Lawn Care | Dos Amigos Landscaping and Grounds Management

The Leaves are Falling

December 15, 2017 by admin

Leaf removal services

We all liked to jump into large piles of leaves as children. However, now that we are homeowners we have the added responsibility of keeping our yards in check. Each fall, mother nature covers our lawn with leaves and there are a number of ways to deal with those fallen leaves.

Turn Those Leaves into Mulch…
Many lawn mowers have a mulching option whereas the mower can chop the leaves into much smaller pieces and most of the leaf matter will disappear into the turf. Mulched leaves are a great natural way to feed your lawn provided the leaves are not too thick and choking out the turf by disrupting light, water and nutrients from getting into your lawn. Many homeowners also use the mulched leaves around their plants to help feed and protect shrubs, etc. But, be aware that many types of leaves are high in acid and may not be that beneficial.

Remove the Leaves
As mentioned, your lawn needs light, water and nutrients to survive and hopefully thrive. If there is a blanket of leaves on your lawn, it is likely that your turf is missing the benefits of light, moisture and any nutrients available. Lawns can show these signs of stress by developing brown spots, bare spots and grass blades that are more yellow than green. It is important to remove any leaves that come from trees with insect infestations or diseases. Leaves that are infected by insects and disease can ultimately create more problems down the road if they are allowed to stay on the turf.

Some of the more common issues that leaves left on your lawn could cause are brown patch and snow mold. In addition, the leaves left on the lawn will likely slow down or eliminate germination of new grass in the late winter and early spring making the appearance of your lawn less than desirable for the summer months.

Leaves Rain on the Parade of Cool-Season Grasses
Most lawns in Virginia are made up of one or more cool-season grasses. “Cool-season grasses” are so called because they are most active during those periods of the year when the weather is moderately cool. Fall is one of those times. Blessed with enough sunlight, nutrients and water, and enjoying temperatures that are neither too cold nor too hot, cool-season grasses such as a high-quality Fescue or Kentucky bluegrass revitalize themselves in the fall. This is when they must “make hay,” strengthening their root systems and that is why fall is the ideal time to aerate and overseed cool-season lawns.

But a thick layer of fallen leaves can get in the way of the growth of these grasses. Why? Because, for one thing, the leaves can deprive the grass of one of the key elements just mentioned: sunlight. If not raked up or removed in a timely fashion, a thick and/or matted layer of fallen leaves casts too much shade over the grass below.

In summary…
Most disease-free leaves that can be finely mulched ultimately create a great nutrient base (in time, becoming compost) for your lawn and plants. However, for the long-term benefit of your lawn, mulching or removing these leaves will help your lawn year around.

Caring for your lawn after aeration

September 21, 2016 by admin

Aeration Coreing — A machine removes plugs (or cores) from the turf.

To achieve the best results from your seeding and aeration,
we suggest that you follow these guidelines:

1. Begin watering immediately after the aeration work is complete. Light and frequent watering is preferred for seedlings. Dos Amigos Landscaping recommends watering to the point where at least 1 inch of the top of the turf is wet or light puddling is taking place. Water at least two times per day. There are certain areas that are going to need more watering; those areas include slopes, areas under large trees, turf areas beside driveways and bare areas. Continue to water at least once a day until all seed is germinated.

2. Leave the clumps of sod and dirt alone! The aerating process will leave clumps of dirt on the lawn. These clumps of dirt and the holes in the soil are seed beds and will dissolve and disappear over time.

3. Be patient and water. Germination can take up to 21 days or even longer. Do not stop watering during this period of time. Seedlings are very susceptible to drying because they have not rooted into the soil. Dry seeds die.

4. Remove any fallen leaves asap. If leaves remain on the new turf for more than 2-3 days the turf will perish. Using a leaf blower is the best method of removing the leaves as many times a rake can damage the new seedlings.

5. Once the new grass has reached 2 inches, you can cut back your watering efforts. After approximately 28 days, the new seedlings should be at least two inches tall and watering can be cut back to one time per day. Please continue to water.

6. Do not cut your lawn. Your existing lawn will look very tall but this is exactly what you want. Once your lawn has reached a height of 4-5 inches, you may cut it back to 3.5 inches. Never cut fescue grass lower than three (3) inches. Maintaining this height will help drive the root system deeper and help the turf establish more quickly.

7. Weeds also germinate. It is more important to establish grass than to treat any weeds. Winter annual germination, such as henbit, chickweed, wild garlic, bittergrass and wild onions is normal. Weed control products should not be applied to your lawn at this time as it will likely kill the new seedlings/grass.

8. Do not apply additional grass seed for at least three (3) weeks. Remember that seedlings are just one shoot (or leaf blade) until the plants begin to tiller, sometime after 30 – 45 days. We plant in excess of 1,500,000 seeds per thousand square feet. This quantity of seed is more than enough to establish a thick and healthy lawn.

7 Tips for Watering New Lawns

May 19, 2016 by admin

Water – When…How…How Much

Water is essential to all life…too little water and we die, too much and we drown. The same is true of the grass in our lawns. Water makes up 70% to 80% of the weight of our lawn grasses and the clippings alone are nearly 90% water. While most people are concerned about not watering their lawns enough, the fact is that more lawns are damaged or destroyed by over-watering.

Newly installed turfgrass sod has very important watering needs. Proper watering immediately after installation will ensure the turf gets established, and it will also have an impact on how well the lawn continues to flourish for years to come.

WHEN To Water New Turfgrass Sod

Begin watering new turfgrass sod within a half hour after it is laid on the soil. Apply at least 2 to 3 cm. (1 inch) of water so that the soil beneath the turf is very wet. Ideally, the soil 7 to 10 cm. (3 to 4 inches) below the surface should be moist.

