Fairway Green, Inc
9 Ilene Ct, Suite 14 Hillsborough, NJ 08844
Phone: (908) 281-7888

Category Archives: Company News

2020 Lawn Care – Year in Review

Benefits of a Healthy Landscape

Studies have shown that maintaining a healthy lawn and landscape around homes and places of work can promote higher levels of well-being. There perhaps has never been a stronger testament to this concept than in 2020. With limited social interaction and many faced with staying home a large percentage of each day, home and business owners put a lot of time and energy into improving their lawn and landscape this year.

Lawn and Landscape Improvements

This year, a lot of homeowners had time to invest in making improvements to their outdoor space. We noticed landscape projects with long-term positive health effects for the lawn happened more frequently this year; this includes installing beds around trees to combat erosion, making improvements to drainage, and seeding into the lawn with improved turf varieties.

Customer concerns were a little different in 2020 as well. More homeowners began questioning why they had different types of grass growing in their lawns, why they were seeing so many mushrooms, and what time the technician would be out to their property.

The Weather

In New Jersey there are state laws that regulate when fertilizer can be applied. The winter is off-limits, starting in December each year until the following March. Therefore, the plan for most lawn care companies is to start applications for their customers on the first of March each year; however, there is almost always a delay waiting for the snow to melt (or in some scenarios to stop coming down!) before treatment can begin.

This year we had above average temperatures daily in February and March with zero snowfall. The first round of treatment was able to begin as scheduled for the first time in a few years. This allowed the treatment to begin working against weed growth before they flowered. Broadleaf weed control in spring was very good for this reason.

We received a lot of calls about grass seedheads. Each spring, grass established in lawns grow a seed stalk as a means of reproduction. Depending on how fast the lawn is actively growing relative to how often the lawn is mowed, homeowners may or may not take notice of this process in spring. However, with the weather promoting turf growth all of March and mowers being slowed down by the effects of the pandemic, the seed stalks were in full view on almost every lawn at one point. Luckily, seedheads are of no concern and stop growing after they are mowed away.

 

The summer brought the wettest July for central New Jersey in recorded history, as well as above average daily temperatures through August. The grass performed well in July as the rain continued, but once it stopped in August, grass species with lower tolerance for heat/drought stress began to show decline in the lawn. The high heat we experienced after a long period of saturation brought a lot of disease. Brown patch fungus was prevalent from the start of August until the end of the month. Disease is not the only issue brought on by heat following rainy periods. Warm season weeds were also very abundant, requests to address nutsedge and spotted spurge in the lawn were coming in daily.

 

As far as what the winter will bring, I guess we’ll have to wait and see. So far however, it seems to have gotten cooler, especially at night, a little sooner than last year. Seedings that took place later in the fall (after October 1st) will most likely suffer if this trend continues, and require touchup seeding in early spring.

Conclusion        

In terms of agronomic issues, 2020 wasn’t really all that different from years we’ve seen in the past. The real adjustments we had to make were geared toward the challenge of operating efficiently through a new social environment. Hopefully 2021 remains as predictable for the turf as we all continue to evolve how we conduct ourselves within the structure of the new “normal”.

Lawn Care 2019 Year End Summary

nutsedge

More often than not, the weather is what defines each year in the lawn care industry and 2019 was no exception. The amount of precipitation shaped the issues in lawns this year. In 2018 we saw the highest annual precipitation total ever recorded. In 2019 this continued, and the excessive soil moisture persisted through the end of July. The issues caused by the constant soil moisture stretching into the summer were enough to make any year standout against the norm; however, an additional challenge presented itself when the rainfall abruptly ceased.

The graphic below taken from the website of the ONJSC at Rutgers illustrates the rise and fall in precipitation that occurred over the end of 2018 into 2019.

The Challenge Presented by the Moisture

I know what you’re thinking. “Isn’t rainfall generally considered a good thing for lawns?” Of course rain is a good thing! But like any other good thing, too much of it can cause problems.

Traffic Stress

The soil found in Central Jersey is predominantly clay, which holds moisture very well. Most residents in New Jersey know that even after a moderately heavy rainfall, it can take a few days before the lawn is dry enough to support mower traffic.  During the late spring and early summer this year, the grass continued to grow rapidly with all the rain and the soil never really had time to dry. Homeowners had no choice but to mow the lawn during periods where the soil was still soft, which caused a lot of traffic stress damage. Most of the minor ruts were most likely overlooked, but they accumulated all the same and had to be addressed in late August with touch up seeding.

Broadleaf Weed Growth

Spring always consists of excessive growth, and broadleaf weeds are nothing new in April and May each year. By June and July broadleaf weed growth usually become less of an issue as it starts to slow down. However, as heavy rainfall continued through July…so did the weed growth. Homeowners saw a noticeable uptick in the amount of weed growth through the opening of summer. Warm season broadleaf weeds such as spotted spurge was seen in higher volume than normal.

Nutsedge

Unable to chemically prevent, this tall, neon green, grassy weed always presents a challenge once it starts actively growing each summer. Nutsedge prefers wetter soil, so lawns with irrigation and/or poor drainage are typically the only properties that require additional attention for this weed. With this year’s excessive soil moisture, nutsedge treatment was in demand regardless of the properties’ normal qualities.

 nutsedge

When Suddenly the Rain Stops

Crabgrass

By the time August rolls around each year there is no crabgrass pre-emergent still active in the soil. The heavy rain at the end of July into August also promoted a lot of crabgrass germination. Then, in mid-August when the rain stopped, the crabgrass was able to dominate areas where lawns became stressed by the drought.

Bentgrass and Rough Bluegrass

The most unacknowledged issue that has steadily been mounting over the last two years is the establishment of undesirable grass species in residential lawns. Grass types such as bentgrass and rough bluegrass that prefer wetter, cooler areas have traditionally been kept in check by the arrival of the dryer, hotter summer months. The extensive soil moisture sustained over the last two years has allowed these plants to actively spread longer than normal and occupy more of the landscape. In the cooler spring months, these grasses reside hidden amongst the green ground cover similar of the other desirable species. However, once conditions change and become warmer and dryer, areas established with these grass types become very evident as they turn brown and look matted down. Once the long-lasting rain ended abruptly in September, large areas where these grasses have taken occupancy in lawns looked very unattractive. While large portions of these areas have since recovered in October and November, they will continue to cause issues for homeowners in the future unless removed from the lawn and established with more desirable turf.

Conclusion

Looking into the future and what to expect for next year, it will be interesting to see if the wetter trend will continue into 2020, or if the weather will present more traditional precipitation levels. Either way, there is sure to be some new challenge brought on by Mother Nature that is bound to become the focus of next year’s entry.

9 Ilene Ct, Suite 14, Hillsborough, NJ 08844 United States | (908) 281-7888
Phone: (908) 281-7888 Fairway Green Inc.