I have a few openings for fall cleanups, fall over  seeding as well as some openings for dormant seeding. If you would like to schedule a time for a fall cleanup for later in October early November, simply give me a call today. I realize some like to wait until next spring, but in reality it ends up causing more damage and costing more more in the long run with the spring cleanup, as the leaves end up matted into the turf and it actually takes longer to cleanup, versus a fall cleanup along with along with a quick spring cleanup.

We are also headed into that time of year when its a good time to overseed your lawn before the fall rains begin, giving the new grass seed to take root before going dormant. I also offer dormant seeding, overseeding your lawn prior to the winter season after a fall cleanup has been preformed, giving your lawn a chance to get going in the spring before the weed grass has a chance to. We will be offering this service along with new lawn and lawn renovation work from now until mid- September.

Other fall projects include, but not limited to: soil testing, adding top soil and gutter cleanings, as we head int the fall and winter months here in Maine.

I only use top quality grass seed with a low weed seed percentage, insuring your lawn the best possible start that it can have.

On a side note, if you have applied a weed and feed for the fall season, we will not be able to overseed your lawn, as it will kill of some of the new grass seed.

If you would be interested in any of these services you can use the contact us page or you can give me a call at (207)-739-9022.

Its a great time of the year here in Maine to start planning your lawn renovation project, whether your looking to do a complete lawn renovation or would like to patch an area due to heavy traffic, moss growing in or your having other with your lawn, we would like to help.

We can provide you with a detailed estimate that is customized for your lawn and go over every detail in full and do our best to work within your budget, from observing your lawn, providing you with a soil test to see what is going on with your soil, core aeration, fertilizing, overseeding, compost/ loam covering, as well as a watering program.

Once your lawn is growing and ready for mowing, we can also help with keeping it growing naturally with natural/ organic applications, as well  providing you an estimate for lawn care for your home.

Spring is in the air and its time to start planning your landscape projects, whether you would like to add a new patio, lawn, deck, exterior fire place or you would like to add a new flowerbed, garden area, walkways, retaining walls, trees, as well as any number of other landscape projects.

Down To Earth can help bring your dreams to reality, schedule before May 1st and receive a preseason discount.

We  will be doing some testing on an all Natural product that will repel mosquitoes along with other insects here in Maine. This all natural product is food based, thus no harmful chemicals, odors along with no more worries about children, pets, family and friends.

This all Natural insect guard is sprayed on the lawn as well as the tree line and bushes around the property and last 4-5 weeks. Once our testing has been completed and we are totally satisfied with the results we will decide whether or not we will add this product to our service lineup.

Down To Earth is working hard to bring you only the best Organic/ Natural products on the market today and you can rest assure that we will test these products before we offer them to you.

We here at Down To Earth Lawn & Property Maintenance would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year. May it be a year of growth and renewal for each of us, aspiring one another to reach our goals and desires, cheering each other on in earnest, helping one another, treating one another the way that we would like to be treated, with Love, Honor and Respect.

We haven’t made any New Years resolutions, but we have set forth a business plan that is full of short term goals to attain success for our lawn and property maintenance company. A plan that will bring steady growth, growing our  company a pace that is manageable.

Here at Down To Earth we are gearing up for the upcoming spring season, although its a few months away here in Maine, we are going over the equipment so when the time comes we won’t have mess around with it. We have been sharpening the mower blades, changing out the oils and spark plugs, as well as the air and oil filters.
I have been working on finishing up the year end paperwork as well as preparing next seasons documents, updating clients information and setting up the lawn and landscape maintenance marketing programs with the emphasis on Organic Lawn Care. I have been out talking to other contractors, realtors and other property maintenance providers, setting up a circle of networking partners in my local area.
While doing all this, I still have the snow plowing season just getting underway here as well, these customers will be my priority during the storm days and in between I will be working on my commercial property bids for property maintenance for the 2010 season. I have started on some of these already. I will be submitting 300 plus bids within a 30 mile radius, the outcome will determine my route for the season.
I am still receiving call and emails from asset companies for doing foreclosure properties, but I am holding back a little as I just had a big ad go out in the local paper mainly for snow plowing and snow removal, but will be doing some light carpentry, so I will see where it all leads and go from there.

Lawn Mower Safety Tips

As with any new piece of equipment that we purchase, its always a good thing to read the instructions as well as all safety precautions that go along with it.

In this post I will post some lawn mower safety tips for everyone as well as some general advice that pertains to lawn mower safety as well.

1. Leave all the safety features intact. Gaurds and deadman switches are there to protect you from danger. DO NOT disable them.
2. Never reach into a mower when the blade is engaged (running.) If the lawn mower clogs up the discharge chute, shut off the engine before trying to undo the clogged chute. Mowing the lawn wen the grass is dry will prevent clogs and keeps you from slipping in the wet grass.
3. DO NOT let children operate the lawn mower. They are not big enough or mature enough to operate it safely.
4. Always do a walk around of the lawn you are about to mow, picking up sticks, rocks, dog chains, metal and other trash before mowing the area.
5. Keep your feet clear from the deck and blades at all times.
6. Wear long legged pants to protect your legs and boots to protect your feet.
7. Always wear hearing and eye protection.
8. In a well ventilated area refill the gas tank carefully. No smoking while refueling. Let the engine cool prior to refueling and never refuel while the engine is running.
9. If you are using a bagger, make sure that there are no holes in it. The mower can pick up small rocks and debris and they can be discharged through the holes. Never operate a rear bagger without a bag unless the discharge door is closed on the lawn mower.
10. Always pay attention. DO NOT operate a lawn mower after drinking, taking medication, or any other drugs.

