Lawn Care is a comprehensive approach to the health of turf and soil. It includes fertilization, weed control, soil health, and disease management.
There are many benefits to a healthy lawn beyond its aesthetic value. For example, a dense grass canopy can capture pollutants in runoff and prevent them from entering the water supply. Visit https://www.primecutlawnky.com/ to learn more.
Aeration is a crucial lawn care step that relieves soil compaction and promotes grass growth. The process involves mechanically removing small plugs of thatch and soil from your lawn with either a “plug” or spike aerator (see photos below). The holes created by these tools are then left to naturally decompose, returning nutrients to the lawn. Your Weed Man professional will use the best aerator for your yard’s specific needs.
Lawn aeration helps your grass roots grow thick and strong, and crowd out weeds. It also opens pathways for the free flow of essentials like air, water and fertilizer. In fact, a layer of compacted soil just 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick can greatly inhibit healthy root development.1
The key to aerating your lawn is to do it correctly. Using a plug or spike aerator in the wrong conditions can actually cause further soil compaction in the areas where the holes are made. This is why it’s so important to hire a Weed Man professional to aerate your lawn. Our technicians are trained to aerate your yard at the right time, providing you with the best possible results and a lawn that looks beautiful year-round.
Liquid aeration uses a liquid solution to loosen the lawn’s soil, but the best way to aerate a lawn is to use a core aerator. This tool uses hollow coring tines to puncture the lawn and remove tiny plugs of thatch and soil. This process allows air, water and fertilizer to reach the roots of your grass more easily, leading to healthier roots, a stronger lawn, and better resistance to insects and drought stress.
Aeration is recommended every year, but it’s particularly important if your yard is heavily used. In addition to ensuring that your grass has full access to all the resources it needs, aeration prevents soil erosion and water runoff. It’s also the ideal time to overseed with premium Pennington Smart Seed and apply a seasonal lawn fertilizer, since seeds have direct contact with the soil through the holes your aerator has created. By doing so, your lawn can get off to a strong start and thrive for years to come!
Fertilization
Beautiful lawns don’t just happen; they require careful treatment and maintenance to thrive. This involves fertilization, weed control, soil health and turf disease management, among other things. The right combination of these services helps you achieve lush, green grass that is drought-resistant and improves the curb appeal of your property.
Fertilizing is the process of feeding your turfgrass with nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and other elements necessary for healthy growth and vibrant color. When done properly, fertilization can help your lawn become thicker and healthier so that weeds are less likely to grow in it.
Lawns that are fed properly have a stronger root system to better combat heat, cold, foot traffic, mowing, and other stresses. Depending on the region, it may be best to fertilize four times per year, twice in the spring and fall, and once in the summer.
When choosing a fertilizer, be sure to choose one that contains slow-release nitrogen. This will minimize the growth flushes that usually make mowing more difficult and reduces the risk of burning your grass, since it distributes the nitrogen more evenly throughout the turf.
Another thing to keep in mind when applying fertilizer is the weather. Ideally, you want to apply the fertilizer when the sun is shining and the temperature is above 50 degrees. It’s also a good idea to avoid fertilizing when rain is in the forecast, as this can cause runoff and wash away some of the nutrients.
The best time to fertilize is after aeration and before mowing. Cutting the grass directly after fertilizing will result in a sloppy, uneven cut and won’t allow the grass to absorb the fertilizer. It’s also recommended to wait at least 24 hours before mowing again after fertilizing.
The last tip for fertilization is to rake before you mow so that any clumps of grass clippings are spread out evenly across the lawn. This will prevent clumps of grass from blocking the fertilizer and preventing it from reaching the roots. Also, remember to always use the mulch setting on your mower so that you’re not wasting any of the grass clippings and that they can act as natural compost.
Weed Control
As a part of lawn care, the use of herbicides to kill and control unwanted weeds is required. However, this is not an effective strategy alone and should be combined with other preventative measures to ensure that weeds do not become a serious problem in your yard.
One of the most important ways to keep weeds from invading your turfgrass is to apply a balanced fertilizer on a regular basis. A good fertilization schedule should begin in the spring and continue until mid-autumn. This will help to provide essential nutrients and encourage grass growth which can compete better with weeds for water and sun.
In addition to a good fertilization program, mowing your lawn at the proper height is another important way to keep weeds under control. A mowing height of 2.5 to 3 inches allows the turfgrass to shade out the light from the sun and reduces the amount of sunlight available to the weeds.
If you find that weeds are still a problem, you may need to consider more aggressive weed control methods such as the application of a pre-emergent herbicide. Pre-emergent herbicides are applied in the fall and kill weed seed sprouts before they grow, which can prevent them from growing next season.
The type of weed you have will determine the best method of killing and controlling it. If you have grass-like weeds, such as dandelion and clover, you can use a selective herbicide to kill them without damaging your turfgrass. Other types of weeds, such as crabgrass and poa annua, must be killed with a non-selective herbicide, which will also kill any other plants that they come in contact with.
When using any type of weed control, it is always a good idea to avoid washing the product from your leaves and grasses with rainfall or other sources of water. In addition, avoiding cutting the weeds until the spray has had time to fully absorb and translocate into the plant is important. This process can take several days for most products and should be done carefully to avoid accidentally transferring any herbicide to other areas of your yard or garden.
Pest Control
Pest control is a vital part of lawn care that includes preventative treatments and monitoring of landscape pests. Lawn pests can include insects, weeds or even diseases that damage your turf. Preventative treatment for pests like grubs, chinch bugs and sod webworm moths can stop these damaging insects before they destroy your yard.
Fungicides also protect your turf from fungal disease such as dollar spot, brown patch or summer patch by destroying the spores that cause the diseases. In the South, these fungicides can also protect against fungal damage to trees and shrubs.
Standard lawn maintenance tasks such as mowing or grass cutting are part of lawn care but most lawns need more than that to truly thrive. Regular fertilization, weed control and appropriate irrigation are necessary to keep your grass healthy.
Proper mowing height and consistent watering promotes a dense healthy lawn that is less attractive to insects and other pests. Grass that is stressed from overwatering or scalping may become a more inviting environment for pests to invade your lawn. Regular mowing will ensure that the grass is at an optimal height for growth that will provide shade and limit light penetration to the soil below, helping to reduce the amount of moisture in the soil that can encourage the growth of weeds and other unwanted plants.
If you have a problem with weeds or insects, it is important to work with your lawn care company to find a solution. Pests can be controlled by a variety of methods including natural methods such as horticultural oils, vinegar, diatomaceous earth and other organic products. These natural solutions are safer for your family, pets and the environment and can provide quick results.
In addition, there are preventative measures that can be taken to minimize the need for pesticides such as aeration, proper watering and lawn disease management. A quality lawn care company will work to address your pest control needs in the most environmentally responsible way possible. For example, some pesticides can kill beneficial organisms such as earthworms and spiders that contribute to the health of your lawn so it is important to use them sparingly.
