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Should You Fertilize Before or After Mowing?

. Posted by in , • Corpus Christi
Green wheelbarrow spreading fertilizer

When you get a little rain it seems like the perfect time to get your lawn growing. But, there are a few things you need to consider before going all out on your landscaping, especially when deciding if it’s better to fertilize before or after mowing. 

Before you fertilize your lawn, understand that you will need to wait 24 hours until you water. That gives the fertilizer time to settle into the lawn before you give it a solid soaking. If you aren’t getting much rain and still want to fertilize your lawn, give it a good soaking one or two days before you plan to fertilize. Then, lightly water again after the fertilizer settles. It’s possible to do all this yourself, but hiring a professional can be much easier. An expert knows exactly how much fertilizer to add to your lawn and how much to water after application. 

If you choose … Read Full Post »

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What Do the Numbers on Fertilizer Mean?

. Posted by in , • Bryan-College Station
a person holding fertilizer

Figuring out fertilization on your own without the support of a lawn care specialist can be challenging for homeowners. Fertilizers at a home and garden store include a list of numbers that homeowners may be unfamiliar with.

If all this feels a bit too overwhelming, consider reaching out to a lawn care expert. A specialist knows how to fertilize your lawn best and can put in place a lawn care schedule.

What is the N-P-K Ratio, and What Do The Numbers on Fertilizer Mean?

Many homes in the United States do not have soil that is healthy enough to sustain the perfect lawn or garden. For this reason, homeowners usually need to add nutrients to their yards.

Using natural or synthetic (chemical) fertilizer increases the nutrient count of your yard. Fertilizer works with bacteria and fungi in the soil to create an ideal environment for your plants to grow. Natural fertilizers are more effective … Read Full Post »

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How To Make Compost

. Posted by in , • San Antonio
compost mixed into soil

Are you a homeowner interested in making your own compost? Composting is an easy process to start and maintain, regardless of your size requirements.

It’s also one of the easiest and best first steps for garden fertilization, and healthy lawncare.

Despite what you may have heard, home composting is not complicated, it’s not messy and it doesn’t smell bad when you do it right.

In fact, learning how to compost the right way is super simple. Once you get started, it’s a great, environmentally-friendly way to repurpose food scraps and a variety of other organic materials into a superfood for your plants and gardens.

Types of Composting

First things first, let’s take a look at the various types of composting. The three most popular and widely used methods are cold composting, hot composting and vermicomposting.

Cold Composting

Composting in its most basic form is “cold” composting. This involves collecting plant waste from your lawns or gardens and … Read Full Post »

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What Is Compost Used For?

. Posted by in , • Austin
a shovel in a pile of compost

Today, knowledge about the at-home composting process is spreading, thanks to the internet and how-to articles and videos. Composting has never been more accessible for homeowners all across the United States.

Composting can help you reduce your household waste while fertilizing the soil in your lawn. As long as you have a yard, you can compost, regardless of whether you live out in the country or in a suburb.

Keep reading to discover what compost is used for, the differences between compost and loam and the best compost for a vegetable garden.

Composting Basics for Your Yard

At-home compost is a valuable resource for your lawn maintenance. Compost is used to nourish your lawn or garden with crucial nutrients.

Composting is often more popular in rural areas where people grow their own food. Farmers have always understood the importance of using compost. But you don’t have to have a large garden to benefit from composting.

What … Read Full Post »

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How To Fertilize Your Lawn

. Posted by in , • Dallas-Fort Worth
a homeowner fertilizing their lawn

Every homeowner wants lush, green grass in their yard. This means grass that is thick, healthy and free of weeds. Knowing how to fertilize your lawn is an important part of regular lawn maintenance. But it can be tricky knowing the right products to use and steps to follow. When should you fertilize? How often? What’s the right nutrient mix for your soil? Let’s explore these questions and more as we learn the right way to fertilize your lawn.

The first step in fertilizing your lawn is to determine the right mixture of nutrients for your grass. Warm-season grasses, like St. Augustine, bermuda and zoysia, need different fertilizer blends than cool-season grasses, like Kentucky bluegrass or rye.

