Chesterfield Conversion

I recently installed a landscape for friends in Chesterfield where there were almost no plants. I love blank slates! Enjoy the pictures. Sorry about the layout, I'm a landscaper not a web designer.

Mowing Height And Frequency

Mowing turf at appropriate heights and frequencies are critical to developing dense,actively growing and healthy lawns. Turf-type fescue and bluegrass should be mowed at 3-3.5", especially as we enter the late spring and summer. This will insure the turf remains dense, which will choke out potential weeds and keep the ground more moist and cool. This results in less water usage and lower weed pressure, thereby reducing the need for weed controls.

Mowing frequency is also a critical component for healthy turf. Turf should be mowed so that no more than 1/3 of the leaf blade is removed at one time (eg turf is 4" only remove 1" leaving 3"). This may mean multiple mowings in one week during the early to mid-spring peak growth period. The "One Third Rule" will help maintain maximum root growth. If this practice is not followed turf will become stressed and sometimes have a brown cast on the leaf tips. One more important practice to follow is to mulch clippings on the lawn. This will return nitrogen stored in the leaf blade back to your lawn. You paid for the fertilizer so why not keep it where it belongs. Just be sure the clippings are sufficiently mulched and not left in piles on the lawn.

While your at it keep those blades sharpened too. Happy mowing!

Landscape Renovation

Here is a link to a recent landscape renovation that I completed with and for my friend, Mike. If you're ever in need of a mechanical engineer, I would highly recommend him. http://servehim.wordpress.com/landscaping-in-progress/

What It Costs

According to the EIA (Energy Information Administration), the cost to produce and sell gasoline to consumers includes the price of crude oil, refining costs, marketing and distribution, retail station costs and taxes. For example, in June, the average cost of a gallon of gasoline was $4.05. The breakdown was as follows: 74 percent crude oil, 9 percent refining, 7 percent marketing and distribution, and 10 percent taxes. The same month, the average price of diesel fuel was $4.68 a gallon with the cost breakdown as follows: 65 percent crude oil, 17 percent refining, 8 percent distribution and marketing and 10 percent taxes.

Composting

Composting is the transformation of organic material through decomposition into a soil-like material caled compost. Invertebrates (insects & earthworms), and microorganisms (bacteria & fungi) help transform the material into compost. Composting is a natural form of recycling, which continually occurs in nature.

Disappearing Honeybees

The recent decline in honeybee populations have been caused by what is referred to as colony collapse disorder ("CCD"). This may not even be an actual disease. This "disease" is responsible for up to 90 percent of honeybee hive losses.
The "disease" interferes with the bees ability to process sensory input resulting in disorientation. When bees leave the hive they are not able to find their way back. Adult bees simply disappear, leaving behind honey, pollen, queens, etc.
There are numerous potential causes, and chances are it is multiple causes in combination with each other that may be responsible for the decline in hives and colonies. It should be noted that contrary to the environmental alarmists accusations, cell phone towers and global warming have been discredited as primary causes. If you would like more info on this study check out the Kansas State University Dept of Entymology website.

Fall Fertilization

Fall is the ideal time to fertilize turf. Among the benefits are better fall and winter color and a quicker green-up earlier in spring continuing into summer. Also, there will not be excessive blade growth as in lawns that are fertilized in spring. Other benefits that result from fall fertilization are winter survival and optimum root growth.

In basic terms it works like this: nitrogen is taken up by the roots, even though blade growth has ceased. Roots remain active during cooler temperatures. Nitrogen increases chlorophyll content, thereby enhancing color. More chlorophyll equals more photosynthesis equals increased sugars. Because turf blades are not growing during this time that sugar is being stored, winter survival and spring recovery is enhanced. As a result turf goes into spring and summer with deeper, healthier roots, and spring green-up is earlier because of the nitrogen stored in the roots.