2014 in Review

As we draw near the end of the 2014 growing season we feel blessed to have had many opportunities to grow and excel in our knowledge and application of quality lawn care practices. It is because of our customers that we have been able to advance as much as we have. From lawn leveling to compost top dressings to irrigation auditing to sick tree treatments it has been our customers who have allowed us to experiment with new methods, to complete good practices research projects, all the while working toward the goal of excellence in the services we offer. Without our customers none of this would have been possible. So we end the year by offering many thanks to you our loyal customers. We look forward to providing new services in 2015 that will provide more comprehensive lawn care with more excellence than we have offered in years past. 

When our turf care program (lawn fertilization and weed management) was in it's infancy we were working to try and develop a program for feeding lawns using organic fertilizers and soil amendments. It has taken several years of some success and some failure but in 2014 we had the most success ever with our program (we believe, by the grace of God). But we have not arrived (and we don't think we ever will) so we are not kicking back to rest for the coming year. No, we will always be researching and experimenting with new ways of caring for lawns with a goal of making them healthy and nice to look at. We like to use organic products and practices because, in addition to the same basic ingredient (nitrogen-the ingredient that makes grass green) in synthetic fertilizers, organic fertilizers and soil amendments have ingredients that help build good soil structure (all our customer's lawns began with poor soil structure- hard clay soil!) which supports a healthy and beautiful turf as can be seen in the pictures below of some of our customer's lawns. You can be assured the contractor who built your home was not concerned with the health of the soil in your landscape as his employees drug the hard clay leftover from the pad for your foundation around your lot to make a surface for installing the grass. So our approach is to work from the bottom up, or from the soil to the tips of the grass blades, not from the top down which does not address the problems where they are. It is our settled conviction that healthy soils are foundational for healthy turf, healthy trees, healthy shrubs, plants and flowers. We work to that end. Most any fertilizer can make a lawn green. It takes soil building to go beyond a green lawn to a green lawn that is less water dependent, less high-nitrogen dependent, and more self-sustaining. 

This lawn is healing from TruGreen treatments in 2013 that left it looking yellowish-orange - 100% organic now with a rich green color. With each fertilizer application we are also supplying beneficial nutrients to the soil to support and stimulate the life needed for a truly healthy lawn. 

The two lawns, above and below, have been in our program for multiple seasons and are the healthiest they have ever been. Even weeds are minimal throughout the growing season. Healthy lawns have less weed problems. 

The lawn above was aerated and top dressed with compost at the beginning of the season - these methods helped the lawn thrive well in the heat of the summer. Aeration loosens hard clay, allows more oxygen and water to get to where the roots are and encourages deeper root growth. The result - a beautiful lawn with a healthy soil. A lawn not addicted to water and high nitrogen fertilizer.

The above two separate lawns were aerated and leveled using a  high quality compost based Divot Mix (used on golf courses). They are cut low which creates a thick and tight turf. Both lawns are fed with an organic fertilizer and soil amendement.

Beautiful AND Healthy Lawns

April Showers? May Flowers? What about the Grass?

This week in our travels from lawn to lawn we have seen the effects of those missing April showers (read following link for rainfall amounts prior to April - National Weather Service Public Information Statement) on a good many of our customer's lawns. We have seen lawns showing mild to moderate stress from lack of water (even in lawns we have recently fertilized). Grass needs nutrients, oxygen and water for survival. The very best type of water for our lawns falls from the sky and when there is a thunderstorm we get a bonus - the water falling has nitrogen in it which makes our lawns green up more. Without water falling from the sky we have to get more of it from the end of a hose or through the underground irrigation system (aka sprinkler system). Even though this is not the best water source (it has chlorine in it and no nitrogen) it should not be avoided. Have I gotten to the point yet? Almost. The Point: It's time to water your lawn more! 

The pictures below were taken this week in two different customer's lawns (names will not be shared to protect the guilty). These customer's lawns are healthy for the most part, with underground irrigation systems that are being used, but as you can see, are in need of more water. The natural question and a question I have heard people ask is, "How much more?" How much more varies from yard to yard and even within the same yard. There is no precise one recommendation for all yards but there are ways to properly use an irrigation system (or even a hose and sprinkler) to keep the grass growing and green even in dry patterns like we are into now. 

I have completed all required coursework for becoming a licensed irrigator (sprinkler man?) and taken the required exams. I should know by the middle of June the status of my license. So what does this have to do with the question of how much to water your lawn. Once I am licensed I can offer services and products to help our customers water their lawn more efficiently and effectively. For now I can say (legally) if you are watering once or twice a week, move to three times. Water in the early morning (between 4 and 7 a.m.) when less evaporation occurs and the blades can dry off before possible disease can occur. Don't over-water (e.g. water every day for long periods). Don't under-water (water every day for 3 or 4 minutes, or water once or twice a week). In the end, your lawn will tell you when it needs more watering (see pictures below). If your lawn is dry looking it will need more water.  

Bottom of picture is the edge of the sidewalk. Beyond sidewalk is cracked, dry ground beneath grass.

Cracked ground in lawn near back yard gate (partially shaded area). 

2014 Turf Care Applications Schedule

2014 Lawn Feeding Schedule 

The last half of March we applied Humates to the soil in our customer's lawns. The Humates product we applied has ingredients such as Potassium Sulfate, Molasses, Norwegian Kelp, Yucca Wetting Agent, Select Sugars as well as billions of beneficial microorganisms including Endo & Ecto Mycorrhizal Fungi, Extra Azo-Bacteria, Amino Acids, Folic Acid and Vitamins. These are fancy names and may not mean much to you and me by name, but they are very beneficial to the soil in your lawn.

