Lawn Care Company Cons:
Cost : The downside that probably comes to your mind in hiring a lawn care service is the upfront cost. It may seem expensive at the onset to pay a professional. But the fact of the matter is that a do it yourself lawn care program can actually bemore expensive if you wind up making costly mistakes and have to pay to fix them.
By using a professional who practices proactive lawn care, they can prevent problems in the first place. The cost of lawn care may only be slightly more than what youd expect, and well worth the value it provides beyond dollars and cents.
Making a Bad Choice: Of course, hiring the wrong lawn care professional can also be a con. You simply arent going to get the professional benefits discussed if you choose a company that doesnt practice proactive lawn care.
Some companies out there only address problems as they arise, playing an endless game of whack-a-mole and never really making any true progress toward the health of your lawn. However, a company that focuses on improving soil health, knows its what lies underground that is most important to a thriving lawn.
Lawn Care Company Pros:
Better Results: By hiring a lawn care professional, youll get better results and perhaps even a guarantee on the work, depending on the company you choose. Thats a guarantee that doesnt come on a bag or bottle youd buy at your local hardware or home improvement store.
Convenience: Plus, you wont have to do it on your own. Although this may have initially been your goal, more often than not, what seemed like an easy and perhaps even fun endeavor at the start often turns into a chore when one realizes just how much time, skill, and work is actually involved.
Solutions for Tricky Issues: A professional lawn care service will also have trained technicians who know exactly how to diagnose and solve problems, which can also save you a lot of time and money in the long run. Its very common for DIYers to misdiagnose issues and waste money not only on products but have damage continue without remedy.
Increased Safety: Professional lawn care companies often work with cutting edge materials for several years until the manufacturers release them to the public. These products can not only work more effectively, but are also, in some circumstances, safer than some products homeowners have access to.
These professionals are trained and monitored to make sure that they are using approved practices that protect the environment, people and pets.
How To Have A Healthy Lawn
Like many Canadians, you probably take pride in having an attractive lawn. Find out how to care for your lawn as easily as possible, while reducing the need for pesticides!
Many people use lawn care products like herbicides and insecticides to maintain their lawns. But “cosmetic” pesticide use is now restricted and even banned in many communities across Canada.
There are ways to have a healthy lawn without using pesticides. And when you do have to use pesticides, there are ways to use them safely.
Recommended Reading: How To Get Rid Of Lawn Weeds Organically
Check For And Identify Problems
Check your lawn regularly, so that you can find pests and other problems early. Make sure to identify lawn problems correctly, then decide whether action is needed.
- Plant damage may not be caused by pests. Plants can be injured by poor growing conditions, poor maintenance, road salt, or dog urine.
- A few weeds or insect pests in healthy lawns is usually not cause for concern.
- Knowing about the pest and its life cycle will help you decide if and when to take action, and how to prevent further problems. See Pest control tips for more information about controlling specific pests.
Easy Lawn Maintenance Schedule
You want the lush lawn, the vibrant spread of green, the clean edges and the velvety cushion of healthy grass beneath your feet. You also want your weekends long days that include a hammock and a cold drink, not a rake and a weed-whacker. But one question haunts you: Is it possible to have both?
The answer is yes. All you have to do is divide and conquer lawn work, doing a little bit each weekday.
Here are the six essential lawn maintenance tasks:
Each task has a time estimate and an effort rating on a scale of 1 to 4 . Then you can use one of the strategies explained below to create a routine that allows you to enjoy both your weekends and your beautiful yard.
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Reclaiming Your Turf With Diy
Doing your own lawn care can be a simple, satisfying achievement. You get to experience and influence your lawn’s progress from start to finish and still enjoy free time. Doing it yourself also has pros and cons to consider.
Advantages to DIY lawn care:
- Cost savings. Go ahead and pay yourself. Labor costs drop when you go DIY.
- Optimal timing. From quick weekend fixes to month-to-month lawn care, you can schedule DIY lawn care for the best possible time for your lawn.
Benefits And Disadvantages Of Lawn Care Services Vs Diy
A thick, healthy lawn can make outdoor time spent with family and friends even more enjoyable, but a well-maintained lawn has other benefits as well. As part of an attractive landscape, a beautiful lawn contributes to an increase of up to 17 percent in perceived property value.1 A healthy lawn also delivers environmental benefits, from oxygen production to improved water quality.
The question isn’t whether you want a thick, healthy lawn it’s which path you’ll take to achieve that goal. When it comes to investing time and resources, two choices top the list: hiring a lawn care service to do the work or reclaiming your turf and doing it yourself. Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of both can help you decide which one’s for you.
