Now that the snow has finally melted, it won’t be long before the big box stores start running commercials for spring lawn care, all of the lawn care service providers will crank up their marketing machines (including us).
What could cause all of this flurry of activity after a relatively dead winter in the lawn business you might ask? Well in the south two very important events are on the horizon, the Daytona 500 and spring! Everyone is after the magic formula to have the perfect lawn. The problem is, very few people are willing to do what it takes, or have the right information to get them there. I have seen ads popping up for fertilizer, lime, seed, etc… and all of them come with the “magic bullet” approach for free. It sounds something like this, ” just apply (insert anything) and sit back and enjoy the nicest lawn on the street.” The best ones will throw in a great tag line like “your neighbor’s will be green with envy” to sweeten the deal! Well, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it doesn’t work that way!
The real secret formula is not found in a bag, or a jug. You can’t buy it, you have to commit to it and its name is consistency! This is why lawn care companies are successful, there aren’t many things that we use that you can’t buy as a consumer, it’s just usually after that one Saturday most homeowners think they’re done for the year and while they may get some initial results, they quickly fade. Golf course superintendents use a practice they call spoon-feeding to keep their cool season greens in tip top shape all summer.
In simple terms, this means small amounts more often. Not only does this help the lawn not have peaks and valley’s due to heavy amounts of fertilizer, but it is a far more environmentally friendly way to fertilize because the lawn uses just about everything it gets. No wasted material to be leached out unnecessarily. Probably the biggest misconception is reiterated when our local expert’s say stuff like “don’t fertilize after a certain date”, does the lawn have a calendar? Your lawn is a living plant that needs nutrition year-round, sometimes more, sometime less. But imagine how you would feel if you ate once in the spring and once in the fall? You might survive, but you certainly wouldn’t thrive.
So, just to be non-bias here, if you want a nice lawn go find a program you like and stick to it! It’s not the program that makes the lawn; it’s whether or not you are willing to stick to it for the time it takes to see the results you desire. If you’re not willing to put in the time, call a professional and let them do it for you!
