Welcome to Cougarstone Lawn Care’s Ultimate Lawn Care Guide. This guide is designed to help you maintain a lush, healthy lawn throughout the year, with tips on mowing, watering, and seasonal care. While we take care of your weed control and fertilization needs, here’s how you can complement our services for the best results.
The Foundation of Lawn Care: Treatment Program, Proper watering & mowing.
Lawn treatment program
Initiating a consistent lawn treatment program each year is the cornerstone of maintaining a lush, green, and weed-free lawn. Our program, including weed control and fertilization, lays the groundwork for a beautiful lawn but requires your active involvement in mowing and watering practices to reap the full benefits.
Proper Watering
Water is life for your lawn. Here’s how to do it right:
- Aim for 1 – 1.5 inches of water per week, achieved through 2-3 watering sessions.
- Deep and Infrequent: Water deeply but less often to encourage deep root growth. Aim for 1 inch of water per week, including rainfall. Watering longer, fewer times per week is better than watering a little everyday.
- Water early in the morning (5 am – 10 am) to reduce evaporation and fungal growth.
- PRO-TIP: To determine how long to water, place a container (like a tuna can) on your lawn, start watering, and time how long it takes to collect 0.5 inch of water. This is your target duration for each watering session.
Proper Mowing
Healthy lawns are mowed with care: It is essential that you have your lawn maintained at 3 inches of height.
- Taller grass means deeper roots, better moisture retention, fewer weeds, and a more robust lawn.
- Will require less water than a short lawn. The extra shade provided by longer grass will help protect the lawn from drying out in the heat of the sun. This will reduce your need for water.
- Will have a better appearance by being greener, darker, and thicker.
- Will be more drought tolerant. A longer lawn will grow deeper roots which will help your lawn during times of extreme temperatures and drought.
- Will help protect you from weeds. A longer lawn will help shield the soil from weed seeds that will blow into your yard and help choke them out if they try to grow.
- Will help protect you from insects. Typically, a lawn cut shorter will provide an environment that “lawn-loving” insects will favor.
- Will be more comfortable on your feet. Longer lawns will be thicker and softer to walk on compared to lawn cut short. A short lawn usually is drier and pricklier which is not fun to walk on, especially for kids.
There are only upsides to mowing tall vs mowing short, so do your lawn a favor, and mow tall!
Proper Mowing Techniques
- The One-Third Rule: Never cut more than one-third of the grass blade length at a time to avoid stress and brown spots.
- Mower Maintenance: Ensure your mower blades are sharp for clean cuts, which help prevent disease.
- Change mowing direction: Change mowing direction every time you mow to avoid rutting of your ground.
Lawn Care Calendar for Calgary Homeowners
Achieving a lush, vibrant lawn in Calgary’s unique climate requires year-round attention and care. Our comprehensive lawn care calendar guides you through the crucial tasks for each month, ensuring your lawn remains healthy and beautiful. Coupled with Cougarstone Lawn Care’s professional treatment program, this calendar empowers you to take proactive steps towards the lawn of your dreams.
April – Spring Awakening
Once the snow melts and the ground dries, it’s time to prepare your lawn for the growing season.
- Cleanup: Remove winter debris such as leaves to prevent mold, disease and smothering your lawn.
- Fluff up your lawn. If any areas of your lawn are matted down from snow piles, take a rake and lightly rake these areas so the grass is standing up and can dry out.
- Mow Short: This is 1 of the 2 times you should mow your lawn short. Mowing at 1.5-2 inches at this time will allow more sunlight to enter the root zone and warm up the soil and encourage your lawn to come out of winter dormancy.
- Power raking? We generally do not encourage power raking your lawn yearly. Power raking is a very aggressive process that can damage tender shoots and crowns of the lawn. Power raking should only be done if your lawn was completely neglected for years and you have an inch or more of thatch build up. Following this calendar will allow you to skip the yearly power raking and start to get a healthy lawn.
May – Growth Enhancement
With the onset of consistent warmer weather, your lawn enters a period of vigorous growth.
