Come see us @ the Elkhart County Fair! We will be in the middle commercial building "E", all the way at the West end as always.......
7/23/2010
Seeing a LOT of new Emerald Ash Borer damage from eggs laid this year. Elkhart, Goshen, Granger & Indianapolis are really beginning to show widespread damage. The Ash trees showing symptoms can still be treated to stop further damage from happening, but needs to be done ASAP!
9/1/2010
Starting to see a lot of Grub damage, as well as surface feeding insect damage from Sod Webworms & other lawn terrorizing insects. It is a bit early to see the large numbers of Grubs already & all signs point to a large amount of lawn damage being done by them this year. Keep a close eye one off colored or brown spots in your lawn. Give these spots a tug-if it seems like it pulls up easy & has no roots, Grubs are probably to blame. A rescue insecticide treatment is required if you want to minimize damage.
9/4/2010
Aeration & Seeding-Now is the time to schedule Core Aeration for your lawn. Turf roots do most of their growing in the Fall & will benefit the most when aeration is done at this time of the year. This is also the best time for seeding, whether filling in bare spots, or overseeding the entire lawn.
2/5/2011
Pre pay letters starting to be sent out. Please return with payment by 3/1/2011 to receive 5% discount.
These tips will help keep your lawn from being ravaged by disease & improve it's health.
1) Don't water in the evening! Lawn diseases NEED water to flourish. You can't controll the weather, but you can control your irrigation. Don't water until at least after midnight-that way the grass blades don't stay wet all night.
2) Don't under water. Underwatering can help allow your grass to be infected by Red Thread & Dollar Spot fungus. These diseases more easily infect slow growing turf. Turf can be growing slowly because of lack of fertilizer, or lack of water. Many lawns grown on sany soils in our area need watered every day when the weather is warm...Especially if they are less than a few years old.
3 )Don't cut your lawn too short! I know it looks nice on the golf course, but you don't have one! Golf courses have special equipment, special nutritional requirements & special grass species to be able to cut grass short & make it look good. In the Summer, it is especially important to move your cutting height up, as it helps to insulate the roots from the sun's scorching rays. (Your grass will also be greener, more resistant to disease & require less water) Most lawns do well at 3.5" in the Summer time. (I cut mine @ 4")
4) Make sure your lawn mower blade(s) are sharp! Dull blades tear the grass instead of cutting it. This leaves the lawn with a "whiteish" hazy look. It also opens your lawn up for diseases & stresses the plants. Blades shold be sharpened at least a few times a year.
Lawn disease & other problems spotted in Elkhart, Granger & Goshen during Spring & early Summer of 2010...
From one extreme to another! While June was the wettest on record, August turned out to be one of the driest (and HOT!) The cool season grasses that we have in our lawns in Michiana are not suited to this type of weather. When the turf is suffering from heat stress other enemies of turf like insects, disease & compaction can really take their toll as the turf cannot quickly recover. Many lawns may have thin/bald areas that need reseeding to repair correctly, although core aeration & fertilizing in early Fall will do wonders for stimulating the turf to repair itself.
The following are some pictures of Grub & Sod Weborm ravaged turf in a Soccer field & home lawn. (Neither had preventative Grub control applied & will require some reseeding...)