RI Landscaper 855RILAWNS

Landscaper Serving Southern Rhode Island Since 2001

Tips For Taking Control Of Your Lawncare

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Yard work and landscaping can become a never-ending cycle for home and commercial property owners. Not only can the physical labor be challenging to endure, but understanding what your landscape needs to thrive can be mentally taxing. Keeping your yard and landscaping in order is a full-time job that can consume all of your free time. No one wants to be that person with an overgrown yard; however, keeping up curb appeal can be an overwhelming prospect. Fortunately, we have a few ideas for you that will guarantee your yard looks impressive with minimal effort required.

The Right Tools For The Job

Upgrading your yard work equipment will help you stay on top of the game with less effort. One of the main reasons that yard work is so tricky is using old equipment or even the utterly wrong equipment. The reasons those bushes are so hard to trim might not be because they’re tough; it might be because your trimmers are dull and old. If you want to speed up the process of maintaining your yard, you should make sure that all your equipment is in good working condition. Nobody wants to trim bushes all day with shears that just don’t cut it!

Low Maintenance Lawns

A popular choice among busy homeowners is low maintenance lawns and landscaping. Choosing turf that adapts more quickly to your region’s climate and soil type will help your lawn thrive throughout the seasons without too much maintenance. Planting trees, shrubs, and flowers that are indigenous to your region will also ensure lower maintenance and less frequent dead plant replacement. Some homeowners go so far as to create more hardscaping in their yard than landscaping, bringing in decking, stone, and other low maintenance areas instead of or in addition to traditional lawns.

Leaving It To The Professionals

This second option requires little to no effort and is perfect for people who don’t have the time, energy, or interest needed to maintain their lawn. Hiring a professional landscaping company such as RILAWNS is an affordable option that allows you to have a more hands-off approach to yard work. Landscapers are professionals who will come and work on your yard regularly, striving to make it look the best they possibly can. With a professional landscaping company, you’ll never have to spend hours in the elements trying to get your yard looking its best.

When it comes to your landscape and yard work needs, remember that you are in control of how you spend your time. Whether you choose to do the work yourself, create a less demanding property, or hire a professional landscaping company, RILAWNS is here to help.

Common Lawnmower Problems

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Spring will be here before you know it. Get ready for problems with your lawnmower. There’s nothing worse than getting in your dirty jeans, dragging the mower out of the shed, and finding it won’t start or isn’t working correctly. Here are some common lawnmower problems.

Common Lawnmower Problems

It Won’t Start

Is there gas in the tank? I’m sure you put gas in the tank, so where did it go? A leaky gas tank will need to be replaced. If your mower runs on battery, then this too may need to be replaced. If neither of these fixes are working, try cleaning the air filter and spark plugs. 

Starter Rope

Are you losing your strength, or is this rope getting more difficult to pull? It certainly could be. If the flywheel brake is pushing against the handle, the rope can be difficult or impossible to pull. It could also be the lawnmower blade dragging on the ground or lodged with clippings. If neither of these issues seem to the culprit, you may have to research the manual to see what part is not functioning correctly. 

Loses Power

You’re pushing along, and you hear something. A sputter? A splitting? That sound is most likely to be followed by a stop. You’ve probably got a dirty filter. Try cleaning or replacing it altogether. If that doesn’t work, you may need to clean the blade. A worn-out spark plug could also be causing your difficulties. 

Smoking

Smoke coming from your mower isn’t good, but there’s probably no need to take cover. Your lawnmower likely isn’t going to explode. It’s actually a common problem, usually caused by an issue with the oil chamber. It may be too full, or there may be a leak. 

Loses speed

Check your mower manual to learn the location of the motor casing. The drive belt may be damaged or dislocated. If it is simply misplaced, then it can be reattached. If it is damaged, then it is time to replace it. 

Too much vibration

There are so many factors that can contribute to a bumpy ride while you’re mowing. It could be an inappropriately adjusted cutting deck, inadequately tightened mounting bolts, or a worn out drive belt. Your blades could have encountered one too many roots or rocks and be damaged or bent. Check these parts and see if they need to be replaced.

Hopefully, you won’t encounter any of these problems when you decide to mow your lawn. If you do, 855-RILAWNS is here to help. We rely heavily on our landscaping equipment and therefore know how to keep lawnmowers in excellent condition. Contact us for all your lawn care needs, including repairing that pesky mower.

Planning your Edible Garden for Spring

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When the snow is falling in the wintertime, heaters are on full blast, and young children frolic in the snowmaking snow angels; what better time is there than now to plan to make your garden from springtime? The answer is yes; you will arrange for the future like little chipmunks storing up food for the wintertime. You have the whole season to pick your vegetables, build or mend raised beds, clean your tools, and make a map of your garden.  

Tidy the vegetable Garden Beds  

By the end of the year, often, the vegetable garden is a complete disaster. Please make use of your time and break up jobs working to clean one vegetable bed or section at a time until they are all cleaned up and ready for winter. You can do this by removing all dead vegetation. Often, diseases, including light blight and pests, can stay on foliage and fruit left in the garden. Be sure to take out all dead plants and any rotted fruit or vegetables left in the garden. Add plants to the compost pile that isn’t affected by the disease. Unfortunately, most compost piles do not get hot enough to kill off disease or fungus. If your foliage were unhealthy with the disease, remove the vegetation in the household trash or burn it to keep it from seeping into the compost pile.  