Adding Humates and the other ingredients just mentioned prepare the soil for the next application (see our schedule below) which will be a fertilizer that has nitrogen (the stuff that causes grass to green up) and in addition has ingredients that provides over 70 + minerals, vitamins, natural plant hormones, natural plant sugars, essential sugars/amino acids/carbon and protein, plus billions of beneficial microorganisms including Endo & Ecto Mycorrhizal Fungi.

Fertilizer Application Schedule *

• Early Spring (March 15-April 1)
• Spring (April 15-May 5)
• Early Summer (June 1-June 15)
• Late Summer (August 1-August 15)
• Fall (October 15-October 30)

Lawn Weed Management

Crash Course in Weeds (Weeds 101): Weeds like fertilizer! Weeds typically have deeper roots than grass which means they have access to more water than grass! Weeds like bad soil (compacted soil)! Weeds like lawns that are over-watered! 

•  Formula: fertilizer (nitrogen) + bad soil + plenty of water = weeds.

Each season has different varieties of weeds, so if you have signed up for weed treatments in your lawn, we will begin treating the spring weeds after we apply the spring fertilizer (see schedule above). We are treating weeds after each fertilizer application (see schedule below) since that is when they are most active (remember the formula in the paragraph above). You may see more weeds between the time we make the spring fertilizer application and when we treat the weeds, especially if we have never treated your lawn for weeds before. 

Lawn Weed Treatment Schedule *

• Early/Late Spring (April 20-May 30)
• Early Summer (June 15-July 15)
• Late Summer (August 15-September 15)
• Fall (October 15-November 15)
• Late Fall/Early Winter (December 15-December 30)

* FINE PRINT: ACTUAL DATES ON SCHEDULES ABOVE ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE BASED ON WEATHER CONDITIONS 

2014 Turf Care

As I write this my first blog post at the end of February 2014, the Houston Area is already in a drought ( Area Drought Report). It looks like we just didn't get enough rain this winter. 

So what would drought have to do with the upcoming lawn growing season (with the warmer weather and longer days we have had lately we are already seeing grass beginning to wake up and green up)? Whether or not the drought continues, worsens, or ends, we want be more proactive rather than reactive this year with regard to our lawn fertilization program. We have put together a lawn fertilizer program that goes beyond just putting nitrogen (the greening up stuff) on your lawn. As good and necessary as nitrogen is, it is not enough to create a turf that is resilient in drought conditions or when it is just plain hot. In addition to nitrogen, we are going to focus this year on building better soils. Soils that are filled with more minerals, soils that are looser, less compacted, allow for deeper roots, have more air inside and take in more water each time your sprinkler is in operation.

Please take a stroll through the lawn below (look at numbers and read descriptions below the picture) to see areas we can address with regard to building a healthy lawn that can better handle stress from either drought or heat.

1) Top-dressing with Compost

• Compost is often called "Black Gold" by experienced gardeners as it does so many good things for the soil. Good compost is loaded with microorganisms that prevent disease, cycle nutrients, and create soil structure. It is also full of carbon which is needed by earthworms and other soil life forms. Humus in compost helps increase the water holding capacity of all soils, hence reducing plant stress. The microorganisms in compost help release the nutrients in the organic fertilizer and trace minerals and make them available to plants without polluting the environment. Earthworms and microbes eat the compost and create good soil structure in the process allowing proper aeration which helps prevent diseases.

• We will top-dress your lawn once or twice in the year at a 1/4  inch level. It is recommended that your lawn be aerated (see number 4 below) prior to topdressing for better results. 

2) Weed Management

• You've seen it before. When fertilizer is applied, the grass greens up and grows up and so do the weeds. Weeds love nitrogen. Their roots are usually deeper than the roots of your turf and so they have plenty of water - they don't even need your sprinkler system. Mix some nitrogen with a good water supply and kaboom, an explosion of weeds. Weeds thrive in poor, compacted soils, like we have in Katy. 
• We are licensed by the state to treat weeds with EPA approved chemicals. 
• We will treat your lawn for weeds after each fertilizer application (Early Spring, Spring, Early Summer, Late Summer and Fall).

3) Lawn Fertilizer/Humates/Minerals

• We will apply lawn fertilizer products that in addition to nitrogen will provide over 70 minerals, vitamins, natural plant sugars, amino acids, carbon and protein plus billions of beneficial microorganisms. 
• Our schedule for applications this year will be Early Spring, Spring, Early Summer, Late Summer and Fall 

4) Core Aeration

• Technically speaking, aeration is the naturally occurring process of air exchange between the soil and its surrounding atmosphere. Practically speaking, aeration is the process of mechanically removing small plugs of thatch from the lawn to improve soil aeration. 

• Benefits from Core Aeration 
• Better air exchange between the soil and its surrounding environment 
• Improved nutrient absorption 
• More efficient water usage 
• Thicker turf 
• Enhanced thatch breakdown 
• Helps loosen compacted soil 
• Allows nutrients, water and air to more easily get to the root zone 
• Aeration promotes deeper root growth for a lawn that is lush, healthy and drought resistant 
• Customer's Part 
• Prior to Aeration, customer must flag (you could use plastic spoons or flags) each sprinkler head in the lawn to prevent damage. Golden Rule Lawn can flag the lawn for an additional fee.