Most yards in southern states have warm-season grasses. These grasses grow best in warmer weather, when it’s at least 75 degrees outside. Warm-season grasses go brown and dormant in the fall if they are not … Read Full Post »

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The Different Types of Fertilizers

. Posted by in , • Bryan-College Station

Springtime means that homeowners are fertilizing their lawns. If you want to keep your lawn looking its best this summer, you will want to get an effective fertilizer.

Still, there are so many different fertilizers to choose from. So how do you know which types of fertilizer you need for your lawn?

The main reason you need to fertilize your lawn is to improve soil nutrition. Soil alone does not contain enough nutrients like potassium, phosphorus or nitrogen. Commercial fertilizers are labeled according to their NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) levels. These nutrients are the keys to healthy, green grass.

Keep reading to learn more about different fertilizers and which ones may be best for your lawn. You will also learn about plant food versus fertilizer and whether the best time to fertilize is before or after rain. With a better knowledge of fertilizer types, the grass will always be greener on your … Read Full Post »

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How To Bring Back Dead Grass

. Posted by in , • Dallas-Fort Worth
a front yard with a dying lawn

If you have grass, you want to be able to take pride in your lush, green lawn. But maintaining healthy grass requires time, effort and know-how. Sometimes, you have to deal with problems like bald patches. Yellow or brown areas are another common issue. Knowing how to bring back dead grass is an important part of keeping your lawn thriving. If you know what’s causing the issue, you can take steps to fix it.

One important thing to know is the difference between dormant and dead grass. Sometimes, brown grass looks dead, but it’s not.

Dead Grass Versus Dormant Grass

All grass varieties have a dormant season, when they stop growing and lose their green. For warm-season grasses, this happens starting in fall, when the temperature outside cools down. Once the soil temperature drops below about 50 degrees on a consistent basis, the grass starts to go dormant.

Grass will also go dormant during … Read Full Post »

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Too Much Fertilizer Is Never a Good Thing

. Posted by in , • Dallas-Fort Worth
a lawn with yellow spots because too much fertilizer was used

Adding fertilizer to your lawn gives it an extra boost, helping it stay healthy so it can establish a good root system. A solid root system protects the lawn from foot traffic, mowing and weather extremes. All plants—including the grass that makes up your lawn—use a lot of energy to not only establish roots but also to grow naturally. Fertilizer can help your lawn in all of these processes.

As with anything else, you can use too much fertilizer, so you should take steps to ensure you are applying the correct type and amount for your lawn’s needs. Fertilizer can be made of a number of things, from synthetic compounds to a variety of composted manures. When shopping for the right type, check the bag. It will have three numbers on the label, listed as # – # – #. Each number on the packaging represents the fertilizer’s percentage of three … Read Full Post »

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What’s the Best Fertilizer for Bermuda Grass?

. Posted by in , • Bryan-College Station
a homeowner preparing to fertilize their grass

Lots of people love bermuda grass because it thrives in so many conditions. It’s fine with humidity but also drought-tolerant. It feels good on your feet, yet can handle lots of foot traffic. There’s plenty to love about this low-maintenance grass. But, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t need a little care throughout the year, including the right fertilizer. The best fertilizer for bermuda grass is one with plenty of nitrogen, some potassium and little to no phosphorus. This blend of nutrients, called the NPK ratio, will help your bermuda grass look its best.

Most fertilizers come in liquid, water-soluble or granular form. Both liquid and water-soluble fertilizers are easy to apply. You attach the fertilizer container to your garden hose and spray an even layer throughout the yard. Liquid fertilizers absorb quickly, which means they may need to be applied more often than other forms, like granular fertilizer. This dry form … Read Full Post »

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How Much Compost Do I Need?

. Posted by in , • San Antonio
a shovel in a compost pile

Using compost is a great way to build a solid foundation if you are trying to establish a new lawn or to revitalize an existing yard or garden. The exact amount of compost you will need for your project depends on how you plan to use it. However, in general, if you are mixing compost into soil, then compost should make up no more than 25% to 30% of your mixture.

A basic formula to figure out how much compost you will need to make or buy is to first find the area of your yard by multiplying the length of your space by its width in feet. Next, use the guidance below to find out how deep the compost should be (in inches). Divide the depth by 12 and then multiply this number by the area of your yard. This will give you an estimate of how many one-cubic-foot bags … Read Full Post »

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