Category Lawn Care

Do you want to benefit your time, money, home value, and improve your environmental impact? Read on to find out why a simple irrigation system is a great investment. After a long day of work, are you dragging out the watering hose? Setting up the sprinkler? Then going back out time after time getting wet to move the sprinkler around just to get all your yard watered? Are you tired of that same old watering routine? Many people are but the solution to that time draining activity is an irrigation system! With an irrigation system you don’t waste any more valuable time, just sit back and come home to a green lawn. The system does it all for you. Like to save money? Believe it or not an irrigation system will save you money. No more excess watering. No more watering the sidewalk, driveway, street, or even your neighbor’s yard. An irrigation system is designed to take away that pain of a high water bill. Your yard will be watered the right amount no less and no more than needed. Not only does it keep your yard looking great, but the upkeep is minimal. Your annual upkeep of an irrigation system is about 2-3 maintenance visits, spring start up and RPZ testing, winterization, and 1-2 check ins and adjustments to your system a year. Your irrigation system insures consistency, accuracy, and efficiency. Now you might be asking yourself “how does an irrigation system improve my homes value?” It is the same idea as redoing your kitchen or any home improvement to make it nicer, add value and appeal. When your home has curbside appeal, you automatically have more interest. First impressions are important to any homeowner and your first impressions starts with the outside. Buyers will want to look inside if the outside is cared for, and the convenience adds value to any buyer. Maybe time, money, or even home value isn’t your thing but the impact you have on the environment is. An irrigation system is great at water conservation and prevention of diseases. By utilizing irrigation, you are saving water with the systems smart technology. This smart technology waters the correct amounts, correct areas, and the correct time of day all contributing to water conservation and the prevention of diseases. A trusted irrigation specialist talked about the benefits of an irrigation system and the best time to water. Benefits to early morning watering before Sunrise: “Helps reduce the amount of water lost to evaporation and the amount of water needed to irrigate your grass. If irrigation occurs before the dew has dried, the humid microclimate will not persist as long decreasing disease pressure.” – Austin A. D&K You can keep your lawn disease free and happy with an irrigation system. It even makes your life easier leaving more time to enjoy the fruits of your smart irrigation system. Overall, an irrigation system is a great investment to your home.

Japanese beetles have only one generation per year, but these beetles emerge over a long period from late June through August and they live for over 30 days. They feed on the foliage and fruit of various fruit crops grown in Michigan, causing damage to the plant and increasing the risk of fungal diseases. Their emergence during mid-summer can also result in their presence during harvest of some fruit crops, creating a risk of contamination. They are also highly mobile insects and can fly into fields from surrounding areas. This article provides information on insecticide options based on tests over the past few years conducted at the Trevor Nichols Research Complex and at grower’s farms.

What Is Core Aeration? The benefits of Core Aeration are tremendous. It gives your lawn a chance to breathe again, allowing more oxygen, nutrients, and water to be absorbed and spread out across your lawn. This is why Core Aeration and overseeding go hand in hand, the seeds drop into the plug holes and receive exponentially more amounts of nutrients, water, and oxygen, allowing the seeds to germinate faster and more efficiently providing a thicker lawn and better root systems. It also helps loosen up hard or compact lawns from foot or paw traffic. When to Core Aerate? The best times for Core Aeration in Iowa are in the spring and fall. To most people’s surprise, late summer/early fall is the best time for overseeding as the seeds germinate faster in the warm days and cool nights. It is also possible to seed in the spring, however, this is most often less successful. Why Core Aerate and overseed? Core Aeration relieves soil compaction and helps prevent thatch build-up. Avoid using Spike machines as these tend to compact the lawn even more, look for the machines that actually bring up “plugs” that are around 3” deep and the size of your finger. If an area of your yard is worse than the rest, run the machine over this area 2-3 times and then overseed.

Did you know that your lawn is more valuable than you think? Along with keeping up a good appearance, healthy kept lawns are proven to have environmental, health, and social benefits as well. The Environmental benefits include but are not limited too; Pollution and Erosion Control, Oxygen Production/Carbon Reduction, Heat Dissipation, Water Runoff Reduction, and an Improved Wildlife Habitat. Good quality grass causes soil to erode at a much slower rate while retaining carbon underground and releasing oxygen. A healthy lawn also helps water to drain through the surface, heading deeper into your yard and promoting healthier roots and less runoff. It also becomes an improved home for wildlife, not the pests and rodents, but birds and beneficial insects will flock to your yard and improve the natural landscape that is Iowa. Health benefits are undeniable in their help towards improving physical health. According to a study conducted by the University of California, patients with an outdoor view of nature typically recovered faster than patients who could only see other parts of the hospital through their window. It can improve your mental health in many ways too. According to several studies, activities in your lawn are soothing and can help with stress and even limit the symptoms of AD/HD. Keeping a healthy yard will also help reduce pests and allergies. A healthy yard will drive out unwanted insects by offering a less favorable environment to pests which simultaneously reduces the amount of pollen in the air. The social benefits of a healthy lawn include a comfortable and visually appealing living space. This will make your yard the place to be for fun outdoor activities, from yard games to just sitting by a fire. It can also increase property value by adding curb appeal. A healthy lawn and landscape can increase a property’s value by up to 15%. Houses with nice curb appeal usually sell faster on the market and at a higher rate, some people won’t even consider a house if the curb appeal isn’t attractive enough.