Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Three Easy Ways to Get a Great Lawn

The grass can be greener on your side of the lawn this year. Yards can turn brown and dry due to numerous circumstances, when all you want is a luscious green outdoor carpet of grass. Maybe you envision smoky barbecues eaten on a blanket, or running around with your kids outdoors, or simply being able to look outside and see a perfect ocean of grass.

You can achieve those dreams in three simple ways. These are the basic rules of grass-growing, and will yield the ideal lawn.

Fertilizer
Fertilizing is an essential part of a healthy lawn. Timely applications of fertilizer yield the best results, and you can have a lawn specialist come out to assess your lawn’s needs. They can help you determine the best course of care, so you don’t over-fertilize and end up killing your grass. Steeplechase offers two separate packages that can fit your needs and budget, in a 7 or 10 step process to feed your grass. After your free lawn analysis, it will be decided which package is right for you, or help to create a custom care process that is best for you and your yard to keep it healthy throughout the year.

Grass Length
Again, this tip may seem backwards, but keep your grass long. When mowing, don’t cut more than one-third of the blade off. Taller grass shades out weed seeds so they can’t grow. It also keeps the soil cooler and moist longer. This promotes better root penetration, which is the secret to drought-resistant grass.

Grass responds to being cut short by growing faster, so keeping your grass tall prevents you from having to mow every day. You should also avoid cutting wet grass. This compacts the soil so the roots can’t breathe. This causes bald spots on your lawn.

Proper Irrigation
This is, of course, one of the most important parts of lawn maintenance. It is imperative you don’t overwater your grass, so installing an irrigation system is the best way to avoid that. Irrigation systems water your lawn at specified regular intervals, and conserve water by spreading less around efficiently, unlike a hose.

Installing an irrigation system also keeps your grass on a strict timetable. It can water your yard every three days. This way, you won’t forget and either overwater or underwater your grass. Talk to a specialist to install a sprinkler system in NJ

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Lawn Sprinkler Systems: Effective or Not?

Water is a precious resource on our planet, and all creatures as well as plant life need it to exist.  When it comes to watering your lawn, the goal is to achieve maximum spread in the most efficient way possible. Lawn sprinklers in NJ should reflect the climate; New Jersey tends to be humid at times with decent amounts of rainfall. You then need to consider what type of system would work best for your particular lawn.


First, let’s break down the options: if you don’t have a sprinkler system, you would either need to buy a sprinkler from a garden store, or water by hand.

A store-bought sprinkler is commonly ineffective since it sits in one spot – while it may move left or right a bit, or even wave back and forth, the reality is that it is still hitting one part of the lawn and requires you to manually move it to different spots.

The other option is to water the grass with a hose by hand.  Not only is this tiring and time-consuming, but it can also be ineffective.  Do you want to spend the better part of two hours waving a leaky hose back and forth, only to have to do it again day after day during the warmer months?  You may achieve stronger forearms with this method, but it is not the most efficient approach to watering the lawn.

Investing in an effective sprinkler system can save you money on your monthly water bills, benefit the local water table through more efficient water use and provide you with a lush, green and beautiful lawn. Technology such as a Solar Sync Sensor for sprinklers can take weather data and program watering times for you.  An automatic rain sensor also ensures that the system is not running while Mother Nature is handling the irrigation for you. Investing in a superior watering system will benefit both you and your lawn in the long run.

Monday, July 29, 2013

My Lawn Is Dying: Now What?


It finally hits as you step out onto your front porch to leave for work: the lawn is dying. If it’s not already dead, it is obviously in the final stages of its life, gasping for air and motioning for help.  Didn’t you water it well enough just the other day?  Your mind races for answers as you inspect it while walking down the driveway.  You peer closer and notice weeds sprouting up at various points amongst the grass. You recall watering the grass several nights for the past week, and wrack your brain trying to come up with an answer; is there even a solution? Do you give up on your lawn and allow it to peacefully pass on to that great football field in the sky?  Fortunately later that day, you run into a friend who recently had similar issues; yet they were eventually able to turn their lawn into a veritable goldmine, with each blade of grass glowing green.  Asking for help on this topic, they are able to offer some pointers on how to rejuvenate and revitalize your grass.

-    Evaluate your lawn

If more than half of your lawn is patchy and obviously in need of help, it may be better to start from scratch.  While you can do the work on your own, you always have the option and it might be a wiser choice to enlist the services of a top lawn and irrigation company.

-    Try to keep your pet from urinating on the lawn!

Pet urine has a high nitrogen content, which is akin to over-fertilizing your lawn. Those brown spots are there for a reason, and Fido likely doesn’t care about what your lawn looks like – dogs are color-blind after all.  Aside from training your faithful companion to frequent the perimeter of the yard, you can water that particular spot within the first 8 hours of it occurring to help dilute the nitrogen levels.

-    Consult a lawn care professional

At Steeplechase Turf and Irrigation, we take pride in our knowledge of sprinkler and irrigation systems, lawn care and landscaping.  With over 25 years of experience, we can easily meet and exceed your New Jersey irrigation needs.  We go above and beyond the industry standards, so you can rest assured that you will be receiving top-quality service and care for your lawn.