Choosing the Right Lawn Fertilizer with Turf Trust

Author: Wali Hashimi

There are many lawn fertilizer brands on the market, most of which you have never heard of. Everyone knows the Scotts brand; they are in every big chain (Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart), but not many know about their rivals.

There are 4 main fertilizer brand competitors;

1. Pennington
2. Jonathan-Green
3. Turf Trust
4. Greenview

Most of these brands can be found in local gardening stores (Meadows Farms, Merrifields, etc).

When choosing a lawn fertilizer, the most important factor is the amount of water-insoluble nitrogen the product contains. This means that the grass will be slowly fed nitrogen (the stuff that keeps it green) for several months. The advantage of slow fed nitrogen is that it does not burn your lawn like traditional Scotts fertilizers, and also provides vital nutrients over a long period of time.

 If you are in need of a cheap fertilizer to give a quick green burst to your lawn, go with Scotts. It is easy to find and not costly. But if you desire a higher quality lawn, I would reccomend either Turf Trust or Jonathan Green Organic Fertilizer.

If you are worried about your pet or the environment, use Jonathan Green Organic Fertilizer. It is a safe alternative fertilizer.

If you don't have any pets, use Turf Trust Professional Lawn Fertilizer. It is the highest-grade lawn fertilizer on the market and will give you optimum results.

Pennington and Greenview are both decent brands, but don't offer the same micronutrients and nitrogen sources as Turf Trust.

Greenview's website gives this information:

Guaranteed analysis:

Total Nitrogen (N) 24%

Available Phosphate 2%

Soluble Potash 8%

Turf Trust

Total Nitrogen (N) 24%    -  Water-Insoluble Nitrogen (N) >40%

***Water-insoluble Nitrogen (N )>40%

Available Phosphate 2%

Soluble Potash 12%

Pennington
Total Nitrogen (N) 29%

Available Phosphate 0%

Soluble Potash 5%

Jonathan Green Organic Fertilizer

Total Nitrogen (N) 8%

Available Phosphate 3%

Soluble Potash 1%

Scotts Turf Builder

Total Nitrogen (N) 29%

Available Phosphate 2%

Soluble Potash 4%

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/choosing-the-right-lawn-fertilizer-with-turf-trust-2790989.html

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Lawn Fertilizer is a post from: Popular Garden and Landscape

How to Provide the Best Lawn Maintenance During Summer

Author: Richard Greene

If you aren't too careful, you can go overboard with your summertime lawn maintenance. The reason is because during the hottest months of July and August, grasses can become semi-dormant. This makes the grasses more vulnerable. If you want to keep your lawn fresh and green during these hot months ahead, then there are certain things you can do to encourage this.

The first thing to remember is, don't stress your lawn. Your grass doesn't grow as much during the summer, being in a semi-dormant state, so less mowing is commanded. Keeping the blades on your lawn mower sharpened will give you a clean cut of around 2'' to 2.5'' on your grass height. You don't want your grass getting to tall during the summer, but if it does, don't cut it all down at one time. Instead, take it in steps, cutting it down gradually, little by little.

During extreme heat or drought, your grass runs the danger of losing its moisture through the grass tips. Stress to your lawn can also come from the wheels of your lawn mower, as well as lots of foot-traffic from people barbecuing and playing games on the lawn. This can lead to required lawn maintenance during the fall season in order to repair the damage.

How often do you need to be watering your lawn during the summer months? Many people think it needs to be done often. But with good lawn maintenance throughout the rest of the year, watering during the summer months could be kept down to an acceptable minimum. Now, when you do water, if you don't want to lose grass during the hot months of summer, then the best time to do your watering is in the early hours of the day. Doing this will allow the water the chance to evaporate during the day and prevent damage to your lawn. For those of you who are using an irrigation system to water your lawn, you'll want to moisten the ground down to about four inches. But remember too that your local government may have water destruction policies and ordinances in place where you live, to prevent water shortage, especially during a drought season.

Problems with insects are to be treated as needed. But you need to properly evaluate any insect infestation to be certain of implementing the right treatment for whatever insect problem has arisen on your lawn. It might be necessary to call in professionals if your infestation is a major one.

If you grass becomes diseased somehow, then there is not much you could do but want to take care of it in the late summer or early fall. You will need to repair your lawn, and most likely even replace it at that point.

Weed infestation can be helped by herbicides or even hand-weeding. Be sure if you choose hand-weeding as your method that you get down to the rest of the problem, otherwise you will not regain control of your lawn from these weeds.

Fertilizing your lawn during the summer is not a good idea. Doing this activity during the hot days of summer will suck out precious moisture, making your lawn susceptible to heat and drought conditions. Instead, wait until the fall season to add fertilizer to your lawn. The best kind of fertilizer to use is one that will slowly release nutrients into the soil throughout the search.

