual bluegrass, common chickweed, crabgrass, goosegrass, ground ivy, mouse-ear chickweed, violets, yellow nutsedge
Dry soil: Virginia pepperweed, rough cinquefoil, potato vine, yarrow, black medic, red Compacted or heavy soil: wild garlic, dandelion, broadleaf dock, creeping buttercup, plantain, annual bluegrass, common chickweed, goosegrass, knotweed, mouse-ear chickweed, prostrate spurge
- A healthy sodded lawn absorbs rainfall six times more effectively than a wheat field and four times better than a hay field.
- A sodded lawn will absorb greater amounts of rain than a seeded lawn; even after three years of growth.
Soil with a hardpan or hard crust: horse nettle, pennycress, quack grass, field mustard, morning glory, pineapple weed<
Previously cultivated soil: Lamb’s-quarters, plantain (several species), ragweed, purslane, dandelion, chickweed, pigweeds, carpetweed
High fertility soil: chicory, pigweeds, purslane, dandelion, lamb’s-quarters, burdock, pokeweed, butter print, Queen Anne’s lace, annual bluegrass, bentgrasses, Henbit, yellow woodsorrel, crabgrass, mallow, purslane
Low fertility soil: plantains, red sorrel, white clover
Shaded soil: annual Bluegrass, common chickweed, ground ivy, mouse-ear chickweed, nimblewill, violets
Tip #9: Buying a New Lawn Mower
Get one with a mulching kit. Mulch your clippings and leaves and put their nutrients and trace elements back into your soil.
Tip #10: Reviewing Lawn Mowing Strategies
PROPER LAWN MOWING
Proper mowing contributes to the overall health and appearance of your home lawn. Here are some mowing basics that will provide you with the best possible results:
- Instead of a clean scissor cut, a rotary-mower whacks the grass blade off. It is especially important to keep rotary mower blades very sharp. Remember to balance the blade if you sharpen it yourself.
- You should mow grass in the coolest part of the day for the cleanest cut. Grass blades are more adversely affected when they are under heat stress. However, dew interferes with good early-morning mowing, especially if you are mulching your clippings (which you should be for a healthier lawn), so evenings are usually best. Also mowing under wet grass conditions will aid in the spread of turfgrass disease pathogens that are already present on your lawn. Always clean your mower deck after mowing for the same reason.
- The longer the grass, the deeper the root. Cut turfgrass at the highest setting possible. 2-1/2 to 3 inches is the ideal height for most home lawns. Grass growing in the shade needs to be cut as long as possible, since it needs more leaf area to intercept limited light. Most broadleaf weeds are deterred by the shade generated by higher grass heights.
- Never remove more than 1/3 of the height of the grass at a time.” (Example: If you are mowing your lawn at 3 inches, always cut it before it gets beyond 4-1/2 inches in height)
- Mulching your clippings helps return nutrients to the soil. For thick thatch conditions apply a bio-enhanced dethatcher (this aids soil biolife to turn thatch into healthy humus.
- Don’t refuel mowing equipment on the lawn in case there is a spill.
Tip #11Water Your Lawn Properly
- Water your lawn properly.
- Water early in the day- By setting irrigation systems to run early in the morning (4:00am to 6:00am) we can maximize water usage by preventing the evaporation that’s common in the heat of the day. Early morning watering is also recommended by plant pathologists, since evening irrigation can encourage lawn disease development.
- Water infrequently- Most Pennsylvania lawns and ornamental plants require approximately one inch of water per week during the growing season. During periods when rainfall is less than this amount, it may be necessary to provide an equivalent amount to keep lawns and plants looking their best.
- Water thoroughly One thorough watering per week is more beneficial to lawns and plants than several light watering’s. Light watering’s can promote shallow roots, making plants more vulnerable to drought stress.
To prevent water from running off the soil surface, consider setting your sprinkler system to run two or three times the same morning, allowing time in between cycles for water to soak into the soil. - Override device Consider adding an override device added that will deactivate your sprinkler system if there’s been adequate rainfall. Most devices are simply small cups that hold rainwater, and once the rainwater evaporates, the system is reactivated.
Tip #12 Raise the Brix Level of your Turf
- Increase the Brix level of your turf.
- Brix is the sugar concentration of the sap in your lawn
- Most grasses have such low Brix value (typically no greater than about 6 or 8 and often much lower) that insects will feed on them all day long.
