Posts Tagged ‘lawn maintenance’

My Lawn Is Not Level

Wednesday, September 21st, 2011

Even when properly graded to start out, lawns often become bumpy, uneven and not level due to earthworms, heavy thatch areas, and weathering in general. Parkway Lawn Service uses a power rake to help level out those areas.

Thatch is an area where organic matter such as leaves, twigs, mosses and dead grass and roots have accumulated. If the layer of thatch gets too thick it cuts off the flow of air, water and nutrients that grass needs to grow. A power rake can smooth out and dethatch your lawn allowing grass to get nutrients to stay healthy.

The best time to dethatch is early spring or fall when the grass is actively growing. Power raking is also a great service to combine with seeding because it opens up the soil so new seed can get better established.

Parkway Lawn invites you to call us at 612-869-5878 for a free quote on power raking and seeding services

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Fertilizing Your Lawn

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

Fertilizing your lawn should be done 3-4 times a year. The best times to fertilize your lawn are in May around Memorial Day, the first week of July and near Labor Day.

Most homeowners have varied results when fertilizing their lawns and end up with light green spots, dark green spots or stripes in their lawn. There are several reasons for this.

The product that you get in the store is usually different than the product that your professional lawn service uses. Store fertilizers come premixed in bags and sitting on the shelves for quite a while encourages clumps of various components of the mix to stick together.

Your lawn care professional has access to fresher product that is usually mixed more thoroughly as well as having special types of spreaders that distribute the product more evenly on your lawn. Light green spots or dark green spots are from clumps of fertilizer not being properly mixed and spread on your lawn. Storing fertilizer in the shed or garage allows moisture to collect in the fertilizer mix and can cause even more clumping making the mix more difficult to spread evenly.

Parkway Lawn can apply fertilizer and weed control to your lawn so you won’t have to deal with a spreader, bags of chemicals sitting in your garage or stripes and spots in your lawn. Call Parkway about fertilizing today at 612-869-5878.

To read more about our services visit: http://www.parkwaylawn.com/lawn-care-services.html

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Watering Tips

Friday, July 8th, 2011

Watering Tips

To maintain a healthy, green lawn throughout the growing season, irrigation is sometimes necessary. The average lawn needs one inch of rain or irrigated water per week. If watering is necessary, one deep soaking is much better than several sprinkles. Watering is best done in the morning. Watering in the afternoon or evening promotes certain diseases. If a timer is used, watering can be started as early as 4:00 in the morning. This allows the water to soak into the soil, decreasing the amount of water lost to evaporation in the heat of the day.

Remember, one inch of water per week is for average lawns. If a lawn is on a slope or is in a hot, windy area, more water must be applied and applied more slowly to keep the lawn healthy and green. Lawns on sandy, well-drained soils require at least 1 1/2inches of water each week. Sandy, well-drained lawns may need to be watered twice each week in the hottest part of the summer. Just split 1 1/2 inches between the two applications.

An additional tip is to measure the amount of water you’re putting on the lawn. Take several empty tuna or cat food cans and set them in the area to be sprinkled. Leave the sprinkler on and keep track of how much time is required for the cans to contain one inch of water. This is the amount of time your sprinkler will need to run to ensure that your lawn is sufficiently watered for one week. Information provided by Bachman’s, Inc.

Easy Watering

It may not seem like a big deal, but using a simple device such as an automatic shut-off watering timer can make the watering process a whole lot easier. The timer attaches to your faucet on the outside of your house; your garden hose attaches to the timer. When you’re ready to water, simply place your sprinkler out in your yard, turn the water on, and adjust the timer to the desired amount of time you want to water. Then just walk away; the water will shut off by itself. Parkway Lawn Service has some of these timers available now. Give our office a call if you’d like to purchase one for a nominal fee.

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Lawn Mushrooms

Wednesday, June 29th, 2011

Lawn Mushrooms


Photo 1: Newly emerging lawn mushrooms. Bob Mugaas

Bob Mugaas, University of Minnesota Extension Educator

With some areas of the state receiving moderate to heavy amounts of rainfall over the past couple of weeks, mushrooms are beginning to randomly appear in lawns. Their appearance often causes people to be concerned about the health of their lawn and whether or not a serious disease might be getting started.

It’s important to remember that mushrooms are the ‘fruiting bodies’ of fungi living in the soil and thatch. They are responsible for the production of microscopic spores that in turn help propagate the fungus. The vast majority of those fungi are not associated with any lawn disease causing organisms. It’s quite common for them to appear during periods of moist conditions resulting from either natural rainfall or excessive irrigation. Again, they are not necessarily indicative of any particular lawn problem. The fungi are living on decaying organic matter in the soil and/or thatch layers. This breakdown of organic matter results in at least some of the nutrients contained in that organic matter being released back to the soil. At that point the nutrients are available for continued plant growth or used by other microorganisms. If you find the mushrooms offensive, simply knock them over with a rake and remove them from the area.

