Welcome to our last installment of our “What does my lawn need?” series! For those of you coming to this series late, check out our last 4 blogs to find out more about some other common lawn issues like animal damage, standing water, brown and dry areas and weeds.
Welcome to part 4 of our “What does my lawn Need” series. Today, let’s chat about the one thing that most lawns battle with - Weeds!
Here at Nutri-Lawn Vancouver, we hear from new clients all the time about this battle. They complain that as soon as they have removed the weeds in their lawns either by use of a product off the shelf, or pulling them out of the lawn that they always come back. “STOP the madness!” they cry! Well, I am happy to tell you that your solution has arrived!
Part 3 in our series of What does my Lawn Need Blogs brings us to Brown and Bare Lawns. In our other 2 parts, we discussed Animals Damaging our Lawns and last week we chatted about standing water. This week, a sight that we see most often in the Summer, those dry, dormant, brown and bare lawns!
In our last blog, we chatted about the animal damage that we can see on lawns throughout the Lower Mainland. Animals like raccoons, skunks and crows are digging, pecking and rolling the lawns looking for the European Chafer Beetle grubs. If you missed our last blog, check it out here.
Life here in the Lower Mainland can get pretty hectic - and expensive - which keeps us all on the go most of the time. Usually the only time we have to even consider our lawns happens to fall on the trusted weekend, a time we spend with our Family, Friends and all those other chores that always seem to pile up.
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.
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.
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!
A major lawn pest in the Greater Vancouver area is the European Crane Fly, or more accurately – their larvae called leatherjackets. A native of Eurasia, the European Crane Fly will lay between 200 and 500 eggs every fall. Yikes! And the larvae that hatch are hungry!
These pests are harmless as adults. They look like gangly mosquitoes but they don’t bite or sting and are pretty terrible at flying. You’ll find them congregating on the sides of houses, barns, fences, window and door screens, etc. It’s their larvae, that look like grey or greenish maggots, that cause all the trouble. The larvae grow to 1.5 to 2 inches long and taper at both ends.
Vancouver lawns face a tough battle to stay weed-free and healthy. Between the coniferous trees, the rocky and acidic soil, abundant cloud cover and subsequent rainfall keeping everything extremely moist, the odds are not in favour of your lawn.
Our lawn care experts at Nutri-Lawn Vancouver have put together a short list of quick tips to help you get your lawn looking lush and healthy this season. Remember to call our team for a free quote whether you simply want to relax and enjoy a vibrant lawn or if your lawn has persistent problems.
