For Arbor Day- Just an idea...

Many of my clients in this beautiful Northwest area have a few trees in their yard or on their general property. This is something my family envies just a bit because when we purchased our first house this last year, we ended up with a gorgeous house and 10 wide open acres. No large trees- just a few young maples that the prior owner probably recently put in. And we know what the benefit of more trees would do for us! They could provide more shaded areas for our kids to play in during the hot summer days. They could serve as a wind break because we get MANY windstorms throughout the year in our prairie area. Not only would they be a wind break, but also a sound break from the traffic on the road near our house. Dependent on the tree, they could be a habitat for some different varieties of wildlife for our family to enjoy. And trees would also just be something pleasant to look at while sitting on our deck enjoying a summer sunset.

Because of our lack of trees, my wife and I kept our eyes open for opportunities to try and gain trees without the terrible cost. This is when I started noticing during spring clean-ups last year and throughout the year mowing, that many of my clients end up with small pine tree starts and maple tree starts near their already tall beautiful trees! My clients wanted them out of the yard... and I offered to take them. Needless to say the tiny little starts didn't last very long in our soil and we didn't really have the knowledge or the time to care for such young starts to get them strong enough to encourage growth. I do want to say though, that the gesture of my clients allowing my family to have the baby starts instead of just tossing them was a good one and I am reminded of that while thinking of Arbor Day being tomorrow...

Just an idea: If you're being overwhelmed with tiny little tree starts surrounding your yard, I might suggest to dig them up and pot them. Then post ads on craigslist, churches, or at grocery stores offering free baby tree starts. This may take a bit of your personal time and funds, but you'd be doing something good for someone else- and great for our planet by giving the possibility for more trees to be planted and to grow!

Have a great rest of the week!

Earth Day- A "Green" Garden Weed Killer

In honor of earth day, I’d like to make an “organic” solution suggestion to weed control in your flowerbeds and gardens (note- I did not say to use it on your lawn). I have heard this suggestion a few times from neighbors, clients, and my wife. Below you will find some notes and resources on how to use vinegar as a weed control.

What is vinegar? According to The Vinegar Institute’s site: http://www.versatilevinegar.org/faqs.html, “Vinegar can be made from any fruit, or from any material containing sugar.” It is “is made by two distinct biological processes, both the result of the action of harmless microorganisms (yeast and “Acetobacter”) that turn sugars (carbohydrates) into acetic acid”. In other words- vinegar is a vary organic material. It is also relatively inexpensive ($5.00-$10.00 or so dependent on size of container). The organic material and inexpensive cost makes vinegar a great option for being “green” with the weed control in your garden or flower beds.

According to the Garden Counselor site: http://www.garden-counselor-lawn-care.com/home-made-weed-killer.html: vinegar is basically stated as something that can be used to kill plants in general. The ingredient in vinegar “removes moisture. When sprayed on plant foliage, the water in the leaves is drawn out, and the top growth of the plant is killed” and “Full strength vinegar, not diluted with water, will be strongest”. The trick would be to only apply the vinegar to the weeds in a garden and not to get too close to the good plants. It is also good to point out that “Some plants may be more resistant to absorbing it. Leaves with a waxy or hairy covering may absorb less of the solution and suffer less damage. Some plants may die above ground, but send up new growth from the root.”

In other words- vinegar will have its advantages and disadvantages. I know my wife will be trying it out in our vegetable garden this year to avoid going out and picking so many of the tiny starts of spreading weeds. Why don’t you give it a try and post here how it turned out for you?

Happy Earth Day! See you around soon with all this nice weather!

Grass Back from the Dead...

After a strange winter in our area, many lawns may have ended up with some random dead spots through the yard. According to this website: http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/wronglawn.html some of those problems can be due to spring frost damage to new growth, molding after a snow meltoff, salt damage from de-icing your walks and driveways, etc. A good spring cleanup and re-seeding of your dead patches may be all that is needed to solve the problems you're seeing.

Spring cleaning of your lawn should probably include the following: dethatching, aeration, and fertilization that will promote growth of the new seeds. After you've prepared your lawn and cleaned it up, now it time to spread your seeds. According to: http://www.homeandgardenideas.com/outdoor-living/lawn-care/seeding/tips-reseeding-lawn "Sow at a rate of about 6 seeds per square inch of soil... Then, water the entire reseeded area with a fine mist, just enough to get the soil moist. Water twice a day until the seeds sprout, which should be in 2 weeks. Water a couple of times a week (depending in your climate) until the grass is about 3 inches tall." As you can see- the key to this growth and bringing your grass back from the dead is making sure you water regularly and give way for new little grass roots to get the nutrients and air needed.

