Controlling lawn Moss

Lawn moss is a problem that plagues areas where grass is not happy growing.
There are several conditions that can cause lawn moss to take over:

•  Low soil fertility
•  Compaction
•  Excess moisture
•  Shade
•  Acidity
•  Shallow soil depth
•  Poor drainage
•  Drought
•  Disease

So, while there are commercial products to get rid of lawn moss,
it is better to treat the conditions that allowed the moss to establish in the first place. You will be much more successful at eradicating the moss if you make conditions more favorable for grass.
There are some areas where grass will not grow, and in those areas, moss is not a bad alternative. It is green and you don't have to mow it.
However, if you have a moss outbreak in an area that gets plenty of sun and could, potentially,
be brought back into the lawn, here is how to resuscitate your lawn.

Aerate the lawn when conditions are favorable.
Compaction is one of the major factors limiting turf growth.
Aerate and top-dress with compost to increase air circulation and improve drainage in the lawn.

Get a soil test so that you can see if the fertility of the lawn could be a factor in encouraging moss growth.
If nitrogen is low, add some fertilizer or compost to the soil.
The soil test will also tell you if the pH of the soil is too low, or acidic.
If this is the case, you can add lime to the soil to raise the pH.

Evaluate the sunlight in the area that has moss growth.
If it is very shady, try overseeing with a more shad-tolerant grass type.
If that won't work, you might want to try a shade garden or a ground cover that grows well in shade, instead.

Dig into the soil to test its depth. If the soil is less than four to five inches deep,
it might not be deep enough to sustain healthy turf.
In that case, if you want to have a lush lawn, you're going to need to add topsoil.

Observe the moisture level in the area of the yard with moss.
Too much moisture, or poor drainage, can lead to moss growth.
Most mosses like it wet, and most lawn grasses or turf grasses like a more even,
well-drained soil. If you need to improve drainage in an area, you can try aerating and adding compost. Compost is like duct tape. It cures many woes in the soil.

Consider pruning overhanging tree limbs. If light is a factor, pruning the canopy above the moss-inflicted area can increase air circulation and let more light into the area, which would make conditions more favorable for grass.

Controlling lawn moss is as much a function of lawn maintenance and conditions than anything else. While you can stop the spread with chemical control, it is better to try to correct the underlying cause of the moss. Correcting the conditions provides the best long-term solution for controlling lawn moss.

How to Choose the Right Lawn Maintenance Company

· 1 Decide what services you are looking for. Do you just need your grass cut on a regular basis, or are you looking to re-landscape your yard?

· 2 Get references. Good lawn maintenance companies keep a registry of their most successful projects and can make available photos of homes they maintain. Others even have their customers write reviews for their website or promotional materials. You should go farther than that: you shouldn't worry about asking your would-be lawn maintenance company if they would mind your calling two or three of their clients. Call them up and ask all about the lawn maintenance company and whether they're happy with them. If they are, they will rave about the service.

· 3 Get quotes. Lawn mowers cut grass for the same price. Lawn maintenance companies charge differently according to their services rendered, the extension of your yard or garden and the difficulty associated with your landscaping needs. You should get at least three reputable lawn maintenance companies and request estimates from them. You may very well be surprised at the differences in cost, but don't fall for it: the cheapest is not always the most valuable.

· 4 Ask Questions about lawn care. If they don't know the answers to some of your questions, they probably wouldn't be the best lawn care business for you.

· 5 Do they have insurance What if while mowing your lawn the mower hits a rock and propels it right at your front window or Car? Do they have insurance to cover any damages? Or are you going to be left on the hook for the repairs?

· 6 Are they Bondable Theses people are going to be around your Home and Property while you’re at work.  Can they be trusted? Have they got criminal Records?  Do you trust these people with your valuables?

· 7 Will they be dependable Well they or are they able to show up on time? Do they have a good reliable Truck and Trailer? Is their equipment junk and falling apart? First impressions tell you a lot. How someone treats their equipment (Truck and Mowers) is a good sign of how they are going to treat your lawn.

It all comes down to common sense and doing a little background work on the potential companies you are seeking to hire. Don’t just look at Price or equipment or References look at the whole package.

Make an informed decision. Your Home and its Property is the single biggest investment you will ever make. Threat it as it should be treated and choose someone who will respect you and your property and you will have the best lawn on the street.

  

What to Look for in a Lawn Care Service

All lawn care companies are not the same. Lawn care programs offered by companies will vary not only in cost, but in the variety of standard and optional agronomic services offered to the homeowner. The homeowner will be most successful at choosing a company to supply the desired type of program if they first become familiar with:

(1) The annual cost for a company's standard program,

(2) The services supplied as part of the standard program, and

(3) The types of and costs for optional services provided by the company.

Before contracting for lawn care services, it is best to contact and compare 2 to 3 (or more) reputable companies. The following series of questions and answers should serve as a guide for the homeowner during the process of selecting a lawn care company.

What types of services are included in the STANDARD program?

Fertilization is a standard part of any lawn care program. Most companies will offer lawn care programs t include control of surface-feeding insects (chinch bug, sod webworm) as part of their standard program, but grub control is often offered at an additional cost. Some companies will offer no insect control at all, while others may provide it only as an extra-cost option. Disease control is generally not offered in a standard lawn care program, but is offered as an optional service by most lawn care companies.

