Month: July 2011

Tips to survive a drought.

Drought Riddled Lawn

The weather is scorching and rain is not falling in central Pennsylvania. With high temperatures and little water your lawn and garden is facing a really stressful situation. If you are not careful, it could end up dead.

The following tips will help you prepare your lawn for drought conditions

Watering your lawn

Wait for your lawn to turn a blueish-gray color before watering. Water deeply and infrequently instead of daily with a little bit of water. The intention for this is to build a strong deep root system. Try to water between 5:00 AM and 8:00 AM, try to pass up watering in windy conditions. You would like the water to soak in, not evaporate.

Mowing your lawn during a drought

Be cautious while mowing your lawn in harsh conditions. You should keep the mower deck 3″ and above all season long, but do not cut more than 1/3 of the grass during the dry period. Make sure your blades are sharp. Dull blades will only add to the strain level on your grass.

Fertilizing during a drought

Do not apply fertilizers through out a drought period. The salt in synthetic fertilizers will absorb what little moisture the grass and soil does have. Fertilizing during a drought will cause more stress then positive effects.

Compost during a drought

Apply a light layer of compost, not to much. Don’t smother your lawn. A rich compost will add minerals and nutrients, along with extra moisture for the soil and grasses.

Aerating and Dethatching during a drought

If your soil is compacted or you have a thatch build-up, aerating and dethatching will help build stronger root systems and allow more oxygen into your soil.

Watch where you step

You would be surprised how a much a little bit of foot traffic will stress out your lawn during a drought period.

Herbicides and Fungicides during a drought?

Do not apply either one of these products during a drought. They will cause way more harm then they will good.

Still having problems with your lawn this summer? Ask us a question at www.blaircountylawnservice.com/questions/

Go Green with Property Maintenance

Why not explore different options for lawn maintenance? What can you do with your lawn to help give back to the earth?

Think reduce, reuse, recycle, or renew natural resources

When mowing lawn grass, keep all equipment in good condition. Keep the motors running smooth, the blades sharp, and the deck higher. Mow around 3 -4 inches in height. Why? Mowing higher helps produce stronger root systems in your lawn. Strong roots return healthier fuller grass. It actually even reduces the interval between cutting time. And the best part – higher grass shades out weeds. Less weeds and more grass is what we are all looking for. right?

Return grass clippings back to the lawn as you cut. Mulching or composting them back to the soil is a 100% guaranteed method to promote a healthy lawn.

Chemically treated grass clippings are best kept on the lawn to break down herbicides over a six-week period. Rethink chemicals. Reduce using chemicals to save time, money, and reduce toxic pollution. Stop killing beneficial life: microorganisms, bacteria, fungi, insects, and worms. They all recycle organic materials back to the soil. These little creatures are nature’s balance in a fascinating world under our feet.

Compost Piles

Reuse leaves, collected clippings, egg shells, mushrooms, coffee grounds, and so forth by creating a place on your property to recycle them. The best place for a compost pile is in the shade. Shade helps to keep the compost moist. Renew plant waste by making black composted soil in your yard. Be sure to turn your compost pile every few weeks. A lot of purchasable compost containers have a turning feature that flips the compost easily.

Compost can be used as mulch around tree trunks, be careful to avoid touching the bark of the tree itself with the mulch/compost. Mulching right up to the bark of the tree can develop disease and insect problems.

Use the compost in your flower beds and vegetable gardens – the rich nutrients from the compost provide tons of benefits.

Rethink your lawn layout – save yourself money

Do you have a large property where it is hard to keep up with grass growth? To much money spent on lawn care services – or gas mowing it yourself? Think about adding ground covers, trees, or shrubs to your property.

Ground Covers Instead of Turf Grass

Finding low maintenance ground covers is a way to add beauty to your lawn or garden while in return helping to save on lawn maintenance. Including fertilizer, water, and gas/lawn services. Ground covers are fairly inexpensive. Check your local garden center on which ground covers will work best for your area. Be sure to determine certain factors including shade & soil type.

Pesticides causing problems around the .. world?

I have been reading tons of information from the net lately relating to problems occurring from pesticides. There have been deaths, thousands of illnesses, and plant/tree/vegetation death. Canada has recently banned the use of certain pesticides as well.

Each year in the U.S, more than 110,000 pesticide poisoning are reported by poison control centers.

Combine those calls with the roughly 23,000 emergency room visits each year for the same reason – and you start to see a problem.

Pesticide applications have been linked to massive honey bee deaths
Researches in the United State are looking at what impact pesticides currently have on bee populations, trying to Resurrection the country’s apiary industry.

READ MORE AT ABC.NET

I have also read lately that there is concern pesticide applications may be causing tree death, and plant issues in the United States.

While pesticide applications are a highly demanded product – and the profit, well as consumers, you probably don’t want to know – we don’t apply them. We don’t want to apply them. If you do desire a pesticide application – we urge you, please find a professional. Do some research, make sure they have the proper certifications – and check which kind of pesticides they are spraying. Pesticides are dangerous, and extremely environmentally unfriendly.

Summer Lawn Care Maintenance – Should I Fertilize?

Protecting your lawn in the summer

Fertilize during the Spring and Fall – not Summer

Apply fertilizers during the spring and fall months, not directly in the middle of summer. The head and dry conditions can actually cause a reverse effect on your lawn after applying fertilizers. If your lawn browns out during the summer, relax! A lot of cool-season turf grasses brown out and go dormant during the summer months to survive. It is natural, and your lawn is more than likely perfectly healthy. Trying to help your lawn may actually end up hurting it. Making it prone to disease, and increasing weeds such as crabgrass are common when you try to treat your lawn during the hot months.Protecting your lawn in the summer

Lawn Care Tips – Go Green and Save Money

Go Green

Tip #1: Don’t use your water, buy a rain barrel.
Make a one time purchase expense, get a nice size rain barrel, and never pay extra on your water bills to water your lawn and garden. The average 20 x 20 ft lawn needs around 250 gallons of water per year. Depending on were you live, using your garden hose for this can end up costing around $25.00 – $50.00 per month!

Tip #2: Electric mowers are much friendlier to your pocket and the environment.
If you are an average home owner with a smaller lawn – electric mowers are the way to go. Low maintenance, no gas, and low electrical consumption makes this a no question decision.

Tip #3: Soil care, check your pH!
Healthy soil returns a beautiful lawn. Get your soil right, and save on tons of costs. pH ranges should normally be between 6.5 and 7.0. If you are unsure where to get your pH tested give us a call at (814) 515-3115.

Tip #4: Go with Organic Fertilizers:
Organic fertilizer will cost you $0.05/square foot, pre-season. Compare that to the cost of the most popular chemical fertilizer, known as 15-30-15, which costs $0.15/square foot, or three times as much.

Tip #5: Know where to find expert help.
Garden centers are a great source of information for lawn health. So are some local companies. Try to avoid the national companies that are more worried about making a sale, spraying chemicals, and leaving. Then you get a nice surprise bill in the mail. (Just try doing some yellow book or yellow page searches for national lawn care / fertilizer companies.)

Got a neighbor whose lawn makes you jealous? Why not go over, make conversation, then just ask them how they made it happen? More than likely they are going to share the methods with you!