We have reached our fall season which means it’s the perfect time for lawn seeding. We LOVE to hear that our clients are planning fall seeding!! Seeding is the most successful when done in September and October and is just what your lawn needs to help fill in any bare areas that may be present in your lawn.

Here are some tips for seeding on your own:

• Step 1: If your lawn has spots of dead, matted bluegrass or ryegrass that did not survive through this past summer, these spots must be raked and seeded to allow desirable grass to grow.  Rake these areas clean
• Step 2: Add some fresh topsoil or compost to these bare areas
• Step 3: Sprinkle with grass seed and work the seed down into the soil with a garden weasel or rake
• Step 4: Water each day until your seed germinates, approximately 15-20 days after planting.

Always use a turf-type tall fescue blend, the best choice for our area. Read any seed package carefully prior to purchase, as many seeds that claim to be fescue have additives like bluegrass or ryegrass. Avoid this problem by purchasing the highest quality turf-type tall fescue. Lawn Cure offers premium Pennington Smart Seed for $2.75/lb. Order today by calling Lawn Cure at 812-246-8800.

Be sure to let your lawn care company know if you have seeded so your applications can be adjusted to best support your new seed!

Want Lawn Cure to do the seeding work for you? Sign up for either our traditional core aeration and seeding service or our organic aeration and seeding! Call today for further details!!

Don’t wait! Make your fall seeding plans now! Your lawn will thank you with a thick, lush stand of turf next spring!!

Don't wait until this fall to plan seeding for your lawn.  Once the September seeding season arrives, many lawn care companies' seeding spots are almost sold out.  Lawn Cure is no exception.  In a typical year, Lawn Cure will perform our seeding services until early October, but the majority of these spots are sold out by early to mid September.  

What type of seeding should you order?  The choices for lawn seeding are abundant, and it can be confusing deciding which is best option for your lawn.  Seeding choices include overseeding, aeration and overseeding, organic aeration and overseeding, powerseeding. Unsure of exactly which seeding service is the best option for your lawn?  Have your lawn evaluated by an expert to help you decide the perfect lawn rejuvenation seeding option.  At Lawn Cure, our team of specialists can evaluate your lawn and let you know which seeding service is the best fit for the current needs of your lawn. 

Remember, plan your lawn rejuvenation work now to assure your seeding is done at the best time of year, giving your lawn the most spectacular results!

What to expect in the hot summer months

The summer period (June, July, and August) is when our lawns take a beating due to summer heat, lack of rain/water, weeds, which favor the hot summer sun, and the impact of the hot soil temperatures.

What to expect:

Lawns will tend to stress and turn brown as the roots pull nutrients from the blades of grass to live

• The soil heats up, causing damage to the root systems and weakening the grass blade
• Lack of rain or water can cause the turf to dull and turn brown
• Fungus will spread rapidly as summer provides moisture and heat, the perfect growing conditions for fungus to show up on the leaf blades, leading to damaged turf and browning of the lawn
• Weaker grasses such as Rye grass and Bluegrass cannot tolerate the heat and brown out quickly
• New sod or grass from this spring or even last fall will usually suffer and turn brown if not watered properly or mowed at the correct height.
• Dull lawn mower blades will cause the grass tips to turn brown

How can you help your lawn during the roughest time of the year?:

• Watering: Water 4 to 5 times per week in the morning hours for about 20 to 30 minutes. This will help feed the roots and grass. Never water at night as this can contribute to fungus activity.
• Mowing: Mow at the highest level possible. The longer the grass blade the more nutrients and support the root system has to live. Do not mow less than 3”
• Landscape: We typically receive enough rainfall for mature plants and shrubs to remain healthy. New plants (less than year) may be watered for 5 to 10 minutes every 7 to 8 days during dry times. If we have had no rain for 2 plus weeks, it is OK to water all the shrubs for about 10 minutes. Better to water in the morning vs. at night as this can contribute to fungus.
• Landscape Trimming: Better to trim the landscape during the fall or cooler times. Plants and shrubs can stress during extreme summer heat periods, and trimming now may not be the best timing.
• Fungicide: Its always very beneficial to get a fungicide application during June and July. This will help protect the turf from unwanted disease and fungus. Call the office for details

Questions? Call 812-246-8800 or email info@lawncure.com.  

Have a wonderful summer season!

Summer is here and with our warm summer breezes comes a host of uninvited little creatures too!  Flea and Tick Season is upon us and both are having a stellar year!  Protecting our families and our pets is becoming an ever-greater concern as diseases spread by flea and tick bites are becoming more and more prevalent.

How can we help protect our families and pets from unwanted flea and tick infestations?  

• Keep homes, lawns and landscape beds properly maintained and clean
• For our pets, consult with your veterinarian for appropriate flea/tick preventatives
• Your lawn care provider can apply proper host-specific insecticides in either granular and liquid formulations to both your turf and landscape areas to help keep flea and tick populations at a minimum on your property

Don't let fleas and ticks spoil you outdoor summer plans.  Act now to have a safe summer season!

While we definitely don’t like to see ants in our homes, ants in our lawns can be beneficial. Along with earthworms, ants are the natural aerators of our lawns. Their colonies typically reside in the subsurface and unless they become disturbed, they don't cause our lawns too much trouble.  We tend to see ants more in the spring or after hard rains because their colonies get flooded and they have to regroup.  That being said, most of us would prefer not to see an overabundance of them in our lawns, so what can be done?

Ants tend to reside in drier soil, so keeping your lawn well-watered as me move through our summer season is beneficial.  Since ants feed on sugary or protein food bits, keeping your lawn free of fruit and vegetable scraps is a must.  Your lawn care provider can offer an insecticide program that is applied on the lawn itself.  A general insecticide product would be helpful in suppressing ant populations in the turf, but it would take time and consistent applications to yield effective results.

The bottom line, if you are only noticing ants periodically in the lawn, there is most likely nothing to worry about.  If you see colonies growing in the lawn, becoming a deterrent for proper mowing, or if the colonies begin to move too close to the home, it's time to take action.