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LATEST NEWS (4/3/2024)
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What a crazy winter! I am not sure if I mean Dec, Jan,
and Feb or just the last couple of days! We are ready to get out and
fertilize the lawns. However, all the rain and snow
the last couple of days have held us at bay.
Remember last summer? Yes, we had drought conditions
last year. It is easy to forget!
Some lawns are still showing the scars. Our first application
of fertilizer also has crabgrass control in it. That means it does not
differentiate between germinating crabgrass and grass seed.
Please wait until June 1st if you plan on doing any seeding work.
While on the topic of grass seed, let's talk about mowing.
In the next 3-4 weeks you will likely be mowing. Please be aware of your
mowing height. Last summer, we saw many lawns burn up, due to lawns
being cut too short. Please cut your grass at 3 to 3.5 inches.
This will help shade out any weed pressure, but will also protect the plant
from summer heat and stress.
We do have limited openings on some of our routes.
Please feel free to refer us to your friends, neighbors and your HOA,
sooner than later
😉
Think Spring!
Gary and Katie
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Fall is our favorite time of the year! This is a great time for your lawn also. The turf is doing a lot of work that we don't see. It is no longer pushing growth into the stem and crown of the plant, but the energy is going to the root system. The soil still has plenty of warmth. The plant is getting ready for winter and most importantly, getting ready for next spring. We just experienced one of the worst droughts since we have been in business. (The worst was in 1988, followed by 2012.) Our hope is that any spots that were damaged by the drought will repair itself naturally over the winter and spring season. We will keep an eye on any troubled spots.
THIS AND THAT
You just fertilized, but I have leaves on my lawn. Will it still do its job?
Don’t worry, the fertilizer prill will find its way to the turf. Every time the wind blows, every time you cut the grass, every time you rake or blow the leaves, the prill will roll off and get to the turf. It will not be sucked up by the mower. If we see areas that are particularly thick, we will put down extra product just in case.
What about the leaves on my turf?
They are free nutrients! Use them! Mulch them up! As long as you can see the turf when you are done mulching, they will decompose. They use the available energy and will be gone come March.
Just do not let them decompose without mulching them. This will suffocate the lawn...
Should I cut my lawn shorter in the fall?
Simple answer? No. Why do people do it? Some do it to keep the vole population down. Some do it so the leaves blow into the neighbor's lawn. Some because they are tired of cutting it come fall! REMEMBER, come spring – CUT IT AT A HIGHER length. The best mowing height is 3-3.5”. Do not cut it short in the spring or you will be seeing more weeds and damage done to your lawn.
Thank you to all of our wonderful customers! We look forward to another great year in 2024! Please leave us a Google or facebook review. Our business thrives on referrals. We always appreciate the feedback. Contracts for next season will be emailed in January. Please keep an eye out for them.
Have a great winter!
Gary and Katie
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It has been a dry and hot
summer!! We are very grateful that we received a heavy dose
of rain last week.
This will help tremendously as we enter into the early fall
season. We will also start to receive benefits from early
morning dew, lower overnight temperatures, lower daily high
temperatures, and reduced humidity. While the lawns
definitely took a beating, we believe if we get some
decent rain this fall, they will recover quickly
We are beginning Round #4 at
the end of August and will finish up in early October. This
round is a blanket weed spray. This will take care of any
weeds that germinated since our last visit.
It will also provide for a weed free lawn in the
spring. Think no dandelions in your yard come next spring!
What weeds have we been seeing the most this summer?
That would be queen ann's lace and the ever present
thistle. We will be taking care of them this round!
One thing we want to stress more in the upcoming seasons is
the mowing height. Many people are cutting their lawns
way too short.
When it gets hot out, they burn up very quickly, show new
weed growth, and also allow the crabgrass to muscle onto the
scene. During the midsummer months, please be sure to
cut your turf at 3 inches or higher. Measure the
distance from the pavement to the bottom of the mower blade.
The settings on your machine are often off by as much as an
inch!
We hope you had a wonderful summer as we look forward to the
best most beautiful season of all, fall!
Gary and Katie
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Happy Spring!
After a relatively mild winter based on temperature, we are finally getting our snow! Yesterday we got another 4 - 6 inches and it was beautiful! With that being said, we are ready for spring to come.
Unless Mother Nature has other plans, we have every intention to start the first application on Monday, April 3rd. We will apply the first application to all lawns during the month of April.
To our new customers, please know that the first round will do NOTHING for the existing weeds in your turf. The first application is a fertilizer with crabgrass control.
If you plan to do any seeding this spring, and we have already treated your turf, please wait until June 1st to plant any new grass seed.
The product that we applied does not differentiate from crabgrass and new grass seed.
