You may be a ‘green’ household with a compost pile, solar panels, and a small energy footprint. However, have you ever considered your yard, and what going green means for your lush lawn, abundant flowers, and healthy shrubs? It is always great to know that yards that are organically grown are lusher, greener, and healthier than their conventional counterparts. Here are a few things you need to know about maintaining an eco-friendly lawn and yard.

Whether you plan to grow a vegetable garden, beautify your lawn with a colorful flower garden or keep your yard simple with just grass and a few hedges, there are a few spring cleanup measures you need to take to ensure you lay the perfect foundation for the growing season. Read on to learn what four things you can do to ensure your yard looks great this coming season and for the seasons to come.

Pests can be found in most yards across the country. Just like lawn tick control is a yearly problem, these insects can be a threat to your yard as well. Here are some facts about the four most common types of lawn pests.

For many homeowners, their lawn is the most prominent part of their property. Whether you have a large lawn that borders your long driveway or a compact lawn hidden behind your home, here are some professional lawncare tips to get the most out of your property.

Every homeowner loves having a beautiful lawn. It’s just as important, however, that your lawn be healthy for both your family and the environment as well. Organic lawn care helps you attain that goal. There are several benefits to making better ecological choices.

Maintaining a healthy lawn requires work. Sometimes, as homeowners, we don’t have the time required to maintain our lawns ourselves but we still want to keep our yard looking beautiful. That’s why hiring a landscaper can be beneficial. The right professional can keep your yard looking great and keep the neighbors happy. Before hiring a landscaper, here are some tips to help make the process go smoothly

Licensing and Insurance

Before you hire a Lawn Care professional, as them about their license. All businesses should be properly licensed by local authorities. If they aren’t, there’s a good chance they aren’t running a reputable business. They should also be insured. The last thing you want is to have someone suffer a workplace accident only to turn around and sue you because they don’t carry insurance. Any good business will carry insurance to ensure peace of mind.

Reputation

Ask around before hiring any landscaper to see what type of reputation they have. Word travels fast, especially if a business does sub-par work. The company should be able to provide you with references and a portfolio of their past work so you can gauge if they’re the right company for the job. Ask them how long they’ve been in business as well because typically a business cannot stay open for long if they have a bad reputation and the longer they’ve been open, the more reputable they likely are.

Customer Service

In any business, good customer service is key to keeping customers happy and staying in business. If the company doesn’t interact well with you or you find it difficult to communicate with them, it could be an indicator that they won’t be the best landscapers for the job.

These are a few things to keep in mind when you’re looking to hire a landscaper for your yard. Remember to check with multiple landscapers and get quotes from each before making your final decision.

With the maintenance required for keeping landscape clean and maintained on your property, the last thing you probably want to discover is that you have a tick infestation in your yard. Not only are these tiny arachnids known to bite, but they can also carry diseases and cause allergic reactions that can be harmful to both animals and humans. In order to have effective tick control, following advice from the experts is invaluable.

Most people dream of the nice house in the suburbs with the white picket fence and the beautifully manicured lawn, but while many may end up with that house and fence, their lawn is spotty at best and filled with crabgrass at worst. Lawn fertilization is the missing link when it comes to having the yard of your dreams, but it can be a hassle trying to figure out the right nutritional balance and the proper maintenance schedule. For that reason, you should hire a professional. Pros understand the steps to natural fertilization, nutrition and whether synthetic or organic fertilizers are best for your situation.

Natural Fertilization

Most people cut their grass on their mowers lowest setting and bag up the lawn clippings, but that is the worst thing you can do. For a healthy and naturally fertilized lawn, you should cut your grass on your mowers highest setting, and leave the clippings, as they will help to feed your yard.

Nutrition

However, lawn fertilization is about more than mowing and the benefits of clippings. Your yard depends on a balance of several chemicals to be lush and pristine.

