6 Step Lawn Programs are very different

Posted on March 19, 2010 | Leave a comment

It is easy for the consumer to assume all lawn fertilization companies, and the programs they offer are all very similar.  After all, in our area, 6 visit programs are an average norm.   So, just buy the cheapest or from the first company to show up, right?  Nothing could be worse, than to buy a technical service, that you want to have strong visual results with, on price alone.

Some companies shave the price by having the tech make wide passes with the spreader.  This gives only edge to edge coverage of the fertilizer pattern.  This is good for company production, but bad for your lawn.

The result is uneven application of the product and uneven results.  Your grass will not me evenly green, and crabgrass will show up in the summer along edges of drives, curb strips and poorly applied areas of the lawn interior.

At Town Pride Lawn Service, we overlap for double coverage, and adjust flow rate, so it does not result in a double dose of product.   This method produces superior crabgrass control results and lawn growth.

Coming next – how the size of fertlizter particles can affect results.

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Posted in crabgrass, Home Improvement, Lawns, Uncategorized

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Crabgrass control

Posted on March 9, 2010 | Leave a comment

It’s time to get out and begin the spring lawn care.   As a professional company, we like to wait until decent weather in March to begin fertilizing and applying pre-emergent crabgrass control.

Fertilizing too early promotes an un-natural wakeup for the turf.   This can lead to excessive early growth which depletes the energy stored in the roots, too early in the growing season.   The turfs natural mechanisms for dealing with disease, early dry weather and heat stress can also be compromised. Heavy early fertilization also contributes to thatch build up and too many clippings during mowing.

The time window for applying a pre-emergent crabgrass control product has gotten much longer if the control product is “Dimension” or dithiopyr.   This product extends the application season because it is also a post emergent crabgrass control for young crabgrass.

Old wisdom was to have your pre-emergent applied by the time the blossoms fell from the forsythia shrubs.   In our area, we can now expect to control crabgrass fairly effectively with applications even made into early May.  Of course the product rate recommendations must be followed and watered in immediately.

Check back again to learn why all lawn programs are far from the same, despite frequently having the same number of applications.   Also coming,  is why the same product can be used successfully by one company and yields poor results with another.

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Home Improvements and Your Lawn Sprinkler System

Posted on February 23, 2010 | Leave a comment

Each winter with time on our hands, we as home owners often take stock of the condition of our castle and our kingdom. TV DIY shows, the Philadelphia Flower Show, home shows and inserts or special home improvement supplements to newspapers get our creative juices flowing. Magazine articles abound.

Decades of experience say the last thing to be thought of, if at all, is exterior work that involves excavation having an impact on the irrigation system. Often project contractors want a simplified project with as little outside interfacing with others as possible. They bury irrigation needs or concerns in fine print if mentioning them at all. You get stuck with an attitude that you should have thought of the irrigation yourself and made your own arrangements. Usually this leads to increased damages, costs and project delays associated with revamping the irrigation for changed landscape and site.

Your irrigation contractor may be the first person you want to talk to when planning a project. The cost of irrigation changes or additions can increase your project investment more than anticipated. Too often our contractor experience has been more like Tiger Wood’s wife Elin. We are the last to know.

You need our professional irrigation help when you plan for:

  • fencing
  • pools
  • patios, porches and decks
  • a room addition
  • new or larger sidewalks and driveways
  • any kind of paving or concrete work
  • landscape changes
  • new sod
  • clearing an area for additional lawn space

We can help you avoid excess damage to your valuable sprinkler system. In some cases we can keep some of your system active while construction is going on. And we can make sure that all preparation work for the system changes are done as the project progresses.

Our help is just a phone call away. Town Pride Lawn Service 609-953-0511

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Posted in Home Improvement, Lawns

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