South Eastern Connecticut Landscaping

Lawn care requires a reasonably high amount of attention. While not the single most labor- or time-intensive aspect of the landscapes around our homes, lawn care does require some attention to detail. Regimes concerning lawn mowing, fertilizing and watering face us all with the necessity to try and wrestle with something usually enjoyable, yet often challenging, time wise. I know that from the perspective of one who installs entire lawn and garden systems, from grass to irrigation, seeing my product taken good care of means I will have a sense of pride and design ownership for long years

Generally, I install places and then leave. I acquaint clients with the systems of course and generally leave a sheet with instructions and tips. I also recommend certain lawn care professionals. For me, I generally recommend Tru Green – who have provided great services for me over a long period of years. I realize the actual amount of time couples and families have for the work. Installing the landscape itself is a chore some folks take on by themselves. Obviously, I make my living with those who are reluctant to take on such high-energy, high labor tasks, especially in newer homes. In this day and age when everyone is necessarily busy making a living, it can be a delight watching someone else provide your lawn care services at reasonable rates.

And, before I pound the lawn notion into the ground, businesses who provide lawn care also provide analyses of tree and plant issues. Being the professionals they are, they have a professional interest in seeing every growing thing in a landscape do well. It is not only a reflection on them, it is just good business. These lawn care pros can analyze issues such as diseases, pests, and over- or under-watering issues in the midst of their daily routines and recommend some easy cures.

My interest is in seeing a home owner’s investment pay off in beauty and natural enjoyment of their landscapes. Lawn care and what good attention to detail and progress can provide is the real secret behind good-looking and long-lasting landscapes.

Related Posts:

• Overseeding a Lawn
• Lawn Mowing: Is It Better To Mulch Or Catch?
• How to seed and fill in bare and thin spots in your lawn

Overseeding a Lawn

The goal of most lawn mavens is to show a thick, lush cover of green foreground, welcoming any and all to a home where one cares greatly about his appearance. I could make a long, long list of guys and gals to whom this means something magical and serves a vital role in their well-being. Sure, some are a bit “out there” and darn near obsessive with it all. It happens!

In the end, a lush lawn is, by any criterion, gorgeous to look at and improves such things as air quality and the maintenance of dust control for a home. What we often overlook in the maintenance end of any lawn is a certain “tired” nature a lawn can acquire after a period of years. It is for this reason the entire notion of “overseeding” takes place. An informed sprinkling of grass seed over an existing lawn is never something to overlook. It is one chore which may be the easiest of all toward maintaining a healthy lawn. It also allows the introduction of new species of seed to augment or to ameliorate existing conditions, leading to an improved stand of grass lawn. Whether we are looking for an improved substance to walk on or one which may be, say, more disease resistant, overseeding allows this function.

Typically, overseeding commences with a real low mowing of the existing lawn – at a severely low setting. Seed is then sprinkled over the entire lawn, with some manual raking with a grass rake to follow. This “bedding” of the seeds allows contact with soil and some protection from elements while the germination period transpires. It also allows a couple of weeks between mowings, which we would do without a catcher.

Naturally, watering the new seeds is required on a very regular basis, either by one’s own devices or by rain. But attention to this detail is fairly vital. In the end, what one finds is a far lusher stand of lawn than before, with an improved top, lush as when it was initially installed, if not more so. A gradual shifting from here can tale place, in terms of the grass chosen. Bear in mind many types of grass combine exceptionally well.

Related Posts:

• Lawn Care Ideas
• How to seed and fill in bare and thin spots in your lawn
• Lawn Mowing: Is It Better To Mulch Or Catch?

I bet the biggest debate in the yard care world is “is it better to mulch my clippings or catch them in the bag?” In fact, in my years in the lawn care industry, I have had customers swear by one way or the other and they just would not listen to reason! Let me break this down for ya ok?

Why Mulch Clippings When You Cut

Mulching lawn mowers are ones that clip the grass blades and then grind, slice and cut the pieces into super fine bits before dropping them back into the lawn. This is a very good and “green” practice because you are literally recycling the clippings back into the yard. Remember, 90% of the grass blade is water and the rest is organic nutrients. When you mulch with a properly powered mulching mower, those small clippings dry and shrivel up withing hours and drop their precious nutrients right into the lawn.

A common misconception with mulching is that doing it over and over all year will contribute to a lawn thatch buildup. This is a complete fallacy as I mentioned above, the clipping shrivel almost immediately. Now I will tell you that many homeowners go wrong by trying to convert a non-mulching mower into a mulching mower, and this is asking for problems.

What I mean is they take a cheap, bagging mower and take the bag off and let the clippings fall as they may. Problem here is the mower does not have a mulching blade so clumps drop out! Those clumps will contribute to thatch and kill sections of the lawn! ouch!!!

Another big issue I have seen is that people buy underpowered mulching mowers. Even if you have a mulching lawn mower with a good mulching blade, if it does not pack enough RPMs the bits will fall out in clumps. I dunno why, but many companies make mulching mowers that are just not powerful enough for thicker lawns. I always recommend you get a mulching mower that is a minimum of 5 horse power. This will be enough!

Wait, there are more things to consider: Even if you have a good mulching mower with plenty of power, if the lawn mower deck is not deep enough, the clippings will still fall out too quickly and clump! You want a deep deck!

