DG Installation in Reno

DG 2

Key Takeaways

DG installation enhances landscapes:

• Low Maintenance: Decomposed Granite (DG) is a low maintenance landscape material, ideal for property enhancement.
• Visual Appeal: Applying a 1 1/2" - 2" layer of DG around shrubs and perennials offers a clean, aesthetically pleasing look.
• Easy Application: Adding more DG to landscapes is simple and can significantly beautify your property.

Check out our lawn cleanup services.

The time of year has come to start taking a look around your property and seeing what needs to be done. So this weekend stand out on your front porch as your grab your morning paper in your bath robe with a cup of coffee in hand and take a quick look at what might need to be done around your property before the mowing season starts. Most homes in Reno have parts of their property surrounded by Decomposed Granite (DG for short). Even if you didn't realize it, your property probably has DG somewhere on it, and although it is the lowest maintenance portion of landscape you have, it is something that still needs to be attended to every now and then. DG is Granite Rock that has decomposed over time, or been crushed down to become another type of low maintenance decorative rock that is used on most properties in Reno. The problem is, over time the DG decomposes even more and is either just blown away or thins out. Although it is not necessary to add more DG to your landscape it is a very easy process you can do on your own or hire someone to do beautify your property. For a nice clean look around your shrubs and perennials, it is recommended that you have between 1 1/2" - 2" layer of DG. This will last for several years and allow you to decoratively rake your DG so your landscape looks like the sand traps of a PGA golf course.

Cory's Lawn Service is currently adding DG to 15 homes in the northwest Reno area, and wanted to take a quick video of what we have done on a local customers property, to help beautify her desert-scape for years to come. If your DG coverage is looking a little thin please feel free to contact us for any help you might need.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgZXd4LoRL0&context=C4e51814ADvjVQa1PpcFPx7JAKY9g4keXtgbnMg3LFetFh9D1Z5Uk=[/youtube]

Green Industry Great Escape

GIGE

Key Takeaways

The Green Industry Great Escape offers insights and opportunities for growth:

• Networking Opportunities: Brings together industry professionals and entrepreneurs for networking and knowledge sharing.
• Inspirational Keynotes: Features influential speakers discussing innovation and success in the landscaping business.
• Accessibility Concerns: Highlights the need for more affordable access to benefit smaller businesses.

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The beginning of the month was a benchmark for lawn and landscapers across the country. A conference called the Green Industry Great Escape was held in the Bahamas at the famous Atlantis Resort. This event was hosted by the Professional Landscape Network, with several other noteworthy sponsors like Caterpillar, STIHL, and John Deere. The purpose of the event was to bring in industry professionals, successful business owners, and the dedicated entrepreneur to a beautiful resort to experience key note speakers, network, and discuss how to manage for success in 2012.

Looking at the lawn and landscape business over the past few years it is hard to even imagine a conference like this to attract the little guys like myself along with 90 percent of the lawn and landscape business's around. A key note speaker Tom Oyler said, "“I hate to see people come in who can bully and buy, and they’re not innovative,” Oyler says. “They just have capital. I love the small guy." It is strange to hear this come from a conference that is being hosted at a resort that my wife and I could not even afford to go to for our honeymoon, let alone for a 3 day conference. On the other hand this island has probably one of the most complicated landscape designs and up keeps imaginable so the tour of the island with director of landscaping, Tony Burzo was probably worth the money of the trip itself. It just seems that a trip like this is directed for the big wigs, and the industry leader with money, and not for the "little guys" that Tom loves.

A conference of this magnitude would have such an impact for the little guys if it was affordable to attend. It is obvious that in our city and with this economy the lawn care business has resulted to a mass undercutting of your competition and taking anything you can get. Tom Oyler, also discussed at the conference the positives of pooling your different talents and resources together instead of just being focused on acquiring your next client. These are the items that small business need to hear and be educated on for the success of their business in the future, which is why conferences like Green Industry Great Escape should possibly think about having more accessibility to their conference for the "little guys".

Ultimately I have read that this conference was a huge success which allowed people in the states to follow along with their twitter hash tag #GIGE2012. Maybe next year, if Professional Landscape Network decides to host this event in another exotic location they might want to look at video web casting some of the key speakers on their website so people across the world can be educated on ways to help their lawn and landscape small business.

Reno Snow Removal (Video Blog)

Key Takeaways

Reno snow removal insights:

• Climate Consideration: Selecting a snow blower in Reno doesn't mean purchasing the most expensive; it's about value for your climate.
• Service Delivery: Cory's Lawn Service responds promptly to snow events, as seen with the recent 4" snowfall in Summerset.
• Community Engagement: The company initiates video blogs for lawn care tips and business updates, enhancing customer connection.

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If you live in Reno and over the years have been sick of the back breaking labor of shoveling snow, I have some suggestions of what snow blower you should buy. Our climate it doesn't necessarily mean you should go buy the biggest and best snow blower out. If you want to look at investing into buying a snow blower and want to get the most bang for your buck, watch our video blog for our recommendation. Although downtown Reno received almost no accumulation today, Summerset did get about 4" so Cory's Lawn Service was there to serve our customers. While I was out I wanted to attempt our first video blog which I hope to continue especially throughout the lawn season with lawn care tips, advise, and documentation with whats going on with our business. I hope to upgrade our video quality in the near future, but for any of you that do video blog or have any recommendation please leave a comment for us to help improve our production.

