Put your best foot forward — and on to a great lawn — with money off services, solutions for winter-specific problems and more.
We’ve sent out an email for cutting 7% off your annual programs, and even some services! This is a great opportunity to save, and it shows that it pays (literally) to have Fairway Green on your email’s “safe sender” list.
Please note: if your current service is recurring and does not have an end date, your services will automatically continue even if you do not take advantage of this special offer.
Special note for customers who have not yet received their 2021 season application:
Due to product availability and employee demands, your 2021 season limestone application may occur in the remainder of January or in February. This does not count as your 2022 season application, and we will provide a 2022 application too. This will adjust/maintain any pH and micronutrient level in the soil for the two-year period.
Limestone with micronutrients is part of your regular turf maintenance program and can be applied any time of year. Think of it as the “work horse” for your soil in a managed-turf environment.
Fertilizer applications naturally lower soil pH levels in all soil types. This is not drastic, but it does move the level from “ideal” to “too-low” for healthy plant development. That’s why it’s important to apply limestone every year, even if your current pH levels are in the proper range.
As their name suggests, winter weeds can be prolific these next few months. The best time to start dealing with them is now — before they’re done growing in late winter, start to reproduce in spring and become difficult to control. Weed control can be difficult in spring due to many fescue lawns being thin and not completely tillered (having additional leaf blades that help it compete against broadleaf weeds). Research has shown that maintaining a mowing height of 3½” – 4” on fescue lawns will help promote healthy turf and control broadleaf weeds, as well as reduce crabgrass.
Is your fescue lawn looking a little tan or yellow? As is common in winter months, it may be experiencing extreme dryness — or desiccation — in its leaf tissues.
Frost damage, when the moisture in the grass blades freezes and ruptures the cells at the tip of the blades, can be a major factor in this. This can cause the tips of the blade to turn yellow or brown, giving the lawn an overall yellowish color. However, as spring arrives and temperatures become more favorable for fescue growth, this will grow out. Alongside one of our early spring applications, your grass will recover and flourish.
Fairway Green starts our first application of pre-emergent crabgrass control this month. This will continue on through early March, as crabgrass will usually start to germinate in late March or early April throughout the transitional zone (when temperatures for lawns don’t fit in either a warm-season grass or cool-season grass classification).
Germination will occur when soil temperatures are about 53 degrees, for 2-to-4 inches deep. Crabgrass germination will be seen first in bare spots with little desirable turf and in full sun. The first application must be completed before crabgrass starts to germinate, in order to best control it. Controlling it once it matures is often very difficult.
Fairway Green utilizes a three-part, pre-emergent application process on cool season turf — to offer the best summer crabgrass control possible. This application starts to break down around mid-July, so fescue seeding can start around the end of August. Early crabgrass breakthrough, after pre-emergent applications, can be attributed to low mowing heights, thin areas in the lawn and aggressive edging along sidewalks and driveways. Our process is based on local research from NC State University. Dr. Fred Yelverton, of NC State University’s TurfFiles, has even more to say on the subject here.
While we do not offer mole control services at this time, we thought it important to pass along some info.
Mole and vole signs tend to increase this time of year because the soil has better moisture and it’s easier for them to move around. It makes sense: just think about how difficult it is to dig a hole on your property in July and August, compared to now.
Mole control can be frustrating and time consuming, and many people believe that a grub treatment will rid their lawn of moles. However, trying to control moles by controlling grubs is usually ineffective because moles feed heavily on earthworms and other insects too.
There are now several chemical options registered for use in North Carolina to control moles. Two particular products that people have had success with are Tomcat Mole Killer and Motomoco Mole Killer. These products are available in home and garden centers in Home Depot and Lowes (but please patron local hardware or nursery stores if possible). A very good website for additional information on moles and voles is The Mole Man.