Commercial snow plowing is what we do!

I love the seasons, they are a time to enjoy, but also a time to plan.  In the winter we strategize how best to get spring clean ups done efficiently as well as how to deal with building stone walls and patios in the mud.  When springtime comes we turn our attention to thinking about the dry season and how that will affect the plants and lawns. When summer comes we look ahead to autumn and leaves falling. We think out how many more weeks we have to get our work done efficiently.  And as soon as Labor day passes we are working on snow. Now is the time to sign up for snow plowing, snow services, ice and snow melting, pushing, shoveling, removal or whatever form of winter weather services that you need.  We order our salt, fix up our sanders, our plows, our trucks and snowblowers. 
So if you are a commercial property manager and are in need of a profesional snow company, please consider us. You can go to our web site and sign up on line for a quote or request a meeting. 

While there are many good snow companies out there,

One of those is regarding turf grass seeding.  Seeding your turf in the spring is actually not a great time.  This is because here in the Massachusetts our turf varieties are cool season crops, meaning they grow best in cool weather.  On the other hand our most voracious weeds in the turf are typically warm season crops (ie- crabgrass, dandelions, ground ivy etc.)  What happens is your grass seed which germinates when the soils temperature is above 59 degrees for bluegrass and as hi as 68 degrees for rye-grass just barely starts to grow when the stronger better adapted weeds start.  To put that in context crabgrass will germinate at approximately 60 degrees.  The weeds now are going into their optimum growing season as the turf-grass is leaving its season. 
So what do you do?  The short answer is seed in late August, the end of most warm season weeds growing season.  Your grass now will germinate very quickly and within a month will have very little if any competition.  Also the grass plant will continue to grow and thrive well into November.  And in fact it’s root system will continue to grow well into December in Massachusetts.  As an aside late November is the single most important time to fertilize your lawn.  That is because virtually all of the nutrients are going to strengthen the root system.

To put this in perspective, you can obviously plant a lawn in the spring, but it will be a struggle for that seed to become thick lush turf, while if you can wait or plan for a late August planting your turf will be healthier and easier to care for right away. 

If you have any thoughts or questions on this.  We are always available to chat about your landscape.

Summer Time!!

There are many types of landscape companies out there.  There are people who operate like a one man band. There are landscape companies who concentrate solely on maintenance, lawn care or design build.  There are national firms (the Walmarts of Landscapers) who can seemingly do it all.

Then there companies like ours who are small enough to understand you individually, yet big enough to be able to handle whatever your needs.  We have professionals (yes professionals) dedicated to  building and caring for landscapes.  Our mission is to provide you with peace of mind while creating and caring for your property.  Our staff consists of Licensed Landscape Architects, Certified Mass Horticulturists, Certified Mass Arborists, Licensed Lawn Care technicians. 

We have these designations because this is a profession to us, not just a job until the economy turns around.  You would be hard pressed to find a more talented caring Landscape Architect than ours.  She can turn a pile of rubble (if you look on our site at the lake house) into an exquisite, interesting place to enjoy the serenity of lake living.   

Likewise our certified horticulturists love tending and caring for plants.  We care for many of the areas finest perennial gardens and our annual displays are awe inspiring.  We cultivate and tend an organinic vegetable garden for The Harrington Farm Restaurant and event facility.   

The picture for the heading of this blog is a lawn that we have taken care of for over 10 years.  When we took over the lawn it was more weeds than grass and went dormant annually.  With our stewardship this lawn clearly thrives! Believe it or not this lawn is not irrigated or over treated with chemicals.  Drop us a line and we can tell you how.

I have yet to mention our crews who actually build our landscape projects.  They consist of people who have years of experience in grading, masonry, planting as well as just being great people to be around.  Many of our clients tell us they wish the project could go longer as they will miss having the contact with our staff.  I think that speaks as much to the quality of our team as the pictures on our site speak to the quality of our work.

There are many great landscape companies to choose from.  I obviously think ours is the best!  So if you are in the need of landscape services this year, give us a call so that we can provide you with the peace of mind that comes with hiring a group of caring professionals to be in your yard building, enhancing or caring for it.

So what is IPM- at its core is a method of pest prevention that focuses on having a strong healthy lawn that is resistant to pests. One of the most important aspects is monitoring of the lawn. Monitoring the soils available nutrients, the soils PH or if there are pests present. We monitor the available nutrients to see how much of which nutrients to enhance. We monitor the PH (acidic level) to see if we need to ad lime to reduce the level of acidity in our lawns. As an aside most soils in our area are more acidic than alkaline, lawns do best in a slightly acidic soil. If a ph of 7 is neutral then 6-6.5 ph is what we are looking for. We also scout to see if pests are present. It is not necessarily a bad thing if they are present. There are thresholds where pests become a problem. So for example if you see a grub in your lawn, it may not be an issue. First you have to identify what type of grub it is, and then see how many are tolerable per square foot then how many are actually present per square foot. At that point and only at that point can you devise a plan to deal with them.

In terms of the Nutrients, there are many ways to ad nutrients to the soils. There are conventional Water soluble or insoluble fertilizers, there are organic pellitized materials, there is also topdressing with composts or sand. All of these methods have there place in an IPM based approach and all should be utilized.

When dealing with pests whether fungus, disease or living creatures there are a host of options that we can use to control the issue. We can of course use chemical treatments, in many cases cultural practices such as when and how much to water can control slight outbreaks of disease and fungus. In some cases we can remove and replant.

Cultural practices (or the practices that we use to maintain and care for our turf), is as important as how much fertilizer we use or don’t use. Watering to a proper depth at the right time is critical to turfs health. Also compaction is a serious problem that can be affected by shade, watering practices as well as foot traffic. All of these things are manageable under an IPM approach. Conventional lawn care programs work and work quite well, but an IPM approach can work and work better. It also works in a way that can be more environmentally friendly than either a pure organic method or a more conventional approach. What you must understand is that it comes at a price, the price in terms of dollars is more than the conventional programs. But in terms of your personal environment the benefits are priceless.

We welcome your thoughts or questions at info@princetonscapes.com . We have provided peace of mind to our clients since 1992. We would love to help you as well.

You can try Bacillus thuringiensis/Bt as an effective biological control.  The worm must ingest the Bt in order for it to be effective, so once the worm has bored into the bud it looses its efficacy.  Also found to be somewhat effective is pyrethroid insecticides as a conventional approach. 

  If you bring your geraniums inside during the winter it is imperative to remove the soil from the plants and re pot them with new/ fresh potting soil before overwintering them.  Cold harsh winters (Temps below 20 degrees F) will kill the  budworms.  A cultural practice of  cultivating/ rototilling the soil in the fall where the plants were for the summer months will help expose the larvae to the harsh winter climate. 

The cultivation of the soil is important not only if you plan on placing the geraniums in the same spot or general area next growing season, but also if you plan on having petunias in the general vicinity.

Hopefully this helps.  Happy Gardening!!