Photo 2: Typical lawn ‘fairy ring’ symptom. Bob Mugaas

The one exception to the above situation is a lawn problem known as fairy ring. Symptoms in the lawns appear as dark green arcs and/or circles; often darker than the surrounding grass on either side of the ring or arc. There are a number of different fungal organisms associated with the production of these arcs or circles. If you suspect this problem is in your lawn please view this link on fairy rings which is part of the diagnostics feature on the University of Minnesota.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/projects/yardandgarden/ygbriefs/p316fairyrings.html

You might also want to visit the  University Of Minnesota Extension on Gardening for all sorts of great information on gardening and more; http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/

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Time for sod?

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

Sodding

If you still have areas of your lawn that are in rough shape from the damage of last winter, we can restore those areas. We know what it takes to water and maintain new turf grass sod. Parkway Lawn Service specializes in small to medium size sod jobs. In a short time, we can help transition those dead grass areas into a healthy new lawn.

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What is Grasscycling?

Wednesday, June 1st, 2011

What is grasscycling?

The term “grasscycling” is the blend of two words that, since at least 1990, has described the practice of leaving clippings on the lawn when mowing. Grass clippings will quickly decompose, returning valuable nutrients to the soil.

Grasscycling saves time and money, and it protects the environment. Mowing time is reduced because the bagging and disposal of clippings is eliminated. Grass clippings add beneficial organic matter to the soil, which provides free fertilizer and produces healthy, green lawns.

Grasscycling reduces water and fertilizer requirements, minimizing toxic runoff entering storm drains that can pollute lakes, creeks, and rivers. Grasscycling also reduces the amount of yard waste deposited in landfills. Research has shown that lawns can generate approximately 300 pounds of grass clippings per 1,000 square feet annually. This can be as much as 6 1/2 tons per acre each year! Grass clippings are too valuable to throw away, and grasscycling allows this green material to be reused in our urban landscapes.

Source:  http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/Organics/Grasscycling/

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Snow Molds Will be Abundant This Spring

Thursday, April 7th, 2011

When the snow finally melts in your yard, there is a very good chance you will notice some rather unsightly fungus emerging. Grey Snow Mold and Pink Snow Mold are the common names for this growth.

The reason these fungi are so prevalent this spring is that ideal fungus conditions were set up last November.  Our first measurable snow left us with about 4 inches of heavy wet snow on top of unfrozen ground – this creates a textbook condition for turf mold diseases to incubate.

So now what?  The good news is there’s not much to worry about.  These turf diseases – especially Grey Snow Mold, rarely cause serious turf damage.  Simply let the ground dry out and rake the grass.

As the ground temperatures rise to above 45°any further growth activity with Grey Snow Mold will stop, Pink Snow Mold may continue growing until ground temperatures reach 60°or the grass dries out.

Keeping your lawn raked up and cleaned of leaves in the fall, and keeping the grass cut short can help minimize these conditions in the future.

Snow mold on putting greens

Snow mold on home lawn

Wide angle view of Gray Snow Mold

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HOW DO I GET RID OF BUMPS AND THE UNEVENESS IN MY LAWN?

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010

By Bob Kroth,  Certified Turfgrass Professional

This is one of the most common questions I’ve been asked during the   (29) + years in the lawn care business.

Many people have called and asked my opinion on the use of a sod roller, aerator or a detaching machine to rid their lawns of the bumps that seem to be nuisance.

The truth about most yards is that they ARE bumpy and uneven.  It is a common trait of nature with respect to tree roots, worms or other inconsistent qualities of soil under the turf.

To start, a normal lawn sod roller would not be heavy enough to flatten out any bumps in your yard.  You would probably need to thoroughly saturate the lawn with water before attempting to roll it flat with any kind of heavy duty roller. One thing you don’t want is compacted soil.  It inhibits the roots of the grass plants.

Using an aerator has benefits and may loosen the soil, but it won’t do anything to get rid of the bumps or unevenness you might have.

The last idea is using a power rake or detaching machine – this probably stands the best chance of making a dent against very light bumps you might have in your turf.  Still, I have doubts that this would make a significant difference in the appearance or leveling of your yard.

The only sure way to get rid of bumps or un-evenness in your lawn is to first, cut out the existing turf, second, re-grade the yard, and lastly either sod or seed your lawn.

If Parkway Lawn Service can help you address issues you may have with regard to leveling the bumps in your yard – we are ready to help.

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