Fall is the best time to improve your lawn

Fall is the best time to Fertilize

The key to managing a healthy lawn is to have a strong root system backed up by a large carbohydrate (food) reserve stored in the roots and crown of the plant. This allows the grass to recover from long winter dormancy and to with stand stress incurred by summer drought, disease, insects and other environmental problems.

• Cool air temperatures in the fall reduce the amount of foliage the plant produces; thus reducing the amount of energy it takes to support the top growth. Even though air temperatures are cool – ground temperatures remain ideal and allow root growth to flourish.
• This set of circumstance make fall the optimum time to fertilize as all added nutrients are going to be used for root growth and food storage through photosynthesis. Aggressively fertilizing in the fall will produce a thicker, healthier lawn, and will provide an earlier green up in the spring.

Fall is the best time to Aerate

It is well documented that Lawn core aeration is one of the keys to a healthy lawn. Aeration breaks up the compaction allowing fertilizer, water, and oxygen to penetrate the root zone. It also propagates the turf by severing the roots and crowns of the plant.

For the same reasons fall is the best time to fertilize, fall is the best time to aerate. Breaking up the compaction and allowing room for roots to grow at a time of the season when root growth is flourishing serves to accelerate the process, and leads to a much thicker healthier lawn.

Fall is the best time to seed

Bare spots, thin areas or complete renovations are best seeded in the fall. Warm fall days coupled by cool fall evening combine for the optimum temperatures for new seedlings to grow. Fall is the time we also experience periodic rain fall and often a heavy dew in the morning that helps ease the watering requirements.

New seedlings have very little weed competition in the fall. Annual weeds such as crabgrass and foxtail germinate in the spring and have exhausted their life cycle by early fall allowing new grass seedlings to develop and not be crowded out by aggressively growing weeds. The long fall growing season allows seedlings to benefit from the same root production and photosynthesis that mature plants do allowing them to survive the stress of the cold winter and putting them in a heathy position to mature in the spring.

Fall is the best time to spray weed control

The best weed control for Dandelions and other broadleaf weeds occurs when the plants are actively growing and nutrients are being stored in the root system. Just like with the grass plant with the onset of cooler temperatures this happens in the fall. When spraying broad leaf weed control at this time the weed plant will rapidly translocate the herbicide to the root system to provide for a complete kill of the plant. When sprayed late in the fall the plant may not be visibly dying, but will not survive the winter and will not be present in the lawn following spring.

 

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Is it best to Seed or Sod when renovating or establishing a lawn?

Any homeowner with a lawn dreams of a thick green carpet of healthy grass, the kind that invites barefooted fun on a warm summer afternoon. It is possible to live the dream but it requires an investment of time and effort or outsourced help from trained experts. A big component of the desired blanket of green surrounding your home is the installation of seed and/or sod for even if your lawn is in magazine-centerfold-shape now, without proper TLC, your grass will begin to thin and develop bare spots which in turn will make it vulnerable to invasive weeds.

By fall, some lawns can use some sprucing up. Sometimes trouble spots caused by disease , drought or insect damage can be re-established, but sometimes yard damage has gotten so extreme that complete renovation is necessary. In such cases, there are essentially two repair options: seeding or sodding. Seeding means establishing a new area of grass from scratch. Laying sod is done by installing a mature grassy roll of carpet, creating an instant lawn. Both methods have their strengths and weaknesses, so the best option will depend on your situation.

New construction often requires a new lawn to be established you will have options as well depending on the situation.

Seeding requires some patience in that the grass will need time to develop, whereas sod provides mature grass immediately. When seeding, timing is somewhat limited because new grass seed will be particularly vulnerable to weather and weeds; seeding is best done in the fall, distanced from ever-present spring weeds and summer’s heat. Sod can be laid from spring through fall, so there is not a timing constraint, although sodding in hot weather increases the risk of drought damage to the new sod. Areas subject to erosion can be difficult to seed effectively in that seed can be swept away by runoff before it has the chance to establish itself. With sod, soil is protected while the sod takes root.

A quick glance at this overview of seeding and sodding may make sod seem like the clear choice; however, there is no clear winner when it comes to fixing your lawn. Seeding has several advantages as well.

• Sod is grown much like a farm crop in large, open fields. Because of this, grass grown as sod is used to plentiful sunlight and does not do well in the shade. If your property has many trees or is otherwise shady, this may be an issue.
• Along these same lines, sod offers less variety in the types of grass available. With seed, there are many options.
• Though it may take a while for root systems to develop from seed, once well established, they are typically in it for the long haul. Since sod is transplanted, you run the risk that it will not properly take hold in its new environment.
• Finally, seeding is drastically less expensive than laying sod–always a pertinent factor in any lawn renovation decision.

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Lawn Core Aeration Is The Secret to a Beautiful Lawn

All professional turf grass managers including lawn care specialist, golf course superintendents, and sports turf managers agree that core aeration is an essential part of any lawn maintenance services.

Lawn Core Aeration is the process of removing thousands of soil plugs about the size of your thumb throughout the lawn. The more plugs removed the better the job of aeration. Plugs are left on the lawn to break down and top dress the turf.

The process opens up the soil allowing water, air, and fertilizer to penetrate the root zone. While removing the plugs grass roots, stolons, and crowns of the plant are severed thus propagating the grass plant and thickening up the turf.

Relieve thatch accumulation

Most home lawns are subject to thatch accumulation. Left unmanaged, it impedes water, fertilizer and pesticide effectiveness. Core aeration combines soil with the thatch debris, so soil organisms are better able to break down the thatch and reduce its accumulation.

