Lawn Care Guide

Chanaka Dunuwila asked:


Everybody would like to improve the health and appearance of their lawn. However, they believe that it would cost hundreds of dollars each year and more time than they can spare. If you don’t want to hire the work out to a professional lawn care company, then you can save most of the money anyway that you would spend to have somebody come out to your house. Lawn care products by themselves don’t cost much money, but they can vastly improve your lawn over time with regular and proper application. You won’t need to take too much time to apply them, and with a little hard work, you can improve your yard beyond the use of lawn care products alone.

Basic Products and Other Tips

Lawn care products can help improve your lawn in a variety of ways. Firstly, fertilizers increase the number of nutrients in the soil, giving plants more food to draw upon. Herbicides help to remove unwanted plants like weeds, and pesticides get rid of grubs, ants, termites, and other insects which can seriously damage flowers and other plants. All of these are available both as synthetic substances, which most people are familiar with, and natural lawn care products, which are equally as effective without the added toxicity.

Fortunately, you aren’t limited to just using lawn care products to improve the health and appearance of your lawn. Using methods like aeration can improve the flow of nutrients and oxygen in soil. Aeration involves digging up tiny spikes of soil a few inches deep every few inches of ground, and it really strengthens soil. It’s especially useful with grass which receives a lot of use like sports fields. Aeration can mean the difference between lush grass and patches of bare ground that got trampled on too often.

Other simple techniques like cutting your grass to the proper height and keeping it watered from time to time also help to drastically improve your lawn’s appearance, and a healthy appearance is highly indicative of great health. If you spend just one hundred dollars on keeping your yard healthy each year, you will soon find that you need to buy less pesticides and herbicides to maintain your yard’s health. Think of it as a two pronged attack of immediate and prolonged relief. The money that you spend now on lawn care products can pay off iin the long run when you don’t need to purchase those same products at a late date just to save your lawn from a severe drought or weed infestation.



Gertrude

jewy k asked:


Ive got the equiptment,ive got the labor,and ive got the yards,but what i dont have is facts on the buisness aspects of it.(I.E. what kind of taxes are there on lawn companys,do i need any sort of license for anything in landscaping? Whats the most effective way to get the companys name out. What yards are targeted most in the field,and do you think pressure washing and lawn care will go hand in hand?

Earl

motorcitygirlee asked:


I would very much love to get my big yard in shape. The weeds growing now have pickers and are tough on my feet… and I have had problems with poison Ivy in my yard in the past….

Mostly I am looking for a pet feedly weed and feed for the lawn….any suggestions…?

Luis

Ward D asked:


What do Chemlawn and other lawn care companies do to your lawn that can’t be done yourself? With products from Home Depot Lowe’s etc?

Holly

J. Michael asked:


Most lawn care and maintenance companies use a contract of some sort for their services. The purpose of the contract is to summarize for both parties what is expected. It outlines what your services include, how often you will work for them and for how long. It reassures the customer that they will be taken care of and reminds them how much and when they are expected to pay. This way everyone is clear on the terms of your relationship and no confusion will arise in the future. Everyone creates this type of agreement differently, but I would like to share with you my favorite, the proposal for landscape maintenance, which has all the elements of a contract presented neatly and professionally.

The proposal for landscape maintenance contains the following information:

* Both parties involved (your company and the name/address of the customer)

* Terms for service- the aspects of maintenance you will provide

* The period of service- start date and finish date

* The price for your service

* Both parties sign to accept

* Date of the agreement

Although this form could be construed as a legal document and might very well be legally binding, I am not a lawyer and encourage you to seek out a lawyer in contract matters.

At the acceptance of this agreement I let my customers know that neither they nor I am bound to it and that they may cancel service at any time. Likewise I am free to cancel service as well for any reason. This puts them at ease and makes them feel less obligated, and if you do a good job odds are they will not fire you. And although the contract has a start date and an end date specified, I have never had to recreate a new one for the following year. I simply continue service on a month to month basis.

A sample contract, or proposal for landsacape maintenance, can be viewed at http://www.maintenance-business.com/htmlcontract.htm in your browser window. It is also available for download in .pdf format at our website http://www.maintenance-business.com.



Cindy

Chanaka Dunuwila asked:


Not every one is going to need all types of lawn care equipment all year long and buying equipment only for occasional use may not make good financial sense. Borrowing from a neighbor or relative may be an option, but looking into lawn care equipment rental can keep you out of hot water if something happens to it while being used. Additionally, instead of buying a new lawn tractor at the end of the season, going through lawn care equipment rental can meet your needs until the new models come out in the spring and you replace your old one.

There may also be some pieces of equipment that you will use only once or twice and cannot justify the price to let it sit in the garage or barn. By going through lawn care equipment rental you can have it when you need it without having to make the investment. Additionally, renting from a reputable company also insures the equipment will be working order and able to do the job for which it is intended.

In order to have every piece of lawn care equipment needed for maintaining a large yard can be expensive, as well as require a lot of storage space. Using the local lawn care equipment rental there is no need to spend the money on something that will only be used once or twice a year. You also will not have to find the space to keep it safe when not in use.