After you've got a great lawn, sometimes through the summer you will notice that your lawn will begin to look like it is dying again. This in turn may make you lose hope in restoring your lawn and feel there is no point. However, "In hot, dry weather, grass often goes into a semi-dormant state, appearing as "dead grass," but will come back when weather conditions improve." (See http://www.moneypit.com/question-and-answer/restoring-dead-grass). You can help keep your lawn green by keeping a consistent watering schedule. "It's best to water in early morning, very early, like 5 a.m. [It's] much better to water early only a couple of times a week than to water lightly more often. Deep soaking encourages deep root growth, whereas light watering encourages the roots to stay close to the surface of the soil, making your lawn more susceptible to heat and drought." (See http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/14262213/ns/today-today_home_and_garden/t/keep-it-green-tips-save-your-summer-lawn/).

I hope this info was helpful. If you have other questions or would like to see what I can do for you personally in maintaining your yard's lush green in the Nine Mile, Suncrest, and North Spokane County areas please get in touch. It's also that time of year for the spring cleaning activities- and I offer professional dethatching, aerating, and fertilizing services to promote a good start to your season and help your grass come back from the dead.

Look forward to hearing from you!

James, Owner and Operator of Green Jeans Lawn Service

A Dog's Grass Habit

My name is Miles. James and his family are my friends. They give me a warm place to sleep, cuddle with me, let me run around outside, and feed me daily. I wouldn’t necessarily say we are all “best friends” though, because I have a scavenging eating habit that doesn’t agree with James or his family. I am constantly being told I can’t eat certain things. The kitchen is off limits to me- though occasionally I can sneak a bite behind that forbidden cupboard or the kids will drop a tasty morsel that I can quickly scurry to. James’ wife doesn’t like me in her garden, either. But why would you restrict me from such tasty treats such as carrots, radishes, tomatoes, lettuce, and corn?

Anyway- there’s one eating habit that only seems restricted to a point. I can basically eat all the grass I want. Whenever my stomach is a bit queasy from sneaking into the compost bin, I may walk on over and find some wonderful spring grass to wash it down with and make it come back up. (See www.petmd.com: “A dog will seek out a natural remedy for a gassy or upset stomach, and grass, it seems, may do the trick. When ingested, the grass blade tickles the throat and stomach lining; this sensation, in turn, may cause the dog to vomit, especially if the grass is gulped down rather than chewed.”)

Some grass I enjoy eating, even though I’ve almost died from eating it before, is that grass that’s been piled up for a long time after James goes over our yard with that big machine. It’s been a quite a while since he’s had that available- pretty much since that scary incident I went through from eating it- but if I find it laying around someday the scavenger in me will probably tempt me to eat it again. I know the vet I had to go to a couple years ago said that there’s some sort of bacteria in the rotting grass that just doesn’t agree with me and it made me very sick. I guess James must love me and that’s why he makes sure the clippings are spread around and dried out so they don't have a chance to rot. At least then I can roll around in the soft padding. I still get yelled at when I do that though, because apparently James’ wife uses it to cover her potato hills and mulch into her strawberry patches.

What can I say, I have a grass habit. J Happy Spring Everyone!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

With Spring Fever creeping up on all of us, this rain, and SNOW in some areas, is not something we like to wake up to daily in our Spokane area. However, as the saying goes… April Showers Brings May Grass! Ok- so I changed the saying a bit. J

Although water is good for a lush lawn, there are some downfalls to nature being involved in ‘over-watering’ the lawn. As stated by organolawn.com: “Some signs of over watering are standing water, over abundance of insects, molds, and a shallow root system. Over watering causes the soil to become poorly aerated and increases the lawn’s susceptibility to disease. Too much water fills the soil’s air pockets and makes it so little or no air can reach the root system.” (Read more at http://www.organolawn.com/lawn_tips.php). Of course there is still hope for your yard after all this wet stuff has bogged us down. It is just a matter of taking time and care into making sure your yard has a good plan for recovering. One example would be setting up good drainage or filling up shallow spots with soil. It is also important to kill any pests, weeds, or diseases that you have noticed taking over ASAP. And of course dead spots can always be re-seeded and fertilized to encourage growth. This may seem like a lot of work- but well worth it to fully enjoy your yard all season.

And although the rain can be discouraging- I want to remind everyone that with a hopefully warmer summer coming to remember to take advantage of our natural watering system. It may be a good idea to set up a rain gauge (parhaps a marked coffee can or bucket) so you can measure after a rainfall how much watering has taken place on your lawn. Then you’ll know how much more watering, if any, you’ll need to do yourself which will help to avoid overwatering. According to allaboutlawns.com: “A general rule of thumb is that your lawn should receive at least 1 inch of water per week… Basically, your lawn needs moisture (water), nutrients, and air to grow.” So measuring how much water already has been done on your yard through the natural process of raining, you’ll diminish the problem of watering too much and “saturat[ing] your soil to a point [where] the grass roots lack air and cannot grow deep enough”. (See http://www.allaboutlawns.com/lawn-maintenance-care/watering/how-much-should-i-water.php)

Have a great rest of your week and stay dry!