• Nitrogen
• Potassium
• Phosphorous
• Magnesium
• Sulfur
• Calcium

All of these chemicals are usually present in every fertilizer in different balances, meaning that you need to pick the best option for your lawn. You can choose between synthetic or organic, and while each has benefits, there are distinct differences.

Synthetic versus Organic

Synthetic fertilizers as referenced in the name are manufactured, and as a manufactured product it can be harmful to the environment and yourself. These products will help your lawn develop, but they may not be the most efficient.

Organic fertilizers alternatively, are entirely natural, providing minerals and nutrients from elements like limestone. The other benefit of organic fertilizers, aside from being better for you and the environment, is that they work by slowly releasing the chemicals into the soil, which makes for healthier and stronger grass roots.

Lawn fertilization is key to a beautifully manicured and lush yard. However, the upkeep of fertilization can be difficult, which is why a professional should be hired.

Many homeowners don’t want to invest in harmful chemicals when it comes to lawn care. If you have pests, you shouldn’t have to choose between harmful chemicals and dealing the unwanted guests. If you’re worried about the process, there are options for you. You don’t have to be an expert in lawn pest control to be able to handle pests effectively without the chemicals. With the help from a specialist, you can maintain your lawn the healthy way.

Chemical Pest Control

When there’s an insect infestation, it means that your lawn’s ecosystem is off. To get rid of pests, you might think about harmful pesticides. However, this is not a great idea because chemical pest control kills everything, even the safe organisms. This is why natural lawn pest control is the best choice.

Predatory Nematodes

What are predatory nematodes? They are simply predatory, microscopic worms. These will kill off beetles, fleas, gnats and weevils. How they work is that they invade the pests and break down the internal structure. What makes these nematodes even better is that they do not harm the good organisms. For instance, they will not harm earthworms and are safe for pets and humans.

Milky Spores

Milky spores are a bacterium that infects the host grub. This host will become paralyzed and die. Then, when the host dies, more spores release. After one to three weeks, the host begins to die. With this type of lawn pest control, you do have to use it when the grubs are feeding. Typically, fall and spring are the best times of year to use it. Grubs eat the most during the fall season to prepare for winter.

Keep in mind that while you will see results quickly, it is important to keep up on your pest control. Sometimes it can take a few years for everything to stabilize.

The type of soil you start with is going to determine what plants will thrive in your yard. There are basically five soil types, and knowing what type of soil is in your yard is going to improve your success growing beautiful flowers, vegetables, and ornamentals. Here is a brief primer on all you need to know about soil types.

Chalky Soil

Chalky soil tends to be slightly alkaline. This type of soil is best for tubers, bulbs, and other plants that prefer alkaline conditions. It can be amended with manure or other organic matter, but chalky soil gets clumpy when wet, so make sure it is thoroughly dry before tilling.

Clay Soil

Clay is made of very small particles that stick close together. That’s what makes clay so dense. Clay soil is generally nutrient-rich, but doesn’t drain well. Working in organic material like mulch can help it drain better. All you need to know about soil types, in a sense, is how much organic matter to add.

Sandy Soil

Sand is comprised of ground rocks. It doesn’t hold nutrients well but it drains readily. Sandy soil needs a lot of amendment, unless you plant things like cleome and crape myrtle that can stand to have their roots dry out between waterings. Sand can be one of the more difficult soil types to work with, due to its poor nutrient content.

Silty Soil

Silty soil can be found in areas that were previously riverbeds. It tends to have a lot of nutrients, but can become compacted easily. Plants that can tolerate wet roots do best in silty soil, such as willow, iris, and many vines.

Loamy Soil

Loamy soil is the preferred type of soil, because it is a balanced mix of the other types of soil. This soil will have good drainage and plenty of nutrients. It requires minimal amendment and many types of plants will thrive in it.

Know Your Soil Types

All you need to know about soil types, really, is which of these types of soil dominates your yard. To determine this, take a soil sample to your local extension office for analysis.