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Lawn Care Tips
If you want a great lawn but don't have the time to keep up with the work, then
hiring a lawn care contractor might be the way to go. Since having a well cared
for and manicured lawn can really enhance the value of your home by increasing it's
curb appeal, there is more to consider than
just hiring the neighbor's son to mow the lawn once a week. Here are a few
tips and things to keep in mind when hiring a lawn care contractor:
- Having the lawn mowed is a common request. Be sure to discuss how short and
how often the grass is going to be cut. If the blade settings are too low, or the
lawn is mowed too frequently, it will lose the plush green color and dry out.
- Usually during the spring and summer months, having the lawn mowed once a
week will be sufficient.
- Discuss with the lawn care contractor the best options for fertilizers
based on where you live and the climate.
- It may be cheaper with any fertilizers, pest removers and crab grass
spreads to buy the materials yourself.
- Keep in mind how the lawn is shaded when planting any new grass or plants.
- Discuss irrigation and sprinkler system options.
- Keep in mind environmental friendly products when hiring a contractor as
well.
Contractors that do this may also provide the following services:
- Sprinkler Systems
- Landscaping
- Handyman
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Lawn Tips
By Jonathon Hardcastle
You should probably have some personal experience with the fact that a beautiful lawn does not come without some effort. The quality of your lawn depends on a variety of factors, like the amount of effort you put in, the type of soil you have, te type of lawn seed you buy, the fertilization process you use, the techniques you usually perform while digging and chopping, etc. But as most lawn grasses grow vigorously, they need additional amounts of nutrients added in order to stay looking nice and owners that take good care of their particular seasonal needs. Weed control through the use of herbicides and the use of fertilizers and not enough. Proper watering, for instance, is considered crucial; especially during the summer.
The mowed lawn aesthetic originated in the late 18th century from aristocratic France and England. Landscape architect Andre LeNotre designed small lawn areas for the palace of Versailles. This aesthetic was rapidly adopted by the rich of England, because turf grass grew easily in the English climate of moderate temperatures and frequent rain. The U.S. colonists also adopted the lawn aesthetic in an attempt to transform the wilderness of the new country into the sophistication of the old world. The middle class did not copy the wealthy look until after the civil war, with the stimulus of the new landscape architects leading the way. Soon, in the early 20th century we were being bombarded by advertising to have that "look" and in many cases shamed into submission by what the Joneses had next door.
If you happen to be installing a new lawn, make sure you spray all the weeds and thick bladed grasses before you start. Once you have the lawn installed, you sure don't want to go through all the trouble of killing areas of your lawn and reseeding. If you make sure that all of these undesirables have been killed before you start, you'll be way ahead of the game. Of course, when selecting grass seed, you should always use a blend that is recommended for your area.
But if you are planning on reseeding your lawn yourself, you can probably remember one of the most popular Hollywood movies of the 90s titled, "Honey I shrunk the Kids." If you can recall the part where the kids are walking through the lawn and the blades of grass are huge compared to them, this is what it is like to be a grass seed under a mulch of straw. Those little tiny grass seeds are lost under the straw, and that's exactly what you want to protect them from the intense rays of the sun. As the sun works its way across the sky the grass seeds actually receive filtered sunlight. Your lawn should receive enough sun to warm the seeds so they grow, but also enough shade to protect the tender young grass plants. As the grass plants grow, they also raise the mulch with them to a degree, providing additional shade for the seeds that haven't germinated yet. The shade that straw mulch provides also helps to retain the moisture around the seeds. Grass seeds will never get this kind of protection from hydro mulch.
One of the most important markets in the gardening or landscaping industry today, is that of lawn maintenance. According to Wildones Natural Landscapers, Ltd this industry uses 67 million pounds of synthetic pesticides only in the US for lawns, 580 millions gallons of gasoline are used in lawnmowers, $25 billions is spent for the lawn care industry alone, 700 millions is spent for pesticides on US lawns and more than 20 million acres are planned in residential lawns every year.
Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles on many topics including Gardening, Real Estate, and Arts
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jonathon_Hardcastle
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Lawn Care Tips
By Andrew Caxton
How to get a perfect lawn is what most homeowners want to know. A good grass is not easily won. There are many determinants that influence into a healthy soil. It is not only to thoroughly care for the lawn, by mowing, trimming and irrigating, but you have to feed it too. Feeding the soil is more important than you may think. However, you have to start from choosing the soil that more suits with your yard. A typical mistake of many beginners is to have a non-ideal soil, which will carry important troubles afterwards.
Understanding the basics of lawn growing, which are basically water and nutrients is not enough. It depends on more than these factors. What you should do first, is to make a study to evaluate your ground situation, and then select the proper soil. In order to allow watering and fertilizing the lawn as it should be, your must choose a soil equipped to capture fertilizers and water adequately. Keep clear in mind that the ground is the lifeline of your lawn, it is impossible to keep a healthy lawn with an unhealthy soil.
Soil Conditioners And Amendments
Amendments and soil conditioners are products to apply to the ground for better watering and fertilizing. If added adequately and regularly, they will improve the quality of the soil. Ground amendments are used exclusively for clay and sandy soil. To break up the clay is the principal advantage of using ground amendments, when featuring clay grounds.Sandy soils can not retain nutrients and water very well. Thus they need an amendments to help with drainage related things. Back again to clay soils and thinking on more solutions. Roots might have a hard time to expand properly with clay grounds, looking for and digging in for nutrients underground. A practical solution may be to mix some wood chips, bark or peat into the yard soil. This will allow better water and air circulation, just by breaking it up.
Herbicides To Fight Weeds And Get Healthy Grass
Once the lawn has been planted, installed and mowed at least four times, then you are ready to start applying herbicides. First of all apply a pre-emergent herbicide to treat weed seeds. Pre-emergent will prevent wider weed infestations. This type of solution needs a very short grass to reach the seeds easier. However, pre-herbicides will not save your lawn from seeds. You need then to apply post-herbicides to keep them out of the grass.
No matter what kind of grass features your yard, the lawn care season lasts the whole year. However, since there are many different kinds of grass, there are also a different growing season for every single type. That�s why you must start fertilizing your lawn at the beginning of every growing season. Remember the date of the first fertilizing, and repeat at the same date for the next years coming.
Lawn care fertilizers come in many different types. Working with fertilizers may be extremely dangerous due to their chemical components. Therefore, they must be treated carefully. Your lawn might get even burned if not applied adequately, so read the instructions manual before start working. Chemical fertilizers can simply be replaced by organic fertilizers for safety reasons. Organics are currently, the most suitable alternative for any kind of grass. Further readings on lawn care at http://www.lawn-mowers-and-garden-tractors.com.
A. Caxton contributes adding reviews and special articles regularly to http://www.lawn-mowers-and-garden-tractors.com. A gardening website that carries interesting readings on lawn tractors, lawn care and synthetic turf.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Caxton