Rain, we need rain. Not drizzle, not a thundershower, a GOOD STEADY RAIN. It’s been over 6 weeks now since we’ve had a good rainy day. In the fall, when so much good is accomplished on lawns and in landscapes, regular rainfall is a key ingredient. We’ve still got lots of time left for fall yard activities season (beyond Thanksgiving). We’ve not had anything resembling cold overnight temperatures (the lowest so far being 47 degrees overnight), but all of our work thus far has been slowed by the dry spell. I’m writing this Newsletter on October 3rd, and hoping that by the time you’re reading it we’ll have had a couple of good, rainy days.
I will discuss in the Lawns In October section, under Seeding in October what we can all do to help recently seeded lawns and/or areas of lawns to speed up seed germination and plant establishment. But let me offer here that supplementary watering is greatly encouraged, at least until Mother Nature gets into the game. And, rest assured that we’re nowhere near the end of fall seeding season. If you’ve considered seeding but have not yet gotten around to it, GET TO IT. Soil temperatures dictate when seed germination ceases for the year, and our soils are still basically at summer temperatures. This is another reason for supplemental lawn irrigation when seeding; you’ll really speed up germination time in conjunction with the warm soil.
Lawn Depot Turf Management is working hard to finish up its early fall application work, and are within a couple of weeks from wrapping up their fall seeding jobs. Again, the dry weather has slowed our progress with these chores and wreaked havoc with equipment. That being said, we’re approaching the end of this phase of our season, leaving only our late fall core aeration jobs, WINTERFEAST late fall fertilizer application and liming to do in November and beyond. Overall, this has been a terrific year for our Turf Management Division, for which we thank all of our loyal customers greatly. Any of you who are not yet Lawn Depot Turf Management customers but may be interested in having the best service in the business work on your lawn in 2020, please give us a call (215-348-5553) or look on our web page (www.lawndepotinc.com) and click on “Request An Estimate”. We’ll be out in November and early December to evaluate and measure your lawn, and will send you a proposal for 2020 services shortly after the New Year.
Lawn Depot Garden Center’s nursery is still filled with beautiful plants (mums, cabbage, kale, pansies, perennials & small shrubs), as well as lawn and gardening products (seed, fertilizers, tools, control products, plant protection products, bird feed and feeders, and more) in the store to help all you do-it-yourselfers get professional results in your yards and gardens. And, as always we’ve got a talented and friendly staff, both in the store and nursery yard, to help solve problems and give ideas to improve results. It’s the part of our jobs that we enjoy most: getting to know and help our customers. Through October 20th, Lawn Depot hours will continue to be Monday-Friday 8-6, Saturday 8-5, and Sunday 9-3. Beginning October 21st, as the days get shorter and darkness comes earlier, we’ll be open Monday-Saturday 8-5 and Sunday 9-3.
Remember, there are still 2 months left in the 2019 year of lawn and garden activities. IT’S NOT TIME TO SHUT DOWN OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES YET. We’ll be looking forward to seeing and working with you several more times this year.
Bob Button