Remember that good lawn care doesn't happen in one day. If you plan properly and utilize the summer lawn maintenance techniques discussed here, you will have a lush, green lawn that will be enjoyed not only during the summer months, but all year long.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/how-to-provide-the-best-lawn-maintenance-during-summer-471869.html

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Lawn Maintenance is a post from: Popular Garden and Landscape

Top Ten Reasons to Hire a Lawn Service Provider

Author: Perry Boylan

1. A lawn care program customized to your lawn's needs -

Every lawn is unique, with specific strengths and challenges. It takes a considerable investment of time to properly identify all of these aspects of your lawn. Lawn service professionals take the time to analyze your lawn, taking note of its grass and soil types, turf density, exposure, diseases, insects, weeds ... even pet damage. This information is then used to develop a treatment program customized to address your lawn's specific problems while enhancing its strengths.

2. Lawn care designed around your goals -

You probably have specific ideas about how you want your lawn to look. That's why your lawn care provider will work with you to understand what you want to accomplish with your lawn. Together you will develop a program designed to give you the results you're hoping for. You may be able to learn basic lawn care tips on your own, but only a professional can deliver the customized results you are really looking for.

3. Professional grade products you can't buy at the hardware store -

Give your lawn the edge it needs to thrive. Sure, you will be able to find fertilizers and grass seeds at your local hardware store -- even pest control products. But you will not find the professional grade products that are available to licensed lawn care providers. Additionally, your lawn service provider knows exactly how to use the products to treat your lawn, far reducing the risks of damaging your lawn -- or your health -- through improper handling of chemicals.

4. Certified, trained landscaping professionals -

Put your lawn in the care of true experts. Most lawn service providers require their field staff to undergo rigorous training and certification procedures. When deciding on a lawn care provider, make sure to investigate the training and certification methods. Settling on the cheapest service might only deliver mediocre results that you could have achieved without paying for professional assistance.

5. Attentive, expert service all season long -

A good lawn service provider will monitor your lawn carefully, with bi-monthly or even weekly visits all year long. The certified lawn specialists will evaluate your lawn's progress during every visit, adjusting your custom treatment program as your lawn improves. They will even work with you to establish an optimal mowing and watering schedule essential for your lawn's success. Don't trust your lawn to people who just spray it and move on; make sure you are getting a thorough and comprehensive evaluation from your service provider.

6. FREE service calls within 48 hours -

The whole idea behind a lawn service professional is that you shouldn't have to worry about your lawn -- ever. Even if you notice problems or have questions between visits, most lawn service providers have on-call service available to full-program customers. If something unexpected happens to your lawn between your regularly scheduled visits, you'll have an emergency service number. You call and the provider sends a specialist to take care of the problem right away.

7. Environmental stewardship -

When your lawn is strong and green, it helps cool the air, filter rainwater, prevent erosion and improve air quality. A lawn care specialist can help enhance these benefits, offering certified organic options. Additionally, they rigorously screen their products and service programs to ensure that your lawn is treated in the most environmentally friendly way possible. By using scientific research, the most state-of-the-art, accurate equipment and trained professionals, your lawn is never over-treated and your environmental footprint is always minimal.

8. Only the treatment programs you want -

Contrary to what some home owners think, lawn care professionals make sure you are in control every step of the way. Your lawn will grow and thrive according to your goals and specifications. And since there are typically no long-term commitments, you are usually free to stop your lawn care service at any time.

9. Results the "neighbor boy" can't deliver -

Jimmy, the neighborhood go-getter, is not a lawn care professional. Sure, he may offer to mow your lawn and take care of your plants, but he doesn't have the experience and training needed to really treat and care for your lawn and landscaping. Don't just pay anyone to treat your lawn -- make sure they are professionals.

10. Professionals can guarantee their work -

Lawn care professionals stand behind their service and our products. The people associated with these companies take pride in their work, from the service professionals who monitor and treat your lawn during scheduled visits to the customer support staff that keeps everything running smoothly. In the event anything should go wrong, or leave you dissatisfied, they have the resources and the dedication to fix it to your standards.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/landscaping-articles/top-ten-reasons-to-hire-a-lawn-service-provider-1295588.html

About the Author

Perry Boylan is a Marketing Manager with Scotts LawnService. Perry has worked for Scotts Miracle-Gro for 10 years providing sound lawn, garden, and pest management advice. Scotts LawnService will transform your lawn with professional lawn care services, tree and shrub care, and gardening tips. Scotts offers a FREE lawn analysis. Visit http://www.scottslawnservice.com/ for information.

