Cincinnati and Dayton Lawn Care Problems
Below are just a couple of many Cincinnati and Dayton Lawn Care Problems that homeowners in Southwest Ohio face. PureLawn offers lawn care services to combat these issues, but below I will explore the issues and how we solve them.
Two Common Cincinnati and Dayton Lawn Care Problems
Cincinnati and Dayton Lawn Care Problem #1- Crabgrass: Crabgrass is annual grassy weed that germinates in the Spring and usually shows its ugly face around June or July. Its characteristics are pale green in color, wide-bladed grass, sits low to the ground, and is in the shape of a hand with the fingers sprawled out. Solution: Apply premergent (either a regular chemical premergent or the natural premergent Corn Gluten Meal) before the soil temperatures reach 50-55 degrees. Many use the blooming of the forsythia plant as an indicator as to when to get the premergent down by. If you do not get it down at the correct time, then you will probably be dealing with this lawn care problem later in the Summer. Crabgrass will start to die off with the first frost in the Fall, but remember the seeds from that plant will be in the soil waiting to germinate the following Spring, so if you didn’t get the premergent down in time that year then make sure to the following year. PureLawn offers premergent applications and we only use the highest quality materials.
Cincinnati and Dayton Lawn Care Problem #2- Clay Soils: Hard clay soils are difficult to work with in the Cincinnati and Dayton areas. This lawn care problem is usually caused by the high magnesium that is in our soils in Southwest Ohio. Our soil tests continue to come back with similar results: High PH’s, High magnesium %, High CEC, Low potassium %, and often times Low organic matter %. If a soil has a very tight clay soil it does not drain well, can be more prone to fungus and weeds, and often times does not allow nutrients, oxygen, and water to get to the roots properly. Solution: PureLawn adds premium organic matter to the soils in Cincinnati and Dayton. We have customized our fertilization programs to combat the low potassium/high magnesium issues that are common in this part of the state. This helps build a better soil structure that can allow nutrients, oxygen, and water to get to the root system. It also will help reduce the chance of drought, fungus, and insect stress. We suggest to all homeowners who would like a beautiful lawn in The Cincinnati and Dayton areas to core aerate their lawn annually. If you cannot afford an annual aeration, then bi-annual will do. Core aeration can be done in the Spring or the Fall when the grass is actively growing. Core Aeration helps relieve compaction, promotes root growth, and does many other beneficial things. It is also smart to spread high quality topsoil or, even better, some compost over the holes after aeration. PureLawn also offers a Clay Buster Soil Amendment, which is a gypsum application to help the soil structure by adding calcium-sulfate. We spread this granulized soil amendment over the aeration holes.