Mow, Trim, Blow ,Edge

Mow – We mow the grass following the specifications of Walter Reeves and the Georgia Turfgrass Association. We recommend treating for weed growth, as well as feeding and watering the grass.  If you don’t your yard will slowly decline in health and eventually die and be taken over with weeds. And finally, YES we can put pretty lines in your yard in areas large enough to facilitate it.

Trim – We use a string trimmer on the grass around the mailbox at the same height as the mowers and to get the weeds growing in the cracks of the concrete and asphalt.  In some cases we use it to edge the beds. We also use Roundup or a chemical like that. This has become popular over the last 15-20 years, and is being used in almost all parks, amusement parks, and even botanical gardens. So please don’t think we are cheating you by using this on your property. We typically do not use it around the mailbox but we will use it as deemed necessary on  cracks in the driveway, sidewalk, patios, asphalt, along fences, retaining walls, utilities, building foundations, trees, play sets, playgrounds, swings, kennels, ponds, large rocks, and any other areas deemed necessary by our crews.  We will not use it or the string trimmer in the beds unless you are paying us for Bed Weed Control.  Playgrounds and kennels are typically treated as beds and again you must be paying for Bed Weed Control for us to service these areas.

Blow – It’s kinda like it sounds. We use a blower to blow the grass clippings, leaves and dirt off the concrete areas and into the yard. We will also blow off your car if we think we might have gotten any dust, dirt or grass clippings on it. If you have an accessible deck or outdoor patio we’ll blow that off too. We also like to use our blowers to get the soil and debris out of the crack where we edged the concrete; it makes it look neat and clean.

Edge - We typically use a stick edger to edge where the grass touches the concrete and where the grass touches the beds. We do not edge the beds if the grass touching it is fescue. Some of our guys will use a string trimmer to edge and can do a better job than using the stick edger. We DO NOT like to put a wide gap in the edges, along concrete, and prefer to keep it between ½” - 1” thick. On days that we edge we will blow all the debris out of the edging at the end of the job. We only edge once every two weeks and is only done with the Mow, Trim, Blow. We also do not edge in the winter since the grass grows so slow and really doesn’t need it.

                THE EXTRAS

  1. We will put your newspaper on your front door step.
  2. We will bring your trash cans to the house if they are empty.
  3. We will pick up sticks and pine cones and put them in a neat pile in one of your beds.  Many customers like to use them in their fireplaces.
  4. We will pick up trash and dispose of it for you. This is in the turfgrass and paved areas only. No beds.
  5. We will close all the gates and double check to make sure they are closed. We don’t want you to lose a loved one.
  6. We will put a “We Serviced Your Account Today” card in your mailbox telling you who came to your house that day and what they did.
  7. We also give free botanical advice to all of our maintenance customers.

We put a lot of thought and pride into our lawn maintenance program.

Bed Weed Control – We utilize many methods to control weeds in the beds. Bed Weed Control includes picking up trash in the beds and disposing of it for you. We will also pick up large branches and put them in a neat pile in one of the beds. We do not pickup pinecones, sweetgum balls or leaves out of the beds.

  1. Put down a pre emergent with a long residual value which means it will suppress weeds for many months. This is very costly and will only be applied to customers who have either prepaid for this or customers we have had for a long time.
  1. Use total vegetation, non selective, post emergent, systemic herbicides and spray the weeds when they are small. We typically do not spray large weeds because if we do they will just be large DEAD weeds. If a bed is covered with small weeds, we will spray all the weeds and allow two weeks for them to die. And we will follow up with string trimming them to the ground. At this point we recommend purchasing more mulch or pinestraw.
  1. Hand pull the weeds. The weeds that are hand pulled are tall weeds or vines that grow up thru the shrubs or small weeds under the shrubs where spraying is prohibited as well as large weeds in the beds.
  1. WE NEVER RECOMMEND THE USE OF LANDSCAPE FABRICS AND ESPECIALLY NO PLASTIC SHEETING. Weeds will grow on top of both of these and the plastic won’t allow air or water to penetrate the ground and get to the roots. For customers that really want to apply a physical weed barrier, we recommend putting down newspaper 2 layers thick and adding 3” of mulch or 6” of pinestraw on top of it.
  1. On rainy days we will string trim the weeds instead of spraying them. On days with a light rain we will still spray the weeds because we really want to kill the roots and a light rain won’t wash the chemicals off before they penetrate the plant.
  1. Large weeds with strong roots that prevent us from pulling them out will need to be sprayed and allow two weeks for them to die, then we will follow up with string trimming them to the ground.

Our Bed Weed Control program does not guarantee that you will not have weeds. It means that we will continually, every 2 weeks, work to suppress the growth of the weeds so that your yard will never be overgrown.

Fall Leaf Clean Up - We blow all of the leaves off the grass and concrete areas and pile them up around the plants in the beds.

