In Springfield, Missouri, lawn aeration and over-seeding are important to maintaining a healthy and beautiful lawn. Grass can get old and worn down. Overseeding is a fast and convenient way to make your lawn lush and green again without starting over. Overseeding is spreading grass seeds over an existing lawn.

Lawn aeration keeps your grass beautiful by improving soil structure and combating soil compaction. Healthy soil has both macropores and micropores which provide space for plants to absorb nutrients and oxygen. Overly-compacted soil no longer has the porous space required for healthy grass growth. Although aeration and over-seeding are important, it may be confusing as to when would be the best time to perform these activities.

Best Time to Aerate and Overseed is in the Fall

We recommend that you aerate and overseed at least once a year to maintain a beautiful lawn. Lawn Aeration and overseeding in Springfield, Missouri is best done during fall when the weather is cooler. There will be plenty of sunlight because trees will start to shed their leaves. Additionally, diseases that attack seedlings are less active.

Second Aeration and Overseeding in the Spring

If your lawn needs more attention and is highly compacted, overseeding and aerating twice a year could provide an even thicker and healthier lawn. Spring would be the next best time to aerate and overseed your lawn again. However, be sure to mow your lawn a few times before aerating in the spring. This will allow the lawn to grow quickly enough to recover and utilize increased pore space that results from aeration.

When in doubt, be sure to hire a professional to determine what the best plan is for aerating and overseeding your lawn. It is critical to follow specific instructions on watering, equipment, seed mixtures and blends. At Gabris Landscaping, we offer services for both aeration and overseeding. Give us a call to maintain a healthy and beautiful lawn.

With our busy lives, it’s often hard to find time for proper lawn care. However, there are several things that you and one of the best lawn care companies in Springfield Missouri, Gabris Landscaping, can do to save you more time while maintaining a healthy lawn.

Mow More Frequently

Although it sounds counterintuitive, mowing more often can save you time so long as you’re only removing 1/3 of the grass blade at a time. Grass clippings that are too long can lead to more time raking and toting bags to the curb. Cleaning up is time-consuming. Although you’ll spend more time mowing, you’ll save much more time cleaning up.

Spray Weeds

Instead of pulling weeds, spray weeds instead. Spraying weeds will save time because it will control the whole plant. In contrast, pulling weeds may allow it to re-grow later. Weed control materials can help manage broadleaf weeds, crabgrass, and nutsedge. When in doubt, give our expert lawn care company, Gabris Landscaping, a call. We offer a lawn care application service. It is important to know the types of weeds that exist and which treatments are best.

Use a Lawn Care Company to Seed Your Lawn

Although you could seed your lawn yourself, professional lawn care companies will have the equipment that can perform this task in much less time. Without a lawn care company, you would have to borrow a truck and trailer, pick up seed at the store, unload the machine, run it for hours, and wash the machine off.

Use Preventative Lawn Care Applications

There are some lawn care applications you should never go without applying each year. It is far better to prevent pests and diseases than to treat them later when they become a problem. It is crucial to make sure all treatments for lawns, shrubs, or trees are applied in a manner consistent with Federal, State, and local laws.

Use Timers for Irrigation

The first couple months after seeding is the most important. Be sure to regularly water your lawn. Neglecting this task could lead to wasted money and time. To avoid forgetfulness, buy timers and set up irrigation for your lawn to water certain areas at certain times. You can also save time dragging hoses and sprinklers around several times a day by installing an irrigation system. An irrigation system can be installed by lawn care companies.

To save the most time, give our experienced and professional lawn care company a call. We can take care of your lawn while saving you valuable time.

Preventing Lawn Fungus and Reducing Lawn Applications

Lawn fungus can spread rapidly and be very damaging to your lawn. It can spread to areas that are weak, dying, and unhealthy. Lawn applications such as fungicide can treat fungus by preventing its growth and spread. However, fungicides are chemicals that have many environmental and health disadvantages. Fungicides can drain off your lawn and contaminate nearby lakes and rivers. The chemicals in fungicides are detrimental to aquatic life. Additionally, fungicide can be harmful to humans and cause irritation to skin, eyes, and the respiratory tract. However, this lawn application can be reduced by following some best practices to prevent and control fungus.

Maintain soil at proper pH level.

Most lawn grasses prefer slightly acidic soil near 6.0 to 7.0 pH, where essential nutrients stay readily available. Regular soil testing and appropriate soil amendments help keep your grass healthy and strong.

Follow good mowing practices.

Mowing low creates the grass conditions that disease organisms love. Weakened and wounded grass provide the perfect conditions for fungus. After the disease gets started, you can even spread it around via the mower blades because the disease rides on the blades. Instead, mow the grass at heights recommended for your grass type. Keep your mower blades sharp, and mow according to grass growth. Remove only one-third of the blade height in a single mowing. Collect and dispose of lawn clippings if you suspect fungal disease. Don’t compost; some diseases spread through clippings, infecting compost.

Use Fertilization

Under-fertilizing leaves grass undernourished, and overfertilizing promotes weak, rushed growth; both mistakes set up lawns for disease. Fertilize with premium products that release essential nutrients at the right levels.

