We have traveled the world to select only the very best methods of taking care of our lawns and plants in Austin, Texas. We aim to fully explain our organic soil management. What we do, and how we do it.

Our organic soil management focuses in the natural nutrient cycling provided by nature for lawns and plants. By identifying the natural cycle first, we run against the industry convention of using synthetic chemicals and harmful pollutants, such as synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, and pesticides, to counteract highly specific lawn and plant health conditions. We believe a holistic approach in taking care of lawns and plants is and has always been the best approach. We highlight our use of natural and organic methods to achieve desirable results. Our unique approach to lawn and plant care has been proven to improve soil water retention, increase the breakdown of organic layers (thatch) and leaves (yes, fallen leaves!), increase nutrient availability to plants, suppress diseases, and increase the natural aeration capability of the lawn.

Microbial Analysis

Aside from the commonly used testing of available primary nutrient levels in soil, it is just as important to also analyze for immobile and mobile bacterial levels, fungi, as well as beneficial predators like protozoa and nematodes population when selecting an organic matter amendment strategy. Specifically for lawns, we are looking for nutrient cycling systems that is largely bacterial dominated to function optimally. For plants, we require fungal dominated soils. Microbial analysis is an additional tool we use to create a holistic picture of the soil composition.

Mycorrrhizal fungi form narrow threads in compost and attach themselves to root structures. These microbial organisms consume exudates from plant roots. The nutrients become stored as food and moisture for plants - to draw on when needed - as well as nematode predators. The waste from the nematodes also becomes food for the plants - completing this natural nutrient cycle.

Bacteria also play a key role in plant nutrition by immobilizing nutrients in the rhizoshepere. These microbes decompose organic matter and ingest root exudates, preventing them from leaching out of the soil. These valuable nutrients are tied up in the bacteria until they are eventually released in the ammonium (NH4+) waste of protozoa predators, for use by the plant.

Chemical Analysis

Measuring the pH level is where a chemical analysis typically starts and historically ends. As science progressed, we eventually added the three primary nutrients known to encourage grass and plant growth; Nitrogen, Potassium, and Phosphorous (N, K, and P). This is crucial in determining the baseline of available nutrients, and crucial in accurate adjustments in the field. Then, secondary plant nutrients were added, Calcium, Magnesium, and Sulfur. To date, most professionals will say that there are between 40-44 essential grass and plant nutrients. On very large projects, we typically contract the help of a trusted laboratory to measure all essential nutrients and Cation Exchange Capacities (CEC), and soluble salt contents. For most residential applications, however, knowing the pH, primary, and secondary nutrient levels are enough to make an informed decision.

Lawn

Shrubs and Hedges

This is the ultimate lawn and landscaping guide for making smart and intelligent property management choices in Austin, Texas.

We have helped a lot of property managers in Austin, Texas make the right choices for their property needs. With our years of industry experience, this guide will help you shine! You will not find this anywhere else. We compiled the very best ways to save you money without cutting corners. "Work smarter, not harder," a wiseman once said. This will be updated every time we find a smart and intelligent way to guide the discerning property manager in the Austin area.

Roof and Siding Clearance

Afterall, who else would the property owner and tenant blame? It is you, the property manager. This problem can be significantly lessen by making sure to remind the owner of the need for yearly pruning. Prune back trees, shrubs, and hedges away from the house's siding, windows, and roof line, no matter how low or high. Pruning will create clearance for natural movements during inclement weather and lessen preventable repairs. It also makes maintenance around the property easier as crews are able to move around more freely. For taller trees, make sure to have the crossed branches, dead branches, and foliage trimmed to lessen the chances of the trunk breaking or debris from falling. This tip will save you a lot of headache sometime down the road and is a smart and intelligent property management choice on any property you may have in and around the Austin area.

Do Not Fight Nature

If rain water flows a certain direction, do not obstruct it, but rather work around it and go with the flow. While larger rocks and boulders can help with erosion, they can be very difficult to walk on. You can lay flagstones to create pathways when you need the slope to be functional. On areas where literally nothing grows, you can typically skip on laying weed fabric before laying the stones to save you money on installation. Since nothing grows there even with bare soil, you do not have to worry about weeding in the future. For areas with patches, lay some fabric or cardboard boxes to keep unwanted vegetation in check. In our experience, we have seen tenants bring in trampolines, children's playgrounds complete with slides and swings, and at times picnic tables upon moving in. A clean backyard with a large functional space, therefore, can add a lot of value and is a smart and intelligent property management choice.

Know Your Lawn

It is already self-sufficient. But should your prospective tenants change their minds and decide to care for having the best irrigation-free green lawn, then go ahead with adding fertilization and actively aerated compost tea treatment as part of the yearly maintenance. Otherwise, if getting the best irrigation-free green lawn is not the priority, then the smart and intelligent choice is to simply leave the lawn as it is and just get it mowed more frequently. Sometimes, just having a professionally mowed lawn is enough to make prospective tenants happy. This is us speaking from the heart and what property managers have told us through the years, not some marketing quackery.

Got Leaves?

Yes, you may be able to get away with not cleaning up immediately. But with time, leaves will eventually accumulate beyond manageable levels. Tenants will then complain of bugs, spiders, cockroaches, and even snakes, then move out, and then you are now stuck with a vacant property and a huge mess. Maybe this may not happen to you, and the property simply goes on sale. Still, cleanup is highly recommended if not required for a successful turnaround. The smarter and intelligent approach to properties with deciduous trees is to leave the plant bed with either bare soil or use finer, smaller rocks or gravel as ground cover. Both approach will make it so much easier to rake, blow clean, and vacuum; thereby significantly lowering the cost of cleanup. Finer and smaller rock and gravel gets compacted over time and do not get suctioned or blown away very easily. Leaves, on the contrary, do get blown away easily and vacuumed quickly. And any service provider that has been in the industry for quite sometime will be quick to identify the price difference between the two. If you do not see a significant price decrease, text, call, chat, or email us. We can help you.

Wild Vegetation is Your Friend

Isn't making wild vegetation a friend, rather than an enemy, the smarter and intelligent solution to the common problem? When the time comes that the property becomes vacant, all you need to tell your service provider is to cut it back with a lawn mower or a weed eater. The vegetation will simply grow back the following year. This lessens the cost of maintenance and upkeep while retaining a comparable curb appeal. The BEST of both worlds. What we have not mentioned yet is what wild vegetation does to the local ecosystem. Wild vegetation adds food and shelter to butterflies, honeybees, earthworms, microbes, insects, and birds. You will also notice wild vegetation is being used at the Austin parks around downtown Austin. And if wild vegetation is good enough for our city parks, why would it not be good for the property you manage?

Native and Adapted Plants Give Diversity

If wild vegetation is too wild for your taste, then stick with plants that are native and have adapted locally. The city of Austin has a booklet as a resource guide for a quick refresher. For a more intensive list, the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower center is very hard to beat. The local industry typically conducts conventions and local training at their Southwest Austin location. Native and adapted plants are chosen because they are hardy to our local climate, are not invasive, and fits in the local flora and fauna. Using native and adapted plants gives you more control in adding plant variety to the plant beds. Similar to wild vegetation, these plants do not need a lot of human intervention. While all native and adapted plants do need to be fertilized when being planted and again 3 months later, very little fertilization is needed once they are established. Some may need to be pruned back once a year, and others may not need pruning at all. It just depends on the native and adapted plants you pick. If you need guidance, chat with us 24/7. We can help.

We hope to have helped you become a wiser and more verse property manager. Make sure to bookmark this page as this compilation will be updated for the years to come. Visit us often for more tips and tricks around your lawn and landscaping. Should you ever need our help, just let us know. We are here for you.

What do we mean by Dethatching?

Dethatching, as the name implies, means to remove portions of the thatch layer from the lawn. Excessive amount of thatch layer can stunt root growth from reaching deeper into the soil. This limits the roots' ability to access water reserves in drought and immovable nutrients.

There are three time tested procedures to properly dethatching the lawn. First is Core Aeration. While Core Aeration does not remove a lot of thatch directly, it encourages a longer microbial reaction by creating a direct contact between the soil and thatch. It also reduces soil compaction that stimulate root development. Second is Top Dressing. Microorganisms in the Top Dress adds organic matter that naturally eats away the thatch layer. The third technique is through power raking. This the most invasive procedure of all three. Power raking mechanically removes the thatch layer. This layer is then removed by either bagged mowing or raking.

Thorough dethatching of a lawn takes time. It is not uncommon to see all three dethatching procedures performed at the same time. Power raking will be followed by bagged mowing, before Core Aeration, and then top dressing.

What is Thatch?

The thatch layer is mainly composed of lawn debris that are being broken down by microorganisms in the lawn. Thatch naturally occurs and protects the lawn from moisture fluctuations and soil compaction. On football fields and sports turf applications, thatch increases lawn resiliency, increases player footing, and lessens impact. However, having a thatch layer of more than 1" thick indicates that microorganisms in the lawn are having a hard time decomposing the lawn debris, which can harbor disease causing insects and pests. Fungi can breed in the thatch layer in the Winter, and attack the lawn in Spring to form Yellow Patch, Summer Patch, or Ring Spot.

