#1 Lawn Service Connecticut

Lawn mushrooms are a good sign that your soil is healthy. Fungi (mushrooms) feed on decomposing plant  material such as old tree roots, breaking it down gradually through a process of feeding and digestion,  eventually converting it into a material called humus.  

Those mushrooms popping up on your property are most likely fertilizing your lawn, as fungi break down wood  and other dead plant material into nutrients that other plants can use. Mushrooms are nature’s little composters! 

So, basically, mushrooms are an indication that soil building is going on in your lawn. This is a good thing! If  mushrooms in your lawn offend you, remove them with a rake and throw them into the compost pile or just  mow over them.

Yes, watering your lawn after an application will help get the products into the soil. It is best to wait at least 6  hours after an application before watering. This will allow any weed control to dry.  Learn more about our watering guidelines here.

Spring is not the best time of year to seed your lawn. The newly germinated grass will have a hard time  surviving the heat of summer. The best time to overseed is late summer / early fall. 

Entry to the lawn is ok once the weed control products have dried. This is typically 4 -6 hours. You should  also wipe off your dog’s pawn after they have been in the lawn. Fertilizer prills can stick to their paws. This  should be done until the lawn is watered or there is rain. 

It is best to hold off mowing for two days after an application. This this will allow the products to stay on  weeds long enough to have good control. Learn more about our mowing guidelines here.

No it does not, this one suburban legend that often comes forward when thinking of moles. Moles do not equal  grubs and grubs do not equal moles. Just because you have moles doesn’t mean you have grubs. Moles are  insectivores; they eat insects, worms, and other invertebrates. Grubs are just a portion of their diet. Now if you  have grubs and they are slowly decimating your turf, you probably want to control them. 

Mothballs or moth flakes placed in the tunnel are not effective. 

Vibration devices that omit vibration into the ground to discourage moles are ineffective. The vibration can  actually attract mows into your yard

Smoke cartridges are not effective. 

Poison peanuts: Peanuts are not a part of a mole’s diet and therefore not effective. 

Home remedies such as chewing gum, razor blades, glass, hair etc., are not effective and can be dangerous to  you or pets. 

Direct trapping can be very effective but requires some stealth in identifying active tunnels and setting the traps  properly. Please realize that by trapping, I don’t mean a catch and release program. 

Poison baits such as Tomcat Mole Killer (Talpirid) has research tends to support this poison bait as being  effective. Talpirid looks just like an earthworm, one of the moles favorite dishes. Professionals and  homeowners alike continue to report good results. 

There are wildlife management companies that can safely eliminate moles from your lawn.

This is called Chilling Injury 

Turf managers and homeowners have been puzzled by the sudden appearance of unusual tan, blighted patches  that showed up.  

The symptoms appear as round to irregular-shaped patches of light-tan blighted turf. Symptoms are limited to  the upper portion of the turf canopy. Foliage lower in the canopy, stems and crowns are not injured.  Chilling injury is rare in New England on cool season turfgrasses.  

Cold tolerance of cool season turfgrasses generally develops during November and December over an  acclimation period of slowly decreasing temperatures. This acclimation period prepares turf to tolerate cold  winter temperatures. When there is extended warm temperatures in the fall, turf has been actively growing,  green, and photosynthesizing in many areas throughout the region, indicating it has not yet acclimated to cold  temperatures. 

A Perfect Storm 

• Sudden onset of cold temperatures 
• Dry air and wind (excessive transpiration) 
• High light intensity 

Recovery Outlook 

Fortunately, in most cases the symptoms associated with this chilling injury appear to be superficial. Only the  upper canopy has generally been affected. Crowns remain healthy, and therefore blighted foliage will grow out.  It is possible that if warm weather returns, actively growing turf may fully recover in the fall. However, in  many cases it is more likely that symptoms will persist through the winter until spring when growth resumes,  and blighted tissue is mowed off.

Should I collect and bag my mowing clippings? 

Most town laws restrict residents from dumping grass clippings into landfills, so it is best to manage them in your lawn. Return clippings to the lawn whenever possible. When the lawn is mowed so that less than one-third  of the total leaf surface is removed, grass clippings can easily be returned to the lawn. A common  misconception is that clippings left on the lawn will promote thatch buildup. This is not true. Clippings do not  contribute to thatch and should be returned to the lawn.

Thatch is a tightly intermingled layer of living and dead stems, leaves, and roots which accumulates between  the layer of actively growing grass and the soil underneath. Thatch is a normal component of an actively  growing turfgrass, and as long as it is not too thick, it can increase the resilience of the turf to heavy traffic.  

Ongoing maintenance practices which discourage thatch build-up are frequent mowing to maintain the grass at  a 3 1/2- to 4 inch height and keeping short clippings on the lawn. A healthy lawn without weeds will have less  thatch.