Fall Planting

This weekend is perfect for fall planting.  There is no freeze expected, making the soil just right.  Great timing before all of the family visits for Thanksgiving!  I’ve listed a few tips below.

• Make sure to amend your soil.  I recommend Nature’s Helper.  
• Plant raised beds to ensure proper drainage. 
• Mulch, mulch, mulch.  I prefer pine bark mini nuggets.  They retain their color.  Mulch serves three purposes.

1. Aesthetic Value
2. Moisture Retention
3. Weed Exclusion

• Have fun and enjoy the beauty of it when you’re done!

Myself and another employee here are planning to re-do our landscape outside of our office in Gainesville.  We hope to get started in the next week or so.  I’ll post before and after pictures when we’re done!

Have a great weekend!

Don't Be Alarmed by Your Camouflage Lawn!

Due to the reduced temperatures, turf growth is starting to slow down.  Soon, Bermuda & Zoysia lawns will enter their dormant phase.  During the colder months, Bermuda & Zoysia lawns turn brown and do not actively grow.  When the process begins, you might see a camouflage pattern in your lawn.  No worries!  The brown coloring will eventually spread evenly throughout your lawn.  This is a natural pattern of change, and shouldn't cause any alarm.  Different environmental factors affect the speed of dormancy, so every lawn is different.  Your neighbor's lawn might still be green, or vice versa.  Every lawn browns at its own pace! Same rule applies in the spring.  Every lawn will green up at its own pace as well.  

Photo Credit to http://mygrassisgreenerthanyours.com/

                                         

Actively Growing Turf

 Taken outside our shop in Gainesville, GA

'Camouflage' Stage of Dormancy

Photo Credit of http://blog.zoysiafarms.com/why-is-my-zoysia-grass-brown/

Fully Dormant Turf

Check out our website for more tips and information.  If you have any questions, leave a comment and I'll get back to you as soon as possible!

The Importance of Leaf Removal

Leaf removal is not only essential from an aesthetic perspective, but also for agronomic reasons. Although turf grass growth slows or ceases during this time of year, the plant will continue to photosynthesize (create nutrients/energy). This energy is stored to be used the following year. When leaves are left on fescue grass, this reduces the ability to photosynthesize by shading available light. Leaf removal is most important with newly seeded lawns, since the young grass will die without light more quickly than the established turf. Leaves that remain on fescue seedlings can also increase rot conditions by creating a dark, damp climate that will smother out weaker plants. Leaf removal should be done on a regular basis (every 7 to 10 days) as opposed to waiting until all the leaves have fallen and collecting them all at once. While young grass is still around, you're better off using a blower to remove leaves, since a rake can injure the young grass or remove seedlings from the soil. The collected leaves can be composted to make good organic matter for gardening, or they can be used as a mulch layer in natural areas.

We want to keep our customers up to date on seasonal tips for your lawn and landscape. Continue to visit our website throughout the year to find additional information. And, as always, thank you for being a King GREEN customer. We appreciate your business.

Round 4 Newsletter Drawing Winners!

We leave a newsletter behind on each visit.  Every newsletter has a questionnaire at the end.  Our customers can fill out the form and mail, fax, or e-mail to King GREEN to be entered into a contest.  We choose four winners every round.  Each winner receives a $25 credit valid toward any King GREEN service.  It's an easy way to lessen your bill!  The Round 4 Newsletter Drawing Winners are listed below.

Newsletter Drawing Winners

Richard Curtis
Draw Date: Sep 27 2012
Location: Denver, NC
Contest: Round 4 Newsletter Drawing
Prize: $25 credit towards any King GREEN service

Amy Hirsh
Draw Date: Sep 27 2012
Location: Smyrna, GA
Contest: Round 4 Newsletter Drawing
Prize: $25 credit towards any King GREEN service

Jeff Crocker
Draw Date: Sep 27 2012
Location: Gainesville, GA
Contest: Round 4 Newsletter Drawing
Prize: $25 credit towards any King GREEN service

Scott Crain
Draw Date: Sep 27 2012
Location: Braselton, GA
Contest: Round 4 Newsletter Drawing
Prize: $25 credit towards any King GREEN service

Click here to see the winners from previous rounds! 

Bragging Rights

Lawns like these provide us with bragging rights, so I'm going to brag! :)  Our customer, Mrs.Dunham, emailed these pictures to me.  She also sent a note through the mail thanking her technician, Herman Cronic.  We're very proud of the work we do and it's great to be recognized for doing a good job.  Check out these pictures. 

 If you want to have the best looking lawn in your neighborhood, give us a call!

Thanks again for the pictures and the compliments Mrs.Dunham!

Why is Aeration & Seeding so important?

Fescue is a cool season turf.  The further north you travel, the better it looks.  It’s designed to thrive in cooler weather.  So, it looks really nice in Georgia and North Carolina during the fall, winter, and spring months.  THEN, we get to summer.  There is just no way fescue grass can withstand the high temperatures and lack of rain during the summer.  It will fade out due to heat stress or even disease.  Brown patch is a huge issue for fescue turf.  Post to come on that later.  The only way to replace the turf that dies during the summer is to plant new grass.  The best way to replace these areas is to aerate the soil and then plant new seed.   

So……………..if you don’t plant new seed to replace the grass that is dead due to heat stress and disease, you will have bare spots in your lawn.  You might have more than just bare spots and not have any turf at all.  We at King GREEN always try to stress the importance of annual aeration and seeding.  This entry should explain why!  There is no product that we can apply to make your grass come back.  It also didn’t die because of any product we applied.  It’s simply because of the weather and environmental conditions and it has to be replaced every year. 

You may be thinking, ‘I don’t want fescue if I have to plant new grass every single year!’  I understand your sentiment, but fescue is the only grass that can thrive in a shaded area.  Sometimes Zoysia is advertised as a shade loving sod.  In reality, it isn’t.  Your options are to keep fescue in the shade and overseed every fall OR remove trees and provide sunlight that will support a sun loving turf like Bermuda or Zoysia.  Even Bermuda & Zoysia need aeration annually, but they don’t require seed, so it ends up costing less.

If you have any questions, post a comment here or send me an email!

Fall Aeration & Seeding

Aeration and Seeding for Fescue Turf

Geovany aerating @ Charlie's house

King GREEN's core aeration and over seeding re-establishes turf density lost from summer disease, heat stress, and drought conditions. King GREEN uses the finest turf-type tall Fescue seed available. As always, King GREEN guarantees your satisfaction and will return to "touch up" any thin or bare areas at your request. The core aeration and over seeding of your Fescue lawn will be completed sometime between September and early November.

It is very important for you to prepare your lawn for aeration and seeding.

Mow the lawn to 1 - 1 1/2 inches

Make sure to flag your sprinkler heads or invisible fences to avoid aerator damage

Water the lawn as much as possible before we come to aerate. When the lawn is softer, we are able to pull much deeper plugs. This allows for better germination of the Fescue seed

After care is also important in order for the seeds to germinate properly

Make sure each watering lasts at least 15 minutes in order to get a thorough soaking

Fortunately, since aeration and seeding is considered a new landscape, you are permitted to water for 30 days following your aeration. After the 30 days, go back to the regular water regulations in your county.

Water heavily for two to three weeks. After three weeks, decrease watering gradually

Remember not to mow for at least 3 weeks after aeration is completed. When it is time to mow, make sure you have a clean, sharp blade