Debunking the Myth

Contrary to popular belief, mulching the lawn or otherwise leaving grass clippings or leaves on the lawn will NOT increase the thatch layer. Grass clippings and leaves are made up mostly of water and nutrients that can easily be absorbed by the lawn. According to University of Minnesota Extension, "grass clippings decompose rapidly and contribute very little to thatch accumulation." When it comes to leaving leaves on the lawn, Virginia Tech and Virginia State University says, "Mulching the leaves had no undesirable effects on turf quality or color, growth, thatch accumulation, soil pH, weed populations, or disease pressure. While the leaves did not prove to be a substitute for appropriate N fertilization practices, the general assessment was that mulching was overall very positive and economical."

Thatch Build-up

Excessive thatch build up happens when the lawn produces more organic debris much faster than can be decomposed. According to Penn State University, "parts of grass plants that are the most resistant to decay — stem nodes, crowns, fibers of vascular tissues, and roots — make up the bulk of thatch." Mowing infrequently will contribute to thatch build up. This is because a significant amount of stem tissue gets cut off. As time passes by mowing one overgrown lawn after another, thatch layer naturally thickens as more and more stem nodes, crowns, fibers, and roots collect underneath the lawn. This is the reason why dethatching exists.

Thatch Management

Thatch Management calls for regular lawn maintenance. Get more frequent and regular weekly mowing, even when you think the grass has not grown yet. This limits the length of the grass to be cut and lowers the amount of organic matters resistant to decay. Mowing higher is also preferred to keep the grass lush and thick. Aerate and Top Dress regularly in Spring to reduce the need for synthetic fertilizer. Avoid the use of high yielding Nitrogen synthetic fertilizer. To get a greener look earlier into the growing season, add Iron instead of Nitrogen. Do not deep water lawns that are compacted. When the root system is restricted, there is no added benefit to watering deeply. Excessive moisture in the soil can become a paradise for fungal growth that may eat away the lawns' root system. But as the lawn thickens and recovers, gradually increase watering intervals and increase the amount of water at every watering time. Reducing the watering time may be needed for lawns with slopes and hills to lessen water runoff.

We hope that our little blog post helps you in understanding more about dethatching and thatch. Should you need help with your lawn, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are very eager to help.

Ah, the dreaded rain delay! Lawn Care Providers and Landscapers in Austin have a love-hate relationship with rain. Too little rain causes drought. Too frequent rain creates disruption to virtually all services. This is something the entire industry has to work with. But why would services be disrupted just because of rain in the first place?

1. Safety

It is simply slippery when wet. Slip and fall accidents can break bones, dislocate shoulders, hips, fingers, and more. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says slip and fall accounts for approximately 25% of all injury claims per year, 17% of disabling injuries, and 15% of accidental deaths. This is on top of the increase likelihood of getting involved in vehicle collisions. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) statistics, 22% or 1.2 million crashes every year are weather related. Over a 10-year period, 73% is said to be attributable to wet pavement and 43% is connected to driving when it's rainingrain fall. Working under the rain simply elevates a lot of unnecessary safety issues and problems for lawn care providers and landscapers in Austin. Problems that, in all honesty, are avoidable.

2. Labor Inefficiency

Because lawn care providers and landscapers in Austin have to be more cautious of their surroundings, they have to work much slower than when it is dry. This increases the cost of labor way above the budgeted time. "One key example", based to a whitepaper published by Intergraph "is [homeowners] will very often demand the same completion date, despite the added workscope. This may require overtime, second shift work, rework, additional crafts, and many other impacts to the original plan and estimate. This increase in man-hours, constraints, and other resources would impact the cost and schedule." The same DoT report, moreover, shows travel inefficiency increases by as much as 50% when it rains. Since a huge amount of lawn care and landscaping jobs pricing are connected one way or another to labor cost, pricing has to be increased significantly. Nobody wants that to do that.

3. Decreased Work Quality

Decreased Work Quality has to be learned the hard way, through experience. Men in boots carrying heavy equipment while walking dozens of times, going back and forth from the lawn and to the truck, in wet weather condition will create mud. No matter how slow and careful a lawn care provider or landscaper go on any job, a heavy object on a lawn will create a mess. Then, mud and clippings will eventually find its way to any pavement around the house, the driveway or side street, and the lawn portions of the will be damaged and compacted. After the damage has been done, the only ways to fix these issues are to pressure wash the entire pavement and to aerate and re-level the lawn, both of which are labor intensive jobs. Not to mention, the unnecessary hassle this brings to the job site and all stakeholders.

4. Soil Compaction

Soil can easily be compacted when it is wet. This matters more to Lawn Care Providers than Landscapers. We focus in making sure the lawn germinates. But under wet conditions, according to Iowa State University, the "best choice [one] can make is to stay away from the field--avoid traffic on wet soil to reduce soil compaction". Should your soil be compacted, learn how to alleviate compaction through core aeration.

Conclusion

For these reasons, lawn care providers and landscapers in Austin tend to re-schedule almost all appointments when it rains. It is simply the right thing to do. It is right to treat our employees with care. And it is right to treat our client's properties with utmost respect.

This is the ultimate new homeowner's guide about the techniques for making smart lawn and landscape choices. Now updated for 2019!

You Just Moved to Your South Austin Home! Now, What Do You Need To Do?

First, welcome to South Austin! Congratulations on your new home! Our ultimate lawn and landscape guide for your new home in South Austin will help you identify and correct issues that may not be easily noticeable without expert guidance. From bumpy lawns to lawns with massive drainage issues, we have seen all the cheap tricks contractors may throw at you. Work quality of new lawns in South Austin have significantly gone down when compared to those built in the mid 2000's. That is why vigilance on your part is imperative. Hopefully, you have found the issues first and haggled to get them corrected. If you did not notice the underlying issues the first time, then our goal is to guide you to everything you need to know from day 1. Remember: planning, maintenance, and prevention will always be cheaper in the long run.

1. Lawn and Landscape Inspection Checklist

Check for a Bumpy Lawn

We noticed bumpy lawns are now rampant all over new developments in South Austin. Bumpy lawns are a trip hazard and must be corrected immediately. It felt as though the sods were laid when the ground was still soaking wet. To check for a bumpy lawn, walk around the lawn when it is dry. Assuming the lawn is draining properly, your feet should be level and relatively flat. If you notice significant bumps, one correction to increase flatness is to re-roll the entire lawn with an appropriately weighted roller or top dressing low lying areas with high quality compost. We found that using a combination of both will significantly lessen the bumpiness of the lawn.

Expert Tip

When rolling the lawn, avoid rolling when wet. You risk damaging the lawn through compaction. And when top dressing, limit thickness to about .25". We are aware that this is hard to estimate on the job, so simply make sure the grass blades are still visible. Top dressing too thick may smother the lawn.

Inspect the Lawn for Drainage Problems

Has your lawn always been too muddy to walk on? Is it always wet? Does it have a swampy smell? If all these are true, you may have a drainage issue. The builder wants the water to flow away from the house's foundation. Sometimes, however, the runoff is set to an extreme. This problem is commonly found near the fence line, around edges of the property line, near the backyard gate, or along the A/C. Drainage problems may cause your lawn to recede as it gets smothered with water. There are quite a number of options to correct this issue and lessen excessive water runoff. Your lawn and landscape professional may explore the creation of a rain garden beds on low lying areas, creation of physical drain, re-grading to lessen runoff, using rocks to reroute some of the water, among others. Your first call to action, however, is to identify the issue as soon as possible before the need for extensive lawn overhaul. Afterall, this is your new home!

Expert Tip

Use larger river rocks of about 1" or more strategically to slow down water runoff. We use river rocks along gutter down spouts, pathways, or garden beds to control water flow and velocity. Make sure to watch how the entire environment react on these specific locations when it rains. Observe water flow both before installation and afterwards. There is no other substitute for mother nature.

Check The Plant Beds for Weed Barriers

Quickly check what is underneath the existing plant beds. Is it just bare soil? Do you see a black plastic, a white fabric, or a cardboard box? Most likely than not, your plant bed only has bare soil underneath the mulch. This means that sooner or later your plant beds will be riddled with weeds because mulch does not offer any kind of protection from weed infestation - yes, regardless of what the guys selling mulch will tell you. A weed barrier, fabric, or some kind of a natural barrier from the ground is needed to suppress and prevent weeds. When new beds are infested and weeds get established, the new mulch will end up getting thrown away. There will be simply too many seedlings germinating on the mulch. And these seeds can eventually germinate even on top of a weed barrier. The key, therefore, is prevention. Prevention will save you a lot of time and money. Re-doing the plant beds while it is new is better than waiting months down the road, and paying extra for a clean-up. This way, we can simply move the existing mulch on the side, and lay a weed barrier. Doing so will keep the new look of your beds longer.

Expert Tip

Avoid using weed and feed products or any kind of synthetic herbicides. These products have been shown to have adverse effects to our environment, the fish population, and birds and bees. Use vinegar mixed with water instead to spot treat specific areas, and use your hands to weed areas with other vegetation. You can also apply corn gluten meal fertilizer as a natural alternative to weed and feed.

