Lawn Care Companies Vs Diy Home Fertilizing
There are a lot of people on the internet and in the real world who think that professional lawn maintenance contractors are harming the environment. (I am mainly referring to lawn spraying services ie: fertilizer and weed control pest companies.)
Lawn fertilizing companies like TruGreen ChemLawn, Scott’s Lawn Service, Spring Green and Lawn Doctor all have large operations in throughout the United States, so it would seem logical that they are putting down tons of pesticides in home lawns each week. But have you considered what homeowners are doing when they attempt to apply these products themselves?
Let’s Explore the Problems That DIYers Face
1) Bags of DIY Weed-n-Feed sold to homeowners contain an over-abundance of nitrogen which detroys the soil and pushes too much top growth. The reason for this is that homeowners want quick results or they won’t buy the product again. Because of this, manufacturers of homeowner pesticide and weed-n-feed products pack in the elements that produce the results, not concerning themselves with the long-term effects of health for the lawn.
2) Continuing with that thought, those bags most normally contain “quick release” fertilizers that create fast greening, but no sustainable long term benefit to the turf. Feeding your lawn too much nitrogen from over-the-counter fertilizer bags like Scott’s and K-Grow is like feeding your kids candy all the time for every meal! Fast-release products give a quick rush, and that is all.
3) There is a big concern with runoff when talking about any product applied to a lawn. The problem with you doing your own is that you put down too much (because you think ‘more’ is ‘better’) and because you get a ton of the stuff all over your driveway and sidewalks. Guess where all that goes when it rains?
The key is FOLLOWING the DIRECTIONS on the bagged products! And most DIY homeowners do not understand fertilizer rates and proper application technique. Also, DIY equipment is not calibrated easily and the pattern is hard to gauge with cheaper lawn spreaders and sprayers.
4) A granular weed-n-feed product like the Scott’s Plus 2 product contains herbicide and fertilizer in one convenient bag: just dump in your spreader, set the release rate, and lay it down…easy! The problem is that you are throwing massive amounts of granular weed killers everywhere weather there are weeds there or not.
It doesn’t make sense to throw weed-killing pesticides in areas of the lawn where there are no weeds! But with that bag of “weed-and-feed,” you have no choice!
The best alternative to Weed-n-Feed products
I recommend a balanced approach that utilizes target weed control as needed with the eventual goal of eliminating it completely. This is what your professional lawn spraying company will do as a part of their everyday practices! They do not want to put down pesticides if they are not needed because that will cost them too much money! They use less because of environmental issues, and because it is better for their profit margins!
This is accomplished by spot-spraying weeds using a back pack pump sprayer with liquid weed control. In some cases, a blanket application of liquid weed control may be needed, but over time, this will be reduced until the weed problem is manageable by good old fashioned “pulling” by hand.
Many of the larger lawn care companies are beginning to offer organic and natural fertilizers that are very much slow release. This slower release means you don’t need as many applications per year, because the nutrients are being dissolved into the lawn on a slow, consistent basis over time.
If you still want to do your lawn lawn, then you will need to buy several products in an ala-carte fashion. Don’t try to find the “perfect lawn in a bag.”
You should use a good organic fertilizer such as Milorganite 4-5 times per year, and use a spot-spraying method for the weeds. You will need to mix your own herbicide in a pump sprayer and control the delivery. In addition, you should apply separate treatments for grub worms and fungus as needed.
You can get free estimates from screened lawn maintenance contractors in your area by clicking here.