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Minnesota Aeration Service Article
It's amazing what a little fresh air can do for people, pets, and even lawns. While it might not be possible to take your lawn for a nice, bracing drive in the country, you can improve its health with a process called core aeration. Every lawn needs to be aerated at some point in its life. To see if yours is due, consider getting a lawn analysis from Flat Top Lawn Care. Our analysis will tell you about the general health of your lawn and whether your lawn's soil could benefit from aeration.
What Is Lawn Aeration?
When we aerate your lawn, we punch holes in the soil. These holes allow more air and water circulation around your lawn's roots, preventing fungal invasions, and they encourage the growth of healthy microorganisms in the soil. These microorganisms eat lawn thatch, a layer of dead bits of grass on top of the soil that can choke out your lawn. Aeration also makes it easier for your lawn to grow stronger, deeper roots. A good root system is essential for your lawn's survival in times of drought.
To get your lawn aerated, you have a couple of options. You can contact Flat Top lawn care and we will come over and aerate your lawn for you, or you can rent an aerator from a home improvement store and tackle the job yourself. this is usually left to professional lawn services because it is labor intense and will cost you about the same as if you rented a core aerator.
When Should I Aerate my Lawn?
The best time for us to aerate your lawn are the spring and fall. If you have warm season grass in your lawn, spring is preferable because the grass is gearing up for rapid growth and can recover quickly from aeration. Cool season lawns grow most vigorously in the early fall, so that is a prime time to aerate them. You should avoid aerating in the heat of summer, or if your lawn is very dry. Plan on giving your lawn a good watering two days before you want to aerate.
Some lawns are better candidates for aeration than others. Lawns growing in clay soils usually need aeration around twice a year because the clay compacts easily. Lawns in sandy soil usually need to be aerated much less. Once a year should be sufficient.
Aeration is an easy way to improve your lawn's health. By aerating just once or twice a year, you can ensure that your lawn's roots are strong. You will see the result of healthy roots every time you look outside: an emerald green carpet of thriving grass.
Reasons to hire Flat Top Lawn Care Article
A large part of the satisfaction of lawn care is seeing the results of your work, but there are going to be times when it makes more sense to call in professionals. Flat Top lawn care can provide knowledge, experience and specialized tools for certain tasks you may not want to, or cannot perform.
A highly maintained lawn requires a lot of product which you may not want to store or apply. Lawn care professionals are experienced in chemical applications and are required to be licensed pesticide applicators. They can apply products safely and efficiently.
A lack of time may require you to outsource some or all of your yard work. Time is valuable and sometimes it pays to have someone else do the work so you can relax and enjoy it later.
Limited mobility may be a reason to hire a lawn care company. If too many aches and pains are the most memorable results of your efforts, hire someone to do it for you.
A lawn care company can be hired for larger jobs like aerating and de-thatching and snow plowing. Machinery to do these jobs can be costly, difficult to operate, take up a lot of room and are used infrequently, so it makes more sense to hire professionals for these projects.
Not to mention the costs of your time and money to tackle these tasks yourslef and maintaining your own equipment. We always sharpen our blades daily so you can count on having the finest cut possible.
Why Hire us for snow plowing
While snow can be pretty and make children's wishes of no school in the morning come true, it can also be a messy hassle for homeowners. Depending on where you live and how much snow you are used to getting, your needs for hiring snow removal might vary. Some people may do just fine breaking out the old snow shovel themselves or paying the kid down the street a few bucks to do the job, but there are many situations where neither of these options is convenient. If your area typically gets a lot of snow or even if your area gets a few heavy snowfalls per year, you may want to consider calling us for professional snow removal.
Professional Snow Removal Benefits
Homeowners in cities and towns who simply have a sidewalk to shovel might find that it's simply less of a problem (and less expensive) to do the job themselves.
Those who have a large driveway or live in an out-of-the-way area might find that the time saved by hiring a professional snow removal service is a lifesaver when it comes to getting to work on time or simply staying out of the cold for hours on end. Even with a snow-blower, the results you'll get doing the job yourself may not be as impressive as what a pro can do with a plow they are trained to use well.
Another big reason to hire our snow removal service comes about when you own rental properties. Whether it is an apartment complex or a few houses around town, having a professional snow removal service working for you will ensure that your tenants are happy and safe.
