One of my constant talking points is that a Gainesville lawn needs 3 main ingredients to thrive: water,  food, and sun.  If it has all three, grass will grow on concrete (not forever, but if it didn’t, we wouldn’t need edgers).  If you’re missing one of those three things the lawn won’t get any better regardless of what you do.  Today, I want to discuss the importance of water, or more importantly how you can tell if your lawn problem is water-related.

If your lawn developed brown spots last spring in the sunny areas, I’d venture to guess that your problem is water-related.  Most of the lawn issues we see in May and June are from the dry spells we experience.  These brown spots during droughts are generally caused by one of two things if you have a Gainesville Irrigation system:  Improper irrigation coverage or incorrect watering times. 

Imagine filling a gallon bucket with water and setting it out in your yard. When you check your bucket a week later, you’re going to find it still has water, but you’ve lost an inch or so from evaporation.  That’s what happens to your lawn and landscape plants if the evaporation isn’t replaced by rain and/or irrigation water. If you had the bucket of water in full sun, it would experience more evaporation than one in deep shade. Also, a bucket put out in summer would lose more to evaporation than one in winter. 

All of that is just to explain that drought stress is most prevalent in the sunny areas of your lawn and in the driest times of the year.  

 

How can you be sure it's drought stress? Good news! St. Augustine and Zoysia lawns are very easy to diagnose drought stress in. Both leaves have a midvein that acts as a “spine” for each individual blade of grass, allowing it to open and close as needed.  Healthy, well-watered grass blades will appear almost completely flat and totally open. When grass begins to dry out, the blade will close in half upon itself, to reduce its exposure to the sun and thus reduce its need for water. This will also give the grass a “hazy” look, as the backs of the blades are not as deep a green as the enclosed fronts.

 

In addition to making sure you get enough water on your lawn, it is just as important to not get too much as well. Ever heard the old saying about there being "Too much of a good thing?" This is the case with water too, especially in the shady areas of your lawn. Not allowing your Gainesville lawn to dry out (whether it's St. Augustine or Zoysia) will cause it to get what's commonly called 'brown patch fungus' and it will damage your lawn if not handled appropriately.

Four Quick Tips to Avoid Over or Under Watering Your Lawn:

1. Run your irrigation early in the morning. I set mine to start at 4AM. 
2. Run your Rotor or Rotator Zones for about 45 minutes. Shrub/Ornamental zones can be set to 25 (deeper root systems).
3. Run your irrigation system in accordance with local county or city restrictions, but optimal settings are 3 times per week.  
4. Have your system serviced by a locally licensed irrigation professional seasonally to ensure proper coverage, reduce water waste, and keep it in working order. 

If you have questions or concerns about your lawn, call (352) 378-5296, email me at info@themasterslawncare.com or fill out our contact form for more information.

Resources (click the links below):

• How to Program Your Irrigation Timer Settings
• University of Florida 'Watering Your Lawn' Information
• 1st Basic Need of a Lawn: Sun
• 3rd Basic Need of a Lawn: Food
• Video Blog: Side by Side lawn comparison 
• TMLC Lawn Care Program: Six Visits explained 

The secret to a healthy Gainesville lawn is comprised of three main ingredients: Sun, Water, and Food.  Today I want to focus on the one that a lawn cannot live without - sunlight. Depending on how much your lawn gets in a typical day, is one of a couple factors that directly affects the health of your Gainesville lawn.

Shade Trees.  Nearly everyone loves and wants them on their lot.  A big, beautiful, well-established tree can not only add beauty to your Gainesville Landscaping, they can also provide shade which in turn keeps your home cooler and will save you on your energy bill.  What is good for your wallet, however, isn’t good for your lawn. Too much shade is often the culprit for an unsightly dirt patch in a lawn.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone tell me they think all they need to do is install a pallet of sod and their lawn will be fine.  What actually happens is the sod looks great for a few months, but over time begins to fade and, six months later, their unsightly dirt patch is back. They're treating the symptom of the problem (the dead sod) rather than the actual problem (the amount of shade on that area of the lawn). 

The bottom line is that St. Augustine and zoysia need about 4-6 hours of sunlight a day.  

If your lawn isn’t getting that much sun then you need to have some tree canopy trimming done or a solid "plan B" which is why roughly two-thirds of the Gainesville landscape projects The Master's Lawn Care installs are for customers with heavy shade in their yard.  

The funny thing is that once these customers accept that these areas will never be able to support a lush green lawn with heavy shade, they soon realize that these areas can be the prettiest and most welcoming places of their lawn.  

