Grass and Lawn Care Tips During The Colder Season

Your lawn is the biggest part of a landscape. From raking leaves to weeding and mowing to seeding, you do all you can to keep it looking lovely and lush and be proud of what you’ve accomplished. When you’re done clearing the leaves, your next lawn care chores comes next spring, right? No. Even when you’re turf is dormant during the cold winter season, it could still benefit from a bit of attention and care. Depending on your location, your lawn could be composed of grass for the warm season such as Bermuda and zoysia or cool season grass like perennial rye, Kentucky blue, and more. Warm season grass will grow during summer and spring and will become straw colored during the cold weather season. Meanwhile, cool turn will grow during spring and fall and takes part or all of its green color throughout the colder season.

Lawn Care Tips

Aerating The soil under the grass tend to become compacted from the weight of the machines used for landscaping or home building, or foot traffic. This could cause the soil to become dry and cause the grass roots to take up nutrients poorly and the drainage also comes an issue in the landscape. That's why aeration must be part of your lawn care Conway routine. Aside from that, thatch may develop in the lawn. If it’s more than one inch, it could block water and air penetration, which could lower the nutrient uptake and lead to drainage problems. The lawn care solution to both excess thatch and soil compaction is aeration. It involves making holes down through the lawn grass and into the soil underneath so air can be introduced underneath and water can penetrate. Avoid Salt Damage De-icing products that has salt may cause damage to closeby grass when they leach into it. This may cause physiological drought, which is a condition that will impede the uptake of nutrients and create bare spots. In case you have to treat walkways across or close to the edges of the lawn, make sure to select products that are made of sodium chloride alternatives like calcium chloride. You should also avoid leaving de-icing salt bags on or close to turf areas because they may leach salt to the soil. Fertilizing In case the ground is not frozen, then winter is the perfect time to use lime to sweeten the soil that’s acidic. You could check the ph of the soil through a soil test. You can add a slow release fertilizer that’s winterizing. It’s a great way to get started, through spring shoots that are well nourished. Equipment Maintenance If you don’t have time to do everything during the fall season, you should clean and tighten your mower. You should replace or repair parts as required. Now is the best time to sharpen the blades of your mower so they will give you a clean cut. Dull ones would not cut but tear the grass and this will leave grass blades not just jagged and at risk to disease, or it may even tear the crowns from the roots, which leaves bare patches.

Call Conway Lawn Care Services if you need help in maintaining your lawn.

Conway Lawn Care Service Conway, SC 29526 843-353-2259 http://conwaylawncareservices.com/

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Lawn Care Guide on Insect Control

Planning and timing are important factors when sharing advice, but did you know that they are also important when it comes to lawn care? This is my useful tip of the month: Insects can be devastating to your lawn. In the Conway/Carolina Forest area, the main culprits tend to be chinch bugs and mole crickets. Mole crickets are a common problem in Centipede and Bermuda lawns, while chinch bugs primarily affect St. Augustine lawns. If not properly controlled, these pests will cause large areas of your lawn to die.

What are chinch bugs?

Chinch bugs suck sap from the host plant while also injecting a toxin causing the grass to turn yellow and eventually die. Damage appears much quicker on lawns that are under stress from drought or heat. St. Augustine lawns should be sampled regularly for chinch bug activity and treated with insecticide as needed. Mole crickets are a bit tougher to treat. Successful mole cricket management requires regular monitoring and patience. It is not a one-time, one-insecticide application. Control is dependent upon an annual, well-timed plan. Timing is as important as the choice of insecticide in this case. With mole crickets, the major effort of elimination should be focused toward young nymphs.

Lawn Care Tips To Control Insects

• Conway Lawn Care Service says that ideally, problem areas should be mapped in the spring when adults are present as these are the areas where most nymphs will be found later. June to early August is the best time for treatment of these pests, while the nymphs are most sensitive to treatments. There are several insecticides available to treat both cinch bugs and mole crickets; however, if treating these pests yourselves, it is essential to read the label carefully to be certain that you apply the products at the correct rate and at the correct time of year.
• There is also information available online that explains lawn care Conway techniques used to test your lawn for signs of these destructive insects. Don’t let your lawn be a victim to these pests. Just remember, timing is critical and the time to act is now.Be sure to check out for more insect control tips on books or magazines which are available at your local bookstore.
• When in doubt, always ask for professional help. In this case, seek the help of a lawn care company to be sure you get rid of the bugs safely and effectively.

So get out there and get busy, OR call Conway Lawn Care Service to schedule a time for us to take a look at your lawn and see if we can help.

Conway Lawn Care Service Conway, SC 29526 843-353-2259 http://conwaylawncareservices.com/

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Lawn Care Guide To Mowing After Rain

Most homeowners will tell you not to mow a damp grass, not only will it damage your mower it will distress your lawn. But there will be times when you have no choice than to mow a damp grass. Here are some lawn care tips you need to know.