Inspect for Mature Deciduous Trees

Walk around the lawn to check for deciduous trees like Live Oaks, Maple, and Ash that are all over Austin. Are you going to need to remove leaves in Fall and Winter? This will help you and your lawn care professional plan for the materials needed for your landscape and plant beds. We recommend to simply mulch these leaves back to the lawn in winter. The result may not be aesthetically pleasing, but these mulched leaves will eventually be reabsorbed by the lawn come Spring. If leaves are not getting broken down, spray the area with actively aerated compost tea. The live microbes will help breakdown the mulch. This is much hundreds of dollars cheaper than removing the leaves. The last is to get your provider to come by every couple of weeks to spend time bagging the leaves. Avoid leaving the leaves on the lawn for a prolonged period. This will cause an almost 100% increase in dandelions and crabgrass infestation, according to Michigan State University.

Expert Tip

Ask your lawn care provider to spray Actively Aerated Compost Tea treatments regularly. This is penny on the dollar when compared to a full leaf cleanup. Doing it this way, you'll be saving money and at the same time enriching your lawn's soil with organic matter.

RELATED: Would you like to know about The Easiest Way to Remove Leaves?

2. Maintenance Schedule Checklist

Recurring Lawn Mowing Begins

Lawn mowing is a very important part of your overall lawn maintenance program. We strongly recommend weekly lawn mowing to ensure you get the best quality cut. If you are looking to save a little money, then bi-weekly mowing can sometimes work. It is, however, very hard to get a great looking lawn on a bi-weekly interval. To get the best, weekly interval is the way to go.

There is a lot that goes on behind mowing the lawn. First, ensure the mower blades are very sharp. When using lawn care professionals, one way to know if the blades are dull is by looking at the cut immediately after mowing. A grass blade must be crisp and should not have rugged brown edges. Rugged edge is a telltale sign of dull blades. And dull blades will increase the chances of infection and lengthen the grass' recovery time. Imagine having multiple wounds instead of just one.

When mowing the lawn, make sure to cut appropriately to the season. This means not cutting too short in the summer or too high in the winter. Cutting too short when it is hot will cause heat stress and the lawn to recede. Cutting too long in the winter will keep the lawn very moist in the cold and encourage disease causing fungus to take. Generally, do not cut more than a third of the grass during normal maintenance. This will lessen stress. Cut in different directions to lessen lawn rot and soil compaction. Doing this lessens missed areas and cuts the lawn very flat. This will give you the professionally manicured look everyone desires.

In general, lawn mowing is recommended at least once every week for best results during Spring, Summer, and Fall, and once every month during Winter. If going for a weekly interval is beyond the monthly budget, then going for once every 2 weeks in Spring, Summer, and Fall, and once every month and a half in the Winter will suffice.

Expert Tip

Bag clippings when weeds are present to lessen infestation. Do this as needed. Weed by hand as necessary. It is best to add organic matter, fertilize, aerate, and weed regularly during the season. You will notice when the lawn has thickened and fully recovered. From here on, you will simply be maintaining the lawn.

RELATED: Would you like to learn more about How to Properly Mow a Lawn?

Core Aeration

Core aeration alleviates soil compaction. Compaction is more prevalent to older lawns than newer ones. A telltale sign your lawn has a compacted lawn is weak grass growth on localized areas. Typically, you will find these areas when people take regular shortcuts walking unto the lawn. Walking on the lawn is generally not bad for the lawn. But sometimes, new homeowners are not aware that walking on the lawn while the lawn is still moist or otherwise wet will eventually cause soil compaction on both new and older lawns. This is where core aeration kicks in. Core Aeration makes it easier for air, water and movable nutrients to flow much freely throughout the soil. This in turn gives the grass roots the opportunity to grow deeper into the soil, making the lawn hardy to sudden drought. Generally, aeration is recommended at least once a year. For areas experiencing more traffic, we recommend twice a year, once in Spring and another in Fall. Only aerate the lawn during the growth phases of the season. Be careful when aerating lawns with a sprinkler system as sprinkler heads can easily be damaged by the aerator.

Expert Tip

Aerate and Top dress at the same time. Top Dressing uses a soil mix which adds organic matter into the soil and can also be used to build up soil flora. When combined with core aeration, the organic matter can be placed deeper into the soil profile to manipulate the soil structure. It also lessens traffic stress and alleviates soil compaction. Sometimes, when the soil's pH level is just a little off, top dressing may be enough to make minor adjustments.

RELATED: Would you like to explore more about The Benefits of Lawn Core Aeration?

Lawn Fertilization

Lawns are recommended do a soil test first before fertilizing the lawn. A trusted provider typically provides FREE soil fertility tests to avoid over fertilization. If they do not provide this service, you will be overpaying for services you may not need. We generally recommend to fertilize once in every month of March, May, July, September, and November AS NEEDED. Make sure to organic granular slow release fertilizers to avoid burning the lawn. This will eliminate 99% of the problems with synthetic fertilizers. Organic fertilization with corn gluten meal can also prevent the spread of weeds and make the lawn very healthy. Remember, we recommend to perform a soil test first in order to have a baseline of the amount of N-K-P the lawn needs, and its pH level. Note that fertilization will not correct the lawn's pH level. What it will do, however, is to add nutrients back into the lawn. Organic fertilizers, unlike synthetic salt-based fertilizers, will add nutrients AND organic matter back into the lawn, which is essential to increase nematode and beneficial microorganism population. If the pH level needs to be corrected, you may use lime or aluminum sulfate to raise or lower the pH level back to the ideal range of around 7.0. Adding organic compost, peat moss, and other naturally found materials will increase organic matter in the soil and also slightly adjust the pH level. When fertilizing, we recommend adding a professionally brewed actively aerated compost tea to help break down thatch, organic matter like leaves, and increase the lawn's bacterial and beneficial microbe count to help in the natural nutrient cycle.

Expert Tip

Use organic slow release fertilizers and naturally found soil amendments to improve the lawn's soil and nutrient composition.

RELATED: Would you like to learn more about Our Full Organic and Natural Fertilization Program?

Mulch Installation and Mulch Turning

Mulch adds a layer of protection from drought and sudden freeze, but limit mulch thickness to 4", as adding too much mulch will smother the roots. If your plant beds have old mulch, make sure to turn the mulch at least once a year. This helps against soil compaction and revitalizes the look of the mulch for the season. Turning old mulch also helps in making sure air gets into the bottom of the mulch and aid in decomposition of organic matter, like leaves. Turning mulch can be a great time to weed the beds as well. Light weeding will still be recommended at least once a year for optimal results, even with a weed fabric.

Expert Tip

Not all mulches are created equal. Make sure to inspect the mulch color, cut quality, and cleanliness. It is not unusual to find mulch that has trash mixed in, varying cut quality, and with sub-par pigments.

RELATED: Would you like to understand more about your Groundcover Options?

Perennial Tree and Shrub Trimming and Pruning.

Perennial trees and shrubs in general are recommended to be pruned in the winter when they are dormant. This allows trees and srubs to use all the nutrients available to grow in Spring. Selective pruning can also be utilized at this time of the year to prevent cross branches from becoming a safety hazard or damaging sidings or roof. Aside from these, trimming and pruning can add shape and exquisite look to your landscape especially during the holidays.

Expert Tip

Avoid trimming too deep into the foliage. Some plants like Box Shrubs or Rosemaries won't recover on once the damage has been done. The best alternative is to do selective pruning first, letting the plant recover and grow foliage inside, before finally shaping to the desired size and shape. With plants as with people, slow is fast.

Get Your FREE Organic Best Practices Lawn Care Service Guide

We hope you find our blog helpful. Should you need help with your lawn and landscape or should you want us to expand this guide, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are eager to help.

RELATED:

How to Get Rid of Crabgrass Organically

Experienced gardeners know that just right before Spring is the right time to prepare for the growing season. Much like growing crops, lawns in Southpark Meadows require the same amount of preparation and care. It is not hard, but it simply takes time. Because it is vital that we get it right at the beginning of the year, we have compiled from our lawn care specialists the top 3 pro tips for a natural green lawn in Spring.

Top Pro Tip #1: Aerate the Lawn

If getting a natural green lawn in Spring is your goal, then an aeration service as soon as the grass starts growing must be at the top of your list. This paves the way to expanding the root zone. Aeration shatters the soil to encourage root penetration, water infiltration, and air exploration. According to Penn State University, College of Agricultural Sciences, "Mechanical aeration provides an excellent, and probably the only, means of correcting or alleviating soil compaction which may be quite serious on many lawn areas." The idea of free movement within the soil naturally results in what we call an aerobic condition. On the contrary, blocked soil pores due to compaction which restricts the natural flow of water and air, similar to what we see in swamps, floodplains, and wetlands, is called an anaerobic condition. Both conditions have their role in nature. What we want to have, however, is a deeper root zone for our lawn. The deeper the root growth is, the healthier our lawn will be. As roots burrow more deeply into the soil, they gain more access to water reserves and immovable nutrients that the lawn needs. This promotes more germination of grass which in turn creates a lusher, thicker, and a naturally greener lawn.

Top Pro Tip #2: Mow The Leaves and All Plant Clippings Back Into The Lawn

Mowing the leaves, grass clippings, and brush clippings back into the soil will help in getting a natural green lawn in Spring. All these "unwanted" trash is really just misunderstood organic matter. By adding all the organic plant matter back to the lawn, we are creating soils with a high organic matter content that encourages biological activity. As biological creatures in the soil tunnels through, we are naturally preventing anaerobic conditions. This is similar to aeration, only that it is done as nature intended. The lawn then will have better chances of naturally recovering from temporary soil compaction. This practice also lessens the amount of organic trash we throw away at landfills; thereby, lessening our carbon footprint in Southpark Meadows, and saving you money.