Watering Tip #1: pull back a corner of the turf and push a screwdriver or other sharp tool into the soil. It should push in easily and have moisture along the first 7 to 10 cm. (3 or 4 inches), or you need to apply more water.

Watering Tip #2: make absolutely certain that water is getting to all areas of your new lawn, regardless of the type of sprinkling system you use. Corners and edges are easily missed by many sprinklers and are particularly vulnerable to drying out faster than the center portion of your lawn. Also, areas near buildings dry-out faster because of reflected heat and may require more water.

Watering Tip #3: runoff may occur on some soils and sloped areas before the soil is adequately moist. To conserve water and ensure adequate soak-in, turn off the water when runoff begins, wait 30-minutes to an hour and restart the watering on the same area, repeating this start and stop process, until proper soil moisture is achieved.

For the next two weeks keep the below-turf soil surface moist with daily (or more frequent) watering. Especially hot, dry or windy periods will necessitate increased watering amounts and frequency.

Watering Tip #4: as the turf starts to knit its new roots into the soil, it will be difficult, impossible and/or harmful to pull back a corner to check beneath the turf (Watering Tip #1), but you can still use a sharp tool to check moisture depth by pushing it through the turf and into the soil.

Watering Tip #5: water as early in the morning as possible to take advantage of the daily start of the grass’s normal growing cycle, usually lower wind speeds and considerably less loss of water because of high temperature evaporation.

Lawn Restoration — Lawn After New Turfgrass Installation

Watering Tip #6: if the temperature approaches 37( C (100( F), or high winds are constant for more than half of the day, reduce the temperature of the turf surface by lightly sprinkling (syringe) the area. This sprinkling does not replace the need for longer, deeper watering, which will become even more critical to continue during adverse weather conditions.

During the rest of the growing season most lawns will grow very well with a maximum total of one inch of water a week, coming either from rain or applied water. This amount of water, properly applied, is all that is required for the health of the grass, providing it is applied evenly and saturates the underlying soil to a depth of 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 inches).

Watering Tip #7: Infrequent and deep watering is preferred to frequent and shallow watering because the roots will only grow as deeply as its most frequently available water supply. Deeply rooted grass has a larger “soil-water bank” to draw moisture from and this will help the grass survive drought and hot weather that rapidly dries out the upper soil layer.

Dos Amigos can rejuvenate your lawn by installing new turf grass. Annual lawn maintenance contracts are also available.

Source: Turfgrass Producers International

Japanese Beetle

March 8, 2014 by admin

Japanese Beetle—just a pest? or causing serious damage?

The Japanese beetle is found throughout Virginia and has been well established in Virginia since the early 1970’s. They feed on a wide variety of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants. They can severely damage the foliage for fruit trees and grapes and can at times be pest of vegetables and field crops. The immature stage, also called a grub or white grub can reach pest status on many varieties of grass grown for turf in Virginia.

The adult of the Japanese beetle is bright metallic green and is about 3/8 inch long. It is smaller then the Green June beetle which is over ¾ inch long. The Japanese beetle wing covers are coppery colored and there are a series of tufts of white hairs on the abdomen. The larvae of the Japanese beetle are similar to other species of white grubs and have an off-white body with a brown head. They curl into a C-shape when not active. Japanese beetles larvae have a distinctive v-shaped row of spines on the end of the abdomen.

Damage from Adult Beetle: Japanese beetles chew small holes in leaves between the leaf veins. This damage gives the leaves a lacy appearance and is called skeletonizing. They will also feed on fruit and buds. Heavily damaged trees and plants will take on a brownish cast as leaves shrivel and die

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Why Aerate Your Lawn?

August 5, 2013 by admin

Why Aerate Your Lawn?

Lawn aeration involves the removal of small soil plugs, or cores, out of the lawn. Typically, this process takes place in late August and throughout September. On many occasions, your lawn can be aerate/over-seed even later in the year provided the soil temperature stays high enough to get your new seed to germinate. There are numerous reasons to aerate your lawn. Here are some of the benefits of aerating:

•   Aerating reduces your dependency on water. Why spend more money watering your lawn than you have to? In neighborhoods or cities where water is very expensive, nearly everyone will aerate their lawn. The aeration process allows water to get into the soil before the water has a chance to run off.
•   Aerating reduces compaction. Over time, your lawn becomes compacted. Whether it is from you walking on your lawn, your children playing on the lawn or just general use, the soil becomes compacted. Soil that is compacted cannot absorb water, air, nutrients, seed, etc. that it desparately needs to stay healthy.
•   Aerating encourages your roots to grow deeper. Within two weeks of aerating, you’ll notice that the holes left by the aerator start to fill up with plant roots or from the new seed that is normally used during the over-seeding process in the fall of the year.
Lawn Aeration Benefits •   Aerating holes help to absorb water. Rather than water having to start penetrating from the surface, it can start penetrating from one to 2 ½ inches below the surface. Not only will the holes made by the aerator hold the water, but they will also help the water to sink 2 – 4 inches deeper into the soil.
•   It encourages thicker turf. As your roots grow down, your grass will grow quicker and also thicker, creating a thicker turf.
•   Aerating helps build organic material in the soil. Compacted soil just doesn’t have nearly as much organic material in it. The aeration process allows organic material and other nutrients to enter the soil.

Let Dos Amigos Landscaping aerate your lawn this fall, for a beautiful green healthy lawn next spring! Call us to schedule: 434-465-0075

Quality Lawn Care and Landscaping Services, Charlottesville, Virginia

The Leaves are Falling

Caring for your lawn after aeration

To achieve the best results from your seeding and aeration,
we suggest that you follow these guidelines: