Lawn Renovations Update

Our lawn renovations are looking great so far this Fall. I've done follow ups on most of the properties where we did core aeration, overseeding and have seen a lot of new grass coming up. The lawns that got our Premium Renovation are seeing germination in about 7 days from seeding!

We still have a few openings for the second week of October so call now to reserve your spot.

Lawn Renovation Checklist

• à Check out your irrigation system to make sure everything is working properly.
• à For irrigation repairs please contact me ASAP and I will coordinate it with my irrigation guy, or call Dean Byrne with Rainmaker Irrigation at 704-896-6200. Make sure to tell him you are a Whitehouse Lawns client to get preferred pricing and top priority.
• à Please DO NOT water your lawn the day of your scheduled aeration. A wet lawn will result in tracking mud all over the place and the equipment is harder to operate. We have fresh tines on the aerators and we have had enough rain to get good plugs on a dry lawn. A good watering the day before helps a lot.
• à Please flag your sprinkler heads after we cut the grass and before your scheduled aeration. Turn on your system and put a flag next to each head as you go through each zone. Flags are available at Home Depot or Lowes. Please mark or flag any drainage boxes, irrigation valve boxes, well lights, lighting wire, invisible dog fence, or anything else buried in the turf that might get hit.
• à We can flag the system for you when we come to aerate for a small extra fee.
• à Please have hoses, furniture, and toys clear from turf areas.
• à Set your irrigation timer according to the recommendation on page 2 right after we finish, you can start watering on the same day. Or contact Ben if you want me to handle your irrigation settings.
• à Post aeration: Try to stay off the turf areas if possible to avoid disturbing the new grass blades. Keep an eye out for any areas that look thin and let me know.
• à Enjoy your betiful new lawn.



Watering Instructions- Updated for 2011

I’ll be blunt here, without proper watering your lawn renovation service will be a waste of my time, your money, and you will most likely end up with weed problems and be very disappointed in how your property looks all next year. That might be a little extreme but watering is the most important variable and is almost always the cause of poor results.

In order to germinate, the new seed needs to stay moist as often as possible during the first 2 weeks. The idea is to water frequently and lightly– just enough to get the seed wet but not too much that would disturb the seed and cause it to wash away. This is why Moisture Manager is the perfect product to apply right now, you hold moisture on your new seed much longer without using as much water.

I recommend the following watering schedule immediately after seeding:

Turf zones with rotor heads– 10 minutes per zone, Three times per day (morning, noon, and late afternoon)

Turf zones with mist/spray heads– 5 minutes per zone, three times per day (morning, noon, and late afternoon)

Do this for 2 weeks after seeding.

After 2 weeks, you should be able to see your new grass sprouting and you can resume regular watering of 2-3 times per week for 20-30 minutes. If I need to reseed certain areas I will let you know if I want you to continue multiple per day watering.

At this point you don't need to worry about causing brown patch fungus by watering in the afternoon. The fungus only occurs when temps are around 90+.

I highly suggest inspecting your system before we aerate and seed to make sure all sprinkler heads are working, rotating, and covering the areas they are supposed to. Get out there while its running and make sure the entire turf areas are wet. Don’t assume your irrigation system is working fine. Please let me know asap if you have any irrigation issues that need attention.

I will be glad to check out your system for you, just let me know. Also, I can program your irrigation timer to the above specifications when we perform your renovation. We will need to make arrangements to have access to the timer when we are there so please contact me in advance.



Premium core aeration lawn renovation

The Premium Renovation Advantage

I’m really excited about the premium renovation system I have in place now. I had excellent results using this combination of products so I am very confident that you will see results again this year. I was getting frustrated just doing the ordinary cookie cutter service of aerate/seed/fert that every other lawn company (and all the part timers that come out of the woodwork this time of year) provides and getting ordinary results sometimes, and bad results other times. The basics are important but a few other things need to fall into place (like watering and rain) to get really good results. I finally found a way to tip the scales in our favor and get great results even if the weather does not cooperate.

Here are the products I came up with to compliment the basic aerate/seed/fert service.

1. Sustane Organic Soil Conditioner. This is an organic product that is primarily made up of composted turkey manure (no, it does not smell bad). Healthy soil is the key to maintaining perfect growing conditions for new grass. Sustane provides the essential organic matter required to maintain nourishing soil with a perfect root bed for new seed to germinate in. This is especially needed in the red clay soils we have in this part of the country. This is the perfect time to put it out because it gets into the core holes and mixes right in with the soil at the root level.

2. Moisture Manager. This is another totally organic product that is a liquid sprayed over the lawn after the new seed is spread. As you know, regular watering is crucial to get new seed to germinate. Moisture manager works by attracting unused water molecules in the air and bringing them to the soil level to create light moisture. As a result, you get a faster rate of germination and a higher percentage of the seed will germinate. Please note, this product needs to be watered in within 24 hours of application, this should work out if you follow watering instructions below.   



Core Aeration Charlotte

Now is the time to begin thinking about your core aeration this fall. Get the weeds cleaned out, prepare your soil, audit your irrigation system to get the best core aeration results this Fall. Whitehouse Lawns has an awesome premium renovation package that includes core aeration, fertilizer, and our special combination of organic products to super-charge seed germination.