My Lawn Care

By Keith Markensen

Every lawn is not the same but for some lawns all they need is just a little TLC from their owners. To make your lawn stand out from the rest, you need a simple, two step maintenance plan.

Fertilize

Start with a spring, summer, and fall fertilizer treatment. All grass and soil needs regular safeguarding either to help in soil fertility and/or grass' demands. Make sure the all-purpose, dust-free, pellet fertilizer you choose is made for your region and applied at a 2-2-1 ratio. Most common components to look for are nitrogen, phosphorus and potash. Nitrogen in various forms will give you the long-lasting green you desire, with quick and extended release formulations. Make sure to water your lawn after application and to keep it well saturated throughout your dry season.

Pest and Disease Control

The next step to a lush lawn is to rid it of pests and disease. Among the first pest to look for are the annoying tan colored moths that come out at dusk. These pests lay eggs that become sod webworms that dine on grass bases. Chemical products for these pests from Ortho and Bayer will help you get a handle on these bugs. This same chemical can be applied for white grubs that prefer eating at your grass deeper down. You can tell you have grubs when you find dead patches in you lawn that you can lift up.

Some common lawn diseases are brown patch and snow mold. The first is a fungal disease that attacks your lawn in circular shaped spots and makes your grass turn dark green to light brown. To cure your lawn, apply a fungicide, water the diseased lawn less and aerate the soil.

Snow mold and moss growth can benefit from lawn fertilizers rich in nitrogen, iron and sulfur. The soil will be too healthy for these to grow in. To identify snow mold, your lawn will appear pink and cotton-like. This develops from compact snow melting off the top of your lawn. Make sure to sweep or brush the affected lawn before fertilizing. The presence of moss is a bad omen. It means that your soil lacks fertility, your grass has been watered too much or too little, it has improper soil drainage, extra acidity and/or has been too compacted. Again, nitrogen will save your lawn and return the green to the diseased areas.

In times like these it is easy to see why so many people like yourself are interested in best lawn fertilizers. Don't be shy - check us out at plant-care.com.

Article Source: Ezinearticles.com

By Andrew Caxton

A garden or a lawn are pieces of major masterwork, your home and your location. Gardens and lawns are not isolated. When you begin to choose what to grow, you may make a little research.

Factors To Consider About Lawn Care Maintenance

Climate. It is almost obvious but many people skip the fact that climate differ along the year, and you need to sow and cultivate according to main characteristics of your climate. Dry climate pose more challenge to grass and flowers;windy climate has to be considered with care; humidity, frost and snow may be part of your climate menu and so on. Naturally are plants and grass more suitable for your climate than others,find which are they.

Location of your garden and lawn. Long hours of sun or long shady hours? Heavy traffics, pets, dog spots or a slightly traffic and plenty of tranquility? Enumerate and rate the factors. Prioritize the climate you are going to have most part of the year and divide the zones for different plants, some loves shade, some adores sun.

Grass

Grass varies greatly and offers many types.From resilient to weed to very sensible to pest. Grass that need very low watering for a dry zone is the best chose. For humidity climates search for grass that needs frequently watering.

Once you have make your choice, know the Basic: mowing is basic. Mow higher than the usual and you provide more strength to your grass, higher grass will help to decrease the health of the weeds, notice that weeds needs frequently watering and abundant sun in general, a tall, thick grass will prevent weed to feed correctly, thus lowering their rate of growth.

Raking to remove thatch is good to keep diseases caused to fungus off, a high thatch over your grass will act detrimentally against your grass growth and health.

About Professional Lawn Care Maintenance and Upkeep Services

In the last years lawn care services boomed incredibly with the development of a new industry based on professional services customized for homeowners, it is known that homeowners are short of time and many just want to enjoy the left time in the lawn and not working to keep good looking.,companies have noticed this change in the homeowner behavior and prepared themselves to play the roll of lawn services providing at professional level.

Companies varies their offerings, products and services according to the customer budget and lawn area size and many provide special services according to grass type, like Kentucky grass, a traditional and very popular lawn grass even today.They may be hired lawn care maintenance,being this partial or total,many of them trimmed their prices to target different budgets and encourages homeowner to get adequate assessment about their lawns.

The first appointment is always crucial for both provider and customer, remember to make all the question you need and be sure to know how much they are going to bill you exactly for the services they may give you and learn about regulations: the person and company rendering services must be licensed and well versed not only about its task but to comply with all rules and permits necessary, when you feel that the contractor is the appropriate, then you can begin to finish the details before signing any contract and make sure that all the details be included in the contract.

Andrew Caxton use to write on lawn care and similar subjects for http://www.lawn-mowers-and-garden-tractors.com A website with tips on Kentucky grass and lawn grass seed.

Article Source: Ezinearticles.com

By Matt Morrison

With temperatures rising and rain fall decreasing, summer time is putting a serious strain on your lawn. If you are not careful, your lawn could end up dead. No rain and water restrictions can really take a shot at your ability to take care of your lawn. However, there are some tried and true tips that are sure to beat the summer heat.

When your lawn is suffering from a drought, these tips will help you survive:

1. Raise the blades on your mower. Taller grass provides more protection from sun and grows deeper roots, which makes it more resilient.

2. Resist the temptation to bag your lawn and use a mulching mower instead. The clippings will provide a barrier that keeps moisture in your lawn longer.

3. Aerate your lawn twice a year (fall and spring) to keep out thatch and help the roots grow deeper.

4. Sharpen your lawnmower blade. Dull blades put your grass under lots of undue stress. Stressed grass needs more water.

5. Water early in the morning and when it is not windy to avoid unnecessary evaporation of your rationed water.

6. Use a drip type irrigation system like a soaker hose. It put water in the ground, where it is needed, more efficiently.

