ATLANTA LAWN TREATMENT COMPANIES

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Watering

Watering your lawn is very important, especially during extremely hot or dry weather.  Experts recommend giving your lawn an inch of water per week during the growing season (March to September), and more during the hot and dry spells.  Additionally, watering is necessary during especially warm or dry winters.  Here is a good test of whether you have watered your lawn adequately: Push the blade of a screwdriver into the ground.  You should be able to easily sink three to four inches of the screwdriver immediately after watering the lawn.

The Georgia Water Conservation Plan specifies that even-numbered homes water on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, and that odd-numbered homes water on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays.  The best time to water your lawn is between 4 and 6 AM.  Because a wet lawn is more susceptible to disease, you should take care to limit the lawn's "wet period."  The wet period is the time from when dew first forms on the lawn until when the lawn is dry.  If you water in the evening, before dew forms, you will extend the wet period and encourage disease.  Additionally, because of rapid evaporation and wind, you should not water the lawn in the middle of the day.

Mowing

Improper mowing can severely damage or even kill a lawn.  When mowing, never remove more than a third of the height of the grass plant.  Removing more than a third will severely impair the grass plant's ability to produce food through photosynthesis.  For example, if your lawn is three inches high when you start mowing, do not take off more than one inch. 

All lawn mowers are either reel mowers or rotary mowers.  Professionals favor the reel mower for Bermuda and Zoysia because it acts like a pair of scissors and cuts each blade of grass cleanly, with minimal damage.  The rotary mower spins around at high speeds and machetes the grass off.  Rotary mowers in general create more damage to each blade of grass; rotary mowers with dull blades are even worse.  Unfortunately, due to cost and maintenance considerations, rotary mowers are common.

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