Tips Section

There are three factors to a healthy lawn:

• Nature - providing the right soil and temperature etc.
  
  
• Home Owner - making sure the lawn is properly watered and mowed.
  
  
• Lawncare company - providing proper identification of problems and correct treatment to situations in a timely manner. This includes proper feedings.

One thing is for sure: We can't do anything about mother nature. We also know that a real lawncare operator is a specialist, schooled and licensed with the State to do their job right.

Lastly, home owners with their busy schedules can use a few pointers sometimes to make their job easier and help them get the best bang for their lawn care buck.

MOWING

The single most important thing that happens to a lawn is proper mowing. Most experts agree that northern grasses should be cut between 2.5 and 3 inches. The majority of people cut way too short, resulting in the following problems:

1. Stressing grass tops out so they can't get food.
2. Shorter grass lets more sun get to the soil resulting in moisture evaporation and cooking grass plant's roots.
3. The shorter the grass plant leaf top, the shorter the roots to sustain its top growth. Short roots will not hold much water in summer when it's hot. Also, short roots will not hold very many carbohydrates for the grass plant in winter causing unwanted stress to the plant.
4. The shorter the grass, the more room for weeds to choke the top of the grass out.
5. Short grass allows weeds to reach the soil more easily giving them a better chance to germinate.
6. the shorter the grass the faster it grows to try to maintain some height. This causes it to get mowed more often.
7. Short lawns expose all the bumps and dips in the lawn while longer grass hides flaws in the surface.
8. Short grass has a light green color while taller grass is darker and more pleasant in color consistency.

Frequently Asked Questions:

To bag or not to bag grass clippings.
Some people can't tolerate grass clippings. I feel that both the grass baggers and the lawns are losing out on this deal. Here's why:

1. Clippings are a source of free nitrogen when they break down. In about six weeks they return nitrogen back to the soil, which helps keep your lawn very green.
2. Free organic matter is returned to the soil in the form of grass clippings, which in turn will help amend the soil. Since it's mostly made of clay, it needs all the help it can get!
3. Grassrecycling on your own lawn saves you labor and time in addition to just being good for the environment.

Is it OK to mow wet grass?
No. Do not unless you absolutely have to. It can help tear the top of the grass giving it undue stress very much like cutting the grass leaf with a dull blade. This leaves it more open for insect and disease damage.

Make sure your last mowing of the season is as short as possible without scalping the lawn. This is to keep mice from chewing and tunneling and to let air circulate through the leaf blades so snow mold doesn't chew it up too badly.

Click here for some more tips on maintaining your lawn.