Proper Mowing Part 1

Knowing your grass

Mowing a lawn is simple enough, but so is getting it wrong and a bad job of mowing a lawn can be worse than not, so lets take some time to break things down and go over some lawn care essentials for attaining a better lawn.
If your like most folks you run your lawn mower or garden tractor over the lawn once a week, but during the long, dry days of summer, when your lawn gets to looking ragged and worn, you may cut the grass a little shorter. Maybe your going on vacation for a week or two and you cut the grass as short as you can, hoping that the grass won’t grow all that tall before you return from your trip.

We need to look at our lawn differently and mow the grass because it is long and not because we have a day set aside or we are going off for a couple weeks. When we cut the grass, we should not cut anymore than one-quarter to one-third of the leaves.

Knowing what type of grass you have will go along way in getting the cut height right, there are both Low-cut and High-cut grasses and I will post a chart for the common grasses as well as there mowing heights.

Low-cut grasses do not have enough leaf mass to thrive, so when we cut more than a third of the blade off, we remove the tissues the grass uses in order to produce food to fuel its root growth. When root growth suffers, so does the plant, you see the grass is left without enough water and nutrients to thrive and can become vulnerable to drought and disease.

High-cut grasses on the other hand will have more leaves and a deeper root system. With a deeper root system, it can draw in more water and nutrients from the soil – nutrients that will make the plant vigorous, as well as helping it out-compete when the weeds try to sneak into the lawn. So during the dry season the deeper roots (up to 8” deep) will be vital to getting the nutrients and water that the plant needs to survive, resulting in a stronger plant the is resistant to both drought and disease.

Taller grass creates its own shade, but it also works the other way as well, you see to much shade can stunt or even kill the grass plant, the shade that the plant produces is important to the grass plants survival.
Cutting the grass at the proper height allows the plant to provide enough shade to protect the plants crown and roots from overheating from the sun; protecting the roots helps the plant conserve water. Shorter cut grass will have no protection, resulting in a sunburned lawn, killing the grass, especially in hot weather.

Grass Height: How tall is to tall?

In Theory, each variety grows best when cut at the proper mowing height, so setting your lawn mower should be based on the type of grass in your lawn.
In Practice, the grass in your lawn was planted years ago by someone else and few people have little idea what they are cutting. A general rule of thumb, although its not perfect, it does come close to what one should do: cut warm weather grasses (suited for the South) 2-2 ½ inches tall, this is the height at which they grow best.
Cool season grasses (suited for the North) will grow better when cut a little longer, keeping them at 3-3 ½ inches tall.

Again once you know the type and proper height for your grass, always remember to cut no more than one-quarter to one-third of its height. Cutting more than this stresses the grass and will leave a thick coating of clippings, which can and will smother your lawn.
Properly mowing your lawn following this simple guideline (one-quarter to one-third) and you can let the clippings compost back into the soil, acting as a natural fertilizer.

Please Note: If you live in an area that is prone to grass disease, bagging the clippings can help prevent problems.

Mowing height for different grasses

Grass                                                Optimum Height                           Mowing Height
Bluegrass                                                  2 inches                                         3 inches
Perennial Ryegrass                                   2 inches                                         3 inches
Tall Fescue                                               2 inches                                         3 inches
Fine Fescue                                              2 inches                                         3 inches
St. Augustinegrass                                   2 inches                                         3 inches
Buffalograss                                            2 inches                                          3 inches
Bermudagrass                                         1 ¼ inches                                       2 ¼ inches
Zoysiagrass                                             1 ¼ inches                                       2 ¼ inches

Today I did a dormant seeding after I did a fall cleanup on a property in Norway Maine, once I finished with the fall cleanup I then aerated the lawn, going over it twice in different directions aerating it well.

After I finished core aeration the lawn I over seeded the lawn with a perrenial rye and bluegrass grass seed mix before the snow starts to fly this season.

I am posting an update to the lawn renovation here in Norway, Maine. In my last post I mentioned the grass seed had been laid and the lawn is being watered twice a day, I stopped by today and the grass is sprouting up everywhere.

The compost top soil the I spread was a really dark, rich blend of organic matter and it is really making the difference and the proof is in the soil. The earthworms are plentiful and the soil is alive.

Once the grass is up and going in good shape I will be applying a compost tea to encourage more microbe activity, I have posted on this before so I won’t go through it all again here.

This is all part of Down To Earth’s organic lawn care program, If you would be interested in one of our lawn care programs, simply give us a call or email us and we will be more than happy to sit down to discuss what your goals are for your lawn.

Everyone of our programs a customized to you and your lawns needs.