A Lawncare Guide for Dummies

Today, I'll be sharing a few things I've learned from the past nine years that I've spent sitting at the feet of the lawn care master...Josh Boersma, CEO of Boersma Lawn Care.

Or as we sometimes refer to him in this house...

The Kanye of Lawn Care.
The Michael Jordan of Lawn Care.

The Tony Stark of Lawn Care.

Ehhh...we're not very humble...are we?

All that to say...he knows what he's doing and most of the time it feels like Boersma Lawn Care is ALL we ever talk about. So after this constant chatter about grass turf, I've actually learned a few things and I'm here to impart some of that valuable knowledge to all of you...our supportive friends, family, and customers.

This blog title is NOT to imply that any of you dear readers are dummies, or that any of our customers are dummies. My goal this year is to INFORM our customer base as much as I possibly can...because if we keep our customers informed, I believe that will alleviate a lot of the miscommunication and misinterpretation (which occasionally results in conflict) about why Josh does/recommends some of the things he does. It's hard to keep customers in this industry informed when there are soooo many companies out there doing it wrong...but I'm determined! If anything, those other companies are the dummies okay I digress...I guess a more appropriate title would have been 'BLC: Lawn Care FAQ's' but let's be honest...that's not as catchy. Then no one would have read it and I would have written all this for nothing and I just can't afford to waste nap time like that.

When Josh applies what the industry calls, 'Round 1'...this is a fertilizer with pre-emergent control. It is NOT going to kill dandelions. Round 2 does that. Do you know what pre-emergent means? Yea, neither did I. It helps keep seeds (OF ALL KINDS) from growing in the spring and into the summer. Meaning...if Josh puts down Round 1, then you go out and buy some grass seed from Lowe's to throw on a bare spot in your yard...thaaaaaaat's not going to grow either.

There are real reasons Josh has continuing education classes and pays for yearly certifications, you guys. He's always yammering on about getting his spreaders/sprayers 'calibrated' and I'm all like...'What's the big deal? You're just walking behind a push spreader? Or riding on a sprayer.' Then he tells me there's apparently a dial and you have to know your walking/driving speed and how wide you are spreading (plus overlap!?) and how much product is coming out in order to be sure you're putting the correct amount of chemical down. How in the world...? Do any of you precious homeowners know how to accurately calibrate a spreader/sprayer? Some might, but my guess is the vast majority do not. You run the risk of putting waaaay too much down and subsequently needing to mow your yard twice a week or more (I'm looking at you Nathan Boersma ;)...or not putting down enough and doing all that work for nothing. OR just not reading your label correctly and accidentally killing parts of your lawn.

Josh can legally only put down two rounds of weed control per yard per year because he puts down the highest rate allowed by the label/state. So while everyone is going berserk about the dandelions that came out of NOWHERE a couple weeks ago (I know, it DOES seem early...here's a helpful article Josh posted explaining why that is), there's something important you should know. If Josh puts down a weed control application in April...that has to last you...UNTIL SEPTEMBER. Right? That's a long time! I had no idea! Most people (me included) assume if they see weeds in their yard, he can just come out anytime, as many times as it takes, and spray for weeds. But that is not the case. I'm sorry about it, but we don't make the rules.

We're talking about a blanket application, here. Josh is able to come do some spot spraying (within reason) in certain situations.

Here's a helpful (loose) chemical application timeline for you to follow...this varies depending on the soil temperature and the weather...and occasionally overlaps one way or another. But you get the idea:

March/April = Round One Spring Fertilizer with Pre-Emergent Control (Dimension - Granular)
May/June = Round Two Weed Control (Spoiler - Liquid)
June/July/August = Round Three Summer Fertilizer (Slow Release Granular w/ Iron)
September/October = Round Four Fall Weed Control (Spoiler - Liquid)
October/November = Round Five Fall Fertilizer (Granular)

Josh can also spray for bugs around the interior and exterior perimeter of your foundation if that's an chemical application option that interests you. Aside from a few renegade ants who invaded my kitchen a few weeks ago (and were taken care of within 24 hours) we almost NEVER have bugs/spiders/ants/creepy crawlies in our house (or in the basement!). In the past six years, I've probably killed a spider twice. Seriously. The man gets results!

I cannot tell you how many times I take calls from potential customers requesting Josh get them a quote for "a simple weed'n'feed application." I know that's how stores like Lowe's and Home Depot and Menards market a product that claims to be a fertilizer and a weed killer all in one cute catchy-named product. But how do I put this delicately...fertilizer and weed control bought in a bag...umm that's not a thing. And it's not something we're going to try and sell you. The high-end chemical products Josh is able to use because he holds a license, (and the way he meticulously schedules each of his five applications) are WAY better for your yard than any 'weed'n'feed' approach other companies and home improvement stores offer.

These statements might be good to reference prior to questioning The Michael Jordan of Lawn Care...these are things I hear him saying over and over and over, so now I have them memorized too!

• "A healthy weed is easier to kill."
• "Planting grass seed in the fall is better."
• "Long grass always looks greener than freshly cut grass."
• "Round 1 is fertilizer. It's not going to kill your weeds." (repeat 300 times ;)
• "A thick, healthy yard is your best defense against weeds."
• "Letting the grass grow longer before the first mow of the season is better for it."
• "Don't cut your grass so short."
• "Don't cut your grass so short."
• "Don't cut your grass so short."
• "If you want the grass seed I just planted to grow, you need to water appropriately. It's not going to grow if you don't water it."

I'll leave you with this tidbit that blew my mind while we were on a walk last week...

"Josh, why is that grass yellow? Is that a weird kind of weed that just looks like grass?" - Mollie

"They planted the wrong kind of grass seed. Grass is a weed to a farmer if it's in his field. A weed is anything that's growing somewhere you don't want it to be growing." - Josh

#micdrop #mindblown

I hope that someone learned something new from all that. Thanks for reading!
-BLC Team of Three