Core aeration is the removal of small plugs of soil from your lawn. This allows oxygen, water and nutrients to get down to the roots, which is necessary for growth and improves the health of your lawn.

This process also helps to control thatch, the dead layer of grass left over from mowing by providing oxygen to the microorganisms that break down the thatch layer. Excessive thatch slows growth and weakens turf.

We often find dallisgrass in our lawns. This is a very common perennial grassy weed, often mistaken for crabgrass. The easiest way to identify dallisgrass is by the distinctive drooping seed head with dark seeds. In most lawns, it is cut before it can it is seen, making it difficult to identify. Once established, it’s difficult to eliminate or prevent.

Currently, there is no selective herbicide for dallisgrass, meaning anything that kills it will also damage the turf around it.

Armyworms will begin eating your grass in the fall. These “worms” are actually the larva of a species of moth. They seem to appear suddenly and “march” across the lawn eating the grass stems.

They are typically between an inch to an inch and half in length, green to almost black with light or yellow horizontal stripes. They can be identified by an inverted “Y” by their head.

While several over-the-counter products are available, heavy infestations may require professional applications.

In general, lawns require at least 1 inch of water per week to stay healthy. To find out if you are watering your lawn enough, place an empty tuna or cat food can outside in your lawn before your water system turns on. After it is complete, you should have an inch of water in the can.

It is important to receive pre-emergent treatment in the fall and winter. Winter weeds make your lawn look its worst when the turf is dormant. Cold weather forces warm season turf like Bermuda and Zoysia grass into dormancy. Dormancy is natural during the winter months. Unfortunately, weeds don’t take a break.

Cold weather brings out a new crop of winter weeds. Not only are these weeds unsightly, they can displace desirable turf grass and ruin your lawn.

After our famous “Double Pass” core aeration treatment is completed, we over-seed your lawn with the finest grade fescue seed that one can apply. We then use Organic Canadian peat moss (instead of messy wheat straw) to better condition the clay soil and insulate the seed, eliminating raking after germination and better support the thin and bare areas of your lawn.

This occurs when a lawn receives too little water. Lawns require at least one inch of water per week to stay healthy. If your lawn does not receive one inch of water per week from rainfall, you will need to water it. Use a rain gauge to help determine if your lawn is receiving enough water. The best way to treat drought damage is to prevent it by ensuring your lawn receives enough water. If your lawn shows symptoms of drought and you have Bermuda or Zoysia grass (or other warm-season lawns), proper watering and fertilization will help it recover.

If you have cool-season grass like Fescue, you need to have a core aeration and seeding treatment the following Fall to fully recover.