Lawn Service is a post from: Popular Garden and Landscape

Sod Worms - Lawn Worms

Author: Ling Tong

Sod worms are also known as lawn moths. This name comes from the fact that these worms change into moths over time and they feed off the grass blades in yards, golf courses and in some areas of turfgrass. In the larval stage these worms are dingy white in colour. As adults they fly around the lawn planted their seeds and feeding off the grass at night. However it is not really the moths that damage the grass. It is the larvae that do the most damage. The larvae feed off the grass at night and leave an area of the lawn bare. During the spring and summer months the larvae turn into moths that drop their eggs and the cycle continues again.

The damage caused by lawn moths can be clearly seen in the grass. An infected are of grass will appear to be brown in appearance and it will have an irregular shape. If you closely examine the grass you can see small tunnels or lines that branch out around the browned area. In the damaged area, the blades of grass have been removed completely and the area appears to be scalped. There are other indicators that there may be an infestation of lawn moths and that is the presence of the small green fecal pellets.

Treatment for the sod worm starts with how well you monitor the amount of damage that has been inflicted upon your lawn. If you notice that you are getting small brown patches but nothing too big, then you might want to try using a simple home remedy of laundry detergent mixed with water. However, if you have tried the home remedy and you find that you are not able to contain the worm then you might want to consider getting a chemical product from your local gardening store. If you are unsure what to do about your problem then you might want to contact a lawn care expert in your area to find out what you can do to prevent the increase in damaged areas in your lawn. There are a number of chemical products on the market today but if you plan to use one of these then you need to make sure that you are able to use them on your grass.

Lawn moths are more prevalent in grasses like bluegrass and Zoysia. The problem with using chemicals on your grass to kill your worm infestation is that you might be killing insects and pests that are actually beneficial to your grass and then there is the possibility that you might end up killing your grass anyway. Be sure to read information on the product to find out what insects that it will kill. There are also a number of biological controls that are capable of killing the sod worm so you might want to consider exploring that avenue if you are unsure about using chemical products.

Proper lawn maintenance will help you discover the presence of these worms right away so that you can take steps immediately before too much of your grass gets destroyed.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/sod-worms-lawn-worms-516957.html

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For more information on sod worms,grass types and other lawn care related topics visit http://www.HobbyLawnCare.com

Lawn Care Sod is a post from: Popular Garden and Landscape

Naturally Safe for Humans and Pets With Pet Safe Lawn Care Products

Author: Chanaka Dunuwila

Pet owners are rightfully worried about spraying their lawns with any number of toxic chemicals which can pose significant health risks for not only their pets but family members as well. However, there is actually very little reason to be worried at all as you will find out. There is only a small chance that improper pesticide or herbicide application will pose a health risk, and that small chance is entirely negated with proper application. With proper usage, all lawn care products are pet safe, although you can purchase specifically natural pet safe lawn care products. Either way, you’ll be protecting your pets which can be like family to you.

Proper Application and Pet Safe

As previously mentioned, commercial lawn care products are almost entirely safe when applied correctly. The problem really arises under two conditions. Firstly, volatile chemicals can release toxic gases over time, and many pesticides and herbicides include volatile chemicals for their sheer strength. Fortunately, liquid pet safe lawn care products allow you to specifically target problem areas in your yard, so you aren’t forced to spray the entire thing, severely reducing the amount of chemicals that you need to use in the first place. Also, proper application will only use a small amount of chemicals in a given area, so the pet safe lawn care products won’t be concentrated enough to release enough toxic fumes to harm humans or pets. The second risk comes from spraying toys like tennis balls. Lawn care products sprayed on toys can remain toxic for weeks, so you’ll want to remove any toys from the yard before spraying.

If you want the marketed pet safe lawn care products, then there are a number of substances which still get the job done without any harmful side effects. Naturally occurring bacteria can be implanted into your yard. For example, beneficial nematodes attack insect larvae by injecting them with toxins, and then they eat the dead larvae. When all the larvae are consumed, the nematodes die off themselves, so you are left with absolutely no harmful substances in your lawn. Your job is completely done, and you don’t need to dirty your hands at all.

You can also use essential oils derived from garlic, citrus oil, and pepper extracts to combat many problems facing your lawn. Completely natural and completely safe, you won’t need to worry about any harmful side effects from these products. Remember: with proper application and keeping toys out of the way, all lawn care products are safe to use with pets around. However, the only surefire way to protect your pets is to purchase pet safe lawn care products, so any mistakes on your part won’t make you or your pets sick.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/naturally-safe-for-humans-and-pets-with-pet-safe-lawn-care-products-524516.html

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Visit Here for More: Lawn Care Tips , Organic Lawn Care Tips and Beginner Guide to Lawn Care

Lawn Care Chemicals is a post from: Popular Garden and Landscape

Tips for Total Yard Maintenance

Author: Styla Brite

It can be challenging to choose a Delaware landscape company. You may be confused between how much and who to give your money for a perfect landscape up to your expectations. A good landscaping idea should be able to be applied by everyone. There are lots of good ideas for landscaping but you should investigate yourself on internet or in magazines to find the one that fulfill your needs. For example, if you are in Delaware, search Delaware landscape over the internet and you are good to go. Here are some ideas you can use in landscaping your yard.

