Learn the Top lawn care mistakes to help you improve your lawn at home. According to the Lawn Doctor, the nation’s leading expert in lawn care since 1967,the nation’s compiled a Top 10 List of common mistakes homeowners make when it comes to home landscaping:

1. Cutting lawn too short to save time between mows: Removing more than one third of a grass blade results in a weakened root system and leads to future lawn issues.

2. Unprepared planting strategy and methods: Plants thrive when planted with appropriate depth, spacing and rootball preparation. Research plant’s species and conditions it best thrives in to accommodate root system and growth needs.

3. Ignoring differences between mature and young plants: Water needs of young and mature plants differ. Young trees and shrubs require extensive water and different sun conditions than mature plants with established root systems.

4. Watering at the wrong time of day: Homeowners should maintain a deep and infrequent watering schedule throughout the year, watering no more tha 1 inch a week.

5. Skimp on mulching: Mulch promotes lawn growth with nitrogen in soil and reduces fertilizer needs by one third.

6. Misunderstanding differences between seed and sod: Sod reduces soil erosion and requires less watering and is most effective for “building” a new lawn. Seeds fill in grass gaps and build a defense against pests.

7. Fertilizing out of season: Timing is critical to maximize fertilizer effectiveness. Northern homeowners should only fertilize lawns three times a year: once in late spring, once in late summer, and following the last mow of the year. Southern homeowners should fertilize lawns in the spring after grass maintains a green color and then again in July or August.

8. Using powder products to treat a lawn: Powder products are often cheaper, but less effective in treating lawns since powder blows away in the wind before it can saturate soil.

9. Using “green” products to fix problems immediately: Organic and “green” products take longer to work since more applications are required to produce results.

10. Ignoring soil tests: Soil tests are essential to healthy lawns since pH balance determines the best type of grass to grow successfully.

Brown spots on your grass? This can be the cause of many different things: compacted roots, animals,insects, high traffic areas, less water and sun. No need of buying expensive products just to fix your lawn. Here are some tips for you for a healthy lawn:

In fixing your lawn, you need a fertilizer, seed, and also compost. To begin with, rack the affected area with a firm rack, to roughen your lawn. With a hoe,cultivator,or a garden fork loosen the soil down a couple of inches to give the grass the chance to germinate and grow long and healthy roots. place the fertilizer down and work it into the soil with a garden fork or your hands. Just make sure you have gloves when working with those fertilizers. When fertilizer worked into the soil you can then sprinkle the grass over the top of the soil. In buying the seed, choose the perennial type that fits your area an that would last in your area will not die after its season. Once the seed is in the area, cover the area with a compost to help in the healthy growth of your grass. Then water the seeds thoroughly to give it a good start.

If your dog or pet created a spot of urine in the area, add some lime to the soil to help neutralize the urine acid and not ruin your grass. If not sure if its an animal urine, you can test the soil with the PH tester. Grass requires a PH level of 6-7 to grow right. And when dealing with some fixes, place the seed fertilizer together with the compost in a bucket then mix up to make sure it is dispersed evenly, now, roughen the area that needs to be fixed and place the mixer to each stop and press down finally, water the patches everyday until about a two inches high new grass grow an do water it at least every other day until the grass is well rooted that would create a healthy lawn.

For us who always love to plant on our garden and is experiencing some problems on how to get away with those bugs, here are some great tips..For each kind of bug that can cause damage to your plants, you can plant certain plants that could be very helpful to your other plants to keep away from those bugs that might put your garden or lawns in danger..

Aphids - The small whitish bugs that love rose bushes and other flowers. Plant Chives, Nasturtium, Basil, or Catnip nearby to fight aphids.

Japanese Beetles - Plant Geraniums or Garlic to keep them away.

Mosquitoes - Plant Rosemary or Basil to keep mosquitoes away.

Tomato Horn worm - Plant Borage near your tomato plants to keep them away.

Flea Beetles and Potato Beetles - Plant Catnip nearby to keep them away.

Ants - Plant Spearmint or Peppermint to keep ants away. It can be planted near your house to naturally deter ants from your house.

You can escape these bugs in your gardens and lawns..with those suggested plants that could help you take good care of your plants. Feverfew and Marigolds repel many different kinds of insects and are a useful addition to flower and vegetable gardens.

Moss in the lawn is a major problem in the Lower Mainland, especially during the rainy winter months. Moss takeover is a result of a series of garden problems. Identifying and solving these problems promptly will discourage moss growth in the future.

Cultural Control
Maintain a good fertilizing and watering routine. For the first feeding, a well-balanced lawn food, best applied in late March or early April (depending on weather conditions). Later in the summer, a higher-nitrogen fertilizer, can be applied to stimulate,green growth. Keep in mind that while fertilizing is important, you should not over fertilize your lawn. During dry periods, less frequent but longer period of watering will produce deeper and healthier roots. Amend compacted or wet soils. Lawn roots thrive in healthy soil that drains well and has ample organic matter. Poor soil will not drain well and this encourages moss growth. To correct compacted soil, aeration is recommended. Aeration is the removal of soil plugs; this allows air to penetrate directly to the root zone. The added oxygen encourages soil microbes to break down organic matter, such as thatch. The holes also allow water to penetrate more easily. In severe situations, you may have to regrate the area or install drainage tiles.

