Watering Tips

Watering plays a crucial role in the overall health of your lawn. Here are some tips for you to follow.

Established Lawn

• The grass plant is mainly 90% water and can not survive without it, just like a human’s body.
• Your lawn needs roughly 1” – 1 1/2” of water every week to stay green and healthy during the season.
• Water your lawn heavily two to three times a week for best results. Light, frequent watering of 20 minutes every day is better than nothing, but the top of the soil never dries out, so the root system of the plant never has to grow down to reach water & nutrients. Watering for 45 minutes 2-3 times per week allows the top of the soil to dry out, forcing the roots to grow deeper to reach water and nutrients, creating a stronger plant that is more
  likely to survive drought, disease, and insect invasion.
• The best time to water is between 5-9 in the morning. Watering during the heat of the day can lose up to 80% to evaporation and watering at night leaves the lawn wet all night, creating a great environment for diseases to flourish.

Newly Seeded Lawn

• RULE # 1 – NEW SEED WILL NOT GROW IF IT IS NOT WATERED!!!
• A newly seeded lawn has much different needs than an established lawn.
• New seed needs to be constantly wet until the new grass is about 3-4” tall. Constantly wet means checking the soil day and night and making sure it is moist to the touch.
• One of the worst mistakes you can make, however, is watering for too long of a period with new seed. This may cause puddles and runoff, which will then disperse the seed to low areas of the lawn or even wash it away. The best thing to do is to give newly seeded areas a light watering for 10-20 minutes in the morning, then come back in the evening and check the soil. If it is moist to the touch, leave it until the next morning when you will water again for 10-20 minutes. If it is not moist, you will have to water at night as well. Repeat this process until the new lawn is about 3-4” tall then you can return to the regular watering procedure listed above.
• The closer you follow these rules, the faster your seed will germinate and the healthier the lawn will come in.

Follow these tips and you are on your way to keeping your lawn healthy, thick, and green all season long!

Landscape Watering Tips

Just Like the Lawn, water your Landscape slowly, deeply, and infrequently for best results.

Frequent watering every day is better than nothing, but the top of the soil never dries out, so the root system never has to grow down to reach water and additional nutrients from the soil. Also, keeping the soil constantly moist provides a great habitat for disease to flourish.

New Plantings will need more Frequent Watering then established plantings.
Prepare to water your new plantings regularly for at least 2 years after planting. New plants go through a state of shock after planting and without an established root system, can wither and die much more rapidly then established plants. This may mean watering every couple days in the heat of the summer, depending on the location and sun exposure.

Check to see how long you should water by testing the soils ability to absorb and hold water.
A few hours after watering, dig into the soil with a small trowel to see how deep the water is getting. If it is only wet a few inches deep, chances are its not getting to the bottom of the root system of your plants. Increase your watering time.

Install and Irrigation System or Soaker Hose.
The truth is (and proved with years of experience), most people cant get out there and water as much as they would like to. Protect your investment by installing a system to take care of it for you. If you don’t have the funds to install an irrigation system, soaker hoses work just as well. You can buy one for a few dollars at your local hardware store and they install in minutes. Spend a couple more dollars on a timer and you never have to worry about it! It saves you a lot of time and will protect your investment through the first crucial years.

Install 2-3" of Mulch every year.
Most people add mulch every year to "freshen up" the look of their landscape. Which it does, but it also does much more. Mulch helps insulate the soil, keeping it cool, thus reducing water evaporation and decreasing the plants need for water. It also breaks down 2-3" per year, adding valuable nutrients to the soil. Don’t add more than 3" though- that may lead to decreased air flow and mold buildup. It will also deteriorate the quality of the plant over time by starving it of oxygen. And never pile mulch up against the base of a tree or shrub! This leaves the base very moist and confuses the plant into thinking the base is really the root system, and will begin to slowly kill the plant from the ground up! Let Right Touch Landscapes give you an estimate for a mulch application today!

Group plants with similar watering/exposure needs together.
This helps reduce the need to drag a hose all around the property or risk over watering plants that may not need it. Let us design a landscape based around your properties conditions as well as how often you think you will be able to get out their and water. There are a lot of different kinds of plants out there and we will design a landscape to suit your needs and capabilities.