7. Do not fertilize in the summer. Experts will tell you that fertilized lawns are more sensitive to heat and require more water.

Green is definitely a color to envy in the heart of the summer. Do yourself a favor and follow these tips to keep a green lawn that makes your neighbors squirm with envy.

For more information on Lawn Care visit Blades Lawn Care.

Article Source: Ezinearticles.com

By Kristy Snow

Laying sod is a heavy task. Most pallets of sod weigh at least 2000 pounds. Sod should be laid so that the shorter end lines don't match up. In you're confused, just remember to lay it down to minimize straight gap lines.

Soil Preparation

The secret to a good sod project is the prepping of the soil. Good topsoil will yield much better results. Use a dark black topsoil with organic material.

Fertilizer

You can boy sod starter fertilizer at your local hardware store. After putting down the topsoil, then put down the fertilizer. The fertilizer will be under the sod roots.

Watering

Many new sod owners make the mistake of not watering their sod enough. As a general rule, new sod should be watered 60 minutes a day for 30 days. There are many factors that affect the calculation. You must take into account the volume of water that the sprinkler system puts out, high or low temperatures, quality of sod, type of sod, and type of dirt. You should water enough that the ground stays totally wet, but not wet enough that the ground will settle. You sod will sink down if you get the ground too water logged. To check the dirt, use a screwdriver. The screwdriver should go into the soil fairly easily and the dirt should be moist all the way in.

Watering is the single largest factor. Some people do get away without following the water procedures, but most who do end up in failure. Many people think it's not worth the water bill. Then , when the sod dies, they regret it.

Cutting

If you can find one, use a sod knife available at sod suppliers. If you can't find one, the next best tool is a linoleum cutter. It looks just like a sod cutter only it's a little larger and sharper. If you can't find a linoleum cutter, use a regular utility knife. Some people even use their butcher knives. It works, if you don't mind rough usage of your kitchen supplies.

Cut the sod from the back. It's a lot easier. The back side is the side that isn't green.

Rolling

If, after your sod comes in, the ground is a little bumpy, you can get a rolling machine from the local rental center and roll the ground. This will push the bumps back down into the grass. A rolling machine is a large metal cyclinder that is supported by two wheels and rolls. Some are motorized and some can be pulled with a four wheeler. Some of them get their weight by adding water to the cylinder.

Placement

Ideally, you would have a Bobcat with pallet forks to move the sod pallets around. If you are reading this, you probably don't have one. In that case, your best bet is to be there when the sod truck arrives. Guide the donkey or piggyback operator to the exact location where you want the sod. Calculate the exact spots. It will take you a lot of work, later on, if they are misplaced.

For further landscape information, please visit Outdoor Shower

Article Source: EzineArticles

By David Payn

How to get a lush, verdant hue from the lawn that you tend so lovingly from year to year; now that is a hotly contested subject and one that needs some objective comments.

Is it about the choice of grass originally sown or laid?; is it about climatic factors?; is it about the condition of your soil?; is it about the the type of soil?; is it about turf being better than seeding?; is it about scarifying and general care and maintenance?; is it about water application?;or is it about nutrients? You are about to get some answers.

Always bear in mind that there are two very general choices for grass, one strain that grows well in the Northern Hemisphere and that other that fairs well south of the Equator. Getting this wrong is disastrous, so ensure you have the correct variety. They are categorized as cool season grasses (for northern climes) and warm season grasses (for antipodeans).

For the north, Kentucky Bluegrass is a good choice - make sure it is a recent mix of varieties - because it tends to maintain its form without too much feeding and even in an extended rain free period. The variations of Fescue are also a preferred option as they need vary little care to maintain their lushness. So, mixture is critical; make sure you find the right mix from reputable suppliers.

The natural soil substructure need not be a problem with lawns; topsoil is normally all that is necessary for a successfully green lawn, although do make sure that the subsoil is sound and not likely to sink.

If you are starting from scratch, ensure you add enough sand to the topsoil to aid proper drainage; waterlogged areas will not give you the green lawn you desire but quite the reverse. Make sure you add in fertilizer which is probably the single most important factor for obtaining a greener lawn. We will come to that shortly. Bulk produced fertilizers tend to produce better results, but if you wish to go organic you can use materials such as peat moss, leaf mold and pine bark.

The condition of the soil should also be assessed with regard to adding extra lime where necessary.

Scarifying your lawn will obviously help because the roots thrive on an oxygen supply which will also help to make the grass leaves greener in the long term. Removing moss and other undesirables with a sturdy grass rake will also help immensely by removing competition for the soils nutrients.

It is nutrients which will ultimately give your lawn the greener look that you so crave. Organic nutrients are fine and have their place in the garden but they are time consuming to produce, hard to apply quickly and efficiently and do not contain the same intensity and concentration of proprietary brands.

To assess different fertilizer and nutrient products, first look at what they are designed to do. You want a richer, greener lawn so make sure that the product is geared up to achieve the results you want.

A broad rule of thumb to begin with is around ten to fifteen kilos of a high grade fertilizer, such as N5-P10-K15, N6-P12-K12, N5-P10-K10, or N7-P14-K21 for each 1000 square feet of lawn. When a soluble form of nitrogen is employed, do not utilize in excess 500 grams of nitrogen per 1000 square feet.

If you follow the few basic rules outlined above, it is then all about choosing the best product available for making your lawn greener. Shop around and see what works for you.

David Payn's blog

Article Source: EzineArticles