Chemical Control
This method quickly knocks down the moss and helps you regain control of the lawn. The best way to eliminate moss chemically is to use products containing ferrous sulphate. Many products on the market contain this active ingredient in differing concentrations. Some moss killers are also mixed with fertilizers. These come in dry form like a conventional fertilizer or in a container that attaches to a garden hose.with moss control combination (premixed bag) will kill the moss and encourage strong lawn growth to take over the bald spots (an application of moss killer/fertilizer mix should be applied in mid-spring or early fall). Make sure to follow the directions on the label closely. Also, take care while spreading near pavement and the house to avoid staining the cement.

“Weed control is more than making a pretty yard. Weeds compete with grasses for water and nutrients,” says Walheim. “A well-cared-for, vigorous lawn will resist weed invasions.”

Below are the five steps to keep your yard in top shape for weed resistance:

1. Mow high – Mow the upper end portion of the required height for the type of your grass encourages deeper roots and better heat as well as drought tolerance because the grass helps shade the soil to reduce evaporation and it maximize the soil moisture content. With this, the need for frequent water could be minimize. Mower should be set at 11/2 inches high for common Bermuda; 1 inch high for hybrid Bermuda; 3 inches high for tall fescue; 21/2 inches for Kentucky bluegrass; and 21/2 to 3 inches for St. Augustine.

2. Water properly – Water the soil thoroughly down to its depth of 6 – 8 inches to prevent shallow root system, It is important to wet the soil properly so they could absorb the water very well. To check for its thorough absorption of water, insert a rod or screwdriver into the soil; it will stop when it reaches dry dirt.

3. Fertilize at the right time of year - This is one of the most important step. This depends on the type of grass. Fall or spring for cool-season lawns and late spring and early summer for warm-season lawns. But be aware of the insects that might ruin your grass like grubs that eat grass roots.

4. Aerate and dethatch - Remove small cores of soil as it is necessary for better water and penetration of nutrients.

5. Kill weeds – Buy such product that would be best for your lawn and try to know what kind of weeds you have in your lawn so you could have the right protection for your lawn against weeds. And learn to follow instructions properly.

Source: Lawn Care

Looking upon our lawns makes us feel good. But we should always be aware of the important things we should learn to help keep our lawn in good condition and be conscious as well of the following signs or warnings we can see in our lawns:

Here are the visual signs your lawn will send when it needs special care and attention:

1. Bare spots that never seem to grow back

2. Plenty of weeds that refuse to go away

3. Grasses in patches from other people’s lawns

4. Yellowish ‘dead’ spots from pet’s eliminations

5. Worn out areas from high traffic

6. Anemic-looking areas under trees

7. Strange moldy growths

8. An overall look that says the lawn has seen better days.

These are the problems you should be aware of when taking care of lawns. You need to know the causes and he prevention of it provided one should seek the advice of a lawn expert to provide proper care and restore the health of your lawn.

Source: isnare.com

Sod Web Worms
also known as lawn moths, are usually ½ an inch to an inch long. They infest turf grasses and a major problems of most lawn owners. These insects are usually dormant during the daytime, but feed on your grass during the night resulting in brown patches in your lawn. Among the grasses where these insects are most prevalently found are bluegrass, bent grass, buffalo grass, and zoysia grass. During the summer if they are allowed to reproduce and continue to feed on your grass.

Fire Ants
These red ants may just be ¼ inches long, their bites can be very painful and dangerous, when suffering from many bites . so many homeowners want to rid their property of Fire Ants. They can build up colonies that are one or two feet high, housing thousands of these Fire Ants. Controlling the spread of these Ants can be very difficult as thousands can be killed and more will still appear in coming weeks.

Mole Crickets
They are small brown insects which are about 1 inch long and often infest turf grass areas. are usually the states who have to battle constantly with Mole Cricket infestation from North Carolina to Texas and parts of southern New Mexico. Mole Crickets are especially damaging for golf course owners as they eat the grass blades from the root up so that it must be replanted. Now, these insects do not eat much and thus, only large populations will prove damaging in most cases.

Scale Insects or Coccoidea
Scale Insects are very small insects that are parasites of many plants and a very difficult problem to have as their small size makes them hard to detect and exterminate. These insects are also known as Coccoidea.Coccoidea
These pests are parasites of many plants and fees on the natural sap that plants produce. Once Coccoidea insects find a plant, they usually become immobile and fees off the plant for the remainder of their life. Apart from their small size, adult scale insects can be especially tough to exterminate has they are often invulnerable to pesticides due to their covering. Pesticides are often only effective against young scale insects who have not yet developed their coating but these insects are always moving and thus can be difficult to detect.

Japanese Beetles
The Japanese beetle is a small beetle, just greater than ½ an inch long, which have come to the US from Japan. They are destructive to grape vines, rose bushes, and many other plants. These beetles are not dangerous to your family or your lawn, but can ruin gardens in a matter of weeks if not controlled. The best way to control this pest is the use of beetle traps. Japanese Beetles are weak fliers and thus often fall when flying, especially when they make contact with an object. These beetle traps emit a scent that attracts the Japanese Beetles and once these beetles make contact with the trap, they fall into a pit and cannot escape. Pesticides to control the growth of Japanese beetles can also be used but many people prefer to have organic gardens and thus steer clear of the use of chemicals to exterminate pests.