A beautiful lawn tells the world you take pride in your property. It also demonstrates that you care about your neighborhood.
Lawns need an excellent mowing, fertilizing, and weed control routine. A professional service will utilize various commercial-grade products to achieve results that homeowners simply cannot get with retail chemicals at the local hardware store. Contact Lawn Care Kentucky for professional help.
It’s no secret that a lush, green lawn makes your property look well cared for. But a great lawn requires significant investment, particularly when it comes to maintaining healthy soil. Pests, weather conditions and soil inconsistency can all impact your lawn’s appearance and health. A good lawn maintenance plan includes fertilizing your grass to prevent weeds and encourage strong, dense growth.
The nutrient-rich ingredients in fertilizer are like vitamins for your lawn. Over time, your lawn loses its natural supply of nutrients. Fertilizing with the proper chemicals and at the right time is one of the best ways to replace these nutrients.
Different types of grasses require different nutrients. But three basic lawn nutrients – nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium – are vital to healthy turf. Nitrogen promotes grass color and density, while phosphorous and potassium help with root development and disease resistance.
Most professional lawn services offer both synthetic and organic fertilizers. The latter are made from natural products such as dried blood, fish emulsion or manure. While more expensive than synthetic fertilizers, these products break down more slowly and require the action of soil microbes before they become available to grass plants.
If your soil is nutrient-deficient, your lawn may not thrive even when you apply the right amount of fertilizer. That’s why a soil test is recommended to determine the best lawn care approach for your property.
There are two main forms of fertilizer: granular and liquid. Granular fertilizers are applied using a broadcast spreader or rotary spreader and can be applied at your convenience, while liquid fertilizers are sprayed on the grass and then watered in immediately. Liquid fertilizers are faster acting, but they can also damage your lawn if applied too much or at the wrong time.
A good rule of thumb is to apply a liquid fertilizer in early spring and fall, while granular fertilizers are best for summer and winter applications. The optimum times to apply fertilizer depend on your region, and it’s important to consider the weather forecast when choosing a date. Depending on your climate, applying fertilizer when it’s raining can cause runoff and erosion.
Aerate
Lawn aeration is the mechanical removal of small plugs of thatch and soil from lawns using hollow coring tines on a power aerator or by hand. Aeration is an important step in maintaining a healthy, lush and beautiful lawn. The benefits of aerating include reducing thatch, promoting deep root growth, decreasing water puddling and runoff and improving drought tolerance.
The process of aerating also reduces soil compaction. Compacted soils are dense and have a reduced capacity for holding water, thus causing the grass to dry out faster during summer. The most common causes of lawn compaction are foot traffic and vehicles driving over the lawn. Aerating the lawn breaks up the compacted soil and enables water and nutrients to flow more freely.
Aerating is usually done prior to fertilizing and seeding the lawn. This allows the granules and seeds to better penetrate and grow into the soil. In addition, aerating the lawn makes it easier for the grass to absorb the nutrients from the fertilizer.
If your lawn has a high thatch build-up (the layer of organic dead and living shoots, stems and roots between the soil surface and green vegetation) it will require more frequent aeration than if it is low in thatch. High thatch can cause the grass to become weak and stressed, making it susceptible to insect damage and disease.
When it comes to lawn care services, you can choose from many different options depending on your needs. Lawn care services typically include mowing, aeration and seeding, weed control, mulching, and tree and shrub health maintenance.
The most successful lawn care programs are those that involve the cooperation and education of the homeowner. The lawn care company generally explains the seasonal information about proper mowing, watering and other cultural practices that have a significant impact on the quality of the lawn. They may also recommend specific products such as soil additives or conditioners to improve the quality of the soil, and lawn care chemicals including fungicides for controlling diseases like chinch bug infestations, lawn grubs, and other pests. The companies will often provide the customer with a detailed written estimate of the cost of their lawn treatment service before any work is performed.
Mow
Lawns that are mowed regularly have a much easier time bouncing back from inclement weather, insects and disease than those that go for long periods of time without attention. In order to keep your lawn healthy, the grass needs to be cut on a regular schedule to make sure that it doesn’t grow too tall and shade itself out, thus making it difficult for sunlight to reach the soil below.
The recommended mowing height is between 2 1/2” to 3′′, depending on the growing conditions. A higher mowing height promotes drought resistance, helps crowd out weeds and prevents soil compaction from frequent scalping. It is also important to change the direction of mowing with each cutting to minimize clumping and to promote upright shoot growth.
When evaluating lawn care companies, be sure to pay close attention to the details of their program. Many offer organic, slow-release fertilizers in addition to standard chemical weed and pest control options. Be wary of any company that appears to be offering a similar program at a significantly lower cost—this could mean that they’re skimping on the services that you really need!
In addition to mowing, you will want your lawn care company to remove debris such as furniture, fire pits and kids toys. Leaving these items out in the yard for too long can create an environment that encourages mold and mildew, inhibiting proper grass growth. Also, it’s important to clear away debris from the sidewalks, driveways and patios as they can accumulate de-icing chemicals, rock salt and other contaminants that will kill your grass if left on for extended periods of time.
You’ll also want your lawn care company to perform seasonal checklists such as aerating the lawn in the fall and mulching it in the spring. Creating a maintenance schedule for these tasks ensures that they are done on a timely basis, keeping your lawn healthy and looking great all year long! In addition, a good lawn care company will offer a variety of other services to help your lawn thrive such as grub control and insect management.
Weed Control
Weeds can be an annoying part of lawn care, and a lot of people get frustrated with them. But they’re not necessarily a sign of an unhealthy yard, if you have good cultural practices and the right preventative weed control strategy in place.
Every lawn contains the seeds of a virtual weed army. The best way to deal with weeds is to avoid them, and that requires good cultural practices along with properly timed preventative weed control treatments. A correctly mowed turf helps with this as well by shading the soil and keeping sunlight and water away from weed seeds.
Preventative weed control is important because it allows you to avoid the use of harsh chemical products that may harm your grass and other plants in the yard. Plus, it saves you the time and effort of pulling weeds yourself. The most effective preventative weed control is done in the early spring, between the end of February and beginning of March, when it’s possible to apply a pre-emergent herbicide that will kill existing weeds without damaging your lawn.
Herbicides are chemicals that can be used to kill specific weed species, whether at the leaf or root level. They can be effective in a variety of settings, from small residential landscapes to large commercial properties. Professional weed control services can choose the right herbicides for your situation and determine when to apply them. They will also know how much to apply to ensure the proper coverage.
