Market research will help you to reduce your risk, meet prospective clients and to get a general understanding of the local lawn care market.  This early research is so important for getting your lawn business off to a great start.

Lawn care tips are varied and numerous; do your part by reading as much information as you can about your specific species of grass, talk to professionals and even neighbors who have success with their own lawn maintenance; and visit the Internet where a vast amount of resources reside for lawn care enthusiasts. The time you dedicate to sorting through lawn care tips will pay off in the way of a beautiful lawn that can be enjoyed by all.

There are two ways to do this, the hard way and the easy way. The hard way is a bog-standard mower that you push along without any motorization at all, but if you want to properly care for your lawn, you’ll need a decent mower that you can use without too much effort.

Of all the lawn care equipment that’s out there, the mower is the one that you’ll get most use of and, if you choose correctly, it will be the one that makes the most impact on your lawn and saves you the most time.

If you are in doubt about which type of mower you might buy, just take a look at the lawn and areas involved. For a large, very flat lawn, you will need a powered mower, probably a sit-on one. For a small lawn, get yourself one that will cut just right for that lawn. Unless it’s to massage your ego, you don’t need a sit-on mower for a lawn the size of a postage stamp!

Mowing regularity depends on the time of year and the growth rate of your lawn. You need to mow it regularly enough so that you never cut more than a third of the height in one mowing session.

Keep edges tidy – However good your mowing, your lawn will look scruffy if you do not tidy the edges. Use a strimmer or edging tool to keep the edges neat.

Rake your lawn – Use a wire rake to remove dead leaves and to scarify the lawn so that sunlight can get to the grass. You can buy an electric scarifier if you have a large area.

One thing that people do not realize is that the soil and the roots of the grass need air in order to grow, especially if the soil is compacted. To check to see if this is so, pour a small amount of water on the soil and wait a few minutes to see if it starts to soak down through. If it doesn’t this means you will have to aerate the lawn. What this means is to perform a simple procedure or poking small holes in the lawn a t regular intervals so that the oxygen can reach the roots and the water can get to them. The holes are small and will not be noticeable in the lawn.

All fertilizers and herbicides are water soluble salts. Grass plants are like sponges and will absorb all nutrients available until they become saturated. Once saturated, like a wet sponge, they cannot absorb any more food and the excess nutrients, as much as 60%, will become nutrient run off that pollutes our underground water supply, or will remain tied up in the soil as a salt. This salt build-up prevents the roots from penetrating the soil begin to feed at the surface of the lawn causing a compact soil and mat and thatch.

Ideally, a “friable” soil is composed of 45% minerals, 5% organic matter, 25% air and 25% water. Roots in the soil decompose to form the organic matter that is the glue that holds the air and water in the soil. Without organic matter, the soil readily compacts CORE AERATION MYTH “Core aeration is not a solution,” states Malantis. Soil compaction takes place deep in the soil as clay, silt, and sand, lacking organic matter, begins to stratify. When you core aerate you will bring up soil cores that contain weed seeds. Once exposed to surface heat and moisture the weed seeds germinate and grow requiring a chemical herbicide to control them.

Using the right grass, good soil, and timely lawn mowing care should have you well on the way to a champion lawn around your Orlando home. Be patient though…an established lawn takes several seasons to mature completely. When it does, you’ll be glad you followed these lawn mowing rules early on.

On the other side of the spectrum, others say that leaving clippings on your lawn is not only unsightly, but it can cause damage to your lawn as well. Leaving grass clippings on the lawn becomes a problem only if they are too thick. If you mow the lawn before it gets overly tall, the mass of the grass clippings will not be sufficient to warrant raking.

Using mulching mowers can not only cut down on your yard maintenance, but also makes your grass greener. Otherwise, you may end up either raking or bagging your grass clippings — which in turn mean disposing of those grass clippings or recycling them – all of which means extra work.

Most people who opt for using a neighbor to do their regular lawn upkeep will not ask for a service contract. For this type of work, it is not necessary and even if they don’t show up, you can get another person or a professional service in without too much hassle. Make sure though, that you pay after the work is completed so you can inspect the job and ensure quality work. You may need to occasionally hire a professional to do some more sophisticated things like pest control or landscaping.

A lawn care service can be an affordable way to maintain your lawn while allowing you to spend free time enjoying yourself instead of working in the yard. The best way to find a new service provider is to ask friends, family and neighbors for a recommendation. Many providers will give a discount if they are already working in the same neighborhood, so be sure to ask when you see a service provider at your neighbor’s yard.