Month: July 2010

Organic Lawn Cares Tips – Save the environment, save money, save your lawn.

Posted on July 3, 2010 in Lawn Care Tips, Organic Lawn Care

Mow your Grass Higher
If you mow your grass low, the weeds will grow before the grass and shade out the grass from getting sunlight. Grass turns sunlight into sugar which it needs for food. Lots of food ensures beautiful green, lush grass. Cutting it short leads to beautiful, green (sometimes), lush weeds. It also kills your grass causes dreaded brown patches and horrible looking soil.

– more shade to the soil leads to less watering
– deeper roots which leads to less watering
– thicker turf which leads to fewer weeds
– slower growth which leads to less mowing

If I Mow Low I Won’t Have To Mow as Often
Not True! Grass needs grass blades to photosynthesis; that is convert sunshine into sugar. It does this so it is able to feed the grass roots. When you destroy the blades, the grass rushes to make new blades because the roots are getting no sugar. The grass does not want to die so it tries to grow the blades as fast as it can… In the process of growing so fast, the grass uses up most of its stored sugar. Which in return causes the grass to become unhealthy. Now the grass is vulnerable to disease and pests. Tall grass is healthier and can use the extra sugar to make rhizomes (more grass plants) thus thickening the turf. Have you ever noticed that short grass in the summer is always riddled with dead brown patches?

Do you have an over-growth of weeds?
Trying mowing with the blade setting at about 3 1/2 more often than you regularly would. Your grass’s most critical growing point is at the root. While most weeds is at the top of the stem. So, it is the same as giving your grass a hair cut, and chopping off the head of the weeds.

Leave the grass clippings in the yard!
Leaving the clippings in your lawn the absolute number one way to ensure you have healthy, thick turf. Clippings toss the nutrients that are MUCH needed by your lawn right back into the soil. If you don’t leave the clippings, you will notice your soil starts to look more like dirt than soil. Some people worry about the clippings “clumping” up. This only happens if you mow to low, or don’t mow enough.

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Dying Grass? – Altoona, Blair County PA

Posted on July 3, 2010 in Lawn Care Tips, News Alert

As I drive around, I notice almost everywhere everyones grass is burnt and on the edge death. Of course it will replenish itself over time, but if you are interested in bringing it back sooner, or preventing it from burning in the first place. We have put together some information to help you out.

First, if it does not need mowed, don’t mow it. Even though it hurts company income, whenever we head to someones house and the grass is not long enough to cut without taking the change of burning it, we suggest not mowing it. Try bi-weekly instead of weekly. Prevention is always easier and cheaper than recovery.

If you must cut it, try to only go over the areas that need it and raise the blade to around 3 1/2 – 3 1/4 inches. This will ensure that the grass being cut will not be burnt and the clippings will be thrown around to help replenish nutrients needed by your lawn this time of the year.

Second, check the weeds in your lawn. If you have a lot of crab grass or other common weeds ( click here to view images and descriptions of the most common weed types ) it might be time to invest in some weed control products. The weeds in your lawn can be sucking up the water and nutrients that your grass needs. Making the weeds stronger and the grass weaker.

Third, irrigation. Try to water the lawn every 2-3 days allowing around 2-3 inches of water to really soak into the soil. A good-deep watering every 2-3 days is 100 times better than a quick watering every day.

Finally, if the none of the above are working out for you. Try some starter fertilizer with added weed control supplements. Liming is also another option but fertilizer is a lot easier and in some cases more effective. Be sure to water the fertilized area.

If you are having problems, give us a call. We can help you get your lawn back to green instead of yellow-brown. And we provide free estimates for all projects. (814) 515-3114

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Four Year Old Boy Fights for Life in 2009

Posted on July 2, 2010 in Lawn Mower Accidents

By Melinda Skutnick | Mooresville Tribune

I was recently browsing the internet and found this article about a four year old boy who fought for his life after a horrible lawn mower accident. I wanted to share, the website where the article was found is www.statesville.com

Published: April 29, 2009

A four-year-old Mooresville boy is fighting for his life after being injured by a lawn mower April 22.

Preston Loyd was playing in the yard of his Corona Circle home when he was accidentally run over by a lawn mower operated by his grandfather.

Preston is the son of Mooresville residents Ashton and Cinamon Loyd, and a preschooler at Peninsula Baptist Church.

“My father did not know Preston was near, and accidently backed over him,” Ashton Loyd wrote on a Web site where he is keeping friends and neighbors updated on Preston’s condition.

With extensive injuries, especially to his left side, Preston was immediately airlifted to Carolina Medical Center’s Levine Children’s Hospital where he has remained in critical condition since last Wednesday.

“I have to find somewhere that this is in God’s plan for our family,” Ashton Loyd told the Tribune Tuesday.

“This is a literal worldwide awakening of prayer for this little boy that has brought people to God. He’s brought people closer to their families. This is so much bigger than this horrible thing that we’ve suffered.”

After Preston arrived at the hospital, surgeons operated for several hours to repair immediate damage and control bleeding. In that trauma surgery, Preston lost his left kidney and his spleen. That evening, Loyd said a doctor told him, “‘The best news I can give you is he’s not supposed to be alive right now and he is.’ ”

Since the accident, surgeons have connected Preston’s damaged esophagus to his rectum, providing a line for digestion. However, Loyd said that without a stomach – it was irreparably damaged in the accident – the four-year-old’s food intake will be much smaller than normal.

Currently, Preston is being fed via a feeding tube until the repairs to his digestive system heal.

A neurosurgeon fitted Preston’s brain with a monitor and catheter to reduce some of the pressure on his brain, Loyd said.

