Lawn Care – fertilization and Weed Control

No lawn will reach its potential without proper nutrition and protection against weeds.  Based on current research and our own experience over the years, fertilization and weed control products will be applied to your lawn in order to get the most green and healthy grass with a minimum of weeds.

Will you have weeds in your grass with our service?  Most likely, yes.  There is not a practical, cost – effective way to avoid having any weeds at all.  Also, how many weeds you end up with is also dependent on the condition of your grass when we start, the weather, existing soil conditions and irrigation.  Our program does, however, work to keep weeds from coming up and addresses them once they do.

Our basic lawn Chemical Application package consists of seven cycles of various combinations of nutrients and weed control.  We use the following guidelines in our chemical applications; however weather and other factors affect the exact mix of products applied and application dates.  Most importantly, if you ever feel the yard is not looking how you feel it should CONTACT US AND WE WILL ADDRESS IT. If it is a matter of more of the following products we will make additional applications at no charge as long as the turf is not being cut too short and proper watering is being maintained.  We do change our formulas from time to time as we find techniques that achieve better results, and those changes may not be reflected here:

January/February/March: Fertilization, herbicide and crabgrass pre-emergent.  This material will blend in with the soil in the grass root zone, providing a perfect bed of nutrients for the grass.  You will see your grass being one of the first green in the neighborhood once winter weather breaks.  Experience has shown that the timing of this application also provides terrific green without overgrowth.

March/April: Herbicide and Crabgrass Pre-emergent.  This application prevents grassy weed seeds from germinating and is meant to keep broadleaf weeds (such as dandelions) and grassy weeds (such as crabgrass) from growing anew.  These weeds die each year but leave seeds behind to start the process over.  Pre-emergent inhibits the ability of seeds to start growing.  This application is effective on seeds for four to six months depending on the weather.

April/May: Pre-emergent and broadleaf weed application.  Just to be sure, a final spring application of pre-emergent is put down over the lawn in order to extend the reach of the weed suppression into the summer months.  We continue with another liquid spray application in order to treat the broadleaf weeds which appear during the wet spring season.  An application of fertilization is applied as well to give the grass nutrients going into the hot and dry season.

August through October:  Lime can be applied any time of the year Lime adjusts the pH of the soil in order to make the best conditions for the grass. The grass will not be able to properly absorb the nutrients available in the soil if the soil is too acidic.  Placing the lime in the soil at this time prepares a nutrient-rich, properly balanced bed for seeding in the fall.

September/October: Fertilizer is used to encourage root production and growth of new seed laid down during aeration and overseeding.  Root growth is at its maximum in all grass during the fall months and encouraging this process enhances the grass for the next year.

October/November:  Another round of fertilizer in order to keep the grass green going into the winter.  This nitrogen also settles into the ground to give the grass a deep base of nutrients for the entire next year.

December: Broadleaf weed application and fertilizer:  Winter weeds are sprouting so we work to kill these as well as provide nutrients for dormant grass roots to absorb over the winter.

In addition to the basic chemical package, other applications are available. Please inquire about additional services we offer including insect and disease control.

Aeration and Overseeding

No other service will provide as much of an impact on your lawn as Aeration and Overseeding. The Aeration and Overseeding process rejuvenates the grass area by mechanically conditioning the soil and providing new grass to fill in areas of normal wear and aging in the lawn.

The aeration process removes cores of dirt from the soil and leaves them on the surface of the ground. This reduces soil compaction which allows the roots of the grass plant to extend further underground. Deeper roots allow the grass plant to seek out nutrients and water in more places which in turn makes healthier turf. The holes in the ground also allow the nutrients we lay down to penetrate into the ground where the roots can take advantage of the chemical applications.

In conjunction with aeration, the grass area is overseeded with seed appropriate for the yard. This process is achieved using a professional grade drop spreader which meters out the seed in just the right quantity for your grass conditions and minimizes the amount of seed getting into areas where it is not wanted. Once the seed is dropped, it makes its way down into the cores pulled out of the ground where it will germinate, take root, and begin to grow in as part of your newly revitalized yard.

Our aeration and overseeding process takes us a relatively long time due to the fact that we are very thorough – we aerate the entire lawn area at least twice, use a hand tiller in particularly bare areas, and pay meticulous attention to the application of the seed. We will also add small amounts of soil to difficult-to-grow patches at no extra charge. (There is an additional cost if larger quantities of soil are needed.)

After the Aeration and Overseeding process, the yard must be watered in small amounts (10-15 minutes) two or three times daily for 10-14 days. After that, the grass should be watered normally (15-20 minutes) daily for 14 days. Our regular maintenance crews will not mow your yard for the first two to three weeks after seeding in order to give the new grass a chance to take root and grow mature enough such that mowing will not cause irreparable damage to the new grass.

When will your grass begin to grow? That is based on a lot of factors, but under ideal conditions germination will take place in two to three weeks. This is when grass shoots will start appearing. After that,under ideal conditions, a full bed of grass should appear in 60-90 days. If this process is interrupted by cold weather or less than ideal conditions, it will just pick back up as soon as the weather becomes warm enough in the spring. In general, growing great grass starts with a 5-6 month process from seeding to thick turf, followed by regular chemical applications to maintain the turf in its best condition.

Dry weather will extend the amount of time it takes the grass to germinate and may affect the amount of grass seed which germinates. Excessive rain that causes washouts or pooling of seed will also affect the outcome of the process. While we always stay aware of the weather conditions, we take no responsibility for the weather’s effect on our work. We do not take responsibility for underground items damaged by the aerator. Before the aeration, you will be provided flags with which to mark the irrigation heads so that we can avoid hitting and potentially damaging them with our aerator. If you require assistance in marking your sprinkler heads, we are able to make a service call for a charge. We take no responsibility for damage to unmarked heads. Also, please be aware that aeration takes out a three inch core from the ground. Wires, pipes and irrigation systems that were not originally installed to code may be damaged if hit by a core tine.

The aeration and overseeding process will add to the overall health and density of your grass. This process does not, however, address specific conditions in the soil that are preventing germination such as contaminants in the soil, rocky conditions, areas of high root density, or other conditions that are out of our control.