- A Brix value of 12 or higher is all it takes to eliminate most insect infestations of any plant
- Raising the Brix of a plant is really quite simple. Provide good nutrition, including a balanced diet of macro and micronutrients and trace elements.
- Nature’s Magic is probably the best soil amendment package on the market today
Why should you switch to organic lawn care?
What are the Benefits?
- It is safer for humans, pets and the environment than synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.
- It improves the quality of the soil, which will have an increased ability to retain water and nutrients.
- You will enjoy significant financial savings by transitioning from synthetic to organic lawn care, especially after the first year of use.
- Organic products will significantly reduce pests by restoring balance to your lawn’s ecosystem. You will benefit from reduced maintenance in mowing, watering and fertilizing because you will have a naturally stronger and healthier lawn.
- A report by the National Academy of Sciences shows that the health of 1 in 7 people is negatively impacted in some form by lawn pesticides.
- Numerous studies link lawn chemicals to cancers and other long-term diseases.
- Several studies also link exposure to artificial lawn chemicals to an increased risk of cancer and other health problems in pets.
- Children are especially at risk for negative health consequences due to their size, physiological development and proximity to the ground.
- Synthetic pesticides and fertilizers destroy the naturally present beneficial organisms in a healthy lawn’s ecosystem. This destruction then transforms your lawn into an increasingly needy “junkie,” requiring more and more chemicals to sustain it.
- Organic lawn care focuses instead on soil management techniques and long-term results, building up the nutrients and organisms in the soil in order to make your lawn better able to withstand drought, pests, and other common problems.
- Organic lawn care also eliminates damage to the environment and to human and animal health caused by synthetic lawn care products.
- Organic products function by building up “life in the soil,” or soil biology, their payoff is more long-term and lasting.
- Synthetic products, by their nature, are instantaneous and must be frequently reapplied in greater amounts to maintain the appearance of the grass. Due to the need for frequent reapplications and the reduced effectiveness of synthetic chemicals.
- The user of organic products will spend considerably less money on lawn care over a two-year period than the user of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.
Steve
The Organic Lawn Care Store
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/diy-articles/spring-lawn-care-4610191.html
About the Author
Age: 62, There’s a lot of experience in these gray hairs!
Education: Master of Science in Quality Management, Quality Control
Status: Married 38 years, 4 children, 10 grandkids
Company: The Organic lawn Care Store – http://www.theorganiclawncarestore.com/
Spring Lawn Care Tips
Spring lawn care will pay all year round with beauty for your eyes. Take the time to do the required work on your lawn during spring months and live free the rest of the year.
Fertilizing.
Spring is the moment when you remember that you have a lawn.If the lawn has been neglected all the winter, you will have to work to get it ok but it worths to do it just for the sake of a good evening with your family and friends watching the thick,lively grass under their feet, even when you have don’t tend very well your grass, you can put your lawn in good shape again: it is simple and trouble-free process for those who love gardening and have no much experience.
Important Tips on Spring Lawn Care
Raking
Yes, raking is a work that some times seems not very pleasant. You have to do the raking of your lawn very well and no just skimming it, if you refrain to do a deeper raking, thatch will be thicker than the desirable, along with dead leaves. Raking is part of the beauty treatment you are giving to your lawn: a very important tip for caring for your lawn is to rake correctly. Remove thatch and leaves, a thatch build-up that is higher than one-half inch is excessive,if you do a good, deep raking during the fall, you will be saving time and effort for the next spring concerning lawn care, even if you made a good raking in the fall, it is recommendable to make a spring raking work.
Aeration
If your lawn is subjected to very hard traffic during all the year this will finish ruining your lawn. If your lawn is compact, it is due to lack of aeration. Aeration keeps the grass lively and thick.Lawn aeration is the best remedy for compaction, unless your lawn compaction problem is very serious, it is recommended to aerate only in the fall season,due to serious soil compactness maybe your soil pose a very urgent problem to solve, only in that case you can aerate out of season.
Overseeding
If you have patch of soil, without any grass growing on it, you need to overseed,causes may vary, lack of watering is very frequent as well as to heavy traffic on the site , neglecting , or dog or other pets spot, anyway,you need to overseed the grass. A great solution, known as “overfeeding lawns and very simple.When you overseed, is necessary to apply a quick-release nitrogen fertilizer,this must be done five weeks after the grass have germinated, notice that spring is not the best time to oversexed your lawn, but if you feel that your lawn aspect is disastrous , you can do it,other way postpone till fall.
