To many, a lush, green lawn is a part of the American dream. Lawns are a place to play, to picnic, or to just watch a pet dog roll around. In a sense, they set the table for the rest of the landscape.A healthy lawn does a lot of good for the environment also. It filters water before it reaches the aquifer. Lawns cool the surroundings and reduce noise. They even clean the air we breath and trap carbon dioxide. They play an important part of the urban landscape and we believe they are possible with a pesticide-free lawn care program.
At Allentuck Landscaping Co., our lawn care program is an important part of our complete landscape maintenance plan. We take a holistic approach to caring for lawns. We utilize a variety of methods to growing healthy lawns, developing strong root systems, improving soil structure and providing the necessary nutrients that grass needs to thrive.
There Is A Community In Your Lawn!
Your lawn contains an entire microbiome, or community, of microbes that is both abundant and diverse. They help promote strong root growth and healthier plants. Our turf applications contain over 800 species of active microbes, microbe food and nutrient enhancers to further this communities efforts. This addition also optimizes the uptake of nutrients we apply, maximizing nutrient efficiency and minimizing nutrient loss. It also reduces surge growth of the lawn, which puts a lot of stress on the plants.
Slow Release Is The Key
Our lawn applications also include slow-release fertilizer to provide additional nutrients that the lawn needs to grow. We choose to use slow-release products because the benefits can last 6 to 8 weeks or longer than quick release. Plants receive the nutrients they need over a longer period of time than quick release products. This also reduces the stress that a surge of growth from quick release fertilizers can provide. One further note; the fertilizers we use do not contain phosphorus as this mineral can wash into waterways, damaging them, and ultimately damaging the Chesapeake Bay as well.
Adding A Little Lime
Our year starts out with a lime application to adjust the soil’s pH, a measure of the soil’s acidity. The pH range is from 1 to 14 with 7 being neutral. The lower the number, the more acidic something is and conversely, the higher numbers are more basic. The soils in our area tend to be more acidic because of the clay composition. A pH between 5.5 and 6.5 is ideal for turf. It is in this range that grass plants can best take advantage of the available nutrients. The lime application helps keep the pH in this range.
That’s Not Goose Poop
You have probably seen the after-effects of our soil aeration efforts in the past. Yes, the little soil cores resemble goose poop but in reality they are just plain old dirt. Aeration opens up compacted soil, allowing air, water and nutrient to better get to the root system. It also de-compacts soil, creating a better environment for root growth. The additional air flow helps reduce thatch build up and diseases that can harm grass plants. At the same time, our teams are applying additional grass seed to grow the population of grass plants. By encouraging more grass plants, we are actually trying to squeeze out spaces where weeds could grow. We encourage our customers to core aerate and overseed twice a year to constantly be improving the lawn.
Cultural Practices Matter
The last part of our lawn care program involves cultural practices we perform throughout the year. These play and integral part to maintaining a healthy lawn.
Our lawn mower blades are intentionally set high at 3.5”-4”. Studies show that longer grass blades produce more photosynthetic energy for the plant, shade the roots system better, and leave less space for weeds to grow. It also prevents burnout from the sun on hot days.
Regular mowing is important so that no more than 1/3 of the grass blade is removed with each mowing. This reduces stress to the grass plant caused by the mowers. Additionally, our mower blades are sharpened several times each week to provide clean cuts, further reducing stress.
We do not bag grass clippings. Grass clippings are left on the lawns rather than being bagged to reintroduce beneficial nutrients into the soil as they break down. When mowed regularly, this does not cause any build-up of thatch and the clippings breakdown quickly.
Will We Have No Weeds?
We wish we could tell you that our pesticide-free lawn care program could guarantee you a weed free lawn, but we can’t do that. We can tell you that over time, our program will produce a healthy, fuller, green lawn that can compete with weeds and reduce them over time. Weeds are great competitors and work really hard to survive. The best we can do is give your lawn a fighting chance to outperform them. We can also guarantee that you, your family and your pets will be safe from harmful pesticides.
Allentuck Landscaping Co. is Your Residential Landscape Company
Phone: 301-515-1900 Email: info@allentucklandscaping.com
At Allentuck Landscaping Company, our mission is to create beautiful environments for people to enjoy. We see landscaping as a way to improve people’s lives.
The Allentuck Landscaping Company team has been a leading landscape company in Montgomery County, Maryland for over 234 years with our turnkey approach to landscape design, installation, construction and maintenance. Most companies try to serve many types of customers at the same time; homeowners, shopping centers, office buildings and the list goes on. At Allentuck Landscaping Co., we focus on one customer, you, the homeowner. We have a singular focus on bringing you the best landscape practices, the best customer service, and the best value for your home.
Services Provide - Master Landscape Plans, Complete Maintenance Programs, Plantings, Patios, Walkways, Retaining Walls, Water Features, Outdoor Lighting, Outdoor Kitchens, Trellises & Pergolas, Irrigation Systems, Drainage Solutions, Grading & Sodding. Fire Pits & Fire Places, Spring Clean Ups, Decks, Fences, Mosquito & Tick Control, Deer Control.
Areas Served - Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Potomac, Rockville, North Potomac, Darnestown, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Damascus, Boyds, Clarksburg, Ijamsville, Urbana, Frederick in Maryland and Washington DC.
