Proper End of Season Mowing Height

November 10th, 2011 by Tuff Turf Molebusters

Just as it is important during the summer season to mow at the proper height, it is also important to adjust your mower height at the end of the mowing season.  With each cutting this fall, gradually lower your mower height until your last cutting is at the lowest possible height without scalping your lawn.  This will allow leaves to more easily blow off and will help protect your lawn from snow mold.


Don’t rake those leaves, mulch them into your lawn

November 10th, 2011 by Tuff Turf Molebusters

It’s great to have big shade trees in your yard, but come fall you can start to resent them. Those big trees drop leaves and that means extra work for you. However, there’s good news! A recent study done at Michigan State University shows that you can forget about raking, blowing, and bagging leaves. Lawn care is easier than ever. Instead, just mulch them with your lawn mower. It’ll save you work, improve your soil, and add nutrients. Take the grass catcher off your mower and mow over the leaves on your lawn. You want to reduce your leaf clutter to dime-size pieces. You’ll know you’re done when about half an inch of grass can be seen through the mulched leaf layer. Once the leaf crumbs settle in, microbes and worms get to work recycling them. Any kind of rotary-action mower will do the job, and any kind of leaves can be chopped up. With several passes of your mower, you can mulch up to 18 inches of leaf clutter. When spring arrives, you’ll notice that the leaf litter you mulched up in the fall will have disappeared and your grass will look greener than ever.


Do you have holes in your bark after winter?

November 10th, 2011 by Tuff Turf Molebusters

 

If you answered yes to this question, then you probably have VOLES. Voles are field mice. They spend the winter under the snow eating the bark off bushes and trees. They survive quite well in the winter because the snow cover insulates them from the cold air and predators cannot find them. Voles chew the grass at ground level and build nests with the grass. This creates trails throughout the lawn. Voles are also able to tunnel in bark, and leave holes the size of quarters.

We now offer a granular repellent application to deter their digging in your bark beds. This application should go down prior to any snowfall.  If we have a thaw in the winter, it is a good idea to apply it again. One application in your foundational beds costs $50.00.  We can also treat your entire lawn. Contact us for a price to treat your entire lawn and other non-foundational beds.


Trunk or Treat

October 17th, 2011 by Tuff Turf Molebusters

Bill handed out candy at the Byron Township Trunk or Treat at Whistle Stop park on Saturday 10/15.  It was extremely windy, but it did not keep the children away.  He handed out over 1000 pieces of candy in 45 minutes.


Time is running out for Box Elder Bugs

October 12th, 2011 by Tuff Turf Molebusters

Time is running out before the Boxelder bugs move from the outside of your house to the inside.  Our Pest Solutions experts can still treat them and block them from moving in.


Boxelder Bugs

October 6th, 2011 by Tuff Turf Molebusters

Boxelder Bugs are crawling on the side of houses now.  Our Pest Solutions experts can spray for these now and create a barrier to prevent them from crawling into the house for the winter.


1000 moles trapped in 2011!

July 27th, 2011 by Tuff Turf Molebusters

We have have trapped over 1000 moles for this season.  We currently are trapping about 100 each week.


Welcome Cubert!

June 1st, 2011 by Tuff Turf Molebusters

Cubert joined our team on 5/31/11.  He came directly from the Nissan factory.  His job is to transport Jim and Jeff to clients’ lawns, as well as the Zylstra children to wherever they may need to go.  He is still waiting for his mole “hat” to be placed on his head.


We Have Bad Gas

April 11th, 2011 by Tuff Turf Molebusters

Carbon Monoxide to be more specific. We purchased a carbon monoxide compressor. We can inject Carbon Monoxide into the ground at 120 psi per injector at 4 different injection locations. The compressor will fill a 200 foot long mole tunnel with Carbon Monoxide in seconds. Any mole or vole in those tunnels will die within seconds. The gas will travel a couple hundred feet into any tunnels in the surrounding area that is connected to the tunnels in your lawn.


Spring Seeding

March 7th, 2011 by Tuff Turf Molebusters

Part I: Spring seeding options

(This turf tip is part of a three part series on spring seeding.)

Seeding in spring is difficult and often unsuccessful. However, there are circumstances that warrant a spring seeding:

*Thin turf due to winter damage

*Poor turf density due to poor recovery from previous year’s problems, i.e., grub damage, drought damage, etc. This is the case in 2011 due to heat and drought in 2010.

*Construction of a new home or business.

If a spring seeding is necessary, consider doing it before the ground thaws from winter. Although it is not necessary to seed before the ground thaws it may make seeding more easy as soils are often soft and moist in the spring which may make it more difficult to seed certain areas, especially with heavier equipment.

Seed planted now will lie dormant until the soil temperatures warm in late March, April or possibly May. Depending on your location in Indiana, dormant seeding can be done as early as Thanksgiving and as late as March. The benefit of dormant seeding is that as the soil heaves and cracks during the winter, crevices are created for the seeds which provide ideal germination conditions. Additionally, dormant seeding is easier to schedule than spring seeding, because spring rains make it difficult to find the right time to seed after March in Michigan. Seed can also be planted in April and May, but a March seeding date will allow more time for root development before summer.

Although any cool-season grass can be seeded in the spring, spring seedings are more successful with tall fescue and perennial ryegrass than with Kentucky bluegrass due to the faster germination rate and better seedling vigor of perennial ryegrass and tall fescue compared to Kentucky bluegrass (Fig. 1). If Kentucky bluegrass is seeded in the spring consider using a mixture of tall fescue: Kentucky bluegrass (90:10, weight: weight) or a mixture of Kentucky bluegrass:perennial ryegrass (such as 80:20, weight: weight)(Table 1). Seeding Kentucky bluegrass alone will result in marginal bluegrass establishment due to the slow germination and vigor of the seedlings and increased competition from crabgrass.

Fig. 1. Germination of perennial ryegrass (left, PR) will be followed by tall fescue (center, TF) and then Kentucky bluegrass (right, KBG).

Species Seeding (rate lbs/1,000 ft2) Days to germinate
Kentucky bluegrass 1.0 to 2.0 10-21
Kentucky bluegrass + perennial ryegrass 3.0 to 6.0 5-21
Tall fescue 8.0 to 10.0 6-10

Fertilizing
New turfgrass seedlings have poorly developed root systems and thus they cannot affectively take up the nutrients from the soil. Therefore, frequent Lawn Fertilizing is important  after seeding to encourage establishment. To help the turf establish, apply a “starter fertilizer” to enhance seed germination and development. Starter fertilizer is high in phosphorus which is listed as the second number in the analysis on the fertilizer bag. For instance, a 16-22-8 fertilizer contains 22% P2O5. Apply the fertilizer according to the label directions would should supply at least 1.0 lb. P2O5 /1000 ft2. This application will likely include nitrogen (first number in the fertilizer analysis), which will also help the turf develop an extensive fibrous root system that is better able to take up nutrients and obtain water.