Fertilizing
The best way to improve your lawn and take a good spring lawn care is to fertilize. Want organic fertilizing style? Use compost and a mulching mower,it is inexpensive and simple. Prefer chemicals? It is not advisable to use chemical that can risk you and your family health, but is going to use some chemicals on your lawn, a lighter feeding during spring will be enough. In fall a heavier feeding can make your lawn look really beautiful.
Weeds On Spring Lawn Care
Last word for weed: Don’t forget to pull any weed on your lawn. Include the measure to cut your grass higher,so you prevent the sunlight feed the weed. Weed have deep roots and many times you have to remove weeds digging them out by the roots,spraying weed is not very effective in fall, but if you choose it, remember to follow the indications on the herbicide label.
Andrew Caxton is the author of many resources on landscaping related topics published at http://www.lawn-mowers-and-garden-tractors.com – A focused website that offers the best articles on lawn care basics and lawn care tips.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Caxto
Spring Lawn Care
There are several things that you need to do each spring to make sure that your lawn is well cared for and that you’ll be able to have a healthy outdoor area during the summer time months. Most of your spring lawn care will be easier if you have taken the time in the fall to rake the leaves, pick up trash ,and winterize your flowerbeds. However, whether or not you have done fall lawn care and winter lawn maintenance, there are a few things that you will need to do each spring to make sure that your lawn is well cared for and ready for the season to come.
First of all, as soon as the snow is melted and the weather has warmed up, take stock of the yard and see what there is to be done. Chances are good that there will be piles of leaves and sticks in the flower beds, and that there will be places where the lawn is going to need some work. Take stock of what needs to be done as early as you can, so as soon as it gets warm enough, you can begin the work. Also, early spring is a great time to buy supplies, as they will be cheaper before the gardening season is in full force.
The first thing to do is to take a general look at your yard and remove any garbage that has blown in over the winter. Remove papers, other types of garbage, and any sticks and leaves that might have been overlooked. Be sure to dispose of these things properly, so that nothing is left where it should be.
Then, take a soft rake and rake out your flower beds and your yard. Make sure that you use a soft rake, and that you take care to notice if anything has started to sprout. If you use a rake that is too hard, and you aren’t careful, you can yank young buds up before their roots are strong enough.
Remove anything that appears to be dead, and gently rake the soil around these areas. Check for patches in your lawn that look dug up, perhaps by animals or other things. Seed and fertilize these areas.
Mulch and fertilize your flower beds, any new patches of lawn, and around any trees that you have in your yard. Having the right fertilizer and mulch handy right away as the winter disappears is a good idea, because as soon as the plants start to grown and come in again, they are going to need those nutrients right away.
Tracy provide info on gardening. See her website for tips on how to maintain your lawn mower
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How to get Green Grass all year round
To get beautiful green grass takes a lot of hard work all year round. From March to May the lawn needs to be fertilised. The best type to use is a temperature activated slow release lawn fertiliser which is applied to give your lawn an attractive early colour and kick start growth for the season. The lawn can be cut as normal and the fertiliser will last 8-12 weeks.
Between May to July lawns need a good herbicide which is a weed killer that targets weeds in your lawn. This improves the appearance and also the health of your lawn. Some lawns with suborn weeds may need a few applications of this weed killer. The herbicide we use here at LawnsOne is safe for children and pets.
Between July to September a summer fertiliser needs to be added. Only a of high quality temperature activated lawn fertiliser should be used. This will continue to feed and nourish your lawn strengthening the roots and sword.
The months from September right through to February a winter fertiliser needs to be added. This treatment utilises a high iron content feed which gives lawns an excellent winter colour and help control the build up of moss. Also the micro nutrients in this feed help harden the grass plant and encourage deep rooting which is essential for maintaining healthy green grass right through to spring.
Irrigation and drainage is needed if your grass is repeatedly getting wet and water-logged in winter. We use a very effective pipe and gravel systems which will remove excess surface and sub-surface water to allow the ground to breathe again and encourage healthy green grass growth.
Another treatment which gives green grass is scarifying which should be done in either Autumn or Spring. This is where spinning blades from a professional scarifier remove dead organic matter and moss from the surface of your grass.
Aeration is another Autumn or Spring treatment which aids the lawn giving it a lush green colour. This treatment removes small plugs of soil and thatch from the top of your grass relieving compaction and aiding the flow of nutrients, air and water to the roots of your lawn.