Evergreens are always a good choice. Those beautiful trees will change the appearance of your yard. Many people use ordinary trees when landscaping their yards but always use evergreen to feel stability and structured look. Also evergreens are not seasonal so it will benefit your yard for entire year. They remain beautiful in all seasons making them perfect for landscaping ideas. Making your yard attractive and beautiful the whole year is the key to a landscaping design.

Another good idea is Hardscape to use at your backyard. "Hardscape" means using some random things like rocks, fences, walls in your backyard. Plants are not the only idea on yard landscaping. Think outside the box and you'll find a lot more other than trees and plants. No matter if its summer or spring, your yard will look very attractive all year. Those beautiful plants and trees will make your yard beautiful and shine in all seasons. You can also use walls and fences to make your home look beautiful.

Calculate your budget before you search for Delaware Landscape Company. After you calculate your budget now its time to search for professional landscapers. It's easy to find them over the internet, as I mentioned earlier in this article if you are in Delaware search for a term "Delaware Landscape" and you'll find plenty of them. Be sure to stick to your budget when you start to meet with Delaware landscapers. Just move to another Delaware landscape company if you feel you are being pushed to spend more than your budget. Chose that landscaper company who is willing to complete a task within your budget. It's your home, you are the customer, you'll decide what you need and how much to spend.

So in the end if you find professional and affordable Delaware Landscaper Company, you can make your yard fabulous and charming within your budget.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/landscaping-articles/tips-for-total-yard-maintenance-3333950.html

About the Author

Styla Brite is Published author and product reviewer. Continue reading more about Delaware Landscape and Tree service Delaware

Total Lawn Care is a post from: Popular Garden and Landscape

Chicago Lawn Care

Author: Craig Borglum

Chicago Lawn Care

Chicago lawn care tips

What you should know about Chicago lawn care

Chicago lawn care can be a very tedious business thanks to the changing seasons; however, with a few guidelines, the perfect lawn can be yours. Be prepared because there are many details that go into Illinois lawn care. Things like which species of grass to choose, soil preparation, the best time of year to cultivate, the best fertilizer, and how rid your lawn of pesky weeds are all important factors in maintaining the greatest lawn care in Chicago.

The primary factor in establishing a perfect Chicago lawn care is the soil. First of all, the lawn must be eliminated of weeds. Perennial weeds such as quackgrass can be eliminated by hand or with the help of a chemical herbicide such as Roundup. Be sure to follow and fully understand all the directions so that your lawn isn't harmed by the chemicals. After the lawn is free of weeds, it is important to work the soil by a rotary tiller and add organic matter to ready the soil for seeding and sodding. Incorporate sources such as compost or peat into the soil.  When that is completed, starter fertilizers can be applied to help add essential nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. With this base, the care of your Chicago lawn care will be a breeze.

Another factor in creating the best lawn habitat is choosing the right grass to lie. Because of Chicago's climate, it is important to pick a grass that can handle all types of weather. Since grasses differ in their growth habits, appearance, quality, maintenance needs, and other factors, the proper grass type for a Chicago lawn would be the Kentucky bluegrass. Kentucky bluegrass is one of the principal types of grass found in northern Illinois. This grass is good because of its ability to easily recover from damage due to its rhizome roots. Rhizomes spread out horizontally to the surface of the soil allowing for steady growth in bare areas. Kentucky bluegrass requires moderate maintenance such as watering and fertilizing to sustain its high quality. This specific species of grass prefers the sun, but it has been known to tolerate the shade, as well. It is readily available as sod.

If you plan on maintaining the proper Chicago lawn care, it is important that you take into consideration the changing seasons of northern Illinois. During each month, he lawn owner should actively mow the lawn, apply fertilizer, maintain adequate weed control, water, and reseed their lawn in its beginning stages. Problems are easily avoided if the Chicago lawn care owner can avoid common mistakes. Overfertilizing poses an issue to a lawn because it can injure the grass or contribute to diseases throughout the lawn. Overwatering, poorly prepared soil, and improper grass for the site, and too much shade can also hinder the growth of the lawn. Another issue can occur when the grass is mowed too short allowing for the easy growth of weeds.

In northern Illinois around the Chicago area, lawn care can be difficult due to the weather, but if you prepare the site properly and choose wisely when it comes to species of grass, type of fertilizer among other factors, your lawn will be in great shape. That is the key to Chicago lawn care!

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/landscaping-articles/chicago-lawn-care-2850801.html

About the Author

Bob smith is a noted author and lecturer and can be reached at Chicago lawn care

Lawn Care Ga is a post from: Popular Garden and Landscape