Lawn Care

 

Topics on this Page

• Weekly Lawn Cutting
• Season Lawn Cutting Costs
• New Lawn Cutting Customer
• Power Raking
• Effort Required For a Great Lawn
• Premium OverSeeding
• Core Aerating
• Our Lawn Revitalizer Program

 

Weekly Lawn Cutting

We provide Premium Weekly Lawn Cutting in the following areas only: Mineola, and Port Credit.
 
We have been cutting lawns and providing Premium Lawn Care Since 2006 and are not flexible with our service boundaries. Sorry, please do not ask.
 

 

How we will cut your lawn

Will mulch your lawn weekly. We do not bag the grass unless your lawn is very heavy in the spring. We may need to bag your grass in the fall to deal with some of the leaves that fall early from the trees on your property. Will bag fall leaves and grass, or leave at the roadside or ditch for when the leaf pickup starts. However if the leaves that fall are light we will mulch them along with the grass, and all will look great, and the extra leaf mulch is good for your lawn.
 
There are really no hard fast rules for dealing with the fall lawn cutting. It all evolves around the leaves. But the lawn gets cut nicely every week and the leaves get dealt with. Rest assured you will be happy with the results.
 
Our lawn care methods ensure your lawn remains healthy by cutting and mulching it at approx 2.5 – 3 inches each week. Sorry, I do not cut lawns
at putting green height. Your Kentucky Blue Grass and Fescue lawns are not the grass type to be cut 1 inch short.
 

Our other weekly tasks

We will blow clean your walkways, sidewalks, entrance way and driveway. Will trim the lawn edges and flower gardens as well along with our weekly lawn cutting.
 

There is usually a fallen branch or 2 that needs to be picked up from the yard each week as well. Should a larger branch fall, or too many small branches after a big wind storm then additional charges may apply. I hope you would understand. Most times we just pick them up – no extra charge.

 

Season Lawn Cutting Costs

Our seasonal lawn cutting charges are calculated by adding up the number of weeks – usually 27 or 28 in a season plus HST divided by 6 equal monthly payments. Paid by 6 post dated cheques, dated May 1st – Oct 1st.
 
Weekly lawn cutting normally starts last week April and ends the last week of Oct. However in recent years we had to start one week earlier and had to cut as well the first week of Nov. You would be charged for these extra weeks as well should they occur. (We will discuss any extra charges before we do the work of course)
 
Prices start at $48/weekly +HST for a small yard, however, most average 50 x 125 ft lot lawns fall under the average of $58/weekly +HST

*Please note: Ditches, corner properties and larger lots always take extra time, effort and money as you would know.

 

Our New Lawn Cutting Customer

Most of my customers have sprinkler systems, which means there is always grass to cut. However, if in July and August there are a few weeks we did not feel cutting would be good for the lawn, we will give you a credit to apply to other work. Running over your lawn with a lawnmower when it is too dry can damage the lawn, and leave noticeable dead lines of grass on your lawn. We hope however you would water the lawn during those periods.
 
We are very selective with who we take on as customers, because we want to ensure we will be able to meet your expectations. I strive for a win, win relationship, where we eventually learn to trust and respect each other.
 
When we reach an agreement to cut your lawn, I am also expecting to be engaged for all spring and fall cleaning, shrub trimming as well as other gardening work from new customers.
 

Expand my Lawn Cutting

I am deciding to expand my lawn cutting this year, so looking for some good new customers. We are not cheap, we are honest and good!
I work by the moto that I treat you the way I would want to be treated, which is why I am very selective with who we take on.
 
If I suspect that a customer goes by the principle that they are only winning when their contractor is losing, I walk away fast.
We are living in good times. When speaking with many contractors we are all learning quickly to pick and choose the good customers.
 

Dealing with the Weeds

If you lawn is full of weeds we may be limited to what we can do for you. After years of neglect from lack of watering, manual weeding and overseeding can put a lawn well past reasonable repair. I do not perform miracles, or I would be living year round in a Lakeside Muskoka Cottage. So if you are hoping we can get rid of your weeds, it may not be in the cards. Sorry.
 
Too many weeds? Rip it all out, get a sprinkler system and plant new sod! Starting at Approx. $1.80 sq ft. for the new lawn.
The sprinkler system is the key as it will ensure your lawn stays green and healthy for many years.
 
Many of our customers have been with us since 2005 and their weeds are manageable and under control.

 

Power Raking

It is never a bad day to wake up your lawn with a good power raking. Hours of back breaking work with a rake can be done so efficiently with this great little machine!  And we take the waste with us! A very unique machine it is!
 

