Nutri-Lawn Blog

In 2019, our lives have been so packed with needs that we have left little time for enjoyment.  Going to work, school for you or the kids, spending time with friends and family, school activities, social activities, grocery shopping, trips for work or pleasure, pets, exercise, holidays, health needs...and the list can go on and on.

Things like taking care of the house have become automatic or forgotten. Until the one day that you walk out of the door during your morning ritual to work (or school) and realize in a brief moment that the windows need to be washed, or the siding cleaned, or perhaps the lawn needs some TLC, but when and who has the time? You get into your car, start the engine and as the radio comes to life and the little voices inside informs you of your daily commute or the weather or even a great song, that thought of the lawn leaves the mind.

With winter in full swing, many parts of Canada are getting cold enough and have enough precipitation to hold impromptu outdoor skating rinks. Sure, a patch of ice for hockey-related purposes is great. But on your lawn? Well, not so much...

The effects of Ice coverage can cause varying degrees of lawn damage depending on the severity of the ice coverage, the length of exposure, and the hardiness of the turfgrass species effected. Where snow coverage is generally considered desirable with the exception of the increased risk for snow mold disease, ice coverage on the other hand is more of a concern and is undesirable, often causing more severe damage that requires renovation practices to speed up recovery.

The last we spoke, our topic was Calcitic Lime and how it can help to balance the pH in your soil along with the benefits it will provide your lawn.  This week, we will broaden our chat to see what else could be causing weeds and moss to take over your lawn, as well as how to fix those issues.

Oh yes, wait a minute Mr. Snow Plow! Winter is officially here and in many parts of Canada, white snow is starting to blanket the front and back yards of many a property. 

Mother Nature aside, some of the most severe damage that can happen to a lawn over the winter months is often the most preventable. Snow removal equipment that is used to plow, blow, and remove snow can easily - and unintentionally - damage the turf when the boundaries aren’t properly identified, much to the chagrin of homeowners. The edges from the road, driveway, sidewalk and along walkways are most vulnerable to harm, and can result in extensive damage if not properly monitored during the winter months. 

Before we get into the what, let’s begin our story with a picture. You walk out of your home early one May morning stretching your legs and grabbing the morning paper (or taking the dog for a walk in case you are more of a digital reader, maybe it’s your morning walk that beckons you outside, but you are at your front door). The sun has just started to come through the trees and is hitting your face. The gentle warm breeze carries the sound of birds chirping, creating a melody that is right out of Merrie Melodies.

As you take that first step outside, you look to your lawn. The lawn you just spent that weekend last month spraying weeds and raking moss out. The lawn that cost you all that money. The one that caught your sweat - now has weeds, again! 

Should old lawn issues be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should old winter damage be forgot, and old lang syne?

Happy New Year to all of our great customers here at Nutri-Lawn! It's great to see you all in 2019, and we can't wait to see what the new year has in store for you and your beautiful lawns. Now, on to the business at hand...

With the holidays over and parts of Canada beginning to feel the effects of a more traditional  winter, many Canadians are turning to road salts to help stabilize their walkways and driveways. Bonus: Well done for using your walkways, folks! Not walking over your frost or snow covered lawn is an important step in protecting your lawn over the winter, and one that is oh so easy to do. Proud of you!

Happy Thursday, snowmen and snow-women! Can you believe that Christmas is less than two weeks away already? In honour of this giving season, we at Nutri-Lawn have decided to supply our readers with the gift of winter lawn care knowledge; namely, the know-how to deal with Direct Low Temperature Kill on your lawn.  

No, low temperature kill is not a Christmas-themed action movie starring Bruce Willis as the title character. Instead, low temperature kill is damage that occurs when the mercury dips below freezing and the turfgrass plant is exposed to many extremes that can cause harm. In parts of Canada that do experience extreme cold temperature conditions during winter, it can be quite the experience.

A certain festive holiday is around the corner, and we at Nutri-Lawn couldn't be more excited about it. This year, give your winter lawn the gift of peace and quiet for Christmas by not walking over it when it's covered in frost!  

Depending on where you live in Canada, you've probably started to notice some silver frost blanketing your grass and gardens in the early morning and late evening. While it may be pleasing to the eye if caught in the right light, frost can actually be a real problem for your lawn if not properly monitored. Foot traffic, parked cars and snow plows, pets and kids running amok... these are all common but avoidable actions that can damage grass in winter.

Another day, another DIY lawn care blog by Nutri-Lawn. It's like an early Christmas present for all the dedicated lawn lovers out there!

Last week, we wrote about important late-fall lawn care tasks such as cleaning your gutters, testing your lawn for frost, and taking your lawn mower in for a check-up. Today, we revisit that same topic, and add in a few more necessary tips and tricks for getting your property ready for the cold Canadian winter ahead.