There are five reasons for this.

  1. To return the nutrients to the trees. If we haul off the leaves we take away the nutrients.Eventually the trees won’t have what they need to grow, resist disease and pests and stay healthy.

  2. To protect the plants from the harsh conditions of the winter.

  3. In the spring we will blow the leaves off the plants, and spread them out as mulch. If the leaves are too thick we will mulch them into little pieces. Then we spread pinestraw on top of the leaves. When we are finished there will be a nice, smooth & even carpet of pinestraw over the beds with no trace of the leaves underneath. This mulch combination reduces weed population and helps retain moisture in the soil during the hot dry summer and invites earth worms.

  4. The leaves carry a natural chemical that changes the toxicity of the soil and makes it harder for weeds to grow under them. It’s natures Round Up. This way the tree doesn’t have as much competition for food and water.
    THIS IS WHY IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO KEEP THE LEAVES OFF THE GRASS!!!

  5. It’s the way nature intended.

We understand that the wind will occasionally blow some of the leaves out of the beds and back into the lawn. If the leaves get too thick we will blow the leaves near the bed, mulch them up while still on the grass, then blow them into the beds.

Blowing  Parking Lots – We will blow all the trash into a pile and dispose of it.

Aerate, Overseed, Fertilize & Lime
We recommend doing all 4 at the same time the 3rd week of August.
Start watering immediately so when the heavy September rains come, your seeds will be seedlings holding the soil. When watering, you only want to wet the seeds and keep the ground wet; you don’t want the water to run off.
We DO NOT recommend trying to grow grass in locations that have a lot of moss unless the trees have been removed from the area allowing in more sunlight and the ground has been tilled and amended. We also DO NOT recommend trying to grow grass in areas that have too much shade. Even Creeping Red\Fine Fescues don’t grow well in these areas.

Aerate – We use a core aerator to pull plugs out of the ground. We do not pick up the plugs, they are good for topdressing the ground as they break down. The plugs will break down within 2-3 weeks.

We recommend aerating your yard twice a year. Aerating can be done any time of year but we recommend early spring & early fall. We also recommend watering your yard before we aerate. If the ground is too wet or too dry, large plugs will not be pulled out.

                There are 4 reasons for aerating.
                               
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    1. To change the porosity of the soil or loosen the soil. Over time, gravity, rain, and foot traffic along with  lawnmowers will slowly compact the soil, making inhospitable for grass roots to grow in but an ideal place for weed roots.

    2. Changing the porosity of the soil helps allow air, water, fertilizer and lime to penetrate the soil and get to the roots.

    3. In most cases, especially hard compact soil,  the only place grass grows is in the holes created by the core aerator. This means no holes, no grass. In most cases, when growing seeds in the garden we dig a small hole and put the seed in it, a lot like a squirrel plants an acorn. Why should grass be any different?

    4. As the plugs break down, the soil that made up the plug will then get in good contact with the seed and help it germinate. Seeds germinate by drawing moisture from things that they are touching.

Overseed – This is to replace the grasses that died last summer and to fill in the bare areas. We typically overseed our fescue with a three way blend tall fescue.  Three way blends have three different grass types. By having three different grass types your chances of keeping your lawn looking good even if a special disease comes thru your neighborhood or during a drought are better because we use different grasses that each have different tolerance characteristics. So while one type may die out, the other two may continue to live.  Many people do not like Kentucky 31  tall fescue. But it does have a place in this world. We recommend using it in areas where weeds aren’t a problem and areas that don’t get watered regularly. Kentucky 31 has 3 great characteristics. 1. It is slightly more shade tolerant the other tall fescues. 2. It has better disease tolerance to brown patch. 3. It has better drought tolerance than the other tall fescues.

NOTE: The only grasses we overseed are Fescue and Winter Rye. We do not overseed any warm season grasses and really don’t recommend overseeding warm season grasses with Winter Rye. Once you seed it one year it seems to come back in patches the next year. So only put the Winter Rye in warm season grasses if you want do it every year.

Fertilize – We use a starter fertilizer when overseeding to help give the grass a good kick start. Without it your grass grows slower.
The more mature the grass is by the next summer, the stronger it is to resist the heat and drought.

Pre or Post Emergence – Is to control weed growth in the turfgrass only and is applied every 6-8 weeks on average but may vary with weather conditions. It should not be applied within 4-8 weeks of seeding.

             DO NOT

1. Do not fertilize fescue in the summer.
2. Do not fertilize your warm season grasses in the spring until the entire lawn is at least 70% green.
3. Do not apply too much fertilizer during any application or it will burn (kill) your grass and seedlings.

Lime – This is what “sweetens the soil”.  Without getting too technical in how this works, we’ll give the basics of what it does, why it’s so important, and when you should avoid using it. We also recommend getting your soil tested.