A small lawn of 500 square feet will give you as much as 4 – 5 yard waste bags of dead yellow grass. It is quite amazing to see that the lawn still looks green and you still managed to remove all that dead grass. All that dead grass will leave exposed dirt for easier germination of our quality seed. Now just add lawn seed.
 

Top Dressing

Again you could apply a top dressing of soil but the KISS formula always works well enough. Adding soil completes the process and if you have the time and money the soil would be great but adds to the difficulty of the whole process and the seed may never get distributed. Just spreading a good lawn seed down is not too expensive, does not take up too much time and improves your lawn. Do this religiously for long term great lawn results.
 

Lawn Weed and Grub Control

There are some people who have virtually no grass left on their lawn only weeds, and unfortunately we cannot help these people with a few sprays of weed control. Major work will need to be performed. The homeowners themselves need to make a commitment to do all the things required with having a nice lawn, which is no simple task.

We do not provide a guaranteed weed control service at this time.  The only product that is available is not an effective solution for all weed problems and yet the weed control treatment is still very expensive to apply.  Weed B Gon / or Fiesta are not 100% effective, and take twice as long to apply as Killex used to take to kill the weeds, and it is twice as expensive! We have written an article Weed B Gon and Fiesta, unfortunately, the only weed killers available to us all.
 
We can all hope that someday a product will come on the market that will kill all the weeds on our lawn, but most probably we will simply be conditioned to lower our expectations.

Weed Killing Alternatives

If you are having trouble keeping on top of the lawn weeds, I suggest getting rid of as much of your grass as you can. That is the plan that I use myself and that I encourage.

We have some lawn replacement solutions and can do the work for you. Patio stones, Armory stone, boarder stone, shrubs, perennials and Periwinkle (shown here in photo) that do not need to be sprayed for weeds!
Why fight it?

Killex 2-4-D

Killing lawn weeds is a problem for everyone who owns a house in Mississauga, and especially for those who may not have given proper care to their lawn in the past. Unfortunately, I do not have any magic potion, or any illegal weed killer to do the job for you. (Killex or any product containing the chemical 2-4-D is not legally allowed to be used in Mississauga).

 

Not until a product comes on the market that can prove to me that our efforts will be at least 85% successful will I be able to give any kind of warranty or guarantee. I am very sorry.
 

Dealing with Grubs

In the old days there were also herbicide and pesticide products that would successfully get rid of crab grass and nasty grubs. These are illegal as well, and no, I do not have any of this stuff either. Best way to avoid problems is to overseed yearly, water well, cut grass high, and have a lush thick lawn.
 
Everyone has grubs in their lawn but only if you have a thin lawn will there show evidence. Squirrels, skunks and raccoons will only be evident if your lawn has many dead spots or is very thin grass. These critters like to dig in exposed soil not lush thick long grass. I think it is also because they can smell the grubs more thru the dirt than the grass. Next time your are walking thru your nieghbourhood you will see what I am writing about. It will be the lawns in bad dried out shape that will have the raccoons and skunks digging up the lawn area.
 

Useless Organic Solutions

The organic lawn care solutions that are available may not work well but since there is little else, most lawn care companies and homeowners try them. Nematodes for grubs (must add lots of water), Corn Gluten Meal for crabgrass, Weed B Gon/Fiesta for weeds (no rain please). It takes longer for all these products to work, they are more expensive, take longer to apply and require frequent applications. No simple cheap pill.

There are organic solutions but nothing works as well as good old fashioned cancer causing, toxic carcinogens.

Don’t you hate the fact that we live in a country that cares about everyone’s health. Most every other Country in the world still use cancer causing, toxic carcinogens. Of course our gun loving niegbours still use it. Their right wing lobby groups exert more influence in political agendas, and policies. So do not assume since they are still using pesticides that they are good to use. It has nothing to do with health matters, just the God Almighty dollar.
 

Efforts Required For a Great Lawn

People who are using these organic lawn care methods that work are also watering their lawn properly, cutting their lawn regularly to at least 2.5 – 3 inches, using a gas powered mulching mower instead of bagging, they fertilize their lawn regularly, overseed every fall or spring, and as well they aerate and de-thatch their lawn regularly. Yes, this is what people with nice lawns really do, and over the years I have promoted and performed all these ideas to my clients with successful results.

