Newsletter.

Hello and Happy February!

Happy New Year! That’s a little late I know, my Christmas present to everyone was to have a break from my nagging messages to stop watering your lawn so I hope you’ve all enjoyed the peace and quiet.

I’m hoping we’ve seen the last of the freezes (possibly because I don’t check the weather forecast, Houston weather and the science of meteorology have a tenuous relationship at best) Regardless, we’re gearing up for Spring. Here’s what you need to know for February:

    •  We’re just starting our first application of the year which should take place over the next 4-6 weeks weather allowing. As we don’t have contracts we continue to perform treatments unless you request otherwise, but if you’re unsure about your current plan please let us know.
    • The main concern right now is weeds. Most of the weeds we see this time of year are seasonal and will die off as temps rise, but there are a couple of hardier weeds which may need further action, please look to your treatment history log after this visit for more information.
    • Spring Brown patch season is just around the corner so please remember to water in your application between 8am-3pm (no evenings or overnight) and otherwise keep sprinklers off. Fungus prevention is available upon request, please contact us for more information.
    • Cup Test, Cup test, Cup test! The best thing you can do for your lawn this Spring is to cup test the sprinklers before watering is required. To incentivize we’re now offering half off a standard treatment visit for anyone who submits cup test results, please see below for instructions.
    •  We are now taking bookings for Summer Topdressing, please let us know if you’re interested.

 

 
Watering

 

Sprinklers should be off at this time, we don’t expect them to be needed again for months other than for watering in the Spring fertilizer we’ll be applying the next few weeks (and even then wait for rain if it’s forecast within 2-3 days of application.)

Allowing the grass to dry out regularly will help strengthen the grasses root system, control weeds and fungus as well as helping prevent sod worm damage.

Please keep in mind every lawn is different, a shaded lawn needs less water than a full sun lawn. Remember, all sprinkler zones are not created equal.

Before you reach for the sprinkler controls please note my three top watering tips below.

– Walk/monitor your lawn
– Test the sprinklers
– Customize your cycle

General guidelines are always available on our website at the link here, let us know if you have any questions.

How to perform a cup test:

 

Collect as many small cups or cans (ie Tupperware or tuna fish cans) as possible, place them in many different areas of the lawn front and back, include areas that are doing better and less well and make sure some are on the edge of the lawn by the street or driveway.

Run the sprinklers as normal. 

As soon as possible after watering assess the amount of water in the cups. It would also be worth noting if there is any run off and if any areas on the street or in the driveway are wet from the sprinklers.

Note which sprinklers are in which zones and if any areas are getting water from more than one zone.

Ideally, you should be getting a minimum of 1” of water to all areas of the lawn.

After this you can have the sprinklers adjusted or repaired.

Optional – Draw a basic plan of your lawn, mark where the sprinkler heads are and where the cups are, if you send us a picture of the drawing we will be able to pinpoint or diagnose problems and will be able to give more specific watering instructions.

We strongly recommend repeating this process if you have to make a sprinkler person make an adjustment and be skeptical of any sprinkler person who says the sprinklers are running properly just looking at them – they may be running properly but might not be getting an inch to every area of the lawn.
                                                                                              Both are Winter weeds that will die off in hot weather

Brown Patch

 

 Crazy Grass Lady’s Giveaway 
As we dropped the ball on a Christmas giveaway this year we decided to drop everyone’s name into a metaphorical hat and pull two names at random to receive a years standard treatment plan (five visits fertilization and weed control) completely free of charge. Our lucky winners are Caroline B from Cypress and Ilona N from SpringThis month’s giveaway is free fungus or weed prevention. Please reply WEEFUN to this email to be included in the draw. One entry per person but you can nominate a friend or relative within our catchment area. You don’t have to be a current customer to enter.
                            

Yours sincerely

Crazy Grass Lady