Getting Advice On What Equipment Is Needed

In addition to the lower cost of lawn care equipment rental compared to buying it, most rental companies can also offer advice on the right equipment for the job, Many also sell the lawn care product that is used with specific pieces of lawn care equipment rental available at their facility. By obtaining the product and the equipment from the same source, odds are better that the job can get done quicker and done right.

Having a yard full of equipment can also be expensive when the cost of maintenance is calculated. However, by going through a lawn care equipment rental company, unless the user abuses the equipment or intentionally causes damage, the cost of maintenance and repairs will be borne by the rental agency. Many lawn care equipment rental companies also offer optional insurance that covers accidental damage to the equipment, relieving the renter from extra costs in the event they ruin the rented equipment.



Duane

Martin Haworth asked:


If you want the best looking lawn, or even just one that is good enough to look out on as you enjoy a beautiful day, you will need to put some effort in. To minimize that, mechanization could be your answer!

There are some great time-saving tools around these days, that will take the chore out of your lawn as well as getting you sitting out on it enjoying it just as soon as possible! Even if you spend laborious hours on it, it’s still possible that it won’t end up perfect, but it will look way better.

Many people begrudge the effort and time it takes. Maybe it’s these very same people who also feel aggrieved that lawn care equipment can be a bit heavy on the pocket. Like all things in life, it can be hard to get a balance between what is a reasonable expenditure and whether it is worth it in the first place - ‘What’s in it for me?’, in this investment I make!

By buying reasonable lawn care equipment, you will have every opportunity to have a beautiful lawn, if that’s what you are seeking.

So, here are some of the most important implements that will help you get the lawn you really want.

Your Lawnmower - The Most Valuable Time-Saving Power-Tool

To spend your rest time cutting a lawn laboriously, is pretty much agreed by gardeners across all spectrums as a bit of a waste of time and effort. There must be better things to do than cut a lawn without proper lawn care equipment. Only the greatest purists who nurture and worship their lawn will resist buying a pretty good lawnmower as their most vital bit of lawn care equipment

There are two ways to do this, the hard way and the easy way. The hard way is a bog-standard mower that you push along without any motorization at all, but if you want to properly care for your lawn, you’ll need a decent mower that you can use without too much effort.

Of all the lawn care equipment that’s out there, the mower is the one that you’ll get most use of and, if you choose correctly, it will be the one that makes the most impact on your lawn and saves you the most time.

If you are in doubt about which type of mower you might buy, just take a look at the lawn and areas involved. For a large, very flat lawn, you will need a powered mower, probably a sit-on one. For a small lawn, get yourself one that will cut just right for that lawn. Unless it’s to massage your ego, you don’t need a sit-on mower for a lawn the size of a postage stamp!

With lawn mowers, there are plenty of different types to be found. For a reasonable choice that isn’t too expensive, go for a pushmower, without the push. That is the self-propelled mower that is power-assisted - just helping you out when you need it and giving you the flexibility of complete control..

Edge Trimmers - Go On Then, Finish The Job

When you’ve done your mowing, the job isn’t complete until you’ve gone round the edge too. In fact a well mown lawn will still look scruffy if your edges don’t get done.

A good trimmer will be one item of lawn care equipment that will ‘ice the cake’ and if used wisely, will enhance even the best mown garden, creating a look of quality that is hard to surpass.

This is one piece of garden equipment where mechanization can be harder to handle that doing it by hand, but with a twist. A good edge trimmer will be used manually, but will not only be very effective, it will also save you time and your back!

Yes, you can get those electrical or petrol/gas powered ’strimmer’ type edge trimmers when you’re out buying your lawn care equipment, but for me, there is no better piece of kit than the odd looking shear type that you use with a sideways shuffle along your border. The trouble with strimmers is that they run so fast that it can be hard to control them.

Go for a good manual!

‘Like a Gentle Rain From Heaven’

Last up in the key lawn care equipment that you will need to consider seriously when you are aiming for a great looking lawn, is a way to get it wet!

Having an effective sprinkler system in place will make a huge difference when you are looking at hot, thirsty summers. Could you imagine watering your whole lawn with a watering can?

No, I thought not.

Sprinklers come in a number of different arrangements. Some, which might be best of you want as little involvement as possible, will be built into your lawn and come on with a timer system, popping-up without warning - so watch out!

For a small lawn, at the other end of the spectrum, are simple movable sprinklers that you attach your hose to and move around. Takes your time and effort, but for a small lawn that might be a completely acceptable solution.

Whatever you decide on, make sure that before you buy, you understand what it is you want and then double-check that it will meet your expectations. Coverage, water volume, cost and time-saving are all worth covering before your trip to the garden center.

If you get yourself these three pieces of lawn care equipment to deal with these key lawn maintenance issues, you will really have sorted out most of the problems you might find.

Use these as well as you can and, before you know it, you will be sitting out there, cool drink in hand, admiring a beautiful lawn, produced, by you, with minimal effort!



Marilyn