 

If you are doing all these things your lawn probably looks great, you are the envy of the neighborhood, you make a great margarita, never burn your barbequed steaks and are an all around great human being. Ok, ok, maybe not, but at least you have a nice lawn!
 

It takes lots of time, patience, back breaking weed pulling and money to keep a lawn looking healthy. In the old days using Killex, a sprinkler system and lots of fertilizer was enough to do the job really well. Now it takes much more effort and a few prayers.

But praying that you will find a company that will charge you a few hundred dollars to repair a badly neglected lawn and then having your lawn looking great in a few of weeks may not happen. You might be better off praying to win the Lottery and then you can just move into a Condominium.

 

Premium OverSeeding

It is important to over seed our lawns on a regular basis. Our lawns are not revitalized as nature intended, grass plants were meant to reseed themselves annually, however before they get to the stage where they would produce a wonderful seed head that would do just that, we go and cut the grass on a weekly basis.

Even though the grass will keep growing it gets weaker and weaker each year until the weeds get a better foothold. We therefore have to do the over seeding ourselves.

 

Certified Seed from Speare Seeds

I Use a special certified seed blend that is endophyte enhanced. We purchase our quality certified seed from Speare Seeds, located in Harriston, Ontario.
 
They are Canada’s leader in the development, production and distribution of lawn seed. Their products allow us to do your lawn repair with confidence. We spend a little extra money for premium lawn seed, but we purchase a great quality product from them in order to get great results on your lawn, and also we have the benefits of the Government certified endophyte enhanced grass seed.
 

The above lawn was seeded with a blend of Fescue lawn seed (or call it shade grass), and has not been watered in 5 years.
 
We spread approx 4-5 pounds of seed per 1000 square feet. We take our time in order to evenly distribute the certified seeds over your lawn. On the average 2500 sq ft lawn we will use approx 18 pounds of seed.

 
If you are results oriented then you will appreciate how we are going about things, we are not skimping on seed because we offered to do it for cheap. Good grass seed costs money, but instead we care about the results of the lawn overseeding and want you have a healthy thick lawn ready to combat bugs, disease and drought.
 
If you religiously spread a bag of lawn seed every fall with a proper aeration and apply 3 applications of quality lawn fertilizers a year and water properly (the biggest key), you will have a great lawn. You do not have to over do anything. Keep it simple but consistent. Keep your foot on the gas peddle, don’t stop doing all the rights things like your annual aeration just because everything looks good.
 

Starter Fertilizer

The right type of fertilizer is very important to add to your newly seeded lawn. We use a fertilizer that will help in the development of root shoots and adding nutrients to the soil for seed germination.
 
Our fertilizer will be released into your soil slowly, it takes approx 5 weeks for the fertilizer to completely break done.

Watering the seed and fertilizer to insure that when it comes to lawn restoration we deliver the lawn you can be proud of. Correct watering is so important! More water less often is the Key!
 

Core Aerating

 

We aerate your lawn in a very thorough, safe and professional fashion. Will need to know the location of your sprinkler heads. Will need to know the location of the lot line as we do not want to be damaging your neighbors sprinkler heads either.

Core Aeration is important because your grass will grow better from the water, oxygen, and natural nutrients being allowed to get to the grass plant roots. As well, our fertilizer will be able to reach the grass roots and help enhance root development. The aeration will improve the results of the overseeding by bringing soil and nutrients to the surface to help cover the seed and in turn help the seed germinate. The heavy aerator machine will also help to plant the seeds a little into the soil which is also good for germination.
 

For compacted soil a good job of aerating will do wonders for your lawn. It will help remove thatch, and loosens the soil to allow the grass roots to expand and grow. Core Aeration also offers a great solution for giving lawn seed a better chance of germination without going to the cost and time of spreading top dressing soil down with your overseeding.

Yes, spreading top dressing soil over your lawn would be better, but getting a good quality bag of mixed seed down every fall will do wonders for your lawn. You should have also been lawn cutting on a regular weekly schedule.

You could consider wishing you had the time to order the right top dressing soil, have the right amount of soil delivered on your driveway. Find the time to spread it out evenly. Rake it into the lawn, and finally spread the lawn seed. With this big task ahead of you, there is a very good chance nothing will get done and another year will pass where you could have just thrown the seed down in 15 minutes and have very nice results.

 

Our 3 step Lawn Revitalizer Program

Cost for 2500 sq. ft. is $198 – Each extra 500 sq. ft. is $54
Our 3 step lawn revitalizer program includes the overseeding, the aeration and lastly the starter fertilizer. Each of the steps was described in the above paragraphs.