Most homeowners know what services are necessary for good lawn care: proper mowing, aeration, overseeding, adequate hydration and fertilizer. Aeration is one of the most beneficial lawn care services, especially if you live in an area that experiences episodes of little to no rainfall. Aerating your lawn will allow the water from your irrigation system to reach the grass roots directly and be immediately absorbed. However, even though aeration ensures that your lawn and soil are manipulated, you should go one step further and also have your soil periodically tested by a lawn care professional.

A soil test is a fairly simple procedure and many lawn care companies offer the service for free in conjunction with their lawn care programs. The lawn care technician will take a small soil sample and have it sent to a lab. A qualified soil expert will examine the sample and look at the pH level (acidity); the presence or absence of such macronutrients as phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen; the presence or absence of such micronutrients as iron, calcium, zinc, boron, manganese, copper and other nutrients that deter weed growth and enhance the lawn’s resistance to insect and disease infestations; the soil type, which can help your lawn care technician create a preventative plan to reduce the incidence of compaction; and levels of decomposed plant material, also known as thatch.

Once the results are back, your lawn care specialists can consult with you on what the best plan of action is regarding your lawn care regimen. To schedule a soil analysis, call your local lawn care company today.

Are your best efforts to grow a picture-perfect Bucks County lawn being literally trampled? Growing a Bucks County lawn that is often traversed by kids and animals can seem like an uphill battle that is often lost; however, there are some Bucks County lawn care tips that can make the process a little more successful.

The first step is choosing a resilient type of grass and making sure it is well maintained. Lawn care specialists recommend using tall fescue blended with perennial rye grass. Different parts of the country respond differently to various grass types, so it is important to contact your Bucks County lawn care company and get an expert opinion on your specific location, but tall fescue tends to do well in most climates. Tall fescue also performs well under high-stress conditions such as constant traffic. Regardless of what type of seed you use, what is more important is aerating your Bucks County lawn once a year (sometimes twice). Core aeration alleviates the compaction that occurs when people and animals are constantly walking over the Bucks County lawn. An added benefit is that aeration also improves the color and density of your Bucks County lawn.

Another way to combat the effects of high traffic is to regulate the traffic itself. Instead of allowing your dog to roam free in your yard, take him to a dog park where he can wear himself at the expense of someone else’s Bucks County lawn. If you have both a front and back yard, have your kids switch their play areas every few weeks to give one area a chance to recover. Even better, send them off to the park as well!

If none of these options are ideal, Bucks County lawn care professionals recommend artificial turf. It is more expensive than a regular Bucks County lawn, but its resiliency is much, much higher than a natural Bucks County lawn.

If you aren’t sure what to do to keep your Bucks County lawn healthy, contact your local Bucks County lawn care company and put it in the hands of the professionals!

You are really looking forward to sprucing up your Bucks County lawn this year and have decided to add fertilizer into your Bucks County lawn care regimen, but you might be wondering which is better: liquid or granular fertilizer?

The choice between liquid and dry fertilizers may depend on what Bucks County lawn care goals you hope to achieve this season. If you have a persistent weed problem, then liquid fertilizer may be the way to go. Some fertilization treatments include pre- and post-emergent weed control elements and when they come in liquid form, they are absorbed more quickly, producing faster results. Lawn care specialists also suggest that liquid fertilization treatments are better for the environment because the fertilizer does not spread all over your landscape like granular treatments.

Liquid fertilizer has the benefit of taking less time to be effective. In order for granular fertilization to work properly, there must be adequate moisture. If you’re having a dry season, the results may not be as successful as with liquid fertilizer.

There are some Bucks County lawn care experts who suggest using a combination of dry and liquid fertilizer for optimal results. When you begin to fertilize in the spring, the weather is typically wetter than in the late summer and early fall months. You can take advantage of this moisture and use granular fertilizer to jumpstart your Bucks County lawn. The warmer months typically produce less rainfall, so liquid fertilizer is more ideal during this period, along with proper hydration.

For the best results, contact your local Bucks County lawn care company and leave it up to the professionals. Employing a Bucks County lawn care company often allows you to expect higher quality results.

Lawn care involves many steps, but perhaps none is as important as proper hydration. After all, a lawn cannot grow without water. Adequately hydrating your lawn is not an exact science, but it is close. The best plan is to install a sprinkler system that ensures your lawn is watered every day at the same time. Sprinkler systems with a timer are even more ideal, but you still have several options there. Lawn care specialists highly recommend pulsating sprinklers for the best results.