A shady area can be a great place for a bench on a flagstone patio, maybe with a water feature nearby to enjoy during a beautiful day.   And for large areas, ground cover, such as liriope or Asiatic Jasmine can be added and then be broken up with shrubs of different sizes and textures such as variegated pittosporum or Azaleas.  If irrigation is a concern, you can use river rock and mulch areas to break up large areas while reducing the watering requirements. 

If you have the right amount of sun on your lawn and are wondering about the other two basic needs for a healthy Gainesville lawn, please read about Water and Fertilizer  by clicking the individual links. 

If you’re searching for ideas on how to fix an unsightly brown patch in your lawn, or just looking for some Gainesville landscaping ideas, I invite you to visit our photos page.  The page contains several photos of our recent projects designed by our staff and our testimonials page shows about 120 of our clients' thoughts of our work.

If you have any questions regarding your Gainesville lawn and landscape please don’t hesitate to contact us at 352-378-5296, email us at info@themasterslawncare.com.  We’d be happy to answer any of your questions.

Related Reading:

• 2nd Basic Need of a Lawn: Water
• 3rd Basic Need of a Lawn: Food
• Video Blog: Side by Side lawn comparison 
• TMLC Lawn Care Program: Six Visits explained 

 

 

Advertisements do not tell you what a service or product won't do - on purpose - they do not want to discourage you from buying their product or service. Every service or product has strong points and limitations. Lawn spraying has some great strong points - fertility, insects and weeds. Lawn spraying has definite limitations - there are problems with St Augustine turf grass lawn that lawn spraying just will not fix. When a homeowner with a persistent problem - like poor irrigation - hires a Gainesville lawn spray company to spray away irrigation problems - they will be disappointed! So I always tell potential customers what lawn spraying cannot do - lawn spraying cannot fix irrigation, raise the mower height, eradicate weeds or bugs and watch over the lawn like a superintendent.

Spray Away Irrigation Problems - Not Going to Happen

The number one determining factor for the success or failure of your lawn is Gainesville Irrigation. Broken heads, poorcoverage or just plain being stingy with water will stress your St Augustine turf grass lawn. And stressed turf is not healthy turf. A St Augustine turf grass lawn that is poorly watered will be always be a poor lawn. And no amount of lawn spraying will fix poor irrigation.

A good Gainesville lawn spraying service will recognize poor irrigation and recommend a course of action to fix and repair the system. I always tell new customers - even to the point of losing the customer - that if the irrigation system is poorly maintained, there is little that lawn spraying can do for their lawn. And, I am quick to point out to a potential customer that their well-watered lawn will quickly recover and benefit from lawn spraying.

Best Advice: Either hire a Gainesville sprinkler system professional or learn how to keep your irrigations system at its best.

Lawn Spraying Is Not Sun Block

A St Augustine turf grass lawn must be mowed at 3" or higher to thrive and be a healthy lawn. St Augustine turf grass has above ground stems - it lives on top of the soil. Low mowing exposes the stems to the harsh Florida sun causing the stems to stress and die. High mowing produces a thickcanopy above the stems absorbing the sunlight to produce food (photosynthesis) and protect the stems from the harsh Florida sun (sun block).

No amount of lawn spraying can protect exposed stems from the harsh Florida sun. The only way to protect the stems from the harsh Florida sun is to raise the mower. I am quick to point out to a potential customer the difference between two lawns is mower height. Standing in the weak thin lawn of the potential customer, I'll point out my shoes are fully exposed. Then standing in the lush green lawn across the street, I'll show them that only the top of my shoes are exposed in the deep thick canopy.

Best Advice: Raise the Mower as high as it will go or get your Gainesville lawn maintenance company to mow at 3.5" or higher.

Pest Control Not Pest Eradication

Bugs do what bugs do best - they crawl and fly around. And weeds do what they do best - perpetuate the species by germinating and producing seeds. You cannot defeat either - the forces of nature will not be stopped. Every lawn has bugs. Every lawn has weeds. No amount of lawn spraying will stop nature from continuing this cycle of life.

What lawn spraying will do is reduce the bugs to levels that will not damage or kill your lawn and reduce weeds for best appearance. I am quick point this out to a potential customer. If a customer thinks that lawn spraying will prevent every bug and every weed from showing up in their lawn, they won't be a customer long.

Best Advice: Relax! Weeds don't kill lawns. Not every bug is lethal. It is the outdoors and not everything can be controlled.