Our In Depth, Nutrient Rich, Fertilizer Program

Our fertilizer program is designed to give your lawn all the Nitrogen, Phosphorus, & Potassium it needs throughout the year while using as limited amount of pesticides as possible. There are six applications performed in five visits, approximately every 6 weeks, from April through December. We use a slow release Nitrogen in every application to steadily feed the lawn in between applications, offering a more steady growth pattern and better uniformity in color. This program also provides control for problems that may arise throughout the year such as crabgrass, weeds, & grubs.

We will treat weeds with every visit; given the weather conditions are appropriate. We will also check for any disease or insect activity during every application and make you aware of what actions, if any, should be taken. You will receive a detailed description on your door after every application telling you what was applied, the current lawn condition, and what you can do in between applications to help maintain color and density. You will also notice a flag on the property indicating the time and date the application has been made. Billing for an application is done through the mail at the end of the month the application is performed. If you ever notice weeds popping up in between applications or something just doesn’t look right, call us right away and we will come out, at no additional charge, to examine the problem, treat weeds if necessary, and let you know what action, if any, needs to be taken.

If you are part of a weekly mowing program, you have the added benefit of us being on the lawn every week to detect problems as they arise. If we notice weeds popping up while we are at your property cutting, we may treat them at that point, at no additional charge. If the problem is more serious, we will contact you immediately.

Being on our weekly mowing service as well as a full fertilizer program is the correct path to get the best results from your lawn. Sometimes, additional services may be needed such as Core Aeration, Lime, & Seeding, in order to achieve the maximum potential your lawn has to offer. These services will be recommended at the proper time of the year, either through recommendations made on your lawn evaluation or through our Monthly Newsletter. Finally, one of the most important
things that need to be done by you, the customer, is watering properly. The grass plant is 90% water, and just like a human’s body, can not survive without it. We will leave watering tips with your evaluation for you to follow in between applications.

Our Full Program Details Along With Application Dates

Early Spring: (Mid March through Mid April) Apply a balanced fertilizer plus Pre-Emergent crabgrass preventer. This will aid in green up as well as help prevent crabgrass from germinating later in the spring. You can not seed into any areas treated after this visit. You must wait until fall before seeding or add at least 1” of topsoil to desired areas. We will also treat weeds if they are actively growing at this time.

Late Spring: (Mid May through Mid June) Apply a balanced fertilizer as well as a second crabgrass preventer. At this time we will also spot treat any broadleaf weeds present based on lawn and weather conditions. Check for any insect or disease
activity.

Summer: (Mid July through Mid August) Apply a balanced fertilizer. Spot treat weeds based on the current lawn and weather
conditions. Check for any disease or insect activity.

Preventative Grub Control: (Done at the same time as the Summer Fertilizer. It is two separate applications; therefore, you will be billed twice for this visit) Apply a preventative grub control to guard your lawn against grubs. This application also helps kill many other surface and subsurface feeding insects. In the past, this application had to be watered in to be effective though we now use a new product which does not require immediate watering. Just one more way Right Touch Landscapes, Inc. stays on top
of the latest technologies.

Early Fall: (Mid September through Mid October) Apply a balanced Fertilizer. Spot treat any broadleaf weeds present based on lawn and weather conditions. Check for any disease or insect activity.

Late Fall: (Late November) Also known as the “winterizer”, this application will give your lawn the nutrients it needs to strengthen the roots over the winter and provide for a dark greenup the following spring. It will be performed when the daytime temperature steadily falls below 55 degrees so the nutrients can be used in the roots over the winter, instead of expending them before going dormant. This application is the most important application for providing nutrients to every part
of the grass plant.

As always, feel free to call at any time with any questions or concerns about your service. Thank you for trusting Right Touch
Landscapes, Inc. to care for your lawn.

You will receive the bill for the application through the mail at the end of the month in which the application is performed. Payments are due on the 24th of the following month. Late payments carry an interest of 1.5% monthly.