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Not Fertilizing Your Lawn
As grass grows, it uses up nutrients in the soil. When you mow and bag up clippings, over time all the soil nutrients will get used up so you’ll need to add fertilizer. If you let clippings decompose back into the soil instead, that will help a little, but you may still need to replenish available nutrients once in a while. A soil test every year will show you how much you may need to add. When you feed your lawn is important, too.
The right time: North: Feed in fall and spring. South: Feed in spring and summer.
Why timing matters:Grass needs to be fed when it’s actively growing. For cool-season grasses this primarily means spring and fall. For warm-season grasses such as zoysia, bermuda, and St. Augustine, late spring and summer are the prime growing times.
In addition, cool-season grasses benefit from feeding in late fall , when growth has slowed but the grass is still green. The result is earlier greening and better appearance the next spring. Experts agree that this may be the most beneficial time to feed a cool-season lawn.
Warm-season lawns should not be fed in fall unless they’ve been overseeded with winter ryegrass. Also, avoid fertilizing any dormant grass, either in winter or summer the application will be wasted.
What Are The Requirements To Sign Up For Sunday Lawn Care
Potentially our favorite thing about Sunday is that you can have zoysia, St. Augustine, bluegrass, Bermuda, or even fescue grass, and Sunday Lawn care can help. There are no requirements to sign up, aside from sending in a soil sample and getting your curated solutions and plans.
The customer support team at Sunday provides plenty of lawn care tips and information to help you achieve and maintain a green lawn. Although you will be handling the work on your own, you will have the confidence of a knowledgeable professional supporting you the entire way.
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A Simple Lawn Maintenance Schedule
We arent always looking for complicated encyclopedia-type guides, occasionally we just want simple lawn care tips and tricks to keep our yard looking as good as possible all year round.
We have taken advice from the experts and whittled it down to a simple lawn care plan that is easy to follow and doesnt cost the world.
It should be noted that this plan is written around a northern cool season lawn. Although it can be applied to any zone, you may have to adjust the timings a little.
In order to keep this guide as simple as possible, we have not gone into detail on what each step is and how to complete it. Where it will help, I will provide a link to a helpful resource in case you need to research each step further.
Apart from the mowing height, we do not mention mowing in this guide. You should mow your lawns as per best practices the main rule is dont mow too short!
Organic Lawn Care
4. Apply Fertilizer and Grub Control
If you used the soil test kit listed above then you will likely have an idea of the fertilizer you need. But I would highly recommend talking to your local garden center and ask them to help you choose a fertilizer that is right for your grass type and soil test results.
In early to mid-May, apply this fertilizer to your lawn.
If you have had grub problems in the past, then this is also the time to apply a grub preventer.
You will need
6. Mid Summer Fertilizer Application
You may need
7. Late Summer Aeration
Winter Lawn Care Maintenance Schedule
Theres not much to do during the winter months. The ground is most likely frozen and your lawn hibernating under a heavy blanket of insulating snow. But you can get ready for that day when the last snow disappears and your lawn begins to green up.
- Get your mower ready for another year of hard work. A tune-up now to beat the spring rush will guarantee your gas-powered lawnmower will start on the first pull.
- Get the lawnmower blade sharpened. It took a beating last season and a sharp blade will help keep your lawn looking good and healthy.
- Make sure the rest of your lawn equipment, such as trimmers, edgers and leaf blowers, is ready to go. Check those rechargeable batteries, change spark plugs and replace gas and oil filters as necessary.
- Do some reading. There are many great resources on taking a more environmentally sustainable approach to lawn care. Check out your local lawn and garden extension service as a starter. Theyll share accurate, non-biased information specific to your area. Some communities and local colleges may offer lawn care classes during the winter.
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Diy Organic Lawn Care
Timing is key in organic lawn care. Below weve put together a schedule of what you need to do in each month. Weve also listed some common lawn care problems, such as bare patches or brown spots in your lawn, and how to naturally fix these problems using DIY solutions!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.
How Does Sunday Lawn Care Work
Once Sunday has the data they need about your property, they can start sending you the products you need to care for your lawn properly. Cool-season grasses and warm-season grasses have different times of the year that they will need attention. Sunday can help with the timing of your application as well.
One of the great things about Sunday is that once your plan is in place and working, you will get your product delivered on time and ready to distribute to your lawn. Most homeowners will receive a package in the early spring that gives them everything necessary to green up the lawn after the winter season.
You will give your property size to Sunday so that they can give you just the right amount of product for your lawn.