Lawn Spraying is not a Watchful Eye on Your Lawn

Every day is a new day to your St Augustine turf grass lawn. Lawn spraying happens every 56 days. There is no way a lawn spraying company can be a watchful eye over your precious lawn. Oftenhomeowners - especially absentee owners - hire a Gainesville lawn treatment company to be exactly that - the watchful eye or superintendent of the lawn. They expect the lawn spraying company to fix everything that could go wrong with a lawn by showing up every two months. But it doesn't work. A lawn can die from a broken irrigation system in less than a week.

The best watchful eye over your lawn is the person who is there the most - the owner, the maintenance company or a neighbor. The lawn spray company can keep the lawn safe from bugs, but there are many other forces that can destroy a lawn in just a few weeks. I listen for the telltale signs of a customer wanting a superintendent: "Can you take care of my lawn" or "I need to someone to make sure my lawn looks good year round". When I hear this, I try to convince them that not only do we need a lawn fertilization company, but our landscape maintenance services as well so that we can keep a watchful eye out for potential problems every week during mowing; rather than every 6-8 weeks when the lawn is getting treated. 

Best Advice: The person who sees the lawn most often has the best chance to see and solve problems before the lawn is destroyed.

What TMLC Lawn Spraying Does

Lawn spraying has limitations. I recognize that and try to educate my customers not only on what we do, but what we can't do. TMLC Lawn spraying keeps the fertility high, kills the bugs during the warm season months and we work on weeds every application. Our philosophy is to encourage St Augustine turf grass and discourage everything else from a prevenative approach, rather than remedial (waiting till after the problem occurs.) From that - fertility, insect and weed control, your lawn will reach its highest potential - limited only by your irrigation system and mowing height.

How much does a landscape or lawn service in Gainesville, Florida cost?  ...or... How much should I budget for lawn and landscape work in Gainesville, FL?

This is always one of the first questions a homeowner has when starting the research process for a Landscape company. The problem with answering this question, though, is the fact that a lawn service or project has so many variations and options that it can be very tough for one to truly know what the price to fully enjoy their yard will be. Notwithstanding, I'll do my best here to give you some realistic cost ranges as to what most people will spend. (And remember, these prices are AVERAGE, and can vary drastically depending on the size of your property, the thoroughness of the company, the quality of the material, etc)

Gainesville Irrigation System Costs

First things come first, and before you can expect to have a vibrant landscape in North Florida, you must make sure you have water irrigate it. Most homes built after the 90's in our area came with irrigation systems, but there are still many in our area that haven't had one installed yet. To irrigate efficiently and effectively, a professionally-installed irrigation system that meets code, comes equipped with a backflow preventer, and utilizes a rain sensor is a must-have.

Price Range for Design/Installation: - $3,500-5,000

Price Range for a Service Call - $100-250 (depending on the type of repairs needed)

Price Range for a Bi-Annual or Quaterly System Inspections - $75-250 per service

Gainesville Sod Installation

Occasionally we'll have a client that just wants to have a new lawn installed. Although there are many more things that create curb appeal than just green grass, there are people who just need new grass to give them a lawn they want their kids and pets playing in. Here are some rough price estimates, with variables of size of lawn, access for equipment, and amount of preparation work needed. 

The estimated costs include:

• the removal of the existing weeds and dirt to make sure the existing problems and pests are removed from the lawn
• the removal of approx 1" of existing soil to make sure new sod is installed level with the current lawn
• application of an organic soil ammendmanet (milorganite) that helps kick-start the biological cycle in the soil to create nutrients and healthy soil under the new sod
• Sod costs and delivery fees
• Installation labor
• Irrigation Check-up to verify coverage of new lawn
• Dump Fees for old materials removed from the lawn

1,000 - 1,500 Sq. Ft. of Sod - $2.25-2.75 per square foot

1,500 - 3,000 Sq Ft. of Sod - $2.25-2.50 per square foot

3,000 and up Sg. Ft. of Sod - $2.00-2.50 per square foot

Smaller Gainesville Landscape Designs:

This typically includes: a professional landscape design sketch concept, removal/disposal of existing unwanted plant material, approximately 30-50 plants, mulch, and the installation of all of the above. This is typically for a very small postage stamp-sized lawn, or just the front or back of a normal sized yard. 

Price Range: $2,500-$6,000. (This, like everything else mentioned in this article, is contingent on a wide variety of factors)

Larger Gainesville Landscape Installation Prices:

This would include everything in the basic install noted above, but about twice as many materials and size of the design. Also, it may include a hardscape patio or firepit as an additional feature in the backyard.  This is typical for a full landscape re-design (front and back) of a normal to a large-sized yard. 

