Different times of the year present different challenges for lawn care. Challenges that a normal person doesn’t have to task themselves to think about if they hire us. We talk a lot in these blogs about specific weeds, unique frustrations, and even the different ways weather affects treatment. The goal of this blog is to tie those ideas together in a way that peeks behind the curtain a little, explaining how everything we do is strategic.
Choosing Products
Before we do anything else, it is our job to know what tools we have at our disposal, and which ways we can utilize these tools to maximize our results. These could be pre-emergent weed control products, post-emergent weed control products, fertilizers, soil conditioners and more. It can be as simple or as complicated as a person wants to make it, but the fact of the matter is, the more deeply a person understands the subject matter and the goals, the more complicated it becomes. That’s where a quality lawn care team comes in. It is our job to discern the needs, set the goals, and select the products best suited to attain those goals.
This landscape (pun intended) is ever-changing. As time goes on, products become less useful. New products may arrive on the market that need to be vetted. Ideas and concepts are developed and researched on a university level that find a way to be democratized and useful for residential applications. These, among a litany of other influences, mean that we are constantly evaluating our program, its individual components, and when they are best used. One of the most important influences on timing is weather.
Does Weather Factor Into a Program?
After decisions have been made about what components to use, deciding when to utilize them is just as important. Of the factors that affect timing, the most important is arguably weather. Most of what we are trying to accomplish in your landscape requires life and growth to accomplish our goals, and weather and temperature directly influence both of those things.
Weeds, for instance, are directly influenced by weather. Some of them grow when it’s hot. Others grow when it’s cold. Knowing what grows and when it grows are key to knowing what it is you are trying to prevent or rid yourself of, and that informs what products you need to use. Beyond that, one must consider the conditions when growth may begin so you’re neither too early, nor too late to prevent that particular species from showing up.
Our lawns and landscape plants are constantly influenced by the weather as well. Not only is it important for your lawn professionals to understand what your plants need, but also how your plants use the products applied, and what the eventual effect is on the environment of the tools used. Spraying or spreading the wrong thing at the wrong time could be an absolute waste of product, effort, and money. Applying at the correct time, however, could mean the difference between a yard that underperforms, and one that glows.
But What About When It is Freezing Cold?
There are still a number of good goals that can be accomplished when it is freezing cold outside, and some side benefits to timing them in the way we do. Our turfgrass isn’t growing, so directly feeding them is fruitless. That doesn’t mean, however, that we can’t lay the foundation for success going forward.
This is another instance where understanding the entire picture is key when developing a program. Not only for what is useful, but how to make it most useful. We (Nature’s Turf) take the opportunity to positively influence the soil conditions and common deficiencies our native soils typically express in an effort to make sure the dirt your roots grow in is as healthy as it can be to provide the support a healthy lawn needs.
Winter applications also give us the chance to treat pesky weeds consistently. While pre-emergents are wildly effective, the environment is full of variables, and weeds are determined to survive. By treating weeds when they are small and still have the capacity to actively grow, we have those products in place when warmer weather creates growth in the weeds, and they can be controlled.
Lastly, year round treatments are a benefit to the customer. Each of these rounds are an important piece of a puzzle. Pieces that we would want to assemble whether we were treating 12 months out of the year or 9. By strategically spreading 9 treatments across 12 months, it more evenly distributes the cost while allowing us to do the best job we can to provide the results we are capable of.
Important Takeaways:
- Designing a program for plant health and weed control takes a lot of effort and consideration. Truly understanding and evaluating what works requires a great deal of knowledge, not only about what works but how and why.
- Finding the correct components is key. As time goes on, new ideas and products come to market, and sifting through them to understand what is most important and effective allows us to pick and choose what is and isn’t valuable for use.
- Once products are chosen, timing is everything, and weather plays a big role in that choice. Weather dictates the growth of everything in a landscape, and knowing how and why should guide what and when.
- Some products aren’t as time dependent, but using those should be strategic as well. Each component of our program is an important piece of a puzzle. By spreading 9 applications across 12 months, we not only spread the cost, but also allow ourselves the opportunity to be present and capable to deal with any variable that may present itself.
