Tips

Welcome to our Tips section.  We appreciate your interest and hope that you find our advice helpful.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email.

Summer Watering

If you choose to maintain a green, actively growing lawn throughout the summer, apply 1 1⁄2 inches of water per week. Very sandy soils will require more water to sustain growth than heavy clay soils. If you want to conserve water, you can condition your grass to withstand dry conditions by gradually reducing watering to as little as 1⁄2 inch every week to 10 day.

It is best to water lawns in the early morning (5 – 6 a.m.) for several reasons. The morning sun will dry the grass and this can help reduce problems with disease. Conversely, watering in the evening creates the perfect moist environment all night long for various fungal agents. Early morning is also a low use time for your community’s water supply. Timers connected to your hose can help get you on a regular schedule for watering if you do not have an automatic sprinkler system. To determine how much you are watering, place several wide mouth containers in the lawn and collect water while the sprinkler is running.

When you water, it is important to deep soak the lawn. Deep soaking encourages longer root growth while light frequent watering causes more shallow root development.

Weed Control

I have found these methods helpful in keeping weeds out of our clients gardens:

• Apply a layer of mulch around the plant to smother the weeds.
• Lay filter fabric over flower and vegetable beds, cutting slits or X's for established plants and veering the fabric with mulch.
• Pull weeds before they mature and set seeds, be sure to get the roots. Don't just pull off the tops - they'll just grow again. If the ground is hard, deep soak the area before removing weeds.

The best time to weed is right after a good rain. Plants protect water quality.