What it does.  – It changes the ph of the soil and allows the nutrients that are chemically bound with the soil to be
released to the roots of the grass.
Why it’s so important – Typically the ph of the soil in Georgia is around 4.5 – 5.5. That means the soil is acidic. This is especially true near pine trees, where the needles fall. And while the azaleas love it, the grass doesn’t. In fact it can be so acidic that it becomes toxic to the grass and kills it. This is natures form of Round Up at work, the trees way of eliminating the competition. Another thing to consider is the Georgia red clay. It is rich in nutrients, but tends to stay more acidic even in an open field. Most grasses excluding centipedegrass and carpetgrass, prefer a ph of 6.0 – 6.5.
When to avoid Liming – We very rarely lime centipede.  It prefers a ph of 4.5 – 6.0.

We also recommend applying Iron to the Fescue in the summer months.

Pinestraw + App + T&R –  This is pinestraw with delivery, application and tucking and rolling the edges. We also clean off the pinestraw off the top of the plants as well as the AC units and window sills. When purchasing pinestraw we always try to get the freshest straw and the largest bails. We put our priority on freshness. When we give a bid on pinestraw, we estimate the number of bails needed, add a few extra and round it up to the nearest 5.  ESTIMATING THE NUMBER OF BAILS IS A GUESTIMATION (GUESS) AT BEST. We base our estimation on 1 bail per 35 Sq. Ft.. However bail sizes will vary from vender to vender and trailer to trailer.  We recommend using pinestraw in beds that are near wooded areas or areas cluttered with lots of leaves in the fall. Pinestraw should be applied at least 1 time per year for residential customers with that application after all leaves have dropped. With a second application for commercial customers who want it again in the summer.

Mulch – We only recommend using mulch in areas that have no leaf litter in the fall. We also recommend using Mini Pine Bark Nuggets. We have heard that they attract termites but have been told by the professionals that was a myth. We cannot guarantee that it will not attract termites, but after 16 years of using it we haven’t seen any problems with it. It can also be tilled directly into the soil without any ill affects on plants, because it will not draw nutrients from the soil and will add to the nutrients when it breaks down.

Pruning – The more you prune a plant the thicker it will become. We use gas powered hedge trimmers.
DO NOT PRUNE IN AUGUST OR SEPTEMBER OR OCTOBER

Shrubs - When pruning most shrubs, the width of the top of the plant should be smaller than the base of the plant.
This way sun light can get to the base of the plant, keeping the leaves near the base almost as thick as those at the top. Pruning straight up and down or sloping the top outward will cause the base of most plants to thin out and become very leggy.

Tree Forming Shrubs – This is typically done to very large Hollies and Crepe Myrtles. We leave only the trunk and remove all small branches. This is typically done to a height of 6’ 6” – 7’. This height will vary depending on the height of the plant and the look that the horticulturist is trying to achieve.

Trees – Keep tree limbs at a minimum height of 7’. We will only prune limbs to a maximum height of 20’.
WE DO NOT RECOMMEND LIMBING UP MAGNOLIAS, CYPRESS, CEDARS AND SUCH.

Large Branches – All branches that are too large to cut with bypass loppers, typically 1 ½”, are cut using the
Three  Cut  Method.

                  Three Cut Method:

  1.  
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      1.  
        1. The first cut is 5”-10” out on the limb. It is cut under the limb in an upward direction and is to a depth of ¼ to 1/3 the thickness of the branch. Be careful to not cut too deep or the weight of the branch will bind the saw blade rendering it useless. The purpose of this cut is to prevent the branch from tearing the trunk of the tree when it is cut.
        2. The second cut is 5”-10” further out on the limb, and is a clean cut in a downward motion going all the way thru the branch.
        3. And finally, remove the stump as close to the trunk as possible without damaging the crown or ridge of the branch.

CREPE MURDER – This is when the majority of the top of the Crepe Myrtle is removed, leaving behind tall stumps. We will prune a tree that has been murdered because there is not a lot you can do once it has happened. And we will murder them if the customer really wants it, but WE REALLY SUGGEST YOU DO NOT MURDER THEM.
                The recommended pruning technique is to use hand held bypass loppers to remove only the small branches growing off the trunks to a height of 7’ or less. This again depends on the height of the Crepe Myrtle. Pruning the top of the crepe myrtle is not recommended unless there are a couple of tall branches poking out of the top. We recommend cutting those to a height that blends in with the rest of the plant.

Crisscrossing Branches – Branches that crisscross and touch will often rub wounds on the branches and invite infection. We recommend removing 1 branch as long as it doesn’t mess up the structure of the tree. Branches that cross thru the center of the tree should be removed as well if they too don’t mess up the structure of the tree. THIS IS FOR ALL TREES.