Winterizing Bulletin & Invoice

Winterizing Bulletin

Your Winterizing Treatment provides the following:

1. A pH Soil Test — The soil’s pH has an effect on many of the nutrients in the soil and the availability of these nutrients to the grass plants.

2. Lime — The soil in this area is acidic and is normally low in calcium.  We will be applying a product that will maintain not only a proper soil pH, but also maintain the proper balance of nutrients in the soil.

3. Late Fall Fertilization –An application of micro-nutrients which encourages continued root development this season and will promote earlier Spring green-up next season.  Our company performs soil testing to determine your lawn’s nutrient levels and design our custom-blended fertilizer to fi your lawn’s requirements.

4. Weed Control — An application to help eliminate annual and perennial weeds still surviving this year.  A sticking agent is added so that if a rainfall comes after the treatment, the control will still be effective.

Caution

To avoid possible skin or eye irritation you should not walk without shoes or allow children or pets to play on your lawn until the products just applied have been watered in. 

Watering Procedures

  1. Wait 12 hours after your lawn service is completed and then give your lawn a good soaking to water the products into the soil.  If it is too cold to water your lawn after your service, it is advisable to delay cutting your or raking the leaves for a few days to allow the products to work into the soil.

2. In the Fall, the lawns become drier than most people realize due to windy days, trees absorbing moisture before winter dormancy, and cooler temperatures. Therefore, your lawn should be   watered as needed.  If there is not measurable rainfall for a week, make sure that you provide a good soaking, especially if extensive seeding was done in the Fall service. Continue watering until the weather prohibits.

3. For those customers who have a sprinkler system, you will need to water three times a week because of the amount of time needed to be sure each zone is properly watered – especially if extensive seeding was done in the Fall.  Due to the cooler temperatures this time of year, you need to set your sprinkler to start later in the morning, for example at 10 a.m. rather than 5 a.m.  You may also reduce the amount of time each zone is on.  Please do not set the system to come on the day your lawn is scheduled to be mowed.  Unless directed otherwise by our company, if your system has not been winterized, please contact your sprinkler system company about doing your winterization at this time.

Mowing Procedures

1. Use a sharp blade.

2. Mow with regularity, although you may only need to mow your lawn every 10 to 14 days, but do not wait any longer than that.

3. Mow at the proper height, which should never be less than 3 inches.

4. Continue to recycle or mulch clippings, until such time as the leaves start to fall heavily.  At that time, we would recommend bagging the clippings, which will remove the leaves at the same time.

5. Alternate mowing directions.

6. Mow when lawn is completely dry.

7. Mow the lawn for as long as necessary, especially as the grass continues growing into late November and early December.  It is not healthy for your lawn blades to be very high and bending over.  In addition, at the regular cutting height, blowing leaves are less likely to caught in the grass.

Leaf Removal       

The easiest and safest way of removing leaves from your lawn is to remove them with a lawn mower bag while cutting.  For heavier amounts of leaves, raking is not a problem on established turf.  But on newly-seeded, shady or shallow-rooted areas, heavy raking may be damaging.  A suggestion might be to either rake these areas lightly or (if you have one) to use a leaf blower that would remove the leaves off the weak areas onto established turf, driveway, street or sidewalk where they can be raked into bags.

            It is important that you continue to remove the leaves from your lawn as long as they continue to fall, especially where they can create a problem.  This means raking and clearing right into December and January.  Leaves left on the lawn cause dead areas and other problems.  If you need any assistance in leaf removal, please contact us and we will make arrangements for a cleanup.

Finocchiaro Landscape is not responsible for conditions on your lawn which are beyond our control, such as extended high temperatures, drought damage, mandatory watering restrictions (if applicable) and customers not following watering and mowing instructions which are printed on each service bulletin or available on our website.