SHEPHERD LAWN CARE
LATEST NEWS & SERVICE SCHEDULE UPDATES
LATEST NEWS & SERVICE SCHEDULE UPDATES
SERVICE SCHEDULE UPDATE MAY 12th to June 11th
We are now working on all programs with weed control for the next 4 weeks. We will be mostly in Mississauga for the first week to 10 days, then 2-3 weeks in Georgetown/Acton. The last week will be getting the other areas done. The exception will be if there is rain in the forecast and we can't do weed controls, we will work in some of the programs without weed control. I realize everyone loses their minds about dandelions this time of year but as mentioned below, the ones that are blooming now will continue to bloom and go to seed even if they are sprayed. After blooming they shrivel up and die. It's the new ones that germinate later that we can kill with the products available today. The best thing you can do now is raise up your mower so the grass is never less than 3 inches and make sure you stay on top of the watering all season long. If we get all the weed controls done by June 11th, we will be slightly ahead of schedule compared to an average season and about a month ahead of schedule compared to last year (but that was due a COVID lockdown).
We are now working on all programs with weed control for the next 4 weeks. We will be mostly in Mississauga for the first week to 10 days, then 2-3 weeks in Georgetown/Acton. The last week will be getting the other areas done. The exception will be if there is rain in the forecast and we can't do weed controls, we will work in some of the programs without weed control. I realize everyone loses their minds about dandelions this time of year but as mentioned below, the ones that are blooming now will continue to bloom and go to seed even if they are sprayed. After blooming they shrivel up and die. It's the new ones that germinate later that we can kill with the products available today. The best thing you can do now is raise up your mower so the grass is never less than 3 inches and make sure you stay on top of the watering all season long. If we get all the weed controls done by June 11th, we will be slightly ahead of schedule compared to an average season and about a month ahead of schedule compared to last year (but that was due a COVID lockdown).
SERVICE SCHEDULE UPDATE APRIL 19 to May5 - extended to May 11
We just finished up the Spring fertilizing for all our customers except any new ones we have picked up in the last few days and they will be done this week. We are also officially FULL, at capacity and can not take on any new customers. We will still honor any quotes we have done recently and any customers that have not yet renewed but at some time soon we will have to close the door on those too. Last year we filled up by the end of the season but this is the first time we have reached capacity this early. For this, all we can say is THANK YOU. We are humbled by your support and loyalty. Thank you. For anyone interested in our services we will still be giving out quotes and will be starting a waiting list for Fall fertilizings and service for next year. Now the update on our services - For the next 2-3 weeks we will be doing seeding and repairs. It's a little cold yet but hopefully in a week or two things will warm up and the seeds will take off. Once the seeding is done we will be starting the programs with weed control. This puts us still a week or two ahead of schedule compared to a normal year. Last year we had some of the best weed control results and we didn't start weed spraying until the end of May because of the lock down and late start. I know everyone goes crazy when the dandelions start blooming but the large, over-wintered ones that are blooming won't be killed by the weed spray and are going to shrivel up and die after blooming anyway. A later weed spray will get many of the just germinated weeds and produce better results than one that is done too early.
May 5th to May 11th - Although we had hoped to get done all the seeding by May 5th we have had to extend that until May 11th. In the last 2-1/2 weeks we have lost a couple days to rain, a day to extreme wind, a day to SNOW (boo) and a half a day to COVID Vaccine side effects (Yay). We generally don't get our seeding done until May 15th so we are still ahead of schedule compared to a normal year. Here's hoping for some warmer weather and some sunshine ahead.
We just finished up the Spring fertilizing for all our customers except any new ones we have picked up in the last few days and they will be done this week. We are also officially FULL, at capacity and can not take on any new customers. We will still honor any quotes we have done recently and any customers that have not yet renewed but at some time soon we will have to close the door on those too. Last year we filled up by the end of the season but this is the first time we have reached capacity this early. For this, all we can say is THANK YOU. We are humbled by your support and loyalty. Thank you. For anyone interested in our services we will still be giving out quotes and will be starting a waiting list for Fall fertilizings and service for next year. Now the update on our services - For the next 2-3 weeks we will be doing seeding and repairs. It's a little cold yet but hopefully in a week or two things will warm up and the seeds will take off. Once the seeding is done we will be starting the programs with weed control. This puts us still a week or two ahead of schedule compared to a normal year. Last year we had some of the best weed control results and we didn't start weed spraying until the end of May because of the lock down and late start. I know everyone goes crazy when the dandelions start blooming but the large, over-wintered ones that are blooming won't be killed by the weed spray and are going to shrivel up and die after blooming anyway. A later weed spray will get many of the just germinated weeds and produce better results than one that is done too early.
May 5th to May 11th - Although we had hoped to get done all the seeding by May 5th we have had to extend that until May 11th. In the last 2-1/2 weeks we have lost a couple days to rain, a day to extreme wind, a day to SNOW (boo) and a half a day to COVID Vaccine side effects (Yay). We generally don't get our seeding done until May 15th so we are still ahead of schedule compared to a normal year. Here's hoping for some warmer weather and some sunshine ahead.
SERVICE SCHEDULE UPDATE MARCH 22 to APRIL 22
We are starting with the Spring fertilizer on the lawns as of March 22nd. It usually takes us 3 to 4 weeks to get through everyone so if we don't have to stop too many times for rain or snow we should be done by April 22nd. After that we will be starting the seeding for a couple weeks and then on to the first weed control applications. No need to worry if your lawn hasn't been cleaned up yet as the granular fertilizer will just work its' way toward the soil surface if your clean up is done after. If you haven't renewed yet, please do as soon as possible. We will likely have to start turning away people at some point this year.
APRIL 2nd UPDATE - We currently have 2 part weeks of lawn services done and almost halfway through. This upcoming week (April 5th to 9th) we will be mostly in the Delrex area of Georgetown and working towards Georgetown South near the end of the week and into the week after.
APRIL 11th UPDATE - We currently have 3 weeks of Spring services complete and we are about 3/4 of the way done. This means we have a little over a week left of Spring services. The upcoming week looks like a lot of rain so we likely won't be getting everyone done until closer to April 22. This will put us right on schedule from what we predicted when we started and about 2 weeks ahead of schedule compared to a normal year. Once we are done the Spring fertilizings we will be doing seeding for about 2 weeks, then moving on to the first round of weed controls.
We are starting to see some grubs near the surface and some animals digging and looking for them. The grubs only feed at the surface for a couple weeks this time of year, then go deep in the soil to pupate. They come out of the ground in June, lay eggs and die. The eggs hatch out in July/Aug and this is the stage where they can be killed. We don't treat grubs in the Spring because it is completely ineffective and just wastes your money. If you have animals digging in the Spring the best solution is to lay down a piece of bird netting (available online and at Canadian Tire) on the area where they are digging and this will stop it immediately. Many people that apply a grub control in the Spring think it actually works because the grubs disappear after a couple weeks but its actually just part of their natural cycle.
We are also seeing some vole damage where they tunneled through the lawn under the snow. This damage usually just fills right in on its own and you don't need to do anything.
Over the next couple weeks we should see the lawns start to green up nicely. Many people think it's the fertilizer that greens up the lawns in the Spring but the main factor that greens up the lawn is soil temperature. This is why some lawns green up right away and some take much longer. A nice thick lawn that was left long for the winter will be much better insulated and therefore take longer to green up in the Spring. A short, thin lawn will green up much faster in the Spring but it will brown off much quicker in the heat of Summer.
Check back next week for another update.
