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Showing posts from October, 2019

How to Stay Up to Date with Lawn and Garden Tips

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Taking care of your lawn and garden might not seem so important until you get a notice that your neighborhood’s standards require your lawn to be of a certain size and quality. Also, neighbors and visitors will enjoy seeing that you have a beautiful lawn and garden, so that’s a bonus incentive on taking good care of your landscaping making sure to use the best lawn fertilizer available . In fact, landscaping is the key word here, since the best way to stay up to date with lawn and garden tips is to ask your local landscaping professionals about what you should do. They will have a lot of good advice about how to take care of your garden, what type of grass grows best in the environment of your local climate, and what maintenance recommendations you should follow when preparing your garden and lawn for the winter.   You can also consider asking your neighbors, looking for tips and advice online, buying a gardening magazine or even asking your friends and family members to let yo...

Essential Tips for Avoiding Lawn Damage Once the Frost Arrives

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Taking care of your lawn will not end in the winter, even if you no longer use fertilizer. Making sure your lawn is in good condition throughout the winter season and taking the right steps to make that happen is essential when it comes to keeping your lawn healthy in the long run:   The first thing you’ll have to do is to trim your lawn to the proper height in the autumn, before the freeze arrives, and get it ready for the winter. Make sure that you give it plenty of ideal nutrients by using fertilizer that’s especially designed for fall treatment. Once the fall ends and the freeze arrives, cease all activity related to tending to your lawn. Avoid ferilizing, treating and mowing your lawn. The alternative would be damaging your lawn beyond recognition and having to work hard again in the spring to make it grow back. Finally, it’s a good idea to make sure you don’t step on the lawn and that you prevent your pets (and the neighbor’s pets, for that matter) from urinating on it....

How to Talk to Your Neighbor About Dog Spots in Your Yard

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Problems between neighbors often arise from the most unlikely reasons. One of them is the presence of brown spots on the lawn. If you notice that there are brown spots on your lawn, and you don’t own a dog (or your dog is trained to go in places where no real damage can be done), then the only real explanation is that your neighbor is letting their dog pee on your lawn.   The most common excuse is that the neighbor doesn’t have much control over where their dog urinates. After all, as they say, “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” so most people just turn a blind eye as long as it’s not their lawn that gets damaged.   Regardless of whether your neighbor is trying to prevent the issue or encouraging their dog to do it, you’ll find it best to approach the matter in an assertive way. First of all, avoid making any accusations without proof, and avoid raising your voice. What you’re looking for is a firm tone but one that also suggests you’re willing to let bygones be byg...

What Is a Tree Sunscald and How Can You Prevent It?

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If you’ve been to the north and inspected some of the trees’ south-facing sides, you might have noticed signs of what is called a tree sunscald. A sunscald typically occurs when temperatures in the wintertime rise just above freezing during the day, then drop to 5-6 degrees or more below freezing.   What happens is an intriguing phenomena: as the trees are faced with the warmth of the sunlight during a warm winter day, they temporarily exit their hibernation cycle as a response to being exposed to the heat and sunlight. This “awakening” is typically localized on the side where the exposure is greatest – in the north, that will typically be the south side of the tree.   As the temperature drops in the evening and night, however, the tree will not have enough time to re-enter its hibernation cycle, which leaves it vulnerable to the cold. The result is that the cold ends up killing many of the awakened living cells, and even lead to frost cracks, which typically arise when t...

How to Protect Your Lawn from Dog Urine Over the Winter

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Many people believe that it’s the acidic content of a dog’s urine that causes the dreaded brown spots on the lawn that homeowners seek to get rid of before they even appear. However, the fact is that the nitrogen content is the real culprit. As a result, you have to keep that fact in mind when considering how to protect your lawn from dog urine over the winter.   In the winter, your lawn is especially sensitive. Dog urine, along with a number of other possible factors, can easily kill your lawn if allowed to do so. Fortunately, there are ways to avoid the issue and actively treat grass for dog urine and protect your lawn in the winter.   One of the best methods is to prepare your lawn properly for the winter. As long as you observe all the right preparation methods, your lawn will stay strong, and the added water in the layer of snow that covers it should be able to protect it from the urea in your dog’s urine.   Since water can dilute the urea (which contains the...

Why Is It Important to Fertilize Your Lawn in the Fall?

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Most believe that fertilizing the lawn is a simple matter. After all, “it’s just lawn.” However, if you live in a neighborhood where lawn quality and appearance is considered very important, then you’ll definitely have to do some research about why fertilizing your lawn is important and how you can choose the right type of fertilizer for the job.   Fertilizing your lawn has a few very important benefits that stand regardless of when you do it. For example, it provides protection to the soil, and it can prevent various pests from taking hold and wreaking havoc. Also, since most types of fertilizer and lawn care products today carry weed prevention treatments, you can expect there to be fewer weeds once your lawn starts growing.   In the fall, however, there are a lot of different types of fertilizers that can help you out a great deal. Special fertilizer treatments often include phosphorus, which is added for stronger roots and overall better resilience. Also, fertilizing...

How to Overwinter Your Trees So They Stay Healthy Until the Spring Comes

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If you own semi-hardy potted trees or even tropical trees, you might be scared to think what will happen with your tree once the winter frost arrives. Although some might consider keeping their trees in a stable, higher temperature all through winter, this isn’t necessarily the best plan. Experts consider that overwintering your trees is a far better option to keep them healthy and alive.   Overwintering your trees needs to be done in order to help the tree adapt to a harsher climate and essentially trigger its “hibernating” process over the winter period.   The bulk of your work will be in the fall. You have to start by dialing down on the watering as the temperature grows cold, and allowing the tree’s sap to reduce in quantity and its leaves to become a yellow hue, and start falling off.  Now is not the time to give it nourishment, wait till spring to feed your tree with an organic fertilizer Denver home stores sell .   Next, spray the tree with dormant oil ...

How Can You Have the Best Halloween Decorations on the Block?

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It’s usually great to get into the Halloween spirit. Not only is this one of the most fun and exciting holidays of the year, but it also allows you to show off your decorating skills for all your neighbors and visitors to see.   Getting the best Halloween decorations on the block doesn’t necessarily have to be flashy or expensive.  Be sure to apply an organic liquid fertilizer on your grass for the extra foot traffic it will get. You won’t need a lot of lights and pumpkins stacked around your yard to impress people, as most of your neighbors will probably already be doing that. Instead, the key is originality.   If you’re a fan of contemporary horror films and Steven King novels, that’s usually enough to get all the ideas you need for original and truly scary Halloween decorations. Halloween party ideas and decorations inspired from movies can include anything from a Nightmare on Elm Street sign to bloody knife cupcakes, Friday the 13 th mugs and even masks and blo...

Tips for Keeping Your Trees and Shrubs Watered This Fall

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Offering the trees and shrubs in your garden proper care in fall ensures that they will be strong enough to survive harsh winter conditions. The most efficient insulator, that will keep your plants alive during those hard winter months, is water, so one of the most important activities that need proper timing and a careful approach is watering. The same is true if you know how to make grass green come Spring .  Here is how to do it right: Check the weather forecast and give your plants a generous amount of water one last time before the ground freezes. In most areas, that moment comes several weeks after the first frost, when the temperature is just about to drop under 40 degrees Fahrenheit; When the weather turns cold, reduce the frequency of your watering sessions to one or two per month; Pay special attention to newly planted trees and shrubs – if the soil around them has not compacted yet, apply the water gently to avoid hurting the roots that are still sensitive; Water e...