“The brain’s (swelling) has nothing to do with the hit,” he noted. “When the brain is deprived of oxygen for a period of time, even though it may be brief, you’ve got some swelling.”

Neurological damage is unclear at this point, Loyd said, adding that his son’s internal cranial pressure (ICP) is being continually monitored. Preston has remained sedated and on a ventilator since the accident. Only when his ICP stabilizes and remains stable will he be weaned from his sleeping state.

Additionally, a plastic surgeon was consulted and an orthopedic surgeon made repairs to the child’s elbow, including his tricep muscle. Ashton said that in comparison to other damage, the arm injury was minimal.

A big concern of doctors is infection that could be caused by grass and dirt in Preston’s wounds, Loyd said.

“We need to pray for no intrusion of infection,” he said, adding that several other concerns exist including his son’s higher-than-normal body temperature and the fear of pneumonia. The family also waits for the four-year-old’s brain synapses to properly fire and for him to “start returning to normal cognition.”

Cinamon Loyd said the family can do little more than take it one day at a time.

“We are just prayerful that we are continuing to trudge onward and that our little boy will be home with us soon,” she said.

No long-term prognosis has been made yet for Preston, she said, but the family’s hopes are high as they rely on faith and doctors to heal their youngest child.

Following the surgery to repair Preston’s digestive system, one doctor told the family that ” ‘if he can heal neurologically, he can be a little boy again,’ ” Ashton Loyd said.

“To me that means his long-term prognosis is that he’ll be running around again, kicking, eating a lot of ice cream,” he said as he talked about his son, although he quickly noted that the family truly does not know yet what their four-year-old’s life will be like.

“People just need to keep praying that he’s going to be healed. We are still so in need for his healing,” Loyd said, mentioning that their faith has not only helped them throughout this ordeal, but has created a miracle in keeping Preston alive.

“God has brought us through this and we’re believing in God’s miracles.”

Cinamon Loyd said she hopes others learn from this incident and remain aware of the dangers lawn mowers present.

“We want people to be really aware of how careful they need to be this summer when they’re mowing their lawns and outside with their children, that this can happen so quickly,” she said, adding that several people have come to the hospital to tell the Loyds that they’ve experienced a similar accident.

“It’s so much more prevalent than any of us realize.”

With family, friends and many in the community continually inquiring about their son’s health, the Loyd family created a Web site through Caring Bridge, which offers “free, personalized Web sites that support and connect loved ones during critical illness, treatment and recovery.”

Through that domain, Ashton Loyd said the family is able to offer up-to-date information about their son’s progress as well as receive messages of support from those who access the site. As of Tuesday afternoon, nearly 65,000 hits were logged by visitors.

“I again must impress that we are not out of the woods at all,” Loyd said in one of his Caring Bridge updates. “In my father’s term, the tree is on the ground, but we have to now get it out.”

For more information about Preston and his progress, visit www.caringbridge.org/visit/prestonloyd

Facts about Lawn Mower Safety:

Posted on July 2, 2010 in Equipment Tips, Lawn Mower Accidents

Facts about lawn mower safety:

Nearly 75,000 Americans are seriously injured in lawn mower accidents each year. About 10,000 of those injuries involve children.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery and the American Academy of Pediatrics both recommend that children not operate a lawn mower until they are 16 years old.
Children should never ride as a passenger on a lawn mower. Children on riding mowers have the potential to fall and be run over by the mower, resulting in serious injury and/or amputation of the extremities.

Any time adults are using a lawn mower, they should make sure to keep children out of the yard and in a well-supervised area to avoid injury.

Lawn mower operators should wear protective gear including pants, steel-toed boots, goggles and ear protection, excluding portable music players.

Make sure all debris (rocks, sticks and toys) are removed from the yard before you begin mowing. Loose objects can project out of the lawn mower and cause serious injury.

Riding mowers have the potential to tip or roll over if used on slopes or steep hills, which can result in serious injury.

Always read the lawn mower owner’s manual for operating and care instructions. The owner’s manual will provide instruction on fueling the machine and on proper use.

More than 10,000 children are injured a year by riding lawn mowers.

Posted on July 2, 2010 in Equipment Tips, Lawn Mower Accidents

These days, lawn mowers are almost in everyones garage. They are almost as common as cars. And just as dangerous.
Everyone needs to remember: the lawn mower sitting in your garage is alot moe than just a simple power tool. Each year there are roughly 75,000 + adults and children injured by lawn care equipment.

With a little bit of effort and the proper safety procedures, these accidents – sometimes life threatining – can easily be avoided.

So before you pull your lawn mower out of the garage, we urge you take follow a few safety guidelines to avoid injury upon yourself, your family, and others.

“A lawn mower definitely has the potential to become an extremely dangerous instrument when it’s used carelessly or without the proper safety precautions,” she warns. “Lawn mower injuries can be devastating to the patients and their families, so it’s important to never take lawn mower safety for granted. The vast majority of lawn mower injuries are preventable.”
– Marie Lozon, UMHS Pedriatic Emeregency Medicine.

Riding lawn mowers often case the most accidents a year. Letting your children ride the mower with you or even without is one of the most dangerous courses of action. Young children can easily slip off while the mower is still running. Even with the knew weight sensors in the seats that automatically shut off newer models, there is still an extrem risk. And the outcome of the risk is something that i don’t even want to think of, being the father of two little girls, I could not imagine.

Lozon says this type of occurrence can result in the child’s hands, feet or entire body being run over by the mower, often resulting in limb amputation or a life-long debilitation injury.

n addition, any time adults are using lawn mowers, they should make sure to keep children out of the yard and in a well-supervised area to avoid injury. Nearly 10,000 children in America are injured each year as the result of a lawn mower accident.