Lawn Care

A healthy lawn is an attractive part of any home. The Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) recommends following these basic tips to enhance your lawn's environmental benefits:

• Soil Sampling. Check that your soil has the correct pH level and key nutrients for healthy growth. Consider having your soil sampled and analyzed.
• Grass Selection. Only use new and improved variety mixtures or blends that grow well in your climate, meet your quality expectations and can accommodate your lawn activities, such as heavy use by children at play.
• Mowing. Mow at the highest recommended height, and mow often, never removing more than one-third of the leaf surface. Keep lawn mower blades sharp and grasscycle. Grasscycling, or leaving clippings on the lawn when you mow, allows nutrients to return to the soil.
• Watering. Water deeply but not too often. In general, watering should moisten the soil to a depth of 4 to 6 inches. Too much water can cause water quality and grass problems, increasing the chance of fungus, or runoff and leaching of nutrients.
• Fertilization and Pest Control. Apply the right amount and kind of fertilizer and pest control products at the right time, and only when needed. Follow all label instructions and precautions.

Hiring a Professional

If maintaining your lawn on your own is impractical, consider hiring a professional lawn service. To find the best fit for your needs, consider what services you will require - including mowing, aeration, seeding, fertilization, pest control, etc. - and how much you would like to budget for them. When you know what you want, check with the Better Business Bureau for a reliability report on those companies you plan to call.

When you're ready to call, consider the following:

• Ask for a lawn inspection and free estimate. Services that quote a price without seeing your lawn cannot be sure what your lawn might need.
• Ask about price plans and what services are included. Lawn services may offer a yearly contract or a simple verbal agreement giving the customer the right to discontinue service at any time. Request a written agreement.
• Be prepared to follow the instructions left by the company to maintain the quality of the services.
• Document the duration and expected results of the lawn care service.
• Look for guarantees and refund policies. Some services may offer a guarantee of performance. Others may offer refunds if they fail to meet your expectations.
• Check to see if the lawn care provider needs to be licensed in your municipality.
• Look for membership in a professional organization. A service's membership in one or more professional lawn care associations and active participation in the local community is a positive sign.

For more information, contact:

Better Business Bureau
(800) 828-5000
www.bbb.org

New York State Attorney General
(800) 771-7755
www.oag.state.ny.us

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233
www.dec.state.ny.us

The Lawn Institute
(800) 405-8873
www.lawninstitute.com

The Professional Landcare Network (PLANET)
www.plcaa.org

This report is general in nature and is not intended as a reliability report on any company, service or product.