Huntington Falls HOA

Garden Plot…

May 15, 2002

Your lawn is probably one of the most prominent features of your home?’s landscaping. Maintaining the proper lawn-care program is the easiest way of creating and maintaining a beautiful, healthy and weed-free lawn. Weeds have been particularly bad this year due to the warmer Winter weather we experienced. Most of us have had to spray at least twice to kill the weeds. Not it?’s time to fertilize.

Fertilizing helps your lawn by promoting new growth, counteracting wear, aiding in the recovery from pest damage, reducing the weed population and replacing nutrients which are lost via leaching, evaporation and clipping removal.
Fertilizers come in both liquid and granular forms. Liquid fertilizers are easy to apply via a hose-end sprayer. Granular fertilizers are applied using a spreader and must be watered into the lawn. Whether you choose a liquid or granular fertilizer, the package will tell you the percentage of the nutrient makeup by weight, starting first with nitrogen, then phosphorous, then potassium (i.e. 24Nitrogen-4Phosphorous-8Potassium). Nitrogen is the most important element that a lawn needs. It promotes rapid growth and give lawns a healthy color. Phosphorous stimulates early formation and strong growth of the roots. Potassium strengthens lawn grasses and allows them to withstand traffic and disease. As a general rule, a nutrient ratio of 3-1-2 has been proven to be good for fertilizing home lawns.

Weed Control is often an integral part of any lawn-care program. Weed killers are usually identified as either pre or post emergent. Pre-emergent kills weeds before they germinate and post-emergent kills weeds after they are growing. Weed killers come in both liquid concentrate and granular. Weed and Feed is a common term for fertilizers, which contain post-emergent weed killers. Generally, they are designed to kill growing broadleaf weeds such as dandelions. Always use caution when using weed killers since they can damage your lawn if applied improperly.
Watering plays a significant role in the success of your lawn-care program. Apply enough water to soak the soil to a depth of 6 to 8 inches. This is usually the equivalent of 1 inch of rainfall. For most sprinklers, this means leaving the sprinkler in the same spot for 2 to 3 hours. Light, frequent waters produce shallow, weak root systems. Roots grow only where the soil is moist, they do not seek out water. Infrequent deep watering is the key to developing a strong drought resistant lawn. Expect to water properly approximately every 5 to 7 days.

Mowing enhances the appearance of your lawn. Height of cut, frequency of cut and type of mower are important considerations. As a general rule, mow your grass when it grows one-fourth to one-third taller than its recommended height. Mow bermuda grass to ?¾ - 1-1/2 inches, fescue grass to 2 ?– 3 inches and zoysia grass 1 ?– 2 inches.

If you?’re new to Georgia or if you just don?’t have the time like many of us, here are a few maintenance companies that may be able to assist you. These are in no particular order and only for your convenience. We do not have first hand knowledge of their services.

Magnolia Lawn (770) 831-6404
Truegreen Chemlawn (770) 448-2013
ttic (770) 513-7477
Unlimited Landscaping (770) 962-0766
Lawn Doctor (770) 985-1959