How much fertilizer is applied during the year?

Nitrogen is the key nutrient in turf fertilization programs. Reputable lawn care companies will supply Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, fine fescue, or tall fescue lawns with 3 to 5 pounds of actual nitrogen per 1000 square feet of lawn per year. Phosphorous (P) and potassium (potash, K) are sometimes supplied with the standard fertilizer program. The actual requirement for these latter two nutrients will vary from one lawn to the next and the need is best determined through soil testing. Routine applications of P and K will cause no harm, however, and are actually recommended where the homeowner consistently removes grass clippings during mowing.

What are the types of nitrogen fertilizers used?

Nitrogen fertilizers can vary in the types of growth and color responses that they elicit from the turf. For simplicity, nitrogen fertilizers can be categorized as supplying quickly-available or slowly-available nitrogen. Quickly-available nitrogen promotes rapid grass growth and dark green turf color relatively soon after application. The promotion of excessive growth through overuse of quickly-available N sources is undesirable from both the standpoint of increased mowing requirements and because grass hardiness and health may be reduced. Slowly-available N sources provide a slower, more uniform growth and greening response from the turf. Quickly-available nitrogen is acceptable for use during the fall and early spring months. Slowly-available nitrogen is excellent for use in the late-spring and summer months. It is important to note that slowly-available nitrogen can be supplied to turf with equal success in the liquid (sprayable) form, as well as the dry (granular) form.

What can a lawn care service guarantee?

Lawn quality will vary from year to year due to variations in weather. It is IMPOSSIBLE for a lawn care company to guarantee that no problems will occur if you contract their services-be suspicious of one that does! Reputable lawn care companies, however, will make every effort to satisfy their customers. Many companies will provide corrective applications as a free service if the customer is not satisfied. Some companies are staffed with sales/service representatives to handle service calls. They may visit the home lawn if a problem cannot be diagnosed/resolved over the telephone.

What about educational service to the homeowner?

Established lawn care companies have long recognized that the most successful lawn care program is dependent upon some cooperation from, and education of, the homeowner. The homeowner generally performs several cultural practices, such as mowing and watering, which have a substantial effect on lawn quality. Some companies will provide the homeowners with seasonal information on proper lawn care. They may also provide special information when they make an application with regard to special watering or mowing requirements for the next day or two following their visit to the lawn.

Can the company offer flexibility in servicing?

Some homeowners may wish to have fertilizer, but no herbicides or insecticides, applied to their lawns. Some like to apply fertilizer themselves, but would rather have a lawn care service apply the appropriate controls for weed, insect, or disease problems. Individual lawn service companies may be unable to offer such specialized types of program because of the way in which they purchase or mix their fertilizers and pest control products. Others may charge extra for such a specialized program because of the expense and time involved in providing a service which differs from their standard lawn care program.

Does cost equate with quality?

Lawn care companies offer agronomic expertise and a convenient, time-saving service at a most reasonable cost. In a competitive market, prices for similar lawn care programs may differ little from company to company. A company that appears more expensive that the other may offer some services as part of its "standard" program which are designated as optional (extra-cost) services (see Table 1) with the less expensive companies. Be wary of that company that claims to offer services similar to those of other companies at a much lower price and seems "too good to be true"-it probably is! Also avoid companies that do not furnish a contract detailing their services and your obligations as a customer.

A list of desirable services offered as options by many lawn service companies:

• grub control
• disease control
• coring/aerification
• dethatching
• spot re-seeding/re-sodding
• total lawn renovation
• soil testing
• lime application
• mowing

How Do I Keep My Lawn in Great Shape ?

Here is a question I hear a lot
How do I keep my lawn in great shape?
To keep your lawn in great shape, start in spring, while the turf is still soft, by aerating and adding a 3/8 inch layer of coarse sand to keep the aeration holes open and percolating.
As soon as the lawn shows signs of new growth, apply a high nitrogen, slow release fertilizer to both tone it up and achieve good healthy growth.
If the lawn is a little thin, overseed with perennial rye grass at the rate of five pounds per 1000 square feet.
It’s a good idea to check the pH level with inexpensive pH testers found at gardens stores to see if the acidity and alkalinity range is between five and eight on the pH scale. If it’s below five, add a quality fast lime, and if it’s above eight, use a sulphate fertilizer to help drop the pH into the correct range. This will ensure optimum growing conditions for your lawn grasses.
Mowing at least once a week with well sharpened blades on a quality mower will maintain a great lawn, especially if you mow in opposite angles and directions each time.
Keep weeds to a minimum with constant attention, digging out the weeds as they appear, or by using an organic chemical control as a spot treatment.
When you water over the hot summer months, try to water thoroughly and deeply at least once a week.
When the deep green colour of the lawn begins to change to a lighter green, apply the correct amount of slow release lawn fertilizer or an organic counterpart.
In late autumn, depending upon the severity of the cold winter winds, you many wish to apply a winterizing fertilizer with high phosphorus and potash to harden the grasses off for winter.