Pulsating sprinkler systems spray water into the air and allow the water to fall back down to the ground in a fine mist. There are five different types of pulsating sprinklers: impulse, traveling, stationary, oscillating and rotary. Impulse sprinklers are the top choice of lawn care professionals who need to water a larger area such as an entire landscape or vast lawn.

It is important to know if you have high or low water pressure, as that also factors in to which type of pulsating sprinkler you choose for your lawn care needs. If you have low water pressure, an H-base is a better choice than a spike-based sprinkler which is better suited for high pressure.

Pulsating sprinklers have the benefit of being designed with gusty winds in mind, as well as low-hanging trees or tall shrubs. The height of the water spray can be adjusted accordingly and since the water is typically sprayed close to the ground, its spray is unaffected by the wind.

If you think a pulsating sprinkler may be beneficial to your lawn, contact your local lawn care company. Many lawn care providers also install irrigation systems, especially since proper hydration makes their job that much easier!

Mowing might seem like the simplest of Bucks County lawn care tasks, but it is actually quite important to know how to properly mow your Bucks County lawn to ensure the best results. Over-mowing or mowing at the wrong times or height can have detrimental effects on your Bucks County lawn. Here are some Bucks County lawn care tips on proper mowing procedures.

Most Bucks County lawns are dormant during the winter months, so once spring rolls around, it is time to drag the mower out and get back into the routine. But when you should begin mowing? Lawn care technicians recommend keeping the mower stored away until the ground is thoroughly thawed. Once the ground is soft, that means that grass is growing and mowing it will not cause any damage to the crowns or the shoots.

Most people know that allowing the excess clippings to remain on the Bucks County lawn is beneficial because as the clippings deteriorate, they become natural fertilizer for the soil below. However, for the first few cuts, attach the bag and gather the clippings. Allow your Bucks County lawn to grow and breathe without the weight of clippings on top of it.

Lawn care professionals recommend mowing your Bucks County lawn at a slightly shorter height than you may typically have your mower set. If you normally mow at three inches, take it down to two. This will allow your Bucks County lawn better stimulation to get the season started off right.

If you have any questions about spring mowing, contact your local Bucks County lawn care professionals.

As the cooler temperatures arrive and you’ll soon be exchanging your leaf rake for snow shovel, consider a few simple leaf raking tips that will help winterize your Bucks County lawn while increasing your chances for a better spring green-up.

How well you maintain the leaves in your Bucks County lawn is a large indicator for how healthy and prepared your Bucks County lawn will be for next season. When neglected, leaves can suffocate and rob turf of sunlight, water and other essential nutrients. For every leaf that lies on top of your turf, multiple blades of grass beneath it run the risk of browning or even worse, developing patches of mold or fungus depending on how low temperatures drop in your area.

Depending on your yard, raking once a week should be sufficient in at least warding off fungus and disease from developing in your Bucks County lawn. If you do step up to twice a week, try to keep it to a light raking as it will be gentler on your Bucks County lawn. Raking is a natural form of dethatching but a little layer of thatch build up is actually healthy for your turf. Just be sure the second raking doesn’t over do it.

If you want to save time and utilize leaves for compost, a mulching mower is a smart investment. A mulching mower can be very beneficial to your Bucks County lawn as it will chop up and shred leaves to easily decompose in the soil. This granulizes leaves into a natural fertilizer to be absorbed into your Bucks County lawn.

Check back next week for more information about the absorbing of nutrients in your Bucks County lawn.

As the cooler temperatures arrive and you’ll soon be exchanging your leaf rake for snow shovel, consider a few simple leaf raking tips that will help winterize your Bucks County lawn while increasing your chances for a better spring green-up.

How well you maintain the leaves in your Bucks County lawn is a large indicator for how healthy and prepared your Bucks County lawn will be for next season. When neglected, leaves can suffocate and rob turf of sunlight, water and other essential nutrients. For every leaf that lies on top of your turf, multiple blades of grass beneath it run the risk of browning or even worse, developing patches of mold or fungus depending on how low temperatures drop in your area.

Depending on your yard, raking once a week should be sufficient in at least warding off fungus and disease from developing in your Bucks County lawn. If you do step up to twice a week, try to keep it to a light raking as it will be gentler on your Bucks County lawn. Raking is a natural form of dethatching but a little layer of thatch build up is actually healthy for your turf. Just be sure the second raking doesn’t over do it.

If you want to save time and utilize leaves for compost, a mulching mower is a smart investment. A mulching mower can be very beneficial to your Bucks County lawn as it will chop up and shred leaves to easily decompose in the soil. This granulizes leaves into a natural fertilizer to be absorbed into your Bucks County lawn.

