Sparky's Safe Lawn Tip - Begin mowing your lawn on a low setting

We're getting there...the sun's peeking through...

Mowing is one of the most important activities in maintaining your lawn. Regardless of whether your lawn is fertilized, irrigated or receives applications of control products, proper mowing practices are essential. Properly mowed lawns will have fewer weed populations, better moisture stress tolerance and generally better quality than improperly mowed lawns. Plus, they look spiffy-er, too.

Low heights have limited leaf area to sustain photosynthesis rates to maintain good plant vigor. In addition, your grass will develop a stronger root system.

For more info, checkout this great fact sheet from The Ohio State University.

How do you mow for a great-looking lawn?

Lawn Fun Fact!

Grass is a great air conditioner in summer and heater in winter. They stay at the nice temperate ranges of 50-75 degrees even when sidewalks and streets are as hot and cold as 100-30 degrees.

Pretty cool (or hot), huh? Happy weekend!

Great lawn series - Central Park, New York, NY USA

Sparky's Safe Lawn Tip - Get a soil test and choose the right fertilizer

OK, OK, the lawn care season is getting closer! :)

So, what now? Get ready for the season by getting a soil test. You should never spend any money on any fertilizer or soil amendment without first checking out the results of a soil test first.

All lawn care fertilizers are comprised of three main ingredients:
1. Nitrogen - Helps keep your grass healthy, vibrant green and helps keep it nice and thick! A healthy lawn can naturally ward of bugs and pests, too.
2. Phosphorous - Nutritionally helps strong roots in your grass.
3. Potassium - It also bolsters the strength of your blades, which helps your lawn weather particularly dry or hot spells.

When choosing the right fertilizer, you want to get the right combination of these three key nutrients to the soil at a rate that's optimal for growth. You also want to mind your budget, personal time investment (like hiring a pro).

Whatever your path, testing your soil first and selecting a fertilizer with the optimal makeup of the three key nutrients will give you the best shot to a more emerald, stronger and fuller lawn you can be proud of.

Sparky's Safe Lawn Tip - The 8 critical lawn care areas to protecting your pet

A healthy NJ lawn should be something you and your family enjoy together. That especially includes your pets - who revel in the chance to play fetch, have a run, or take a rest on your emerald-green grass. Hey, don't we enjoy that, too?

Dana Farbman, ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) pet poison prevention expert, says "Keeping animals safe from accidental poisonings should not end once you've stepped outside. Protecting your pet from potential hazards is just as critical." Unfortunately, the APCC's expert team fields thousands of calls each year involving pets who've had potentially hazardous contact with insecticides, weed-killers and pet-toxic plants.

According to the APCC, here's the 8 critical areas to watch out for when protecting your family's furry companion:
1. Poisonous plants - When designing your lawn space, remember that many popular outdoor plants (especially sago palm, rhododendron and azalea) are toxic to pets. Checkout the full list of plants here.
2. Fertilizer - The chemicals and fertilizers that keeps plants "healthy" can be particularly harmful to our furry friends. Ingesting large amounts can upset their stomachs, potentially causing life-threatening gastrointestinal obstructions.
3. Cocoa mulch - Although it's popular for it's odor and color to humans, it attracts pets, too who are allergic. Depending on the amount ingested, symptoms can include vomiting, diarrhea, muscle tremors, elevated heart rate and even seizures.
4. Insecticides - This is rough stuff. The most dangerous are snail bait with metaldehyde, fly bait with methomyl; and systematic insecticides with disyston or disulfoton, mole or gopher bait with zinc phosphide and most forms of rat poison. You should always keep these out of Fido's reach.
5. Compost - Food and garden waste make prime additions to the garden soil; but, watch what you put down. Coffee, moldy food and certain fruits and veggies can be toxic. Here's a list on what to avoid.
6. Fleas and ticks - Keep your lawn trim since fleas and ticks hangout in the tall brush and grass. In addition to excessive scratching, hair loss, scabs, hot spots and tapeworms; they can also lead to more serious tick-borne diseases like Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Babesia.
7. Garden tools - Be sure your essential lawn tools are secured safely away. They could cause accidental trauma to your pets, especially dogs who tend to be outside more than cats.
8. Allergy-causing flora - Pets have allergies, too. Yup. Your pets' allergic reactions can cause life-threatening anaphylactic shock of severe enough. Also, try to keep your pet out of other people's yards.