- Regular Mowing: Now is the time to start regularly mowing your lawn once per week at a height of 3 inches to promote deeper root systems.
- Water Wisely: Begin a regular watering schedule, aiming for deep, infrequent watering early in the morning. Make sure your lawn is receiving 1 inch of water per week.
- Cougarstone’s Part: Lawn Treatments will be performed by us. Just sit back and relax.
- Fertilizer: You will receive an early season fertilizer treatment that kickstarts your lawn for the season.
- Weed Control: We will address any emerging weeds such as dandelion and clover, making sure that you have a weed-free lawn.
- Soil Amendments: Here, some of our packages come with soil treatments such as “Soil Flusher” & “Soil Enhancer” These treatments will transform your soil and address any issues such as excess salts and pH issues.
June – Summer Preparation
As temperatures rise, preparing your lawn for summer stress is key.
- Continue Mowing Tall: Maintaining a height of 3 inches helps shade roots and retain soil moisture.
- Consider mulching: Instead of bagging your lawn clippings, consider mulching your lawn clippings instead. This is the process of your mower chopping up the lawn clippings very fine and redistributing the clippings back onto your lawn. This is where a good mulching mower comes in handy as it will chop up the lawn clippings finely. Mulching is like free fertilizer for your lawn and will help conserve water. Contrary to popular belief, mulching does not contribute to thatch buildup.
- Monitor Pests: As the temperature warms up, keep an eye out for signs of pests or diseases and address them promptly. You can call us anytime you see something out of the ordinary.
- Cougarstone’s Part: Lawn Treatments will be performed by us. Just sit back and relax.
- Fertilizer: Sometime during June or July you will receive and Mid-season fertilizer treatment that will provide a slow release of nutrients throughout the summer.
- Weed Control: We will address any emerging weeds such as dandelion and clover, making sure that you have a weed-free lawn.
July and August – Peak Summer Care
The hottest months demand special attention to keep your lawn thriving.
- Intensive Watering: Ensure your lawn receives 1 inches of water per week, and even 1.5 inches during heat waves.
- Mowing: You may be able to slow your mowing down if the lawn growth decreases. Do not mow your lawn during the hottest times of the day if possible.
- Maintain Vigilance: Continue to monitor for pests, diseases, and signs of stress.
- Cougarstone’s Part: Lawn Treatments will be performed by us. Just sit back and relax.
- Liquid Aeration: Apply liquid aeration to improve water penetration and soil health. This application will also help with water retention in the soil to make your waterings more effective. This is very beneficial during times of water restrictions.
September – Autumn Recovery
As temperatures cool, your lawn begins to recover from the summer stress.
- Reduce Watering: Adjust your watering schedule as rainfall increases and temperatures drop. Still make sure your lawn is getting 1 inch of water per week.
- Continue Mowing: Keep the lawn at 3 inches as growth begins to increase again.
- Cougarstone’s Part: Lawn Treatments will be performed by us. Just sit back and relax.
- Fall Fertilizer: You will receive and late season fertilizer treatment to replenish lost nutrients and strengthen the lawn for winter.
- Weed Control: We will address any emerging weeds such as dandelion and clover, making sure that you have a weed-free lawn.
October – Winter Preparation
Preparing your lawn for winter is crucial for its spring revival.
- Mowing: Your lawn will now be growing at a slower rate. You can start lowering your mowing height. This should be done over 2 mowings.
- In early October you can mow the lawn at 2.5 inches
- In Mid October your can mow the lawn at 2 inches. Keep mowing at this height until the snow comes. This will prevent snow mold and Vole (Field Mouse) infestations.
- Leaf Cleanup: Regularly remove fallen leaves to prevent suffocation and disease to the lawn.
By following this tailored lawn care calendar, you’ll ensure your lawn not only survives but thrives throughout the year in Calgary’s challenging climate. Remember, adapting to the current weather conditions and your lawn’s specific needs can lead to the best outcomes.
