Are you tired of the same old lawn?

Monday, April 2, 2012

After many years of doing the same routine with your lawn and you not being very happy, are you tired of your same old lawn?  If you continued to eat French fries every day and got fatter by the minute why continue down that path?  It’s time to mix it up, have it your way!  We are creatures of habit and tend to follow similar routines with our lives including our lawn.  Many homeowners we meet do not take the time to evaluate their lawn care program or lawn problems.   They do the same thing time and time again and they are generally disappointed with their lawn.  

Most homeowners think that they need to apply their pre-emergent crabgrass control prior to the yellow forsythia bush blooming.  Older pre-emergent crabgrass control products do not work well if applied after crabgrass germinates or after the forsythia blooms and soil temperatures reach 50-55 degrees.   There is newer technology available called “Dimension” found in Jonathan Green Crabgrass Preventer plus Green-Up that can control crabgrass before AND after it germinates, up to the three-leaf stage effectively.  What this product does is allow a much wider window of application.  If we experience a cool, wet spring this delays soil temperatures from reaching 50-55 degrees.  This can delay crabgrass germination for several weeks.

Crabgrass can germinate over a longer period of time, several weeks and months in most locations.  In many areas crabgrass can still be germinating through June and July!  If you put your pre-emergent control down too early it may peter out by June and you get summer crabgrass.  Why not rake your lawn first thing to get rid of winter debris and apply Jonathan Green Black Beauty grass seed where necessary along with New Seeding Lawn Fertilizer?  Let’s get all of the bare spots seeded so crabgrass does not fill in the gaps in your lawn!  Allow this freshly sowed grass to grow and be mowed 2-3 times and then apply your first application of crabgrass control.  Even if your first Crabgrass Preventer plus Green-Up is applied in May you can still achieve good control.  By doing this later application you have extended the length of crabgrass control into summer months. 

If you have a long history of crabgrass problems and do not want to follow this plan, apply your first crabgrass application in early spring and follow up in May with a second application for extended control.  Remember, crabgrass does not grow in shaded areas. 

So, now we are into the month of May.  Generally we get a few warm days in early May and what if you just applied your first application of crabgrass control?  And with the warm weather out pops a sea of yellow dandelions!  What do we do now?  Crabgrass preventers will not control dandelions and it’s too soon to put down our second application of Weed & Feed because we would have to mow the lawn every other day!   Why not treat the dandelions with Lawn Weed Control, a granular lawn weed control product without fertilizer.  It’s like taking an antibiotic to control your illness. 

Perhaps your lawn is just not cut out for the standard four application program?  Perhaps you should consider using Jonathan Green organic products to boost your soil and create a better environment for growing grass?  Perhaps you need to seed your whole lawn in early spring because you never seeded your whole yard in the 10+ years you have been living in your home?  Have you ever taken a soil test in areas of your lawn that are not responding to fertilizer or have a lot of weeds and crabgrass to determine why you cannot grow grass there?  Take charge, be confident, you can do it, be a lawn hero on your block!  Good luck and happy spring!