Top Pro Tip #3: Fix Bare Lawn Spots

Because it rains almost every other week in Southpark Meadows during this time of the year, Spring is arguably the best time to fix all the bare spots on your lawn. Of course, you may do this anytime in the year with professional help. But if we are talking about the easiest time to do this in Southpark Meadows, it is right now, during Spring. Fixing the bare spots by laying seeds or sods and reconditioning the soil becomes very easy because you no longer have to worry about the summer heat. During Summer, lawn care specialists need to observe if seeds are getting too dry or if sods are showing signs of heat stress. This kind of baby sitting is eliminated by the more frequent rain and generally favorable weather conditions in Spring. Best of all, rain water from thunderstorms naturally adds a fresh amount of Nitrogen back into the soil that helps with germination and rooting. Unlike synthetic fertilizers,nitrogen and other nutrients from rain water will not burn the lawn because they are slowly broken down by microorganisms naturally found in the soil.

The cheapest, easiest, and arguably the best way to remove leaves is to simply blow the leaves towards your lawn, and mulch them with a mower. You may sometimes need to go over a few times. Nonetheless, there is no need to bag them because leaves are organic matter with nutrients that the lawn can eventually reabsorb. Running them over with a mower have been proven to improve turf quality year after year according to a Michigan State University study.

Our experience with mulching leaves back to the lawn supports the theory of producing a much greener lawn even during the winter months. We noticed no negative effects in mulching a lot of leaves on a single plot. In fact, the more we mulch the leaves, the greener the lawn became in the next growing season. Note that the leaves MUST be mulched. Blowing the leaves on one location and letting the leaves sit there will produce unwanted pests and molds. The same can be said when using leaves as mulch for plant beds. Leaves, just like any organic matter, has to be broken down and turned regularly in order to break down. Regular visits will give a similar effect, ensuring leaves don't simply stay undisturbed for a long period of time.

Professional Pet Waste Removal in Austin, Texas

Have you ever thought about how much time and effort it actually takes to be a responsible pet parent? We own a small 1 year-old Shih Tzu, and he poops around 2 or 3 times a day. His diet is primarily kibble and canned dog food, but thinking of all the other pet owners, especially those with bigger dogs out there, it gets me thinking, "How do you go about cleaning after your pet?!" Some of you may have really big dogs, some may have medium dogs, others have small dogs or even cats: regardless of the size and kind of pet you have, all of us have one thing in common… WE DISLIKE CLEANING AFTER THEM!!! PERIOD!!! When you’re relaxing and maybe watching “the blacklist” or “the flash” on Netflix, or just chilling in your South Austin home, the last thing you want to do is to get up and clean up after your pet because the lawn guys are coming anytime today. It's a cringefest right there. You start pointing fingers as to who's turn it is to clean up after your pet. No need to worry, we got your back with our professional pet waste removal service in Austin, Texas. But really, whether you get our services or not, we do hope everyone out there cleans up after their pets, one way or another.

Pet Waste?

Pet Poop Fact #1

According to Austin, Tx poop expert guide, scoopthepoop.org, pet waste, especially poop, can contain e-coli, roundworm, giardia, and other germs that can make people extremely sick. Some of these disease-causing organisms remain infectious in soil for weeks or years. To make matters worst, pet poop can contaminate lakes, rivers, and our entire water supply. Pet poop is also toxic to plants and will cause a bald spot on your lawn if left alone for weeks.

Why Clean After Your Pet? Short answer... "BECAUSE IT IS AGAINST THE LAW"!

Here is a list of ordinances in Austin, Texas for pet owners:

AUSTIN

§ 3-4-6 DEFECATION BY A DOG OR CAT. "An owner or handler shall promptly remove and sanitarily dispose of feces left on public or private property by a dog or cat being handled by the person, other than property owned by the owner or handler of the dog or cat.”

Fine: Up to $500.

§ 15-6-112 - ACCUMULATIONS AND DEPOSIT OF WASTE PROHIBITED. (A) A person commits an offense if the person deposits, causes to be deposited, or permits to accumulate any dry or wet solid waste upon any public or private premises within the city in such a manner as to emit noxious or offensive odors or to become unsanitary or injurious to public health or safety.

§ 3-2-11 - ENCLOSURE REQUIRED. (A)(3) maintained in a sanitary condition that does not allow flies to breed or cause an odor offensive to an adjacent residence or business

Pet Poop Fact #2

# 250,000 Dogs in Austin create 150,000 pounds of dog poop per day, which is 55 million pounds of dog poop per year deposited in our city.

"BECAUSE DOG WASTE IS HARMFUL"

Aside from the fact that it is “EEEEEEEEWWWW” and it “SMELLS BAD”!
1. You won’t be able to hold your weekly barbecue parties
2. The yard will be unusable
3. It will be embarrassing to your guests
Your pet’s waste contains parasites, viruses, and various diseases that IS harmful to both people and other animals. As a precaution, it is advisable to maintain a clean and waste free environment. BE CLEAN, BE SAFE.
Your pet’s waste may attract unwanted guests, such as but not limited to: 1. Flies
2. Worms
3. Insects

Pet Poop Fact #3

Just one ounce of dog feces contains 23 million microorganisms of bacteria - nearly twice that of human waste.

"BECAUSE IT “WILL” DESTROY YOUR LAWN!"

Pet waste does not make a good fertilizer. Pet waste is toxic (as I said, it contains harmful microorganisms) and is harmful to your lawn, it causes burns on your grass and discoloring. Improperly scooping and disposing of your pet’s waste will damage your lawn and hopefully not but may be irreparable.

This may lead to bigger problems if you plan on landscaping your lawn or if you want to sell your home in the future.

Pet Poop Fact #4

Some of the common diseases that you, other people or other pets can get from pet waste:
•Whipworms
•Hookworms
•Roundworms
•Tapeworms
•Parvo
•Corona
•Giardiasis
•Salmonellosis
•Cryptosporidiosis
•Campylobacteriosis

As a pet owner should know how to clean up after your pet. Everyone in the family should know how to clean up after your pets. Maybe make it a part of your kid’s daily chores. As a way of giving a helping hand we offer daily pet waste cleaning services and/or with a small additional fee, after our mowing service.

Pet Poop Fact #5

It washes from land into our creeks and lakes and contaminates the water
- causes harmful algae and aquatic weeds to grow
- reduces oxygen in the water for fish and other animals
- makes recreational areas unsafe to enjoy

So what do you need to do to be a responsible Fur parent?
1. If possible, make sure to train your pet in doing their business in one spot only, for your convenience.
2. Have a waste disposal bag always available in an accessible place (near their “potty area”).
3. Check your lawn or waste area daily, for your pet’s waste.
4. Teach your children to clean up after your pet
5. Make sure to always wash and clean your hands after taking care of your pet’s waste.
6. ALWAYS DISPOE OF THE WASTE “PROPERLY”.

Pet Poop Fact #6

Your pet’s waste can cause water pollution. When it rains, pet waste left on trails, sidewalks and grassy areas can wash into the nearest waterway. Even if you can't see signs of water near you, the feces wash into storm drains and then travel to your neighborhood creek or lake untreated.

As much as we want to do it maybe once a week or once a month, it is really not possible. Since your pet, a dog for example, may poop more than once a day. So make sure to clean after your pet on a daily basis and that should be fine.

Pet Poop Fact #7

Roundworm eggs last for years, because of this dog waste should not go in compost that will end up as vegetable garden fertilizers. Hookworms are a concern in sandy areas where people are on the beach or barefoot in parks and playgrounds since these worms will migrate under the skin, causing scars

Professional Driveway Sod Installation

Professional sod installation in Austin, Texas requires more than just laying sod. Your lawn service provider needs to analyze the general topography of your driveway, and attentively prepare the area with that in mind. If you ever encounter a situation where you went with one of the cheapest bids and see the lawn service crew just laying sod right away, without removing vegetation, without leveling, you better ask them to stop and call another provider. Your new sod will most likely die, or if they ever survive, they will have drainage and puddling issues. Our goal is to arm you with general guidelines to protect yourself and save you a lot of money in future lawn issues.

When installing sod in Austin, Texas, the first thing we would need to do is have a feel of the area -- in this case, the driveway lawn. Along the driveway, we see that vegetation currently exists, a collection of dirt is piled towards the fence line, a small tree spout is under the fence, and the front street corner of the driveway lawn needs to be filled up with soil. We now have identified what has to be corrected, and we need to figure out how to make corrections properly.