When Lawn Application May Be Necessary

Although these preventative tips can be effective, infections may still occur. After all other efforts have failed, you can contact a professional such as Gabris Landscaping for lawn applications of fungicide. It is important to hire an expert with experience and knowledge on how to handle chemicals.

Brown spots on your lawn can be a frustrating experience. Even when you think you’ve done everything to ensure a lush, green lawn, suddenly a brown spot appears.

There are many possible reasons why you may be seeing brown spots on your lawn. Let’s review a few potential causes and the best remedies to keep your lawn looking bright and green.

Human and Animal Damage

It’s very easy for both humans and pets to cause damage to the lawn. Some common causes include:

Animal Urine – Dogs are the most likely culprits, but large birds, cats, and other animals can cause urine stains as well. You can figure out if your brown spots are caused by animals by checking to see if the spots are yellow with bright green around the edge, indicating diluted nitrogen found in the urine, which acts as a fertilizer.

To avoid these issues, try to make sure your pet is well-hydrated can make their urine less toxic, and you can also train your animals to do their business in a different area of the yard.

Dull Mower Blades – Dull blades tear your grass and cause damage as they pull the blades away from the root system.

To avoid this problem, sharpen your mower blades in the fall and spring, and check them after mowing to make sure the mower is cutting your grass evenly.

Chemicals – Gasoline, fertilizer, herbicides, and pesticides can cause dead spots if spilled.

To avoid this problem, make sure you always pour any chemicals, fuels and sprays on your driveway or on a patio stone, not on your lawn, and always carefully follow the directions.

Poor Growing Conditions

In some cases, the conditions in your yard may be unfavorable for grass to grow. Some of these issues can include:

Poor Soil – Soil quality can vary between different areas in your lawn, and patches of poor soil can cause brown patches.

To avoid this problem, take a screwdriver and push it into the soil. If it goes in easily, your soil is likely compacted and needs to be aerated.

Erosion – Water tends to run off in slopes, often taking grass seeds and young shoots with it.

To avoid this problem, aerate your lawn to increase water absorption. If you’re dealing with a steep slope, consider building terraces or planting ground cover.

Roots – Large trees or shrubs nearby can be a drain on resources for grass, causing the surrounding area to look patchy.

To avoid this problem, consider mulching or naturalizing areas under trees and shrubs instead of trying to get grass to grow in an area will you’ll always have an issue.

Drought – A healthy lawn requires an inch of water a week, which can come from rainfall or irrigation. A dry spot can become compounded by drought damage.

To avoid this problem, make sure your lawn is watered evenly.

Lawn Diseases and Pests

If none of the previous suggestions above have worked, then it might be time to move on to more serious measures against pests and disease.

Thatch – Thatch is a buildup of decaying grass which chokes out healthy grass.

To avoid this problem, remove the thatch by raking your lawn if it’s more than ½” thick.

Grubs – Grubs are common late-season problem, and can be identified when your sod pulls back from the ground like a carpet.

To avoid this problem, check for fat, white, curved worms beneath your sod. Contact us for pest control applications to eliminate the grubs from your yard.

Fungal Diseases – Fungal diseases can become common during the midsummer months, when the temperature is hot and humid.

To avoid this problem, aerate your lawn and make sure your grass gets as much sunlight as possible. If it persists, contact our lawn care services to help get this under control.

If you need help identifying the causes of brown spots in your yard or solutions on how to fix them, contact the lawn care services team at Gabris Landscaping.

When the weather starts to warm up, the insects and pests come out of hibernation and start attacking your lawn and landscaping. The most common lawn pests we deal with are chinch bugs, grubs and sod webworms.

Don’t lose the battle over chinch bugs. Chinch bugs can attack your lawn quickly as weather warms and adults move into open areas where females lay eggs. These eggs hatch, and begin feeding on grass plants while releasing plant damaging toxins. Damaged areas first appear as yellowish to brownish patches which enlarge as the insects spread. Gabris Landscaping’s yard pest control reduces the number of these pests on your property and minimizes the risk of infestation.

Grubs are the larval stage of several beetles. During their life cycle, they exist approximately two inches below the lawn’s surface, continuously feeding on the root system. Proactively treat your lawn for grubs with our yard pest control. Grub damage is most likely to occur in the late summer and early fall months. However, grubs can also be present and cause damage in the late spring. Grub activity will encourage damage due to scavenging animals including skunks and birds, both of which will search for grubs to feed on. Damage may not be apparent until it is too late, requiring costly repair.

The Sod Webworm is the caterpillar state of a common lawn moth. The night flying moths drop eggs from which the caterpillars hatch in the lawn and begin to feed on grass plans almost immediately. Damaged areas have yellow patches of turf that may eventually turn brown and die. Webworms are only active at night, chewing grass leaves, often severing the entire plant at the crown. During the day they retreat to silk lined tunnels in the thatch or soil. Birds flocking to your lawn to feed may indicate Sod Webworm activity. Control of Sod Webworms is included in your Lawn Doctor Maintainer Care program.

Gabris Landscaping can provide the best yard pest control treatment to help prevent damage to your lawn before it occurs. A properly cared for landscape adds both beauty and value to your home while it provides natural support for the environment. We can help you create and maintain the quality landscape you deserve to have surrounding your home.