Lawn Care, With an Emphasis on Care

Steve Sauter.

By STEVE KAUFMANContributing Writer

If the rough, long winter is really, truly over and the calendar says it is homeowners attention will turn to their lawns.

But, says Steve Sauter of Lawnco, the Lyndon lawn care, landscaping and maintenance specialist, that attentiveness should already have happened, last fall and winter.

For most of our clients, weve already done heavy fertilizing to get that good root growth going, says the co-founder and co-owner of the 35-year-old Louisville company. So normally, on the first call of Spring, were out making preemergent lawn applications to proactively prevent the crabgrass and weeds that will show up in June and July.

He said theyll also do a small balance of fertilizer, especially if it wasnt done in the fall. If the lawn didnt get fertilized and is weak, a small amount will give it a boosting jump start, Sauter says. But its only a small application. Too much heavy fertilizing in the Spring promotes top growth, but not a lot of root structure, he says. Its the strong root structure that you need for a healthy, robust lawn, especially in the heat of mid-summer.

However, if there hasnt been a history of good lawn management, its important to get things going as quickly as possible.

A lot happens in your lawn the beginning of the season, Sauter says. And if you miss the opportunity, youre behind the eight ball the whole summer.

In the summer, Lawnco follows up with a weed control and insecticide application and then does the heavy fertilizing in Fall and Winter.

But, he says, theyre watching your lawn all the time. We have about 2,800 customers within a three-mile radius of our home base, he says, so we see those properties all the time, even if were just driving by. And we can see problems developing even before the homeowner notices them. We can also see if the cable company has dug something up, or if some tree limbs have fallen after a storm and damaged the grass.

Originally posted here:
Lawn Care, With an Emphasis on Care