Preparation involves removing the vegetation and re-grading the turf as we go along. This is the most important and time consuming phase of the sod installation service in Austin, Texas. We have to make sure that we prepare the area properly because turf growth has a lot to do with the soil it is on. If, for example, vegetation is left underneath it, the sod on top would dry out and die. If, for another instance, the soil was not leveled, puddles would easily cause turf damage and increase the possibility of root rot and fungal infection. Both of this in mind, we have to remove the vegetation from the roots up, in effect tilling the soil at the same time. We also have to remove excess dirt along the fence line and move this to fill in the front portion of the driveway lawn. We then remove most of the rocks and concrete that may stunt turf growth, and grade with the intention of having water naturally drain away from the lawn

After preparation of the area, we will now lay our organic compost and make minor grade corrections. This does two things. First, the height of our organic compost has to be close to grade level of the concrete. This is crucial to ensure we have proper drainage to let the water flow freely. Second, laying organic compost makes sure nutrients will be slowly released to support turf growth. We then removed more rocks that were missed during the previous phases in installing the sod.

The photo above shows the result we are looking for. The sod is noticeably a little higher than the concrete level. During heavy rains, the water won't puddle on the sod and will always have somewhere to go. We then lay the sod side by side, as close together as possible without overlapping.

We again make adjustments to the sod and compost as we go along during the installation. We cut where we are supposed to cut and re-level to correct minor imperfections. Our goal is to get the best possible installation results right now, not later. If we do the corrections months later, it will be very costly to re-do the sodding installation from scratch.

This is the completed project for sodding the driveway in Austin, Texas. Given adequate watering for the first few weeks, our new sod has the best foundation moving forward. We will maintain this sod with weekly mowing and periodic nutrient level checks. Again, we make minor adjustments and let nature run its course. As with anything in life, prevention is key. Prevention on a sodding installation in Austin, Texas centers on soil preparation, tilling, and removal of vegetation and rocks. That being said, this lawn will have a great chance to remain weed free and outperform the sod at the other side of the fence line.

Aggressive Natural and Organic Lawn Recovery Program

Comparison Photos Show The Effectiveness of The Lawn Recovery Program

We offer safe organic lawn recovery program utilizing the natural way plants recover from environmental stresses. All the photos below are from real clients of ours. Aside from masking the house number, everything else remains unedited. On the first example, our client complained the lawn was slowly dying, receding in places, yellowish, brown, spotty, unattractive, and with weeds slowly infiltrating the weakest portions. The previous lawn care provider was unsuccessful in maintaining the lawn of a newly built home in North Austin.

Week 0

Inspection

We inspected and made determinations to the customized approach in order correct the lawn issues in this new home. We noticed discoloration along the side walk and the pathway leading to the backyard gate, a very weak backyard turf, a bare spot in the middle of the front yard, where a plant used to be. Yellowing on localized areas can be a telltale sign of lawn stress. This can be due to compaction, nutrient levels, pH levels, excessive salt, or a combination of one or more factors. We noticed the soil specifically found in North Austin has a majority clay composition. That when moist can be very soft to the lightest amount of pressure. This can make the lawn greatly unfitted for any activity when wet. Unlike its counterparts along Mopac and in South Austin, lawns in North Austin, Round Rock, and Georgetown area need far more care on the side of the homeowner. Neighbors may unknowingly cause damage by simply walking on the lawn, especially immediately after a rain. If we truly want to revive this lawn back to its former glory, further inspection of the lawn's soil composition, macro and micro nutrients, pH level, salt content has to be known.

To further guide us, we inspected the grass blades to look for obvious nutrient deficiencies. Ocular inspection suggested nitrogen deficiency. This was confirmed by a subsequent soil test using the zone sampling method. The zone sampling method separates the lawn into different zones to give the most accurate representation of the soil's current condition on a given area. This is best used when there is a localized issue or inconsistency. Another typically used method is the field sampling, where samples are taken all over the lawn and are then mixed to "average" out the data. Both have their uses in different situations. In this case, we noticed that in areas where the deficiencies are pronounced, thousands of mini live oak spouts have germinated. This is on top of the dozens of crabgrass and broad leaf weeds along the fence of the backyard lawn. The previous provider was close to suggesting a complete re-do of the backyard. However, we felt that this would be a great challenge for us and our lawn program, a system we developed in collaboration with other experts in Agriculture from around the world. Clients are normally surprised to know that we travel to other countries specifically to find best practices and revolutionize the way we handle our lawn in Austin.

Soil pH test confirmed a very strong alkalinity. Alkalinity and acidity levels have a direct effect to the amount of movable and immovable nutrients like Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sulphur, Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Manganese, Boron, Copper and Zinc, among others, that are available and can retained by the soil. Our goal is to hover around the goldiluck's zone of 6.2 to 7.3 pH level range, depending on the type of turf you have. This will give the lawn the best possible balance of nutrients before adding organic matter and other nutrient rich amendments for a sustainable development of the lawn. The common problem we see from homeowners and other lawn care professionals alike is to generously spread commonly available synthetic granular fertilizers at big box stores, eventually burning the lawn, making it turn brown, and killing a lot of microorganisms along the way. For your lawn, the best rule of thumb is to think that slow is fast, and fast is slow because it takes time for nature to nurture.

Aggressive Natural and Organic Lawn Recovery Program

The approach we took for this specific lawn was multifaceted. We first had to loosen up the soil through core aeration to let the roots breath and easily absorb more nutrients. This have been covered extensively on previous blog posts. We then had to remove the strongest of the infesting weeds and live oak spouts. Afterwards, we applied the right amount of top dressing to aid in repairing the lawn. This also adds more organic materials back to the soil. Organic amendments and natural conditioners to adjust the pH level to lessen salt levels were applied. The trick is to make sure we are adding the proper amount organic matter using the results from the soil test, add the proper amount of water, and then mow much more frequently a few weeks later. Even when the lawn has not grown much, mowing more often encourages the lawn to use all the nutrients available to regrow and repair. This calls for a weekly lawn mowing as it is really impossible to successfully recover the lawn under any other service intervals. There has to be constant monitoring to check the reaction of the lawn to make the necessary adjustments as needed. It was a slow but highly effective scientific process that has proved itself to be very successful time and again. There is little arguing with the results. At Week 7, the lawn has recovered, and the more time passes by, the better the lawn will look as the organic amendments break down to its natural cycle.

Week 7 and Week 20

Works on Problem Areas

On this second example, another client had a couple of problem areas. A big name full service provider was unsuccessful in installing new sods a year earlier. The sods did not take, the client told us. It was a very tough challenge at the time because we were unsure what went wrong with the previous provider's project. We analyzed the problem and recommended a round of new sods to be installedto expedite the recovery process and remove time from the equation. Naturally, the client was concerned and a bit hesitant because they had already been burned before. In this case, we guaranteed the new sods would "take" and be alive over a period of 30 days. As seen in the photos, the maintenance program was used to full effect. At day 60, the sods are propagating quite well. The new sods "take" and the project was successful. At day 90, the owner had let the dogs out in the backyard. This was a concern. We were not aware the dogs would be let in the backyard. Notice small dotted yellow patches on isolated areas have appeared. This is where the dogs would normally pee. Because dogs are carnivorous, their pee have large amounts of Nitrogen, which burns the lawn. This situation is exacerbated with larger breeds. In this situation, that is exactly the case. This is the reason why it is very important to wash away the dog pee to dilute nitrogen levels and lessen burn marks. This is very similar to having synthetic fertilizers poured over one spot. The best practice is to get the dog trained to pee and poop on one specific spot in the backyard. This way, proper planning can be done to accommodate the pet.

Works at Anytime of the Year

The same program was performed extensively on a recent project we had in South Austin. In this case, two previous reseeding applications from other providers failed to revive this football field. 50K Professional Lawn Services LLC was eventually contracted to help revive the football field below. Our expertise in lawn care accurately assessed the situation and performed the proper corrections. We even had an independent laboratory confirm our results. Our maintenance program was used to help our community regain a fresh new football field to use. Our clients, partners, and the community were pleased with the results.

Note the discoloration towards the edges in the after photo is a result from heat stress. The sprinkler system of the field did not have sufficient zones to completely cover the edges. Since this install was done in Summer, there had not been enough time for the grass to deeply root. Portions were hand watered for an extended period of time to prevent the lawn from receding. But despite the lack of watering on certain areas, the results showed that the program can be successful at anytime of the year. It is of course much easier to do in Spring.

Afterthought

We are fully aware that you may find contradicting information on other websites. In the lawn care industry, there are a lot of misinformation from special interest groups and companies that benefit from selling ethically questionable products. No matter how harmful they are to our waterways, sewers, lakes, and overall environment. Our company mindset has always been to think of organic, natural, and creative ways to solve lawn and landscape problems. It is simply the right thing to do because there is no other substitute for our environment.

Should you need help or have any questions that you'd like us to answer, please don't hesitate to contact us .

Roof Clearance

Maintaining proper roof clearance is crucial to lessen roof damage due to hanging limbs being blown away during a storm or insect infestation after months worth of tree debris pile up on gutters and roof crevices. We have seen spiders, cockroaches, millipedes, poisonous centipedes, and in extreme cases mold and mildew on people's roofs. All of these issues can be avoided and thousands of dollars worth of pest control services be saved with regular maintenance from your lawn care provider. If you have mature trees around your home, make sure to have them checked at least once a year. This ensures you are ahead of all your home's exterior maintenance.

Live Unedited Onsite Video Recordings.

These videos will show you the amount of roaches on this small pile of tree debris. There were 5 of this kind of pile on our client's roof. The main issue in this situation is that once the roaches have infiltrated the house, they can be very hard to fully eradicate. By cleaning the roof, we are an inch closer in controlling the infestation. In cases like this one, we almost always seek assistance from pest control specialists.

