Eco Lawn Science

As the soil temperature warms up, weeds will start popping up like crazy–on your lawn, and in your flowerbeds. One day you'll see none. The next day it's an outbreak. If you're looking to suppress some of those irritating weeds and keep them from showing up in your flower/mulch beds, you might consider using a pre-emergent.  Some people choose not to use them, but pre-emergents can significantly decrease the work you have to do in your beds throughout the season. Now is the time to get them down. Hear more about how to use pre-emergents in your mulched beds in this episode of Eco Lawn Science.

After a long winter’s nap, the grass is finally waking up here in Utah! It’s likely that your lawn won’t be fully out of dormancy quite yet, but it’s nearly there. What should you do when to give your lawn the best care you can as it emerges from its sleep? How do you handle typical issues that become apparent this time of year, like pink snow mold? What fertilizer should you use? Hear what Ete has to say about this topic in the episode of Eco Lawn Science.

Ete's been all over this winter: NY NJ, VA, FL, TX, which means he's seen both cold season (used a lot in the north) and warm season grasses (used in the south). Each type of grass has its own needs. Today Ete goes over some things that you can do to prepare for the spring for both kinds of grass. In the north, it's time to think about how you're removing your snow, and maybe taking soil samples. In the south, it's almost go time for pre-emergents. Wherever you are, let's get ready for spring in this episode of Eco Lawn Science.

Drive by any neighborhood after winter and you will most likely see little flags or signs on many of the lawns. We all know that means those properties have been treated by a lawn fertilization service. So the sign are just there as an advertisement for those companies, right? Nope. So what else do those signs indicate? What is an REI (hint: it's not just a great store)? How do you find out how long you should stay off your lawn once those signs go up? Find out in this episode of EcoLawn Science.

We’re on the road today, speaking with Dean Johnson, owner of Healthy Homes Pest Control in the Richmond, VA area (be sure to check out their website if you need pest control services). And in today’s episode, we’re taking it indoors.

When asked what his favorite insect was, Dean replied “yellow jackets...because they fight back.” That says it all. This is a man who takes his job seriously. This is a man who loves what he does. This is a man from whom you want to take pest advice. Luckily for us, he’s ready to share.

What can you do to make your home uninviting to bugs? What should you expect from your pest control company? What should pest control generally cost?

Get the answers to these questions–and hear why cockroaches are even more disgusting than you already thought they were–from pest control specialist, Dean Johnson. It’s all in this episode of The Company Next Door.

PictureThis is an incredibly useful and powerful app, available for free (although there is a paid "pro" version) for Iphones and Android phones. (We have no affiliation with this company, and we are not receiving any compensation from them). What can PictureThis do for you? Ete uses this app all the time for plant identification (especially weeds) and for getting info about all kinds of plants. The description for the app claims a 98% accuracy rate on millions of plants and says that with it you can:

          - Identify plants, flowers, and trees instantly with artificial intelligence
          - Diagnose plant problems automatically and get treatment suggestions
          - Get advice from our botanists in one-on-one conversations
          - Use our plant guides to help you choose and grow beautiful, healthy plants
          - Keep notes, get reminders, and record the growth of your plants, trees, and flowers
          - Take better photographs with our easy-to-use interface

While Ete has found that PictureThis is not perfect, it is dead-on most of the time. Find out more about PictureThis in this episode of Eco Lawn Science. 

Today Ete introduces a very cool lawn tool, Turf Stress Detection Glasses (Turf-Tec) from Turf-Tec International. (Ete has no affiliation with this company and is receiving no compensation from them).

These glasses purport to help you see turf damage, weeds, and sprinkler problems earlier than you would with the naked eye. The technology for these glasses was developed by NASA.   This particular pair costs $35 (Ete's memory was way off on this).

Is this for real? Do they really work? How could these glasses help you? Find out in this Episode of Eco Lawn Science.

You know how you can't remember what you had for lunch yesterday? Well, there's about a 99.9% chance that you won't remember a thing about your 2020 lawn season by next year. Did you have any fungal or insect issues? How did you feel about your lawn service–did you want to change up your plan, were there services you want to add next year, did you want to get a different lawn company? How often and how long were you watering when you got your best results? Which areas tend to get brown, during the summer? Ete recommends that you actually take the time to write it all down now. Yes, it's a pain, but you will thank yourself next year. If you're a lawn company, do the same. Take stock now. What did you want to change for next year? Don't get caught mid-season 2021 thinking, "Oh yeah, I meant to do that this year."

Here we are in November. Your lawn's been through a lot and you want to help it out as much as possible. The foundation of a good, healthy lawn is good, healthy soil. Build and balance your soil, build a healthy lawn. One way to help balance and increase the health of your soil is top-dressing. What is that? Generally speaking, top-dressing is a mixture of goodness for your soil, typically some blend of sand, peat, loam, compost, etc. What you need in the blend depends on your soil's specific needs. Top-dressing (the verb) is to put down a thin layer of that mixture over your lawn. This helps develop your soil and can help even out those lumpy areas in your lawn. Top-dressing is a great way to get your lawn in better shape. Learn more about how to top-dress in this episode of Eco Lawn Science.

Temperatures have dropped considerably, especially at night (how 'bout that 1º weather last week?). Your lawn is entering dormancy; it's going to sleep before the harsh winter. What do you need to do for your lawn right now? Should you mow, fertilize, clean up leaves or let them stay? What can you do to prep for the spring? Get answers on this episode of Eco Lawn Science.