Pesticides impact both outdoor and indoor pets — since a lawn care service using toxic or misapplied chemicals will leave residue that you or your family can track inside. Dogs or cats are then exposed to it, ingesting it as they clean their fur.

The key to avoiding these hazards is to use a natural NJ lawn care company that understands the risks. At Natural Turf, we use organic fertilizers and pesticides that not only guarantee seed germination to make your lawn look its best; but, are also pet safe. Contact us today to learn more - your lawn and your family's furry companion will thank you!

Sparky's Safe Lawn Tip - Gather the right lawn tools for a healthy lawn

The lawn season is getting closer...and closer. Without question, having the right tools for the job will make the job of lawn maintenance easier, and will help make your lawn as beautiful as it can be.

There are so many tools, manufacturers - at all ranges of prices - that it's difficult to determine what the best way to go is. So what should be in your green cabinet?

Here's a good list of 10 essentials:
1. A spring tined rake
2. A garden fork
3. A spade or shovel
4. A pair of edging shears
5. A half-moon edging tool
6. A besom (a.k.a. a witch's broom)
7. A push spreader
8. A trimmer or edger
9. A long-handled shear
10. A mower

For more information, you can checkout the entire article from our friends at Enjoy-Your-Garden.com. Or, better yet, visit our website to learn about our services and contact a Natural Turf professional today. We're happy to help you fill out your green lawn cabinet with the tools to The Better Way to a lush, healthy lawn.

Children and pesticides don't mix

There are some things that go perfectly together: peanut butter and jelly, yin and yang, baseball and spring. But in the case of our kids and lawn chemicals...they don't.

Most of the popular lawn chemicals are dangerous carcinogens and mutagens. Chemically-treated lawn toxins stick to shoes, get tracked indoors and are deposited on rugs, kids’ toys, blankets and clothing. Also, walking barefoot on a chemically-treated lawn affords direct absorption of toxins into the skin through their feet and toes.

Beyond Pesticides has a great fact sheet on why children and pesticides don't mix. Here's some highlights:
1. The National Academy of Sciences reports that children are more vulnerable than adults to the dangerous lawn care pesticides.(1)
2. Studies have linked pesticides to cancer, asthma, hyperactivity and other ailments.(2, 3)
3. A study published in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute finds that household and garden pesticide use can increase the risk of childhood leukemia as much as sevenfold.(4)
4. Scientists believe that the amount of toxic chemicals in the environment that cause developmental and neurological damage are contributing to the rise of physical and mental effects being found in children.(5)
5. A 2005 study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association found that students and school employees are being poisoned by pesticide use at schools and from drift off of neighboring farmlands.(6)

Sobering news. On the other hand, Natural Turf’s organic programs approach is a completely safe, life-affirming process. Compost, seaweed, garlic, corn gluten and other 100% natural products are used to feed the micro-organisms in the soil. These organisms then help make available all the nutrients your lawn – and your family – needs to grow safe and sound.

Contact us to learn more about The Better Way to organic and organic-based lawn care. We look forward to hearing from you.


Sources:
(1) National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences. 1993. Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children, National Academy Press, Washington, DC. 184-185.
(2) Leiss, J., et. al., 1995. Home Pesticide Use and Childhood Cancer: A Case-Control Study. American Journal of Public Health, 85: 249-252.
(3) Repetto, R., et. al., 1996 March. Pesticides and Immune System: The Public Health Risk. World Resources Institute. Washington, DC.
(4) Lowengart, R., et. al., 1987. Childhood Leukemia and Parent's Occupational and Home Exposures. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 79:39.
(5) National Research Council. 2000. Scientific frontiers in developmental toxicology and risk assessment. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; Physicians for Social Responsibility, The National Environmental Trust, The Learning Disabilities Association of America. 2000.
(6) Alarcon, WA., et. al., 2005. Acute illnesses associated with pesticide exposure at school. Journal of the American Medical Association. 294(4); 455-465.