Leafgro® is an organic compost used extensively by the lawn and landscape industry. MRW Lawns has been applying this product to customer lawns for 25 years. Produced by Maryland Environmental Services in Dickerson, Maryland, it is our opinion that this is the highest quality composted yard waste material available for compost topdressing of lawns available in our region.
January always presents us with the opportunity for educational sessions, both for agronomics and computer products we use. Earlier in the week, we attended Maryland Turfgrass Council Turfgrass 2013 Conference and Tradeshow. This event is held annually for two days at the University of Maryland in College Park. The turfgrass specialist at the University always present a good program for us learn about new products and stay on top of the game of fertilizing and providing pest control services to our customers.
Depending where you are in our service area, you may have experienced a little snow in the last day or two. In the southern sections we are seeing mostly rain. The forecast is calling for continued cold and windy weather, below freezing at night and warming into the 40’s during the day. Because the temperature in the Mid-Atlantic region is so inconsistent, it predisposes our lawns and landscapes to winter injury. Here are some tips to help things through the rough weather ahead:
I would like to thank Landscape Management Magazine for hosting the Lawn Care Forum at the Reunion Resort in Orlando Florida. Not only was it a needed break from the daily grind, it was highly informative. 30 lawn care executives from accross the nation had the opportunity to share experiences with each other. Each lawn care executive had the opportunity to sit down with the sponsors 1 on 1 and discuss the needs of our particular businesses. The guest speakers were also great. Karen Reardon from Rise spoke of the legislative issues we face annually.
Come to the Winter section of our Seasonal Tips section and get important information for maintenance and preparation of the lawn and landscape before winter really sets in.
Our native landscape and green vegetative roof is in full fall color. Our native red maples are a burning deep red and some of the sedum varieties on the roof are turning a bright orange. Beautiful!
Yesterday, Bobby, Wayne and I were lucky enough to spend the day at the Paint Branch Turfgrass Research Facility for the first fall turfgrass field day. It was very informative to tour the research trials happening on the farm. The research faculty were Dr. Tomas Turner, Dr. Mark Carroll, and Dr. Kevin Mathias. In the research plots were studies being performed to measure runoff from plots where compost is tilled in. We walked and observed summer damage to different cultivars of turfgrass in the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program.
Even though it is getting cold outside, termites are still at work and may be causing damage to your home. The three critical needs of a termite colony are high humidity (moisture), a constant food source of wood or cellulose, and protection from long periods of freezing weather. Termites must continue to feed and be active throughout the winter. Because they are cold-blooded creatures, severe cold prevents termites from feeding above ground in unheated situations. This makes your warm house ideal for invasion.
Today I had a rather heavy coating of fallen leaves. After running over them with the mulching lawn mower about three times, this is the result. It may not be perfect, but it's not bad, and the leaves will help feed the lawn over time, reducing the need for nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer. If you seeded this past fall, it is best to mulch the leaves or blow them rather than raking. If you have to rake use a flexible metal rake and be careful you are not pulling up your new grass. Be aware of what you are doing to the new lawn whenever working to remove the leaves.
Because of the attention you have given us, our lawn always looks wonderful. We have watched the weeds take over our neighbors' yards but our remained virtually weed free.
Steven is courteous and approachable. He takes pride in his work and appears to be knowledgeable. He can explain lawn problems in plain language so the customer understands