Five Lawn Care Tips For You

1. One lawn care tip to maintain a healthy lawn, specifically in moist mowing conditions, is using a sharp blade. You need to sharpen your lawn mower blades first because dull blades create added tension to your grass Instead of cutting it, the grass is shredded.
2. If your grass contains cool-season grass, you’ll wish to increase your lawn mower deck to at least three to four inches. Most homeowners make the mistake of cutting the grass too short which triggers, even more, issues that are amplified by damp conditions. You need to remember that lawn mowers cannot cut through very short grasses when it is wet, might as well increase you mower deck a few inches higher.
3. Clean up after mowing. Wet grass cuttings hold on to the bottom of a lawn mower deck and develop a soaked layer that rapidly develops into a musty mess. If your lawn mower has a washout port, you have to use it to clean up the deck.
4. Rather than bagging or mulching, set up your lawn mower to the highest setting and place the side discharge in position to cut. Your grass will certainly have rows of cuttings that you could cut once again after they dry out for a few
5. Do not overfill your lawn mower with gas– just put in enough to use for a couple of weeks. Ethanol in the fuel can attract moisture, which could impact your mowing. Stop gas contamination by utilizing a stabilizer when loading your lawn mower and just buy more when needed.

Rain means your grass gets enough water and can grow healthy. However, you need to make sure to trim it every few days to prevent it from getting too long. Long grass becomes unsightly when wet.

Lawn care Conway can be fun and rewarding but some people really do not have the time to do so. This is why you can count on Conway Lawn Care Service to help with your lawn care needs.

Conway Lawn Care Service Conway, SC 29526 843-353-2259 http://conwaylawncareservices.com/

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Smart Spring Lawn Clean-up

Take on a little early spring lawn care now to get your lawn ready for the growth spurt to come. Shrubs can be crusty with frost on the first of the month, then, a few weeks later on, temperatures can warm up enough for flower and leaf buds to show indications of life. Still, some early spring lawn maintenance Conway tasks are sure things this time of year. So go ahead and get rid of burlap from trees and shrubs as the weather warms. Prune away winter-killed branches to make room for new growth. Cut down invested perennials and pull up old annuals if you didn't manage to get this done last fall. Then look around. "March is a great time to analyze your lawn and see if it's time to thin out crowded beds and do some transplanting to fill in bare areas," says This Old House landscape professional Roger Cook.

Here, a list to take on now to offer your lawn a clean start.

Trees and Shrubs

1. Prune away dead and broken branches.

Where tree or shrub branches have actually been harmed by cold, frost, and wind, prune back to live stems; utilize a handsaw for any bigger than 1/2 inch in diameter. Form hedges with hand pruners, instead of electric shears, prevents a thick external layer of growth that forbids sunshine and air from reaching the shrub's center. At right, we suggest pruning stubborn shoots back to an intersecting branch. Prune summer-flowering shrubs, such as Rose of Sharon, prior to buds swell, however wait to prune spring bloomers, like forsythia, up until after they flower. Trim overgrown evergreens back to a branch whose growth you wish to encourage. Perennials and Grass

1. Cut down and divide perennials as required.

Prune blooming perennials to a height of 4-- 5 inches and decorative lawns to 2-- 3 inches to allow brand-new development to shoot up. Where soil has thawed, dig up perennials, such as daylilies and hostas, to thin crowded beds; divide them, leaving a minimum of 3 stems per clump, and transplant them to fill out sporadic locations. Cut down winter-damaged increased walking sticks to 1 inch listed below the blackened area. On climbers, keep younger green canes and get rid of older woody ones; neaten them up by flexing the walking sticks horizontally and tipping the buds downward. Usage jute twine or gentle Velcro fasteners to hold the walking sticks in place. Beds and Borders

1. Clean Up Around Plants.

Also included in your list of spring lawn care company tasks are to rake out fallen leaves and dead foliage (which can smother plants and foster disease), pull up invested annuals, and toss in a wheelbarrow with other natural yard waste. Once the hazard of frost has passed, eliminate existing mulch to set the stage for a new layer when spring planting is done. Press heaved plants back into flower beds and borders, tamping them down around the base with your foot, or utilize a shovel to replant them. Now is a good time to spread a pelletized fertilizer customized to existing plantings on the soil's surface area so that spring rains can carry it to the roots. Include a 5-10-10 fertilizer around bulbs as soon as they flower to maximize bloom time and feed next season's growth. Use pins to secure drip irrigation lines that have actually come loose and a square-head shovel to give beds a tidy edge and keep turf lawn from turning into them. Composting

1. Compost Yard Waste

Dispose collected leaves, cuttings, spent foliage, and last season's mulch into your compost heap, or make a basic confine by joining areas of wire fence (available in the house centers) into a 3-by-3-by-3-foot cube like the one above. Shred leaves and chip branches bigger than 1/2 inch in diameter to accelerate decomposition, or include a bagged garden compost starter to the stack. Keep the pile as wet as a wrung-out sponge, and aerate it with a pitchfork every 2 weeks. Just do not add any early spring weeds that have actually gone to seed-- they may not prepare completely and could sprout instead.

Lawn Maintenance

1. Preparation Damaged Yard Locations for Spring Seeding

In cooler climates grass begins growing in April, but early spring is a good time to check the soil's pH so that you can assemble the best modifications. Eliminate turf harmed by salt, plows, or disease to prepare for the seeding that should follow in a couple of weeks. Work in a 1/2-inch layer of garden compost to keep the new seed moist, increasing the germination rate. Begin seeding as soon as forsythia starts flowering in your area. In warmer climates, March is a great time to include the first dosage of fertilizer and crabgrass treatment. Remove dead grass with a square metal rake, then flip it over to spread garden compost.

Spring is also a time when our schedules are busy with school activities, wedding and family outings. If time is slipping by and you can’t fit lawn maintenance into your schedule, give Conway Lawn Care Services a call. We will be happy to help you get your lawn ready for summer.

Conway Lawn Care Services Conway, SC 29526 843-353-2259 http://conwaylawncareservices.com/

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