March 24, 2010
We have started lawn renovations, core areations,lime treatments and lawn clean-ups.

This spring has come early and what many are seeing on the lawn this spring is Mole and/or Vole damage plus snow mold.

Both issues are the worst we have seen since 1986 when the company started.

We have been told by the university that the snow mold has never caused lasting damage before. 
However, this needs to be monitored as this is at such an extremely high level.

Precautions you can take is to spray these areas with Ivory dish washing soap.  Use one pint to 2 gallons water 
in a hand sprayer and wet down the areas that are of concern.  It will not hurt your lawn if you over apply.  

This soap has the ability to move between the grass blade and the mold just as it gets between your plate and food.  

This solution also works for moles and voles as it makes everything they eat wet with soap and it will not taste 
good as we all understand soap in our mouth is never pleasant.

THIN LAWNS
Another issue we are observing is that many lawns are not in the condition they should be.  If you see bare areas 
between your grass clumps this is areas weeds will grow in.

We apply lime to raise the pH of the soil so the lawns roots will expand into these areas with greater ease 
and begin to thicken in.  

If you are going to do this yourself purchase calcium carbonate as it works faster than dolomite and apply at 
25 lbs per 1,000 sq ft in areas that is in relatively good areas and 50 lbs in the most distressed areas.

We are starting these applications this week and can be out in short order.

Over seeding has also begun and this early spring has provided an opportunity to get your lawn started with 
new growth faster than a 'normal' year.  Once seeding has occurred start watering in early April and as the temperatures
increase the seed will most likely be visible around the last week of April or early May.

Core Aeration has also begun for those lawns that are not too wet.  Our service staff will inspect before beginning 
and make sure your lawn is ready or we will check back in a week or so to make sure this service will provide you 
with the maximum benefit it is designed to do.

Benefits of Core Aeration are that it creates holes in your lawn where the soil around it will start to push into 
the hole to fill it.  Once that begins small fractures in the soil around it will allow the lawns roots to push down
into the soil within those fractures with much less effort.  

The lawn will now have to expend less energy towards survival and more towards development of a thicker, greener 
and more stable lawn when the summer heat begins to bare down on it.  The deeper and more expansive root 
system will allow access to more nutrients and moisture.

Feel free to call the office at 651-646-2900 to explain what you are seeing and the best ways to 
address your lawn unique issues.

If you can take photographs once you speak to someone they will give you their email so 
we can review and provide solutions.

Lawn Clean-ups These services have begun this week and we still have room for about 100 more. This is a first 
come, first serve basis. Currently we are about 1 week out but we can make adjustments to get some completed sooner.
Call the office as soon as possible to get a quote and an estimated time for your lawn to be completed.
 
You can also get us your information by clicking on the upper right hand corner of this page where it says contact us.