Lawn Maintenance & Landscaping

Residential & Commercial

We are fully insured!  Our services include: trimming, pruning, clean-ups, mulch installations, landscape installations along with weekly or seasonal lawn cutting/mowing.

Mulch
What is mulch? How much should you use?

Mulch makes your flowerbeds look great – but it does so much more. It also retains moisture, slows down weed growth, provides nutrients, controls erosion and insulates the soil, protecting plants from extreme temperature variations.

The Basics
Mulch is any material, organic or not, placed over the surface of soil. Hardwood, Cypress, Pine and Cedar are the four basic types of decorative mulches sold today. Each of these have differences in appearance and function.

Starting the Mulching Process
Measure your landscape to figure out the total square feet to be mulched.
Decide what color and texture of mulch will give your landscape the best visual appeal.

Ask yourself if there extra functions needed from the mulch, such as erosion control or soil conditioning.  Decide on a budget.

Tips For Making The Most of Your Mulch
For a more attractive landscape design, follow these steps before applying mulch:

Clear the entire area of weeds, leaves and grass. If you are enlarging your landscape onto an established lawn, be sure to strip the sod completely.
Edge the border of your landscape and lawn, using a flat shovel or a power edger.  Trim all nearby trees and shrubs.  If mulching over existing mulch, be sure to loosen up the old mulch to ensure better moisture penetration.

Now you're ready to mulch!  Get the best results by spreading the mulch with your hands at a thickness of about 2 inches. Don't allow the mulch to make direct contact with plants or tree trunks.  Doing so might encourage the stem/trunk to rot. Also, don't allow mulch to make direct contact with wooden structures in case of termites. Don't use lightweight materials such as chunk bark in areas prone to flooding. They'll float and wash away. 

After you're finished mulching, water the mulch down to put moisture into it and to settle it into place.

Bags vs. Bulk
The choice between bagged product or bulk product is a question of convenience and preference.

Bulk products are often available at a less expensive price point. Bulk material is delivered in just one location. As a result, the user will need to physically move the product using a wheel barrow or similar tool into the various landscaping beds. Once installed, the bulk material leaves little to no waste byproducts.

Bagged good are typically higher priced than bulk products. The bagged material allows the user to easily move the product from location to another without any needed tools or inconvenient mess. Bags may be placed in the landscaping beds where they will be needed and then opened and installed when it is convenient. Once installed, the bagged material requires the user to dispose of the empty bags.

Amendments:
Bulk soil amendments are similar to mulch, and in some cases, they are made of the same materials. The difference is that amendments are for mixing into the soil and then decomposing. Mulch is for laying on top of soil and decomposing slowly, if at all.

The best kind of soil amendment is compost that you either buy or make yourself. Composted agricultural by-products are available in many areas and make excellent soil amendment or mulch.

If you're making a new lawn, spread a 2-inch layer of compost over the soil and use a rotary tiller to cultivate it into the soil to a depth of about 6 inches. At this rate, you are adding 30 percent (by volume) organic matter to the soil.

Area Calculations:

Draw your site as accurately as possible - graph paper works well. For odd or complex shapes, divide the area into combinations of rectangles, triangles, and/or circles. Use the following formulas to determine area:

Rectangle:  Area = length x width
Circle:  Area = 3.1416 x the square of the radius
Triangle:  Area = 1/2 x length of base x length of height

To determine topsoil requirements for areas of varying grade, use a transit to indicate exact fill requirements...or estimate an average fill depth. Usually soil does not have to be ordered all at once so you can always bring in more...better too little than too much!