Georgia Lawn Care

Please be safe on your lawn mowers. I found the best example of lawn mower stupidity in the history of grass. The video is below. I’ve done some dumb things but I feel like Bill Gates now.

Pond Maintenance

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G-KYpjItcQ]

We have had 3 solid days of steady soaking rain here in Jackson County. I am sure the weather people (doomsday promoters) will say it is not enough to help the drought situation as usual. But they are just in the business of pushing bad news because that is what gets ratings. Obviously any little bit of rain helps when a drought has hit but the rain we have had in the  past few weeks has really helped our situation in Northeast Georgia. Lake Lanier has improved drastically from historical lows. Hopefully more water restrictions will loosen up for us around the state. This will help landscapers and pressure washing companies not to mention give more revenue to hurting water departments in the counties.

I often see properties on mylawn service route around Jackson County, GA that are overgrown with what was intended to be beautiful landscaping plants. Young couples go out and buy anything they can find at their local nursery or HD. Then they plant them thinking that is all there is to it. They fail to realize the trimming they will have to do if they want to maintain a reasonable size for their plants. Also younger people don’t think about the fact that in 20 years they may not be physically able to do all that work. So keep in mind the plants you invest in today may require you to hire a landscaper in the future to maintain them.

$50 bucks buys you peltors which are ear muffs with built in fm am radio. For about $18 you can make your own. Just get some hearing protection ear muffs from Home Depot or order from expressmowerparts.com. Then get some ear phones from walmart. The bigger kind with a band that goes over your head. Take the speakers apart from the band and place them inside the ear muffs. There you have it. This is better than the Peltors because now you can listen to an mp3 player as well as a radio. an example is here.

Link to make rain barrels.

Hopefully  rainfalll will be better than the past two years but even when the drought does subside we need to save water at all times. I know it is inconvenient to hand water your lawn but when the restrictions are so harsh and your neighbors are encouraged to snitch on you, you may be forced to do so. Also hand watering may be restricted as well at some point again as it has been in the Jackson County area at times in the past two years. If that happens we need an alternative way to keep our precious grass green. One way is to collect rainfall in rain barrels connected to a gutter system then use an electric pump connected to a hose to hand water or connect it to a manual sprinkler. There are ways to do this without having a hideous barrel out in the open. The photo below shows an example.

I hate fire ants. They make ugly mounds of dirt on a nice lawn. They are a threat to pets. Oh and in case you did not know, THEY BITE HUMANS. We can get rid of these pests for you and for the entire season not just a few weeks. If any mounds pop up in the treated area we will come back and treat those spots again for free. We have had great results with this product for the past 3 years. We can service the entire lawn or just the perimeter of the house. Give us a call today so you won’t have to worry about fire ants ever again. 706-224-4241 Email.
Our service area for this product extends from Athens, Jackson County, Gainesville, Winder, Buford, and Madison County.

For a rainy cold day in Commerce, GA the Home Depot was pretty busy. This is a good sign for the local economy. Home Depot should do well with so many people doing renovations instead of buying new homes. With all the bad news I like to post anything positive I can.

I wonder why people bag their lawn clippings sometimes. I guess it leaves a better look sometimes especially on an overgrown lawn. But if you mow weekly with sharp blades at the right height then that is the better way to go. Mulching up the clippings is easy on you since you don’t have to dump the clippings from a bagger. I often see piles of clippings in backyards that are unsightly and are there forever. Mulching is better for the environment as well.

Most people in my area, Jackson County, do not bag but enough that warranted a blog post about it. Bagging is good for leaves but not for grass. This is all my humble opinion of course.

I remember it was only about 4 years ago that basic fertilizer (10-10-10) was only $7 per 50 pound bag. Now it is about $20 per 40 pound bag! That is a huge jump in price. I thought it was based on fuel increases but I guess not so much since fuel is relatively low right now. There are low cost homemade organic fertilizers you can make if you are into that sort of thing. It is important to fertilize your lawn on a regular schedule if you want it to thrive. Even if you don’t want a golf course type lawn you can keep your grass green and healthy by using a basic fertlizer twice a year. The stronger the grass is, the less opportunity the weeds have to thrive. Be prepared to mow more often though!