- How do I sign up for services?
- How do I pay for services?
- Why should I choose
Ferta-Lawn over another company?
- When is my next application?
- My application date
is inconvenient. Can I change it?
- Does
Ferta-Lawn spray for the Hobo spiders?
- Our soil has a
very high clay content. Should I add sand to help improve the soil?
- When do the
applications begin?
- It's
February and another company treated my neighbors lawn. My first
application doesn't begin until April. Is that too late?
- After an
application, when should I water?
- When is the
best time to water my lawn?
- For how long
should I water my lawn?
- After an
application, when can I mow?
- Which is better,
bagging the clippings or mulch them?
- How do I know when my next
application is?
- How do the applications affect my
pets?
- How often should I aerate my
lawn?
- My 1st
application is before the water is turned on. Should I wait?
- When is the best time to
plant grass seed?
- My trees were sprayed for
aphids a few months ago and now I have them again. Why?
- Can the cankerworm (oakworm) be
prevented?
- Borers have entered my
trees. What can I do?
- How can I prevent aphids?
- Leaves on my tree are yellow,
what could be the problem?
- Since the lawn benefits from
a late fall fertilizer, should I also fertilize my trees and shrubs?
- Is it a good idea to use
grass clippings as a mulch around my roses to protect them from the winter
cold?
General Questions
Signing up is easy. Just call our office and request the services you
want. If we haven't estimated your lawn, your personal technician will be
out the next day to give you a free estimate on your lawn and/or trees.
We offer many payment options for your benefit. Choose from prepaying
(discount offered), invoiced at time of service (mail in check), equal monthly
payment plans (monthly statement sent by mail), or call in your credit card.
There are many companies that provide lawn care services. We are
confident that you will be pleased with the high level of service and quality
that Ferta-Lawn provides. Our knowledgeable employees have years of
experience in lawn care and most are pursuing or have completed college degrees
in ornamental horticulture. We pride ourselves on providing information on
the services we perform without being over-bearing through telemarketing.
We work as partners with you in achieving the best results. Our easy
payment options and customizable programs are excellent for anyone wanting to
get a beautiful yard without the hassle.
After each lawn application, we leave behind a "comeback" card
which has the date of your next scheduled application. If you would also
like to have a phone call as a reminder, just let us know. If you have
misplaced your card, just give our office a call.
It's just a phone call away. Notify us at least a day before your
scheduled application, and let us know what day is better for you.
Yes. Our foundation application will control the Hobo spider as well as
other spiders and insects. However, we cannot spray inside your
house. See information on our foundation spray.
Good soil does contain particles of clay, sand, and silt, however sand does
not improve clay soil. Adding sand to clay makes cement! To improve any soil,
always add organic matter.
Lawn Care
We begin our lawn applications around March 20th.
Our first application consists of a pre-emergent herbicide to prevent annual
weeds such as crabgrass and spurge. Crabgrass germinates when soil
temperatures reach over 60 degrees F (from April 15-May 10). We apply the
pre-emergent before crabgrass germinates, but not too early that it may become
ineffective for spurge (germinates May-June).
Along the Wasatch Front, February applications are ineffective. Most
lawns are still in dormancy and will not absorb most of the nutrients. For
early spring green-up, the late fall application is best. Ferta-Lawn
strives to give the most value for your dollar on all of our applications.
Unfortunately, companies do exist that try to fit in as many applications as
possible, hoping to get more money for their service.
Generally you should wait 6 hours after an application before watering.
Applications with weed-killer should be left to dry for 24 hours for the best
results. Applications with fertilizer only can be watered in
anytime. Watering instructions are left behind after each
application. Just look inside the bag that we hang on the door. You
will find the instructions along with some information about that application.
The best time to water your lawn is early morning. This way the turf
can absorb the water before it is evaporated during mid-day temperatures.
Nighttime watering is discouraged because this may create an ideal environment
(cool and wet) for diseases to develop.
A better question would be, how much should I water my lawn? Irrigation
is measured in inches, not time. Sprinkler systems differ at the amount of
water that comes out. Systems should be adjusted according to temperature
and precipitation. During our hot summer, 95+ degrees F,
2.5"-3.0" of water should be applied per week. Depending on your
soil type, you can water anywhere from 0.25"-1.00" per watering.
To learn how to measure the water from your sprinkling system, visit our How To
page.
It is best to have watered the application in, at least once, before
mowing. If a granular application was applied, mowing can be done
anytime.
When done correctly, mulching is better. Recycling the nutrients back
into the soil is a good practice.
As a courtesy, after each application, we leave behind a "comeback
card" which gives you the date of your next lawn application. If you
like a phone call a day or two before the application, call us or talk to your
personal lawn technician.
As a precaution, we prefer that your pets are kept off of treated areas until
they have completely dried. If your pet has a known allergy to any lawn
care product, please let us know so that we can take the necessary
precautions. We choose products that have little or no adverse effect to
animals or humans.
Aeration is very beneficial for turf areas that are struggling from
compaction, poor drainage, and heavy thatch. We recommend that residential
lawns be aerated once a year unless problems are more serious. Sandy soils
may not need aeration once a year.
It's not necessary to hold off your first application until the Weber water
is turned on. The cool temperatures and moisture that we receive in spring
provide excellent growing conditions for turf. If you prefer to wait, call
our office and reschedule.
Spring and fall are excellent times to plant grass seed. For Kentucky
bluegrass, temperatures should be around 80 degrees F. For details on how
to plant grass seed, see our How To section.
Tree Care
Aphids are very persistent and can move from plant to plant. During
heavy infestations, more than one application is often necessary. See
information on our Aphid Spray.
Many companies offer applications, like dormant oil, to prevent cankerworm
infestations. However, this does little in prevention. Due to the
unpredictable egg-laying of the female cankerworm, it's difficult to time any
preventative treatments. Therefore, preventative applications may not
work. See information on cankerworms.
Once borers have entered the tree, little can be done. Once damage has
been done, it can not be reversed. The key? Prevention. See
information on borer applications.
Two applications that can effectively reduce large outbreaks of aphids are a
dormant oil application and tree injection. They should be applied before
large infestations have occurred. See Dormant Oil. See Tree
Injection.
If it's fall time, it's okay. If the leaf should be green and it's not,
more than likely it is iron chlorosis. Other possibilities are spider
mites, over-watering, or diseases. Walk through our online diagnostic
clinic.
Although lawns benefit greatly from a late fall fertilizer, trees and shrubs
do not. The fertilizer, which is mainly nitrogen, encourages new shoot growth in
woody plants. Encouraging new growth at the end of the growing season may allow
a greater chance of winter damage. Late fall pruning is also not recommended,
unless the branches are damaged or my break to a heavy snow load.
Grass clippings do not make good mulch for roses. They can become matted
together and not allow air to dry out the clippings. The clippings often become
moist, which will cause the roses canes to rot. Bark mulch works much better.
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