A healthy root system is the key to a beautiful lawn

Lawn core aeration can help make your lawn healthier and reduce its maintenance requirements through these means:

• Improved air exchange between the soil and atmosphere.
• Enhanced soil water uptake.
• Improved fertilizer uptake and use.
• Reduced water runoff and puddling.
• Stronger turf grass roots.
• Reduce soil compaction.
• Enhanced heat and drought stress tolerance.
• Reduce thatch accumulation

Excellent time to seed

Seeding following aeration is very advantageous because of the excellent seed bed provided.
This is a perfect time to:

• Repair turf that has been damaged by insects, disease or drought
• Thicken up thin stand of grass
• Add additional disease resistant, drought tolerant strains of Kentucky Bluegrass to your lawn for the best protection against these problems while adding better color to your turf.

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3 Ways to Accentuate Your Front Door with Outdoor Lighting

The front door is the first impression for guests when they walk in your home and the ultimate “welcome” sign for visitors.

Your front door is the main attraction for the entryway to your house, which is why it should be tasteful and well-lit. Not only should it match the overall style of your home but also be an added feature within your overall landscape lighting design. Here are three ways to highlight your front door: 

1. Lighting the Way

Accentuating the path leading to your front steps will add direction and volume to your front yard. This can also add a layer of safety and security to your home for guests walking up at night. Path lights are the perfect subtle addition to highlight a brick pathway or staircase leading to the front of your home. Path lights, which come in a variety of styles offered by Nite Time Decor, will serve you well for illuminating your walkway while adding a unique layer to your outdoor lighting scheme.

2. A Glowing Front Porch

For homeowners with a front porch, it’s best to highlight this useful and cozy feature with warm, overhead lighting. The advantage with overhead lighting is the variety of fixtures available to best accent your home. For a softer look, you can choose ceiling hidden ceiling lights that add a simple glow to your porch. If you’re taking a more decorative approach, choose lighting fixtures that blend in with the overall style of your home. Whether it’s southern-style country or urban and hip, be sure to add an overhead lighting accessory to add brightness and value to your porch.

3. The Door Itself

Your front door should be well-lit to add an inviting ambiance to your home. There are several ways to execute this technique, but one of the best is by using wall sconces. Sconces usually direct light up or downward and illuminate a specific space or unique detail in a home. These lights can be as decorative and creative or soft and subtle as you’d like. Both types will add a hint of beauty and warmth to your front door.

Nite Time Decor offers several products to accentuate your front door or other parts of your outdoor landscape lighting. To check out different lighting styles or get in touch with a contractor, visit us at www.nitetimedecor.com.

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Make Your Neighborhood Eco-Friendly with LED Lighting

As you’re probably aware of by now, LED lighting is better for the environment than outdated bulbs like incandescent. “Many individuals have begun to replace their home’s interior lighting with LED bulbs as LED sales have been steadily increasing, which is a great start, but more can be done! Homeowners should consider retrofitting their home’s outdoor lighting systems by replacing their incandescent or halogen bulbs with LEDs” Says Jim O’Loughlin Nite time Décor By All American Turf Beauty.

Not only will you be making a statement by switching your home’s exterior lighting to LED bulbs, but you’ll also be helping the environment and saving money in the process. Show your community that you care about the environment by switching your home’s outdoor lighting from incandescent or halogen bulbs to LEDs.

Just How Energy Efficient Are LED Lights?

Among all consumer light bulbs, LED lights are by far the most energy-efficiency, durable and longest-lasting on the market. LED lights use up to 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs and last up to 50 times longer than incandescent bulbs, according to ENERGY STAR.

What Will It Cost Me?

When first introduced to the market, LED bulbs were significantly more expensive for homeowners to adopt into their outdoor lighting than utilizing other bulbs. Initially Led bulbs may cost more than other bulbs, but because they last longer and use less energy, adopters will see a return on their investment rather quickly.

As LED technology has evolved, the price point for bulbs has gone down and now there is a wide range of prices for LED bulbs varying based on size and wattage available to consumers.

How Do LED’s Benefit the Environment?

Because of the way in which LED lights produce light, these bulbs draw much less energy and electricity than other bulbs. Outdoor lighting is typically left on for long periods of time, and if a home is using less eco-friendly technology then this can have a negative impact on the environment. LED lights also have a safer manufacturing process than other bulbs. In CFLs, mercury is used in the process. Mercury is a dangerous environment and can have harmful effects on the environment and animals, Most people don’t dispose of these bulbs correctly, which has a negative impact on the environment. LED lighting doesn’t utilize mercury, so opting for LED bulbs cut down on this hazard.

Is LED Lighting Better For My Yard?

Homeowners who opt for LED landscape lighting may actually have healthier lawns. In the illumination process, CFL and incandescent bulbs create a lot of heat. This heat can disrupt growth of plants in your garden, bushes, trees or grass. Conversely, LED bulbs don’t produce ample amounts of heat in the process, so opting for these bulbs can decrease your lawn’s risk of being affected by the heat produced from landscape lighting.

Be a Trend Setter!

It only takes one trend setter in a community to make a change. Be the trendsetter in your neighborhood by installing LED lighting, and soon enough you’ll see your neighbors following suit – creating a better environment one house at a time.

For homeowners who are looking to better their communities by installing eco-friendly outdoor lighting, there are a variety of landscape lighting products on the market to choose from. However, not all LED products and outdoor lighting fixtures are created equal. Homeowners should choose a contractor to take care of their home installation that utilizes a superior product line. Nite Time Decor provides a high-quality and durable line of outdoor lighting fixtures that utilize LED lighting to highly trained and professional contractors across the country.

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