Check back next week for more information about the absorbing of nutrients in your Bucks County lawn.

Fertilizing your own Bucks County lawn can be quite an ordeal and usually requires (or should require) a fair amount of research. Many Bucks County lawn care companies have fertilization programs that have been perfected over the years by experts in the Bucks County lawn care industry. However, if you’re looking to take on the project yourself, you may want to explore the types of spreaders that are available to make your task easier.
When it comes to fertilizing your Bucks County lawn, there are generally two types of spreaders you can use: broadcast and drop spreaders. Broadcast spreaders are a popular choice for Bucks County lawn fertilization projects for a few reasons. One reason why many homeowners prefer to pay a Bucks County lawn care company to fertilize their turf for them is because of the mundane, monotonous walking back and forth across the yard. This can be a particularly tedious task if you have a large area to fertilizer. However, the broadcast spreader is perfect for spreading fertilization over a large area because the granules fall down through the hopper and onto a rotating disc. This disc disseminates the fertilizer in every direction possible, allowing you to spread more fertilizer over a larger area of your Bucks County lawn without walking back and forth as much.
While you may be fertilizing your Bucks County lawn, the plants, trees and shrubs in your landscape will be getting fertilized as well, essentially killing two birds with one stone. Although this process sounds simple enough, you will still need to figure out how much fertilizer is needed and when it should be applied. You may find that the fertilizer you purchased at the store isn’t as effective as more professional-grade products. If you want to rid yourself of the burden of fertilizing your own Bucks County lawn, contact your local Bucks County lawn care company and have the pros provide you with perfect fertilization.

When your Bucks County lawn needs fertilized, the best solution is to contact your local Bucks County lawn care company and have the professionals attend to the task. However, if you’re one of those do-it-yourselfers, then there is some research to be done on the subject. Not all fertilizers are the same, so you should decide which fertilizer is right for your Bucks County lawn, how much should be applied, when it should be applied, as well as what to do to ensure the application is successful. If you’re using granule fertilizer, you will want to look into purchasing a spreader to disseminate the fertilizer evenly.
There are generally two types of spreaders: drop spreaders and broadcast spreaders. Broadcast spreaders are particularly advantageous for those who have a large Bucks County lawn to cover. However, if the area you’re fertilizing is small, a drop spreader might be more ideal.
Whereas broadcast spreaders fling the fertilizer in every direction, drop spreaders are more focused, releasing the fertilizer directly underneath the device through the hopper. This means you have to make certain you have covered that area thoroughly, or else you could have some areas of your Bucks County lawn growing wildly while other sections barely look alive. Another downfall to using a drop spreader is the risk of over-fertilizing your Bucks County lawn; applying fertilizer is a very delicate balance and if you apply too much fertilizer, you run the risk of frying your Bucks County lawn.
If this sounds like too much of a hassle or you’re not particularly good at staying within the lines, your best option is to contact your local professional Bucks County lawn care company and leave the fertilizing to them. Sometimes having a beautiful, successful Bucks County lawn means leaving it up to the pros!

When your Pennsylvania lawn needs fertilized, the best solution is to contact your local Pennsylvania lawn care company and have the professionals attend to the task. However, if you’re one of those do-it-yourselfers, then there is some research to be done on the subject. Not all fertilizers are the same, so you should decide which fertilizer is right for your Pennsylvania lawn, how much should be applied, when it should be applied, as well as what to do to ensure the application is successful. If you’re using granule fertilizer, you will want to look into purchasing a spreader to disseminate the fertilizer evenly.

There are generally two types of spreaders: drop spreaders and broadcast spreaders. Broadcast spreaders are particularly advantageous for those who have a large Pennsylvania lawn to cover. However, if the area you’re fertilizing is small, a drop spreader might be more ideal.

Whereas broadcast spreaders fling the fertilizer in every direction, drop spreaders are more focused, releasing the fertilizer directly underneath the device through the hopper. This means you have to make certain you have covered that area thoroughly, or else you could have some areas of your Pennsylvania lawn growing wildly while other sections barely look alive. Another downfall to using a drop spreader is the risk of over-fertilizing your Pennsylvania lawn; applying fertilizer is a very delicate balance and if you apply too much fertilizer, you run the risk of frying your Pennsylvania lawn.

If this sounds like too much of a hassle or you’re not particularly good at staying within the lines, your best option is to contact your local professional Pennsylvania lawn care company and leave the fertilizing to them. Sometimes having a beautiful, successful Pennsylvania lawn means leaving it up to the pros!