Price Range: $10,000-$25,000

Gainesville Landscape Lighting Pricing:

Our landscape lighting systems are first-class quality from the design to the fixtures. The 2 main problems with outdoor lighting in Florida are the fixtures allowing moisture into the electronics and burning out or the system not being maintained properly to keep adjusting for growing the maturing landscape. We solve these two issues with quality fixtures that have a lifetime warranty and with on-going service to adjust and aim the landscape lights with the landscape as it grows. We recommend choosing our premium LED system over the cheaper lighting systems because of the savings on electricity, bulb replacement, and their lifetime warranty. It may cost a little more up front over a home depot system, but will save you money for years down the road in headaches and frustration. We also offer Wi-Fi transormers that are controlled by your smartphone or tablet as well. 

Price Range: $200-300 per lighting fixture (including the transformer, fixture, LED bulb, and installation) with a minimum of 10 light fixtures. 

Gainesville Patio Pavers, Walkways, and Firepit Pricing

Patios, Paver Walkways, and Custom firepits extend your living space outdoors at a fraction of the cost. They give you the freedom to entertain guests and spend quality time together somewhere other than around the television. These can be done on a relatively low budget using crushed concrete or gravel as a surface, or they can be done intricately with pavers and travertine.

Price range: $11-17 per sq. ft., plus any retaining walls or firepit additions.

Gainesville Landscape Maintenance Service Pricing

Landscape maintenance services can vary wildly on pricing - depending upon a myriad of factors. Size of lawn, the frequency of service (weekly, biweekly, monthly), annual schedule (how many scheduled visits per year), service inclusions (mowing only, shrub trimming, weed removal in mulch beds), and whether that company is insured properly for your protection. The pricing scale can range all the way from your neighbor's teenager just cutting the grass to a professional lawn service providing a thorough and detailed service that leaves your landscape immaculate and follows up with scheduled lawn pest treatments and fertilization to keep your lawn looking the best in the neighborhood. The Master's lawn maintenance service includes our lawn health program with it to protect your lawn from unwanted pests. 

Price Range: $195-$350 per month

Gainesville Lawn Health and Fertilization Pricing

Lawn spraying programs are offered most often by chemical companies like ChemLawn (now rebranded as TruGreen) and other Pest Control companies. These companies are great at keeping pests out of your lawn using chemicals - but we have found they typically are not very knowledgeable about lawn health. The Master's handles everything in the Gainesville lawn - the design, preparation, installation, irrigation, mowing, aeration, fertilization, and pest control. We leave the termites and house pests to the experts in their field, and we stick to what we're experts about - and that's lawns. Our program includes weed control, pest prevention, disease treatment, fertilization, and soil amendments - all in one organic-based program to improve the health of your lawn. 

Price range - $42-95 per month

Although all of these numbers and prices are very general, I do hope this article helps you to have a better feel for pricing on Gainesville lawn and landscape projects and what to expect when you start going through the process. If we can be of help in this process, please call us at (352) 378-5296 and we look forward to working with you.

Grass requires plenty of water to keep it green and growing. Long periods without rain, like we've been in recently in North Florida, can mean that you end up with a dying yard. Here are ten ways to make sure your lawn is ready for the drought.

1. Irrigate deeply and less often – Set your irrigation to use plenty of water at once. Watering longer will allow you to space out your waterings. This will encourage your grass roots to  reach down for the water instead of just accessing what is available near the surface.
2. Avoid fertilizers – Don’t apply fertilizers to your lawn before or during a season of drought. This is actually harmful to your lawn rather than helpful because it increases the need for water.
3. Raise the mower height – By raising the cutting height on your mower, you will be encouraging root growth in your grasses. This will help the grass stay greener longer during a drought season. This is ESPECIALLY true for St. Augustine grass.
4. Increase potassium – Prior to a drought season, change your fertilizer to one that contains a higher level of potassium. Potassium may encourage root growth in your grasses. The key term here is prior, and that is months prior; not just before the drought.
5. Change grass types – Zoysia turf grasses are stronger against drought than St. Augustine. If drought is a frequent problem, you may want to consider increasing these types of grasses in your lawn. St. Augustine grass is not very drought tolerant at all, although it is easily the most popular grass in our area.

As you can see, there are a lot of things you can do to help keep your lawn greener, longer, during a drought period. Just remember, that if you can water, watering longer and less often will be better for your grass than small amounts every day. Please let us know if you have any other questions or would like any help with your irrigation system.