Also Check: What Fertilizer To Put On Lawn In Spring
The Best Time To Fertilize Texas Grass
Lawn care is a year-round necessity in Texas if you want a healthy lawn because our grass is always growing. Sure, it slows down in winter, though grass still needs nutrients to stay healthy. We fertilize Denton and Collin county, TX lawns four times from April to October to provide consistent turf nutrition.
Fertilizer must be watered in, so if theres no rain in the forecast after it is applied, plan on running your sprinkler system for the recommended time based on your sprinkler heads .
As we said, give the mower a rest for at least 24 hours after a fertilizer application so the product can absorb into the soil.
Perfect Lawn Maintenance Timing: When To Fertilize Water Spray Weeds And More In Texas
Theres a lot involved in Texas lawn maintenance, and timing is everything.
When is the best time to apply fertilizerand what time of day should you water your lawn to get the best results? From controlling weeds to seeding a lawn, when you perform these essential lawn care and landscape tasks is the difference between success, and possibly hurting your lawn.
We know many folks who decide to care for their own lawns, and theres nothing wrong with thatexcept when they overlook timing and end up not getting the results they expect. Basically, you can do all the right things for your lawn at the wrong time and end up wasting your weekend and your money.
So, lets dig into this timing issue.
Here, well give you insight on the best time in North Texas to fertilize, water, spray weeds, prevent insects, service your irrigation system, seed a lawn and more. Youll see, theres a reason for this North Texas lawn care scheduleand with this knowledge, you can do all the landscape maintenance yourself, or hire a pro to handle the landscape maintenance needs youre not comfortable handling on your own.
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When To Schedule Lawn Maintenance
It is important to schedule your lawn care maintenance during times that match the life cycle of the turfgrass.
- Do not add fertilizer too early in the spring. This may encourage the grass to grow during a time when it should be slow or dormant.
- Do not spray to control weeds when temperatures are warm. This increases the likelihood of damaging the lawn.
- Do not fertilize in hot mid-summer months. This can cause irreversible damage to your lawn.
- Crabgrass doesn’t develop until late spring or early summer, so don’t apply herbicide used to prevent pre-emerging crabgrass in the fall.
See Water-saving strategies for home lawns for information on how and when to water.
Diy Home Pest Control Lawn Care Gardening And Animal Care Products And Supplies
We all have problems and are in need of solutions that work. DoMyOwn has been helping people control pest infestations in homes and properties, businesses, lawns, and gardens for years. We know this industry and have the best pest control products and supplies to enable people to get rid of pests, insects, weeds, and lawn diseases on their own, without having to pay a pest control company or lawn care company for their costly treatments and services.
We are continually adding new products and information to help you stay on top of the most recent developments in DIY pest management. Do it yourself pest control products are becoming more common as people are becoming more educated on the subject. Whether youre in need of termite control, ant control, bed bug control, crawling insect control, or want to get rid of all those carpenter bees, we have all the professional grade pest products and pesticides you’ll need to get results and protect your home from nearly every kind of bug, rodent, or animal. We can help you capture and aid in relocation of trapped critters and rodents. Even with the recent uptick in stink bug infestations across the eastern United States, DoMyOwn is leading the industry with exclusive stink bug control products and a professional stink bug trap.
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Aerating Your Lawn At The Wrong Time
You do aerate, right? Over time, soil gets compacted by being walked on, and thatch builds up. Aerating helps loosen the soil again and allow water to more easily reach grass roots.
The right time: Aerate when soil is moist and grass is actively growing.
Why timing matters: A common mistake is aerating when soil is dry and hard, and aerators are unable to penetrate the soil deeply. Water your lawn before aerating, or wait for a good rain. Ideal conditions for aerating occur more often in spring and fall , but summer also is acceptable for well-watered lawns.
Not Mowing Frequently Enough
Mowing may seem like a no-brainer, but how you do it has a significant effect on the health and appearance of your lawn.
The right time: Mow as needed, so that cut off no more than a third of the height of your grass at a time. For example, if you set your mower at 2 inches, don’t let the grass get taller than 3 inches before mowing.
Why timing matters: Many homeowners ritually mow on weekends, effectively putting their lawns on a seven-day mowing schedule. Most of the year, weekly mowing may be fine. But in spring, when growth is vigorous, mowing may be necessary every four or five days. Longer intervals allow the grass to become too tall between cutting, stressing the lawn and making it less attractive. Keeping a well-mowed lawn is also an easy way to discourage fleas and ticks, because both pests prefer to hide out in long grass.
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