10 Easy Steps to Overseed Bermuda Seeds on an Existing Bermuda Grass

For the budding DIYers, here's our simple guide that won't let you down to overseeding Bermuda! Let's make those seeds sprout.

Easy Step 1

Scalp the grass. Yes, go all the way down with your mower to the lowest possible setting.

Easy Step 2

Make sure you have good seed to soil contact.

Easy Step 3

Rake the lawn or purchase or rent a pinpoint spreader/slice seeder.

Easy Step 4

Aerate the ground as you drop the seeds and make sure there the seeds are in contact with the soil.

Easy Step 5

Use a spreader to apply the seeds.

Easy Step 6

Ignore the seed labels and use as much seeds as possible. Seeds are cheap. Labor is not (even if it's just you doing the work).

Easy Step 7

Make sure to overlap and pass in different directions, north to south, east to west, and diagonally.

Easy Step 8

Use a roller or back of a straight rake to go over the lawn to ensure the seeds are in contact with the soil.

Easy Step 9

Water a couple of times a day for up to 21 days (no, not 21 business days, just 21 days).

Easy Step 10

Simply wait for the Bermuda seeds to pop!

Top 3 Reasons to Choose Native and Adapted Landscape Plants

1. Native and Adapted Plants Help Protect and Preserve Our Water Resources in Central Texas.

Time and again, our study of chosen native and adapted plants have shown that they tend to be drought tolerant and can survive and retain foliage with little to no watering up to a few weeks. The key here is to plan the overall landscape ahead of time, and place your selected native and adapted plants in areas where they typically thrive. If a plant calls for shade, do not place them in full sun while watering very low. In other words, the magic happens when you use the right plant in the right location. The city of Austin have landscape design and other resources available for Austin residents at www.austintexas.gov/department/landscape-design. By actively participating in being a more responsible bearer of our lands, we can conserve and protect our natural rivers, aquifers, and lakes.

2. Most Native and Adapted Plants in Austin Need Very Little Supplemental Fertilizer.

There is a reason why they are called native and adapted plants in the first place. They will grow in Austin's wild habitat without human intervention! Sure, some may need a little fresh compost once in a blue moon to get the extra "umph!", but all will likely survive unattended for many, many years. In fact, sometimes, they survive and thrive for so long that homeowners who have planted them decades ago use our services to remove them. But there is no need to feel guilty. Any plant we remove are either re-potted or re-planted. We do our very best not to trash anything that easily.

3. Many Native and Adapted Plants Provide Habitat and Food Sources for Local Wildlife.

It may be hard to believe, but the circle of life is true. the native wildlife use native and adapted plants as safe refuge and food. Native and adapted plants sometimes have edible leaves, berries, nectar, and flower petals. They also attract insects and other animals that can complete the local cycle; just as how a pond full of mosquitoes will naturally attract frogs, a rose bush will attract butterflies and incidentally bees. It is up to your provider to plan and adjust accordingly to find the right balance for your lawn and landscaping needs.

What Your Lawn Care Provider Does Not Want You To Know.

Long-term Service Contract? Service Commitment? Terms of Agreement Over 12 Months? Oral Commitment of 6 Visits? Lawn Care Service Providers of All Sizes Have A Lot of Confusing Mambo Jumbo To Throw You Off. Now Updated for 2019, What Your Lawn Care Provider Does Not Want You To Know.

New homeowners in Austin and perhaps elswehere sometimes get confused of what a long-term lawn service contract actually means to them. Some of whom we have spoken with thought that having one saves them money. This may perhaps be true if lawn care service providers are losing money servicing lawns. With the industry, according to IBIS World, worth $78 billion and having grown 4.6% in 2016, it is safe to assume they are NOT losing money.

Justification

The industry contends that contracts have been an industry-wide practice for decades. This is particularly true for huge sprawling commercial properties. Bidding on these commercial lots are cutthroat. That we know all too well. And why shouldn't it not? Commercial properties have economies of scale due to the sheer sizes of their lots. Because lawn care providers had to acquire additional trucks, trailers, laborers, and other equipment just to service them, the long-term service contract was created to avoid the commercial property management company from walking away easily. That is to say that from the perspective of the lawn care provider, the long-term service contract is there to protect the lawn business. It provides proof to creditors that the additional debt incurred from assets purchased are feasible and can be carried throughout the duration of the contract. In Austin, we notice the same logic being applied by lawn care providers to Austin homeowners. A growing number of homeowners in Austin are being asked to sign similar long-term service contract for their modest lawns. But the question begs to be answered, why do lawn care providers require homeowners to sign a long-term service contract in the first place?

In this blog entry, 50K Professional Lawn Services LLC explores what your lawn care provider does not want you to know. Let's begin, shall we? The long-term service contract is there to do the following:

1. To Make You Overpay

On commercial properties, professional managers almost always already know what they want out of the service. These managers are there to protect the property owner's interests. They have what people in the industry call, "Specs Sheet" or "Specifications". The Specs Sheet have all the services they want to see. It includes height, diameter, color, shade, etc. The detail will mesmerize you should you actually see one. From years of experience and lots of data from blind bids, property managers know what they want, and know how much the going rate is. The same can not be said for the typical homeowner (except, of course, for the really savvy ones! You know who you are.). But we digress. See, on a residential setting, the long-term service contract makes the deal sound really great at first glance because everything has been bundled together. They commonly call the bundles "Basic", "Better", and "Best". The really profitable bundle, a company will typically say, "Best Value", to somehow make you feel you outsmarted them. In fact, they outsmarted you. By bundling all services, the lawn care provider is making it much more difficult for you to decipher how much each service actually cost. The really big lawn companies will typically have a highly trained salesman/lady as a front liner. If you ever talk to one over the phone, they are easy on the ears. If you ever walked in to one of their locations, they are easy on the eyes. This is part of the sales process, and most homeowners stand little to no chance to these highly persuasive professionals. See, the sales team do this kind of thing all day, everyday. You are just another customer out of hundreds if not thousands of prospective leads they have talked with in the past few days. You will first be told of how great it is that you will now only be paying a flat rate. Imagine bundling your landline and internet services. You may think you're saving money until you realize you don't even use the landline. Nobody calls the landline except telemarketers! The same logic can be said for residential lawn care service contracts. It may be great when you need all those services, or when you just know more information than the "house", or in this case lawn care provider. Chances are that is not the case. You will be bombarded with industry jargon you are not familiar with. Now, coupled with a little tactical push and pull from the sales team, it is only a matter of time before you justify to yourself that you are ripe for the hook. After all, if you have incomplete information, it will be harder for you to compare similar services from other companies. Their hope is that you won't do a thorough research and will simply sign on the dotted line. But of course, you know better. That's why you're here.

Expert Tip:

Only order the services you need right now. If they want you to sign up for other services, ask for their justifications. If you are satisfied, check for more information to other references online. The idea is to trust your professional lawn provider but verify their justifications.

2. To Force You To Prepay For Services

This is connected to reason number one. The long-term service contract forces you to prepay for services you either will not need until much later in the season or do not need at all. Lawn care providers use long-term service contracts as a strategy to get paid in advance at the beginning of the season. A simple mowing that should have only cost you $40 will now be $80 because you are paying for upcoming services. They use it to bundle other services that under normal circumstances, you probably won't purchase anyway or may not even need. We see this all the time. Lawn care service providers spraying herbicides when weeds can just be pulled, and applying fertilizers when soil nutrients are normal. Herbicide overuse is already a problem and is producing herbicide resistant strains of weeds according to the director of Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative published on Phys.org, a leading web-based science, research and technology news service. Herbicide overuse in the green industry is no different than the overuse of antibiotics in the medical industry. There are adverse effects in misusing great products. The same can be said in the overuse of fertilizers. SFGate.com reports, "The misuse of fertilizer often has negative effects on fish and other aquatic animals. Algae feed off of the nutrients in fertilizers, using up oxygen that fish and other animals need. Additionally, ammonia released by fertilizer is harmful to fish." The problem with long-term service contracts is as much of an economic problem to the typical household in Austin as an environmental one. They push so many products to make a profit. In most cases, they push too much that we end up wasting resources.

Expert Tip:

Look for lawn care service providers that avoid the use of herbicide and synthetic fertilizers. There are a lot of reasons why the use of herbicides are controlled. For herbicides that can be purchased at your local big box store, hold off until the controversy regarding cancer has been cleared. It is much better to stay healthy than to fully eliminate weeds on your plant bed. See Roundup Lawsuit. There are a lot of organic and natural herbicides on the market that are naturally occurring and are safe for pets, children, and our aquatic resources. Only use organic fertilizers after a soil test. A soil test will give you the immediate nutrient available for a specific area. There is no need to pre-package these services. Only use the products as needed.