We are very close to being booked for the season. Thank you to all who have referred us! It’s the biggest compliment you can give us. We are happy to take on a select number of accounts – referrals or neighbors of existing customers. As always, we hope that Mother Nature will provide us with a beautiful spring and before you know it, we will have sunny, warm weather!
Gary and Katie
/30/23:
Well, Mother Nature has finally returned with winter! Yesterday we received around 9 inches of snow after a few mild months. We always like to see cold weather over the winter -- this helps take care of some of the grubs and other insects. They struggle to survive the winter months in Wisconsin. As we slowly saw the green fade into brown, we eventually saw most of the turf go dormant in December. The turf took up the winter fertilizer and then went to bed for the season.
What will 2023 bring? Will we have an early spring or a delayed winter? We always hope to begin with our first fertilizing application on April 1st. It depends on Mother Nature!
All contracts were sent out mid-January. A pre-season discount is an option, if you pay for the full season up front. Payment must be paid by March 1st.
We have very few openings on our route for the 2023 season. If you have friends or family to refer, please refer early! We always appreciate the referrals. Thank you!
Enjoy the winter season!
Gary and Katie
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10/17/22:
Hello Fall! Mother Nature has been very good to us this summer. We have had nice temperatures along with large timely rainfalls. This has encouraged the turf to grow deeper roots. We also have had very little pressure from fungus and grubs. As we apply the final round of fertilizer to your turf, we have very good moisture in the soil for the fall. This round is a straight fertilizer round, accompanied with a spot spray for any weeds that we notice when we are on your property. The turf is putting its energy into the crown and root system at this time. It is not putting energy into top growth.
Please do not scalp your turf!
It does not help the health of your turf. On the
contrary, it hurts it.
If you have
any rough or weak areas in your turf, now is the time to put
down some QUALITY grass seed.
It still can germinate this fall, giving it a head
start for next year. If your lawn was aerated and
overseeded – don’t be afraid to continue watering!!
Be thinking about the
soil temperature, not the air temperature when it comes to
growing grass. The grass will not be dormant until
after December 1st.
Have a great fall! Contracts for next year will be out in January.
Gary and Katie
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8/22/22: Read on to see
what is happening with your lawn
😊
We just started Round #4.
It is a liquid weed spray. It is the second weed spray
of the season to help keep your lawn weed free.
This application will take care of any summer weeds
that germinated and it will make for a very weed free yard
come next spring. If the weather cooperates, we hope to be
done with Round #4 by the end of September.
While we are spraying, we
are actively looking for any issues in the turf.
If we notice anything, we will notify our customers.
To date, it has been a relatively quiet year when it comes
to insects, grubs, and fungus.
If you plan to do any late
season overseeding, please note that you need to wait
about 30 days to seed after we have done the liquid weed
spray. Please use QUALITY grass seed.
Grass seed is
extremely expensive this season. We would hate to see
you waste it!
Enjoy what is left of
summer! We are looking forward to a beautiful fall
season!
Gary and Katie
- 04/04/2022: The fertilizing/weed control season has begun! We are excited
for this season. We hope Mother Nature will be good to us to
maximize the quality of your turf. Let's begin with the common
questions we get every spring and how we handle it...
- Gary, my neighbor was fertilized yesterday. When will
you be by to fertilize my lawn?
We are out every day
during the week. We don't want to put the fertilizer down
too soon, because the first application has crabgrass
control in it. We don't want that product to wash through
the soil profile before it can do its job. The crabgrass
control’s job is to kill any germinating crabgrass plants.
- Gary, I’d like to plant grass seed but you have
already applied the first application, now when should I
plant it?
Wait to plant grass seed until June!! The
crabgrass control does not differentiate between grass
and crabgrass.
- Gary, I think I already have crabgrass!
OK, let's
look at the biology of crabgrass. It takes a soil
temperature of 55 degrees (not air temperature) at a
depth of 3 inches for 3 days for crabgrass to germinate.
We won't reach that criteria for at least another couple
weeks. Plus, our product will kill crabgrass up to the
three leaflet stage, so we have plenty of time to
address crabgrass.
What people see in the spring,
that they often mistake for crabgrass is tall fescue.
Tall fescue has a wide leaf blade and a deep root
system. It is usually the first grass variety to grow in
the spring. It takes a while for the other grass
varieties to catch up. When they do, tall fescue will be
less dominant in your lawn.
- You fertilized my yard, but I still have lots of
weeds!
Excellent! The first application is fertilizer
with a product to kill any germinating crabgrass. The
second application (weed spray) is the product that will
take care of all of your broadleaf weeds, including
dandelions, clover, creeping charlie, etc.. It is a
contact spray, so we wait until they come out to spray
them.
I hope this information helps! Please email if you have
any further questions!
Have a great spring!
Gary and
Katie
262-695-9952
mailto:LakeCountryLawnCareLLC@gmail.com
www.LakeCountryLawnCare.com
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