Add a Layer of Compost and Mulch

Move aside any mulch, pull weeds, and add a 1-2 inch layer of compost.  Cover the beds with the old mulch to keep weeds from growing and protect the soil. Many diseases and pests die off when the soil freezes in the wintertime. If you mulch the beds too thickly, it could prevent the ground from freezing completely. When the ground freezes, add another layer of mulch to perennial herbs and flowers. It is also an excellent time to do a soil test to tell if your soil will benefit from additions to add nutrients and alter the pH level. Soil test results will indicate the Soil pH, potassium levels, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur. It also will tell you the level of organic matter and lead content in your soil.  

Fertilizing and Tilling

Nicely grown vegetables get the nutrients they need for a full life from both fertilizer and organic matter. Work aged compost into the vegetable beds before you plant will make the soil structure better and provide the plants with much-needed nutrition. Most vegetable beds will benefit from an additional 2-inch layer of compost while adding a more profound layer will improve the quality of moisture retention in sandier soils. Amending the soil at too early of a date in spring can result in large clumps of compacting. Till the ground only when appropriate by waiting until it has dried enough to work adequately. When the soil is ready for tilling, use any fertilizer amendments over the beds and dig into the top 8 inches to a foot of soil.  Tear up any large clumps, and throw away any large roots you find while tilling.  

Enjoy your Vegetable Beds

Enjoy your gardening and what your garden yields each year. For more information and details on your lawn and gardening, visit Rhode Island lawns for the most up to date information.  

Helpful Tips for Winter Lawn Care

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During colder weather, most grass remains dormant. While this is true, it does not mean you can ignore your lawn or proper care and maintenance. If you want to ensure your lawn remains healthy throughout the year – even when it is cold out – use the tips and information here. 

Fertilize

You should apply fertilizer to your lawn using a spreader. As the machine moves back and forth over your grass, hold the handle like a trigger. It will release pellets of fertilizer when you pull the trigger like if you were “shooting.” Make sure you follow the instructions on the package of fertilizer. Also, only apply the amount recommended. Remember, too much fertilizer may burn your grass. 

Aerate Your Lawn

Add a bit of extra air to your grass’s roots with aeration. You can use a spade for removing spikes of soil in your lawn. This gives you the holes needed for seeds. If you have a bigger lawn, you may want to use a motorized aerator or a manual one. 

Spread Grass Seed Designed for Cool Weather 

Buy grass seed that is labeled as “cool weather” or “cool season” on the package. You can sprinkle this seed over your lawn using the same spreader that was used for fertilizer. Try your best to seed the lawn evenly so that you do not have to deal with large clumps of grass down the road. 

Water and Rake Your Lawn

Use a rake to break up clumps of soil on your lawn and cover the seeds a little. Make sure you water your lawn, too, using a sprayer nozzle on your garden hose. After doing this initial watering, make sure you keep the soil moist. You want to make sure it does not get too dry. 

Additional Tips to Winterize Your Lawn

One of the best things you can do to prepare your lawn for winter is to clean things up. Make sure you avoid leaving toys, leaves, or debris on your lawn. These items may smother your grass, cause the ideal conditions for disease and mold, and invite an array of pests to make a home here. 

It is also a good idea to lower the mower’s deck a few notches for the last few mows of the season. If your grass is too long, it can smother itself, result in disease, and be damaged because of the freeze and thaw cycle. However, you should never cut your grass so short that it is scalped. If this happens, the plant’s crown will be exposed to extreme weather, causing the grass to die. 

Contact the Professionals for Help

If you want help preparing your lawn for winter, contact the professionals. They can determine what issues are present and take steps to provide the desired treatment. With help from a professional landscape service, you can get the winterization services needed to keep your lawn healthy throughout the colder months of the year. Being informed is the best way to keep your lawn healthy.

SWEATER WEATHER!

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Fall is here and so is sweater weather! Time to sit by the fire in our most comfy clothes and relax after a very hot and dry summer. Are you excited for the season or are you just dreading winter and getting your yard prepared? Don’t stress! Let us take care of it for you. Whether you need your gutters cleaned, your sprinkler system winterized or a fall cleanup, 855-RILAWNS does it all. Want to rake those leaves but you have nowhere to put them? We offer a ‘you rake ‘em, we take ‘em’ service that might be for you. If you put your leaves within ten feet of the curb, we will vacuum and haul them away for you. The leaves are then brought to Earthcare Organic Farm in Charlestown where they are composted and resold as organic material. So much better for our environment than putting in bags for the garbage!

The days are certainly getting shorter! Mowing services continue through the second week of this month and then we’re beginning fall cleanups. If you had a fall cleanup with us last year you are on our list for this year! If you’d like to add gutter cleaning or even a garden clean out, give us a call. We’ve been very fortunate this year to hire some very skilled gardeners that can trim back any of your plants that require pruning for maximum health and blooms next spring.

Our hardscaping teams were busy this year with deck and driveway remodels. Whether you need some boards replaced on your deck or would like a stone edge on your drive, we have the crews that can handle your needs. Now is the time to get it done!

Driveway Remodel

Don’t forget to winterize your lawn equipment! How many times have you put your mower away without draining the gas only to find it won’t start the following spring? Popular Mechanics has a great article on the steps for preparing your mower for winter storage. Want someone to do it for you? We have a mechanic who will pick up, service your equipment, and return it back to you. Don’t want to be bothered mowing next year? Now is the perfect time to get an estimate for service in 2021.

Let us take the stress out of fall so you can sit back and relax!