When to Call for Professional Snow Removal
Think about snow removal especially during the holidays. With guests coming and going frequently throughout the season, hiring a snow removal service would be worth your investment. It will make your life easier and provide you with more time to spend with loved ones. Especially if you're expecting visitors who are elderly or who have very small children, removing snow and ice from your property will make their stay a safer one.
Most snow removal services will offer several different kinds of plans. You'll be able to decide if you want an on-going service that shows up every time it snows or if you want to call on an as-needed basis. It's a good idea, however, to have some sort of understanding set up before the snow begins to fly, because once the roads get bad, scheduling becomes a big issue for these companies.
If you've never hired (or even considered hiring) a professional snow removal service, there are a few things you should think about before you call. If your main concern after a big snowfall is simply getting your car out of your driveway and onto a state maintained road, you might do a little shopping around to see if you can find a company that will dig out your car as well as plow your driveway. Prices and services will vary by company, and if you have a good idea of what you need, you'll be more likely to find a place that can meet your criteria at a reasonable price.
Lawn dethatching article
A healthy thatch layer on your lawn helps hold in moisture and prevent drought or heat stress. Excessive thatch build-up, however, can lead to a variety of problems with your lawn's health and appearance. When done properly, de-thatching can help revitalize your grass and reduce lawn maintenance and repair costs.
- Thatch is a layer of cut grass, plant stems, roots, leaves and other debris that collects on the soil, below live blades of grass that form the surface of the lawn. Dig down with a shovel blade and pull out a chunk of turf grass and soil to help you identify the three separate layers: grass, thatch, and root and soil system. The thatch will be the brown layer of dead grasses and roots at the center, and in healthy lawns is 1/2-inch thick or less.
- De-thatching is used when the thatch layer is over 1/2-inch deep and the lawn shows signs of distress, like browning and thinning patches of grass. The de-thatching process removes the barrier to the soil, tearing it up to be raked away, while preserving the actively growing grass. Homeowners should remove the thatch layer when necessary to allow water and nutrients back in, and improve the lawn's health and appearance.
- A hand rake made with sharp blades that tear at the loose underlayer can be used to de-thatch the lawn. This method is labor-intensive and best used with small lawns or patches of grass. For larger jobs, use a mechanical de-thatcher. Bachman's Landscaping recommends a vertical mower. This machine operates like a lawn mower, with several blades to quickly tear at the thatch.
In less severe cases, aeration can de-thatch the lawn by pulling up microorganisms deep in the soil. These microorganisms will naturally digest the thatch and convert it to nutrients for the lawn. - De-thatching should be done in late spring or early fall. De-thatching when grass is actively growing assures that any existing bare spots, or grass roots torn out by the process, will fill in quickly with new growth. De-thatch the lawn every two to three years, or every year for lawns prone to distress.
- Be aware that de-thatching too early in spring can tear up too much of the newly returning grass. Cut the grass shorter than usual before the de-thatching process to make removal easier.
When using a mechanical de-thatcher, be cautious of setting the blades too low. Start with the higher settings, then gauge the results and adjust accordingly. Vertical mowers and other de-thatching devices can be difficult and strenuous to operate, so consider hiring a professional to do the job.
Apply weed herbicides after the de-thatching, when they'll be more easily absorbed and effective. - De-thatching increases the amount of water and nutrients penetrating the soil. It allows grass to develop a deeper root system, which leads to thicker, heartier lawns. Regular de-thatching removes thick underlayers that can hold moisture and lead to fungal and pest infestations.
Aesthetically, de-thatching gets rid of the unattractive brown layer of dead and decaying lawn debris, leaving only green grass behind and fostering new growth. - The University of California Agriculture Department recommends three processes to prevent thatch build-up. Avoid over-fertilizing, particularly excessive amounts of nitrogen. Rake up grass clippings if there's been excessive growth between mowing. Avoid frequent, shallow watering that causes short root systems as well as excessive surface moisture that can lead to weed growth and disease.
When re-seeding a section of lawn, consider perennial ryegrass and tall fescue as they are less prone to thatch problems. Be wary of creeping growth turf grass like bermuda grass and Kentucky bluegrass, which are more likely to develop an overabundance of thatch. - Online Nursing Degrees
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