3. To Lock You In

The long-term service contract avoids competition and locks you up with the lawn care service provider regardless of service quality and customer satisfaction. There are a lot of bad apples in our industry. Yes, even large bad and rotten apples. Go to Yelp or Google Reviews, and you will read a lot stories from large franchise businesses to large publicly listed companies. Some lawn care providers have tried all the smarts in the world can muster to break the business down into a science, where one client can bring a certain number of profit and so on, that the overwhelming majority of lawn service providers, both large and small, fail to see the real intrinsic value for having great clients with whom you have great relationships with over a long period of time. A long term lawn service contract will limit your options months down the road. But why risk being unhappy and getting stuck with a lawn care service provider you no longer want? See, in a commercial property, the lawn only needs to look presentable because nobody lives there. Professional managers, moreover, do not have the kind of appreciation for their commercial properties similar to the one you have for your home. At your home's lawn, you play with your children, play fetch with your dog, relax with your wife, and celebrate the good times with other family and friends. Frankly, one of the best moments in life are created at your home, a stark contrast to that found at a place of business. When you are not restricted by a long-term lawn service contract to walk away at anytime, you keep the lawn care service provider on its toes. Because of this, service quality greatly improves and customers stay not because of legal obligation but because they are absolutely happy and fully satisfied. This we think is the right way to go. It may have been a long and winding road of capitalism, but we truly believe we will all end up back to where we started, just like the good old days.

Expert Tip:

Only use on-demand lawn service and ask to setup a risk-free recurring service. By going for this route, you will have the same benefits of a "service contract" without having to sign one. Services will still recur automatically, only this time you can walk away at anytime. Also, the best way to make sure that you are on the right path is to CALL your chosen lawn care service provider. If your call went straight to voicemail, then you know what to expect should you move forward with them. In the event that the provider answered the call, expect the provider to be an expert in the industry and be able to answer all your questions to your full satisfaction. No matter if they are office personnel or general manager. They must be trained in the business they are in. A lot of lawn care service providers now have an answering service to answer calls. Answering service as of this writing are absolutely clueless to who you are and what you need. They are just there to write down notes. At this point, express your desire to maintain your entire lawn and your need for guidance. If guidance is not there, move along. The typical mow, blow, and go guy will be hard pressed to discuss extensive maintenance outside of mowing. A trusted provider, on the other hand, will always perform a free soil fertility test and bore testing before quoting any type of service. They do not just fertilize because of a schedule. Fertilizer is applied because nutrients are insufficient. They also do not aerate just for the sake of aerating. They aerate because a bore test confirmed specific compaction points. These two free tests alone will save you hundreds of dollars in unnecessary services.

We hope to have added an insightful perspective on this topic. Let's keep on tearing up those long-term contracts! Add them to your compost pile! For more information about lawn care contracts, here are 3 Reasons Why You Should Dump Your Residential Lawn Care Contract

Taking Care of Trees and Shrubs

In our urban environment, we have replaced wildlife, tree clusters, and soil with buildings, open spaces, and paved roads. The need for taking care of trees and shrubs by us as we change the landscape of our urban forests is imminent. Because of this, we have compiled information from universities and anecdotal experiences from us and other experts in our industry to formulate three concise yet definitive guide that every homeowner must consider before planting trees and shrubs. Hopefully, we can replicate what nature naturally does for them in the wild. Here are the three things to be aware of:

1. Enough Space

Plan ahead of time by making sure your trees and shrubs have sufficient space to grow through maturity. Texas A&M University, Forest Service is a great resource for identifying native trees and shrubs in Austin, Texas. Once you have identified your tree specie, take into account the expected final diameter of its trunk. As a general rule, give it a 1:1 space ratio. This means that a projected final diameter of a foot will also need a foot of space diameter starting from the base of the trunk. This space is called the critical root zone or CRZ. Tree roots from trees planted in a new development do not usually trench very deep into the layers of compacted soil. Instead, we find tree and shrub roots spread within 2-4 inches below grade around the CRZ. The reason for this is simple, oxygen, sugar, nutrients, and water are abundant around this depth. However, there are other species that do go deeper. For more information about CRZ, North Carolina Urban Forest Council expounds more on this subject.

Expert Tip: A good rule of thumb for freshly planted trees and shrubs is to totally avoid soil compaction and disturbance to at least 25% of the total CRZ.

2. Use the Correct Soil.

Different species propagate in different climates. Some trees and shrubs like acidic and drier soil more than others. But what all trees and shrubs have in common is the need for the correct soil type to imitate the natural habitat where they are normally found. The trick here is to stick with native plants found around your region. Ask a local grower or nursery for native plants. This way, you can simply use the soil around your undisturbed yard. Going native also lessens and even at times eliminates the need for soil amendments and irrigation. In a Drought Survivability Study by Texas Water Resources Institute , they found a significant amount of native plants in Austin and San Antonio show little to no noticeable change after they reduced or totally eliminated irrigation for 12 full weeks. This means that native plants are naturally hardy in their respective climate, and are able to survive with less human intervention. This comes as no surprise. Soil in different climates have different parent material, living organisms, and topography. These factors affect nutrients and acidity level of the soil. Science Learning Hub expounds more about it.

Expert Tip: If you ever have a native tree or shrub that has stunted growth, try getting soil at an undisturbed portion of your yard, and then spread it around the CRZ of the tree or shrub. This will give it a boost of nutrients and microorganisms.

3. Aerate Regularly

There is a lot more happening beneath the ground than we currently know. What we do understand is that soil compaction decreases the amount of air, water, and sunlight that enters the soil; thereby creating anaerobic conditions similar to the soil found in swamps and wetlands. Trees and shrubs need aerobic conditions, the opposite of anaerobic, to survive. Aerobic soil increases soil productivity and environmental quality according to Pennsylvania State University . But over and over again, we see trees and shrubs being planted right beside houses, patios, streets, walkways, and driveways that require more aeration and general maintenance. These locations are prone to compaction because of the use of heavy machinery to produce them, the amount of human traffic, and the sheer weight of our modern infrastructure. Without strategic planting and regular aeration, trees and shrubs near or at compacted soil risk root rot, a condition wherein fungi decays the roots around the CRZ, eventually causing structural failure. This is happening more common than we presume, especially in city living. Storms are usually blamed for fallen trees or uprooted shrubs. However, this is not the only reason we find onsite. Usually, the root has rotted because of years of neglect. The wind simply finished the job.

Expert Tip #3: Till two inches deep after aeration.

Conclusion

Trees and shrubs have been around for hundreds and thousands of years. They are fine without us. But the problem here is that they coexist with us. We, as responsible custodians, need to have a general understanding of their environment, and how we're changing it. Giving enough space, the correct soil, and aeration will take care of your trees and shrubs in the urban setting for the years to come. Let's learn to replicate nature because nature does it best.

Snakes are Common in Austin, Texas - Here are 3 Simple Tips to Stay Safe

Snakes Found During Yard Cleaning

We find snakes in 1 out of 10 lawns we service throughout the year. Most of the time, they hide under the leaves, grass, and tucked at a corner rosebush. If you haven't been out for quite sometime, there is a good chance a snake is just lurking around your lawn. As a weekend warrior, here are our 3 simple tips to safe gardening.

Simple Tip 1

Our first tip is to make sure to regularly maintain your surroundings by having a lawn service provider come over at least once every other week. This ensures your lawn is looking presentable and keeps the local snakes at bay.

Simple Tip 2

If you ever find yourself in front of a deep overgrowth or piles of leaves, use a rake to disturb your targeted area and flatten up piles of leaves before walking over them. The hope here of course is to scare the snake away. Do not stick your hands anywhere you can't see. On corners, be extra vigilant. You may encounter a nest or a bunch of baby snakes hiding. Baby snakes mean mommy snake may be somewhere around your lawn.

Simple Tip 3

Wear tall leather boots and other protective clothing in case there is an attack. Note that this won't work on larger snakes, so make sure to call an expert when you're in doubt!

4 Reasons To Hire Licensed Private Haulers in Austin

Austinites, there are unlicensed individuals and companies advertising to haul away yard debris, junk, or trash on Craigslist, Facebook, or elsewhere. Be very careful, private haulers operating in the City of Austin are required to be licensed haulers. Here are the top 4 reasons why you should only hire properly licensed haulers in Austin, Texas.

Reason 1: Commercial Insurance Certification

Private haulers licensed by the City of Austin are required to have adequate commercial vehicle insurance to operate a hauling business within the city limits.

Here's a list of required limits imposed by the City of Austin:
a. Bodily Injury Liability Limit: $250,000.00
b. Bodily Injury Limit for Each Accident: $500,000.00
c. Property Damage Liability Limit for Each Accident: $100,000.00
d. Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury Limit for Each Accident: $500,000.00
e. Uninsured Motorist Property Damage Limit for Each Accident: $100,000.00

The City of Austin's licensing requirement is fairly simple. Doing this for long hours everyday, workers get tired and accidents may happen. The city's licensing goal is to protect the public from unexpected incidents.

Reason 2: Properly Marked Vehicles

Licensed private haulers in Austin have their vehicles inspected yearly and have appropriate signages on display. Their vehicles are marked with the company's name and identifiable contact information, as well as hauling license stickers on both front doors. They are easily identifiable. If something goes awry wrong, you will know who to contact right away.

Reason 3: Fully Registered

Licenses on the vehicle's doors are identifiable back to individuals, partnerships, or corporations. We are individuals and entities who work and live in our communities. You won't see a fly by night licensed hauler. However, the same can NOT be said for unregistered and unlicensed individuals and entities working under the radar.

Reason 4: Responsible Disposal

Your trees, shrubs, and general lawn debris will be recycled to create new compost and mulch. If there is anything we can't recycle, re-use, or re-purpose, we make sure to dispose it properly and responsibly at our neighborhood landfills.

