Top Lawn Care Complaints and Solutions

When homeowners look at their yards, they just want to see a beautiful expanse of thick, healthy, green grass. Is that too much to ask? The list of obstacles between you and that goal can sometimes seem endless. There are too many to discuss in just one blog post, so we’re focusing this entry on five of the toughest challenges and the ways that we at Southern Lawns can help you take them on.

• A healthy diet. Like all living things, grass requires a complex combination of minerals and other nutrients to thrive. Over time, erosion and other natural processes can deplete the amount of these found in your yard’s soil. Our programs provide fertilizerstailored to our region’s needs.

• So many weeds! The paradox at the heart of lawn care is the fact that the TLC we lavish on our grass in the form of water and fertilizer also sustains and encourages weeds. That’s why herbicides are a critical element of our lawn maintenance programs.

• Pets good, pests bad. What a difference one letter makes. We offer a variety of solutions to minimize and sometimes eradicate populations of common interlopers. (And we include funguses in that category since they’re alive, even though they don’t crawl or burrow.) On the other hand, we want to protect our companion animals. Since we expect them to be with us over time, our efforts are confined to mitigating and managing any harm they might inadvertently do to our lawns. Our treatments are completely safe for pets, and we can provide some tips to make sure your lawn doesn’t become a point of conflict between you and your best friend.

• Lawn pattern baldness. A combination of heat stress and traffic can produce bare spots in the fall. If grass doesn’t spread back into these areas on its own, you might consider laying some sod. Occasionally the problem stems from uneven ground, which can be addressed by adding fill dirt to produce a more level surface.

• Getting water right. It can be surprisingly difficult to make sure your lawn receives the right amount of water. First, there’s the often unpredictable weather in our region, which can careen from unmanageable runoff to extended drought. Our watering regimens have to take those conditions into account, along with many other factors. To keep up with the weather, pick up an inexpensive rain gauge or just use an empty tuna or cat food can. Its depth approximately reflects the amount of water the average lawn needs over the average week. Then there’s timing. Watering in the afternoon allows evaporation to undo much of your work. Instead, water early in the morning, holding that crucial cup of coffee in whichever hand isn’t directing the hose. An irrigation system is a more expensive approach but provides much more control and certainty. And you can sleep in once in a while.

Most of these problems and remedies will sound familiar; the basics of lawn care don’t really change. But first-time homebuyers and longtime grass enthusiasts alike can always learn something new. More information about most of our list items can be found in other posts on this blog. If you have questions about your lawn or our services, please call us at 770-447-6037.