That’s a lot to consider, so what is the best mulching mower? Look.

Why Catch Grass Clippings

Now that I have hopefully convinced you to mulch, there are a few situations where it will be best to catch and the first one is if your lawn mower is not able to mulch correctly (like I already talked about above). If you can’t go buy a new mower, then just keep catching, but DO NOT try and convert your mower… it ain’t gonna work and it’s a safety hazard anyway!

When to Catch Grass Clippings

I do want you to catch the clippings when you notice a lawn fungus or disease present. If this happens, you want to suck up the clippings and get rid of them. No sense is spreading the spores around. In addition, you need to catch if you have let the lawn grow too tall between cuttings. This can happen if you go on vacation in May, for example, and the lawn overgrows. In this case, even the best mulching mower will leave clumps, so you should catch the stuff just to be safe.

I also recommend you catch at least every 3rd or 4th mowing and use the grass clippings as mulch around annual flowers in your garden. Grass clippings will do a nice job of holding in moisture around annuals. I don’t think grass is a good mulch for regular shrub beds, but it works well for annual flowers.

So what do you think? Wanna argue with me? Go ahead, I’m good with it… maybe you guys can give me some better tips?

Related Posts:

• Lawn Care Ideas
• Overseeding a Lawn
• How to seed and fill in bare and thin spots in your lawn

How to seed and fill in bare and thin spots in your lawn

Spring and Fall are the best times to fill in bare and thin spots in your lawn with grass seed. Any area the size of a basketball will probably fill in on it’s own by the end of summer if you fertilize, water and mow properly, but for larger areas, fresh grass seed can help speed up the process. Keep in mind, if you are going to plant grass seed, you will use these tips for large or small areas. First, choose the right seed for your lawn by reading this article.

3 Keys to Growing Grass Seed

1. Moisture: it seems obvious, but no plant can grow without proper watering. This is especially true with grass seed, as the moisture triggers the actual germination process. The secret here is constant moisture. Allowing the seed to dry out in between waterings will kill it. Grass seed germinates at different rates. Ryegrass sprouts in about 7 days, whereas Bluegrass can take up to 2 weeks … BE PATIENT!
2. Seed-to-soil contact: The seed must be wrapped in soil. The soil beneath is used for rooting, and the soil above supports the young sprout as it reaches for the sky. Soil also retains moisture and heat.
3. Heat and sunlight: Temperatures must be above 40 degrees at night in order for most grass seed to germinate. Ideally, temps will be in the upper 50s and lower 60s during the day. Sunlight is important because the young seedling needs to create its own food through photosynthesis so it can keep growing. The energy stored in the seed is only enough to give it an initial push.

The pictures below illustrate the seeding process. In this example, I am using Scott’s Tall Fescue blend seed and Scott’s Lawn Soil as a seed covering. Normally, landscapers use a slurry mixture of peat moss and top soil in equal parts to cover the seeds, but Scott’s now sells their “lawn soil” as a seed covering which saves you the hassle of mixing.

Another very good quality grass seed is the Eco Lawn Fescue seed sold online. It is cold hardy and can be grown in sun or shade with outstanding results!

The lawn soil bags are $3.50 each at Menards. One bag is enough to cover an area 3 feet by 3 feet when seeding.

Here are 2 other articles that relate to this one if you care to learn more.

“Grass seed types for your lawn”

“Growing Grass in Heavy Shade”

Below are a couple updated pictures taken just 2 weeks after the above pictures. You will see the germination is very favorable.
Keep in mind that quality seed is very important!

Related Posts:

• Overseeding a Lawn
• Lawn Care Ideas
• Lawn Mowing: Is It Better To Mulch Or Catch?

Winter is the time to carry out some much needed lawn maintenance. Below are five tips you can think about as the big cold envelops your garden and lawn.

Maintenance Tip #1

As winter approaches, gradually lower the mowing height of your mower. Winter should begin without any young, tender growth that makes your lawn more appealing to winter diseases.

Besides, new growth on the lawn is vulnerable to dry out after the first winter winds come through, which will give you a brown winter lawn. So for the sake of lawn maintenance, as winter approaches, begin to gradually reduce the cutting height on your mower, until you are almost, but not quite, shaving the lawn. However, be sure to do this in several steps to avoid suddenly removing all the green leaf tissue and damaging the turf.

Winter Lawn Maintenance Tip #2

In late fall, be sure to give your lawn a final fertilization. Inactive during winter, your lawn won’t use the fertilizers immediately. Much like mammals bulking up for the cold, your lawn will store these nutrients in its root system and take full advantage of them at the first signs of spring.

Winter Lawn Maintenance Tip #3

Clear your lawn of any debris like logs, toys, or gardening equipment. Once snow comes, these objects can smother your grass, damage your turf, and leave your lawn more vulnerable to diseases.

Winter Lawn Maintenance Tip #4

Be sure to aerate your lawn before the first freeze. Thatch will only get worse with the affects of winter. A good aeration, along with a round of fertilization, will set the stage for bountiful spring growth.

Winter Lawn Maintenance Tip #5

Winter is a great time to learn more about your garden and your lawn in particular. Take this time to buy some lawn maintenance books and research the Internet for tips on how to keep a beautiful lawn and garden.

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• Lawn Care
• 10 time-saving tips to give your backyard a head start on spring
• Fall Cleanup: Best Practices and Tips