Frequently Asked Questions
Q: When is the best time of year to fertilize and treat my lawn?
A: The best time to treat your lawn is to start in the spring before your lawn begins growing rapidly. This is when pre-emergents perform their best. While one application of fertilizer will improve your lawn, a series of several applications throughout the year will make it healthier and give it strength to combat heat, cold, mowing, foot traffic, weeds, pests and other stressors.
Q: What height should my lawn be mowed at?
A: For a healthy lawn, always keep your mower blades sharp and do not cut more than one third of the existing grass blade. Rusty or dull blades can tear grass making it more prone to disease. In spring when grass is growing rapidly, lawns can be cut to around 2.5 inches and cut with more frequency. During hot summer months, grass should be cut to around 3.5-4 inches to shade the roots and help prevent drought stress. Mulching your grass clippings will provide your lawn with more nutrients.
Q: Do I need to water my lawn?
A: Proper watering is key to a healthy lawn. When watering, make sure that the entire lawn gets covered evenly. Early morning watering is the best time to irrigate because the grass is cool and water soaks into the soil deeper and easier. Watering in the morning also allows your grass time to dry in the sunlight. Watering in the evening and not allowing time for grass blades to dry can cause your lawn to be more prone to disease.
Q: Do I need to aerate?
A: Aerating is one of the best things that you can do for your lawn. This opens up compacted soil to let water, oxygen, and nutrients ease into the soil to improve root development for a thicker lawn.
Q: What is slow-release fertilizer?
A: Slow release fertilizer is small granules of nutrients that feed grass in small doses to maintain steady growth and color. This is a better approach to reduce the risk of nitrogen burns and leaching.
Q: Can I mow my lawn after a treatment?
A: We recommend that you wait 24 hours after a fertilizer treatment to mow. This allows fertilizer to settle down to the roots and increases weed control.
Q: Do I need to put lime on my yard and how often?
A: Connecticut soil tends to have a low pH level. Adding lime to your lawn will help correct the soils pH for plants to utilize soil nutrients. Most lawns should have lime put down at least once a year to maintain the correct pH level.
Q: What towns do you service?
A: We currently service 15 towns and cover an approximate 11 mile radius from our hometown of Ellington to ensure the highest level of service possible. Towns include: Andover, Bolton, Broad Brook, Coventry, East Windsor, Ellington, Enfield, Manchester, Somers, Somersville, South Windsor, Stafford, Tolland, Vernon, and Willington.
Q: Will Grub Control make my moles go away?
A: Grub treatments may get rid of the grubs in your lawn, but there will still be plenty of worms for the moles to eat. Remember, Grub Control is NOT neccessarily Mole Control.
Q: Is Round-Up Safe to Use on my Property?
A: Green Meadow faithfully follows all label instructions and uses Personal Protective Equipment whenever mixing or applying these products. The State requires ongoing education to renew our licenses. If you are going to use a product like Round-up on your property and want to minimize the risk of exposure for you and your family, hire a professional YOU TRUST to do it.
Q: What type of fertilizer does Green Meadow use?
A: Our 5 steps are synthetic and our 4th service is enhanced with humic acid to boost nutrient availability and grass recovery from the harsh summer weather. The advantages of Synthetic fertilizer actually outweigh the negatives.
Q: How do I pay my bill?
A: We have several options available.
1. Send a check with the remittance portion of the invoice left on the day of service.
2. Use our Customer Assistant Website to set up an account and you can pay for services there with a credit card.
3. Call the office and pay with a credit card.
Q: What licensing certifications does your staff have?
A: All of our Lawn Care Specialists began with a simple license (Operator’s License) to apply controlled products such as weed control. The level past this is a Supervisory License. As of March 25, 2020, 3 of our 6 specialists have their Supervisory Licenses. The other 3 just completed a college-level Supervisory License training course and hope to be certified in the very near future! We are committed to the highest level of training and care to assure you get not only an effective application to your lawn, but a safe one.
Q: Will fertilization harm my other plants?
A: No, we are very careful to avoid off-target applications. In the event that materials do spill onto sidewalks or driveways, we are sure to blow it off with commercial grade blowers.
Q: Do I need to be home while my lawn is serviced?
A: No. Our lawn care specialists are highly trained and keep specific notes for each property. Anything that needs to be considered such as pets, gates, invisible dog fences, etc is noted.
Q: How long do I need to stay off my lawn after service?
A: This can vary based on treatment. The standard precaution is to stay off lawn until it is dry. Please check your invoice for specific instructions.
Q: What does Pythium look like?
A: Pythium blight is a very destructive fungal lawn disease that does the worst of its damage in hot and humid weather. It can be spread my moving water and mechanical equipment. This disease can do significant damage in as little as a few days under the right conditions. A sign of Pythium Blight is Cotton- like mycelium growing in morning on grass.
Q: How do I prepare my lawn for an overseeding?
A: We ask our customers to follow a few simple guidelines prior to overseeding a lawn. Mow your lawn short and notify us of any electric dog fences or irrigation systems. The seeding tines go about 3 inches deep into your lawn so we wan’t to avoid any potential damage.