Lawn Care Huntersville NC is a fast-growing industry with low barriers to entry. This means that new businesses can enter the market and quickly grow their clientele.
Watering lawns correctly is key to a healthy, lush appearance. Observing the wilt of grass blades is one way to check for adequate moisture, though soil tests are often recommended.
Adequate water is essential to your lawn’s health. Overwatering your yard can lead to fungal disease, while underwatering can deprive the grass of the nutrients it needs to thrive.
To avoid these issues, water must be used deeply infrequently to allow the roots to penetrate the soil. When you water, do so briefly and spread the area evenly to avoid puddles that will wash away the nutrients rather than soak them into the soil. Watering your lawn in the morning is best as it will help to wash away any fungal spores that may have formed during the night and give the grass plenty of time to dry throughout the day.
Newly seeded lawns require frequent moisture to germinate and develop a strong root system. This typically means watering 3 times daily, for short periods each time. After a few weeks, watering can be throttled back to twice daily as is typical of established lawns.
Watering in the evening isn’t a good idea because the excess water can wash away the fertilizer that has just been applied, leaving the soil with less nitrogen. It also can create a moist environment where fungi and other disease organisms thrive, as well as promote the growth of weeds.
It is important to monitor your lawn for signs of needing more or less water as the weather and seasons change. For example, if your lawn starts to take on a grayish tint and footprints leave behind a deeper mark, this is an indication that the grass is thirsty. Regardless of the season, a properly cared-for lawn will survive dry conditions for a few weeks by going dormant and then recovering once rain returns.
Mowing
A healthy, lush lawn is a beautiful addition to your home landscape and enhances curb appeal. Moreover, it helps reduce erosion and provides habitat for wildlife while absorbing sound waves and insulating your house from street noises. It also produces oxygen, improves air quality, and increases property values. When choosing a lawn care company, look for one with years of experience. They have significant insight into the climate, soil conditions, local pests, and common lawn problems and can plan important treatments throughout the year. Some core services include mowing, fertilization, weed control, and aeration.
Mowing is a fundamental aspect of lawn maintenance that should occur weekly or more during the grass’s peak growing season. Lawn care professionals have the right tools and training to efficiently and quickly mow your lawn, plus weed whack on edges and clean up trimmings for a neat appearance.
A quality mowing company will provide edging and trimming services, which prevent grass from encroaching on sidewalks and driveways, and enhance curb appeal. They will also weed control, and aerate the lawn to relieve soil compaction and allow water and nutrients to penetrate roots more effectively. Some companies even offer plant bed maintenance, which promotes healthy plants and flowers. Finally, a good lawn care company will monitor and treat for pests and diseases using integrated pest management strategies instead of excessive use of pesticides.
Fertilizing
Fertilizing replenishes the soil’s nutrient content that gets depleted through rainfall, grass growth, and natural decomposition. It helps promote lush, green lawns and increases their resilience to disease, drought, and pest infestation. A healthy lawn is a beautiful addition to any home, provides recreational space for families, and increases property value. It also provides a habitat for beneficial insects and contributes to healthier air quality by producing oxygen, trapping dust and other particles, and absorbing sound.
Proper fertilization can lead to thicker, healthier lawns that are more resistant to weeds and drought, less susceptible to insect infestation and diseases, and better able to withstand foot traffic. It also reduces the amount of water needed for mowing, and it helps improve the color of the grass.
There are many different types of fertilizer to choose from, including organic and inorganic options. Organic fertilizers are made from plant or animal matter and release nutrients slowly, promoting soil health over time and making them eco-friendly. Inorganic fertilizers, on the other hand, provide nutrients quickly and can harm the environment if they are overused.
The type of fertilizer you use should be based on the type of grass in your yard and the soil conditions. Cool-season grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, fine fescue and tall fescue should be fertilized in late spring and early fall while warm-season grasses like St. Augustine, centipede, and bahia should be fertilized in mid- to late spring and again in late summer.
Over-fertilizing is a common lawn care mistake that can damage or kill your grass. It’s important to work with a professional who understands your specific nutrient needs and applies the correct dosage at the right time.
Weed Control
Weeds can steal nutrients, water and sunlight from grass and other plants and flowers in the yard. Keeping them at bay is one of the most important aspects of lawn care. When weeds grow out of control, they can deprive the grass in your yard of these essentials, making them unhealthy and weaker against pests and diseases. Weeds can also spread their seeds through stolons and rhizomes, which further threaten the health of your grass and other plants in the yard.
Wedget and feed products include herbicides and fertilizers in a single product, eliminating the need to mix and measure separate ingredients. These products are formulated to target specific season-specific weeds and soil conditions, such as pre-emergent weeds like crabgrass in early spring or post-emergent weeds like dandelions in late spring or early summer. Professionals use a wide variety of weed control options and are trained to know which type of herbicide will work best for your yard.
Homeowners can choose to apply weed and feed products themselves, but they face a number of obstacles, including choosing the right herbicide for the right weed at the right time, calculating the exact amount needed to cover the lawn’s square footage and the risk of mixing errors or miscalculations. Professionals are experienced with using a variety of herbicides, including both selective and non-selective formulas, and have access to high-concentration products that are typically not available to homeowners.
Long-term use of weed and feed encourages herbicide dependency, as the lawn becomes reliant on potent chemicals to keep weeds at bay. It also disrupts microbial balances in the soil and harms beneficial insects and other landscape plants. A better option is to perform a soil test annually to determine your yard’s nutrient needs accurately and amend the soil with organic material to improve soil health and promote healthy, thick grass that is less likely to succumb to weeds.
Aeration
Aeration is a vital lawn care practice that promotes deep and healthy grass roots. It involves perforating the soil with small holes to alleviate soil compaction. Compacted soils have too many solid particles in a limited volume, preventing proper circulation of air, water and nutrients. Heavy foot traffic, mowing patterns, lawn thatch and other environmental factors contribute to the soil becoming compacted.
Thatch, the layer of organic dead and living grass stems and shoots between the ground and the green vegetation, can also prevent optimal root growth. Grass that has too much thatch can starve roots from the essential nutrients that they need. Aerating the lawn breaks up thatch and allows for a more even distribution of roots across the yard.
During the aeration process, we guide an aerator machine over your lawn in a crisscross pattern. This breaks up the soil and creates small plugs that are then collected by the aerator machine.
The aeration process allows for more effective fertilizer penetration into the soil and can help reduce weed growth. The improved nutrient availability to the grass roots helps strengthen and fortify the roots against drought, disease and other stressors. Enhanced root growth also contributes to thicker grass and naturally competes with weeds, making them less likely to germinate.
Immediately after core aeration, you should water your lawn frequently, allowing the soil to become saturated in order to ensure that it can recover and thrive. You should also overseed the lawn, ideally with a high quality grass seed and compost mixture. The infusion of new seeds will quickly give the lawn a vibrant and robust boost that will carry you through the rest of the summer.