Got Lawn Debris?

Lawn debris are mostly organic matter made of leaves, grass clippings, branches, fruits, seeds, and nuts. At normal levels, they are excellent natural fertilizers . For example, grass clippings cut at 1/2 an inch gets reabsorbed by the lawn in only a few days. Leaves, on the other hand, can be re-purposed as natural mulch for trees and plant beds. Fruits return an abundance of nutrients back to the soil. At manageable levels, they are a welcome addition to an already healthy lawn.

However, excessive debris in your backyard can be both an eyesore and become harm to your plants. At a few inches deep, leaves scattered all over your lawn can block sunlight and water that are essential for grass and plant growth. They also become a nuisance when they ferment as they become a breeding ground for parasites and pests. And since moisture often gets stuck inside a mound of leaves, fungal growth plays an important role in diseases. Other yard debris left over for so many days, not to mention weeks, months, or even years, can lead to soil compaction, stunted growth for trees, shrubs, and grass, and even leave bald spots on your lawn when finally removed. So unless you are breeding squirrels, pests, fungi, parasites at your backyard, or plainly just love to be the eyesore of the community, it is time to maintain your lawn.

Cleaning your entire yard can be a daunting task. Sometimes you write it down on your to-do list, but you don't even know where to start. A thorough yard cleaning by a crew of 2 experienced lawn care professionals while using full-size commercial blowers, vacuums, and rakes can take more or less 2 hours for a small yard, assuming debris are less than 600 gallons. Alone, powered by just a rake and a household blower, will probably take you the entire day to finish. Well, probably two. Let's make life easier for you. Enjoy the outdoors after we have done all the hard work.

Updated: 06/02/2019

Let's face it. Sometimes, we put the lawn on the back burner until the day we get the damning letter from the homeowner's association or property manager that the time has come to cut the lawn or else... Then, you try mowing the lawn yourself, only to realize the grass was just too high for your good old mower. The mower kept bogging, getting stuck, or the blades were simply dull. You perspired under the sun like you were young again, just this time without the extra energy, dexterity, and stamina you once had as a young fellow. Finally, you gave up. Unlocked the phone. Started to call around. By now, you realize that lawn care service providers in Austin are either so cheap, they do not ever show up, or so committed in getting you to sign a contract, you ended up finding us here. Oh, paradise!

First, Is My Lawn Overgrown?

Yes, if any of the following is true.

Overgrown lawns get even more difficult to mow as time passes by. Don't believe us? See us in action for yourself with our YouTube video below:

The Top 3 Reasons Why Overgrown Fees Exist

Reason #1: Overgrown Lawns Take More Time to Mow.

As you may have realized by now, overgrown lawns take more time to mow than well-maintained lawns. In fact, most overgrown lawns take twice as much time to mow. Mower blades often get stuck from excess grass clippings. Our crews compensate by trimming the pathway with weed whackers first, and then mowing at a much slower pace than normal to keep the mower blades turning. Because the blades are not turning at full speed, we almost always have to make multiple passes just to get an even cut. Moreover, crews have to be more cautious of what lies ahead. These factors increase the biggest cost factor anybody can find in lawn care services: labor time.

Reason #2: Servicing Overgrown Lawns Are Hazardous.

Overgrown lawns are both neglected and very moist. Neglected lawns are prone to having random debris lying somewhere beneath the surface, while moist lawns make sure plowing deep into the soil is made possible. Since we normally find toys, two-by-fours, baseball bats, dog bones, dog poop, empty beer bottles, among other things that are not supposed to be there at the time of service, overgrown lawns created the perfect recipe for disaster. Random debris are often just a couple of inches beneath the grass, and can be difficult to notice, especially on big sprawling backyards. This means that they are also inches from our mower blades, spinning at who knows how fast. Flying debris from mowers or weedwhackers can break windows, scratch cars, or injure not just our crews but also other people in the area. Because of these, the risks involved in mowing overgrown lawns increase. Fees are there to compensate us appropriately for the risks we take.

Reason #3: Overgrown Lawns Cause Increased Equipment Wear and Tear.

Overgrown lawns are very heavy on equipment use. Since they take at least twice as much time to mow, they also bring at least twice as much wear and tear. Sometimes, even more. Imagine the mower blade spinning at half speed suddenly get wedged by a 2-by-4 your son had left somewhere around the lawn months ago. Maybe it is a piece of landscape boulder your wife had dragged to the lawn. Either way, something just has to give: either the blade, the mower's belt, the engine's crankshaft, the 2 by 4, or the landscape boulder. Usually, the one that gives is the mower blade. Sometimes, the belt. And at rare occasions, the mower's crankshaft. It is never the 2 by 4 or landscape boulder. The possible wear and tear to equipment and damage can easily amount to hundreds of dollars, and they do happen... quite often.

Conclusion

Having an overgrown fee does not make it rain profits on our end. It is just the additional cost for having an overgrown lawn. You are not saving money by skipping service this week. In fact, whether you do it by yourself or hire us, the cost of servicing your overgrown lawn will be realized. Give yourself a break this weekend. Sit back, relax, and leave the lawn to us.

We hope our blog entry has helped you better understand why we charge an overgrown fee for overgrown lawns. If you need professional lawn care assistance in Austin or around Travis County, please don't hesitate to contact us at 844-50K-LAWN (844-505-5296).

Winter is coming, are your trees ready for the cold chill? At 50K, we recommend to mulch your trees to get ready for the winter months. Mulching is very beneficial for trees. It will preserve its current dormant state. This stops premature plant growth in winter due to temperature fluctuation.

Ideal materials for winter mulching are shredded wood and pine. These kinds of mulch are affordable, easy to install, maintain, and remove.

Natural Mulch and Ground Cover Available for Lawns in Austin, Texas.

Natural Mulch and Ground Cover are essential part of lawn and landscapes in Austin, TX. Our lawn care experts can help you choose the right mulch or ground cover material for your needs. In this blog, written and compiled by recognized lawn care industry professionals, we will arm you with the knowledge to help you make the right decision. Afterall, any type of landscape installation is a no easy feat. It requires proper planning and expert-level knowledge to create a landscape that works for you, not the other way around.

Corrugated Cardboard Boxes

Corrugated cardboard boxes are biodegradable and will decompose as time passes by. It is normally used as a natural barrier to suppress turf or weed growth on specific areas. It cools down the coverage area, like a garden bed or pathway. As it decomposes, nematode population naturally increases to create a local ecosystem, which affects macro and micro nutrients in the soil. This natural ecosystem also lessens the need for human intervention, the use of herbicides, pesticides, and the need for synthetic fertilizers.
Note that corrugated cardboard boxes can be unpleasant to look at, and lawn care professionals like us almost always use it as a natural weed barrier, thereby lessening the need for non-biodegradable oil-based weed fabric in Austin.

Newspapers

Newspapers are very similar to corrugated cardboard boxes, like all paper based material, will decompose if left in contact with the soil. It can be used to suppress weeds and pests, and also cools down the garden bed. Newspapers create the same pros and cons found on corrugated cardboard boxes. Lawn care professionals installing newspapers typically use it as a natural weed barrier, to be used in conjunction with hardwood cedar mulch, decomposed granite, or pea gravel to improve aesthetics.

Hardwood Mulch

Hardwood mulch is very popular and came from recycled wood. Unlike corrugated cardboard boxes and newspapers, it does not smother weeds. This is the reason why lawn care professionals in Austin, Tx use hardwood mulch in tandem with either corrugated cardboard boxes, newspapers, or oil-based weed fabric. Hardwood mulch is naturally found in Austin, is aesthetically pleasing once professionally installed, and can be purchases in different colors (Red, Brown, Natural, or Black). While it also increases moisture on plant beds, picking a darker color will increase heat absorption. We, however, do not recommended cedar mulch to be used around deciduous plants or areas with a lot of fallen leaves. Hardwood mulch can hard to clean thoroughly with rake, blower, or vacuum. As a result, expect frequent and higher overall maintenance cost when removing leaves.
Note that you may leave fallen leaves on the mulch as well. While leaves may not look as aesthetically pleasing, mixing it with the existing mulch is not unheard of and can help lessen maintenance.

Decomposed Granite

Decomposed granite is also one of the most popular rocks used as ground cover. It can increase drainage when mixed into the compost or soil. Similar to a hardwood cedar mulch, it does not protect the area against weeds or pests. When using decomposed granite on areas with a lot of leaves, expect lawn care professionals to only use rake. Using a leaf vacuum or blower will inadvertently suck or blow away the decomposed granite. Despite this, decomposed granite is still commonly used in Austin as it gives a modern look on any landscape.

Pea Gravel

Pea gravel is preferred by lawn care professionals in Austin, Tx on areas prone to fallen leaves or around deciduous plants. Unlike hardwood cedar mulch and decomposed granite, leaves on top of pea gravel beds are easy to clean with either a rake, a leaf vacuum or blower. This decreases overall cost of removing leaves on plant beds. Similar to hardwood cedar mulch and decomposed granite, pea gravel does not protect an area against weed. It is best practice to combine pea gravel with at least one other ground cover material for weed barrier. Pea gravel increases moisture as well and will need power washing once a year to remove dirt.