Optional Services

• Lime

  -Periodically you should have the ph of your lawn checked. At Tobin Lawn we check it for our lawn care customers during our 5th application. If the ph is low, we will recommend lime to bring the ph up. When the ph gets below 6.5, lime should be applied. If ph is low there is a chance that some chemicals like nitrogen will not be utilized by the grass plant as intended. As a rule Lime should be applied to a lawn every 3 to 5 years.

White Grub Control

-White Grubs have been the number one pest in lawns for many years. They feed on the roots of grass and you will only know you have them when you see the damage. Large areas of grass turn brown later in the year, generally August through October. If your lawn turns brown in irregular areas, grab hold of the grass and pull. If the grass pulls up like freshly laid sod, you should see the grubs there, and a treatment is necessary. Not everyone will have a problem with grubs so at Tobin Lawn, we have chosen to offer this as an optional treatment.

Disease Control

-Here in the Midwest we have the luxury of not needing to go to the spa to enjoy sweating in a sauna. Our summers normally provide this free of charge. However, this also gives many fungus spores a vacation spot too, right in our lawns! Once the grass is put under stress, it will likely show some damage. We normally like to try and control disease through good cultural practices through proper mowing and watering. However we can apply a fungicide as a preventative or after the disease has shown up.

Verticutting

-Verticutting is a procedure that cuts a groove in the lawn. We recommend and use verticutting prior to seeding. The groove created by verticutting allows seed the avenue to get down into the soil. Some lawn care providers offer verticutting to reduce thatch. Verticutting does not do an adequate job of reducing thatch. Aerating is the better option, see below for more details.

Seeding

-There are very few areas in our country where conditions are ideal to grow grass. And certainly the Midwest has rarely seen ideal conditions in the summer. Most years, the summer gets too hot here and a high percentage of lawns usually end up needing seeding in the fall. We can assist you in determining the proper seed to use for your lawn. If you are interested in changing the type of lawn you have, we can help kill the existing lawn and convert it to something else.

Dormant Seeding

-The best time for seeding is late summer and early fall. If you have missed that time, the next best time to seed is late fall and early winter. Generally after Thanksgiving is the time to target. Dormant seeding should be done when there is little chance the seed will germinate before spring. The lawn should still be prepared properly by either raking with a hard rake or verticutting to allow the seed to come into contact with soil. Seed will germinate in March as the soil begins to warm. Be sure and keep the soil moist during march.

Aerating

-Aerating has become a very popular maintenance practice over the last twenty years or so. Many lawn care companies have fallen in love with aerating. They promote aerating and over seeding every fall and generate tons of business. Aerating is fast, there is no clean up, seeding is done and magically, beautiful lawns appear. Well, aerating and seeding DO NOT go together. Seed collects in the holes and comes up clumpy. Only verticutting should be done prior to seeding. Aerating also has been promoted to "loosen" clay soils. Aerating only loosens soil where the tines hit, generally every 3 to 6 inches. The rest of the soil remains compacted. Earth Right soil conditioner relieves all compacted soil, to a depth of 1 1/2 feet! Aerating is VERY beneficial in reducing thatch. When soil temperatures reach around 80 degrees, microbes become active that will decompose thatch. Aerating is truly the only way