Lawn Aeration in Reno

Aerator Picture

Key Takeaways

Lawn aeration benefits:

• Enhanced root growth: Aeration allows more oxygen, nutrients, and water to reach the roots, encouraging healthier, thicker lawns.
• Optimal timing: In Reno's cooler climate, aeration should occur in spring and early fall, avoiding the stressful summer period.
• Aeration methods: Options include professional services or DIY with rented equipment, emphasizing preparation like watering and marking sprinklers.

Check out our aeration services.

As we approach closer and closer to the time of activating our waters and thinking about mowing the grass it is very important in Reno to aerate your lawn at least once a year, if not more. Reno is known for it hard compact soil which can cause very thinned out grass over time if you do not aerate. Lawn aeration removes cores of soil from your turf which then allows more oxygen, nutrients, and water to penetrate to the roots of your grass. The soften soil allows the roots to grow more rapidly which results in a much more think healthier lawn.

When Should I Aerate in Reno?

Since  Reno is actually known as a cooler climate, hence our dormant winters, lawn aeration should be done before the major growth seasons. This would primarily include aerating your lawn in the spring before the major lawn growth occurs and after the summer growth towards early fall. Although lawn aeration is extremely helpful for your lawn, it is also stressful on the turf so try to avoid aerating during summer.

why_aerate_photo

Whats the best way to go about aerating my lawn?

There are a couple of options for this, and if you are not the do it yourself type of person than just call one of your local lawn professionals and they can take care of it with probably a minimum charge of $40-$60 for lawns with less than 2,500 square feet. If you like to do it yourself, I would recommend asking your neighbors if they would like their lawn aerated and see if they would be interested in chipping in some money to rent an aerator which normally run about $75.00 a day. This is a great way to serve your neighbors and get some major kudos. There are also hand core aeration tools that are significantly cheaper, but also comes with the price tag with some back breaking labor, so I don't even recommend that.

A few Suggestions

Whether your are going to aerate yourself or pay someone to do it, make sure you water your lawn thoroughly the night before to allow the soil to soften up. This will allow the aerators to do their job properly and remove cores 1"-2" instead of just bouncing along the dry soil and hardly remove anything. Mark your sprinklers with flags or just put large rocks over them for protection while aerating, to prevent breaking any sprinkler heads. Finally, make sure the highly traffic areas get a little extra attention from the aeration because theses areas are probably really compacted.

If you have any other questions on lawn aeration in Reno, even if you don't plan on using our service, feel free to send me an email and I would be more than happy to answer questions you might have.

How To Tune Up Your Lawn Mower For Spring.

Key Takeaways

Lawn mower maintenance offers:

• Enhanced Performance: Regular tune-ups can significantly improve your lawn mower's starting and running performance.
• Extended Lifespan: Addressing basic maintenance tasks like changing oil, filters, and spark plugs can extend the life of your mower.
• Cost Efficiency: Performing these simple tune-up tasks yourself saves money on professional service fees.

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Even though your lawn mower has just been sitting these past few months in the garage, side yard, or shed, there are some basic tunes ups to consider before your try and start it up. Lets just be smart and think about this for a minute, the gas has been sitting in that tank for six months,  just like me you probably didn't change the oil or air filter at the end of the season,  and how about  that spark plug? These are 4 basic items that are super cheap, will help your mower start on the first pull, and significantly improve the life of your mower. Replacing these items are super easy so don't waste your time and money going down to your small engine shop to have them charge you $100.00 or more to do this quick 20 minute job. First of all find you lawn mower manual and if you lost it, just Google search ( "brand","your lawn mower serial number", "manual") ie (Toro, 9384751934, manual) and you should find it online. If you are like most people and bought your lawn mower at Home Depot or Lowe's, they most likely have spark plug and air filter packages you can buy together which makes it super easy. Since a picture is worth a 1,000 words I am guessing a how to video is worth way more than that. Since I just changed the oil, spark plugs, gas, and air filters on all my mowers, so I found a couple of quick video's from some experts at Lowe's that are simple and will help you step by step.

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Reno Lawn Care Tip's for Dry Winter

Key Takeaways

Reno's winter lawn care involves:

• Watering Practices: Water during temperatures above 50°F and before 3pm to allow for proper drainage.
• Hose Management: Fully drain hoses and store them correctly after use.
• Grass Care: Implement two twenty-minute soakings for grass, with a pause in between for absorption.

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For anyone that has lived in Reno longer than a year, it is obvious that we are going through an extremely dry winter. In fact according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOA), Reno is experience one of the top 5 driest winters on record books. So what does this mean for your plants, trees, and grass? Well just because it is winter does not mean we should not stop watering. Most winters in Nevada we can count on the rain and snow to normally take care of the recommended one inch of monthly precipitation that is vital to vegetation, but so far we have not been able to count on it this year. Have you been freaking out because you look out the front window to see your "on top of everything" neighbor activating his sprinkler system a few times a week to water his plants? Well it should be a concern that your plants and trees are not getting the water they need but I would no go as far as activating your system in February while we are still having freezing temperatures nightly. KTVN did a recent interview with Steven Fine from, "Reno Lawn and Landscape" about the issues with the dry weather (below).

Although I believe it is helpful information, this is something that can be done by a home owner and does not require the special attention from a professional as long as you keep to a few guidelines. Here are a few things you should and should not do to help your plants, trees, and grass throughout the rest of winter while we continue our dry spell.

DO:

• Water during temperatures above 50 degree Fahrenheit

• Water before 3pm to give time to drain.

• Completely drain your hoses and store them properly.

• For Grass: Two twenty minute soakings with time in between to soak.

DON'T:

• Water while the ground is frozen.

• Water later in the evening.

• Activate sprinkler system, unless really familiar with winterizing the system right after.