Show Your Lawn Some Love

Everyone knows what it’s like to have a neighbor with an incredible lawn and to want your own lawn to look just as good. Instead of spending hours wondering how your neighbors get their lawns to look so gorgeous, follow these tips to help grow a lush green lawn.

 

Mow High

When you mow your lawn, you will want to set your lawn mower to 3 or 4 inches high. This will make it so you only mow off the top of the blades and the grass will grow longer and fuller. It will also overshadow potential weeds and stop them from taking over your lawn. An article on lawn care says the sensitive growing point for weeds is at the top of the plant and the sensitive growing point for grass is near the soil, so when you mow high, you are killing the weeds but protecting the sensitive point for the grass. Overall, mowing high yields more shade to the soil, deeper roots which leads to less watering, thicker turf which leads to fewer weeds, and slower growth which leads to less mowing.

 

Watering Your Lawn

Watering your lawn has a science behind it. Follow these tips to show your lawn love. When the blades of grass start to curl it’s time to water. If you water too frequently, the weeds will benefit more often than the grass. If you leave your lawn sit longer without being watered, weeds have a harder time growing because they are deprived of moisture. Watering infrequently lets the soil absorb the nutrients for a longer period of time.

According to The Family Handyman, you should water with a timer so your lawn gets the right amount of water. You don’t want to drown your lawn! Too much water is just as bad as not enough when it comes to watering your lawn. The best time of day to water your lawn is in the morning as the sun is rising. Then the moisture won’t evaporate in the midday sun and it won’t sit overnight and promote the growth of fungus.

Soil Depth

Your soil should be around 18 inches deep to allow for deep-rooted, healthy grass. If you are having trouble getting anything to grow in your yard, your soil might need more high quality dirt. One great way to help is to mix topsoil and compost on your lawn and start from scratch.

Everyone wants a beautiful lawn, but summer gets so busy it is hard to keep it up. We can help you create and maintain a beautiful lawn all year! Check out our website to learn more about our services.

How Coffee Grounds Can Benefit Your Garden

There are plenty of garden fertilizers on the market today, but it can be difficult to find all natural products if you have an organic or non-synthetic garden. One common household item that often gets overlooked is coffee grounds.Coffee grounds can  be useful in your garden in a variety of ways, though each use comes with their own pros and cons. Luckily, most problems have a simple solution:

 

Coffee Grounds as a Mulching Agent

Pros: The grounds provide nitrogen that plants thrive on to grow.

 

Cons: They can prevent necessary air and water from getting to the plants if used alone.

 

How to use: Mix the grounds with an organic mulch so the grounds don’t smother the delicate plants.

 

Grounds as an Addition to Compost

Pros: The coffee creates nitrogen-rich soil for the plants and keeps the compost at ideal temperatures, which keeps out potentially harmful pathogens.

 

Cons: The grounds can smother the plants if they are used alone.

 

How to use: Mix with your compost for the most benefits.

 

Using Coffee Grounds as a Fertilizer

Pros: Earthworms are attracted to the grounds and will help to fertilize the plants. It will also boost the growth of plants that thrive on nitrogen, such as tomatoes and roses, by creating a slightly acidic environment to the soil.

 

Cons: Plants that don’t necessarily thrive on nitrogen might not benefit as much from coffee grounds as plants that do thrive on nitrogen.

 

How to use: Mix the grounds into the soil to dilute the concentration of coffee grounds and make the nutrients from the grounds more accessible to the plants.

Coffee Grounds as a Pesticide

Pros: Coffee grounds keep plant-eating slugs and snails away so they can keep growing.

 

Cons: They cannot be used in large quantities because it could harm the plants.

 

How to use: Simply mix with mulch to use as a pesticide.

Using coffee grounds in your garden can be very beneficial depending on the type of garden you have and your specific needs. If you are not a coffee drinker, most local coffee shops have free grounds available during the summer for your use. Happy planting!

How to Prepare Your House for Winter

Minnesota winters can be the most unpredictable time of year. This season, for instance, much of our state was covered in a foot or more of snow the day before Veterans’ Day, but have nearly nothing to show for it now. It is important to anticipate your winter needs before they become a problem -- prevention of frozen pipes and other winter-related stresses is far easier than trying to fix them down the road. Here are some of the most important things to keep in mind with regards to your home this winter season:

Windows and doors

If you have drafty or older windows and doors, you may want to take some measures to seal them up. some extra caulk, or plastic window kits can save you significantly on your winter heating bills.

Pipes

One of the most important (and potentially expensive) areas of your home to inspect is any area with exposed piping. extra insulation may be added during the months of the year in which frozen pipes are a possibility. Pay particular attention to pipes around the perimeter of your home.

Inspections

There are a number of things to inspect in your home during the winter: the heating system, chimneys and the roof being the main three. All should be inspected by a professional to prevent leaks or possible problems that can haunt you at the most inopportune times.

Extras

There are a few little extra tips that many people forget to do during the winter months. Remember to reverse your ceiling fans so they are spinning clockwise. According to Kiplinger, this pushes the heated air downwards towards the rest of the room versus sitting up by the ceiling. Test your sump pump by pouring a few gallons of water into the sump pit to see if the pump turns on. You want to make sure water won’t back up into your house. Install an outdoor thermometer to stay in touch with the outside weather. Create a winter debunking station for you and your childrens’ wet clothes and boots.

 

Last of all, Shoveling the driveway;  Let us take care of removing the snow for you. You have enough to do this winter around your home, leave the labour to us. Check out our website to learn more, and have a happy and safe winter season!

Ice Isn't Always Bad

Ice in Minnesota is usually seen as negative. It can lurk under the snow and make you slip and fall. If you’re driving, it can make you slide into the ditch, or even get into an accident. We all have our own stories of how ice has embarrassed us, however, just because ice can be a menace doesn’t mean it can’t also be beautiful. Some people have even taken to making ice sculptures to help bring us through the winter.

Every year, St. Paul hosts the annual Winter Carnival. The event was created in 1886 and is still upheld today. According to the event’s Facebook page, the winter carnival was created because a New York reporter visited Minnesota and said, “[it was] another Siberia, unfit for human habitation.” The winter carnival was created to prove that reporter and the rest of the country wrong. At the winter carnival, almost everything is made out of ice or snow.

 

There is also a “Frozen Narnia”  ice castle in Eden Prairie. The entire castle is carved out of ice and lit with LED lights to make the ice glow.

Some Minnesota ice castles are uniquely made from icicles rather than harvested ice blocks. According to CBS’ article on one such ice castle, the artist who made it used about 20,000,000 pounds of ice! The icicles make the castle look like a natural wonder.

As Minnesotans, we have certainly turned winter into its own art show.  This season, grab your friends and family, head to one of the events, and spend some time enjoying the beauty of ice!