When you stop to think about it, your lawn plays a huge roll in your life this time of year. You sit on it to enjoy the picnics and the fireworks, you spend your Saturdays mowing and edging it. Summer is a great combination of busy and relaxing, and your lawn is a part of it all.  Believe it or not, Summer is getting ready to wind down for the year. This means it’s time to give your lawn the boost it needs to make it through the last leg of the August heat and transition into the Fall.

We recommend Fertilome Lawn Food Plus Iron. A good all-around lawn food with iron for fast immediate greening on all types of lawns. The iron in the product is chelated for fast, long lasting green-up of the lawn. It contains two types of Nitrogen, which allow for quick greening and long term stable growth. All that healthy green growth up top going into Fall will set your lawn up to be able to gather all kinds of energy from the sun, sending it down to it’s roots. These healthy roots will store that energy through the Winter and use it to make a great comeback in March. (you’ll also want to apply our Winterizer in October to complete the process) Keeping up on a healthy lawn now will pay off way down the road!

Remember to leave your lawn a little longer during this hot dry time of year to help preserve water and help maintain optimum lawn health.

Time to plant annual flower beds, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, beans, basil and other tender vegetables and herbs! Be sure to prepare your soil with some nutrient rich compost.  With all the moisture we’ve had, your soil will be wet for a while. Let it dry out just a little before using a heavy tiller to avoid soil compaction. When adding compost sooner,  just gently incorporate it into the soil with a shovel.

It’s a great time to plant shrubs, ornamental trees and fruit trees as well! If planted now, they will have the next month to get established before the summer heat sets in. It is essential for the long term health of your tree or shrub that it’s roots get well established before it starts using it’s energy to put growth up top. Avoid pruning (which stimulates top growth) for the first season. We recommend adding an application of Ferti-lome Root Stimulator with every tree or shrub planting. Encouraging the establishment of a healthy root system at the time of planting will pay off in the vigor of your tree or shrub for years to come.

Research is telling us YES, and it’s not just the sunshine and fresh air that go along with gardening that are to blame. There are tiny microorganisms in soil called Mycrobacterium vaccae that trigger the release of serotonin in your brain. Serotonin is a happy chemical and the lack of it causes depression or anxiety. Getting your hands right into the soil will literally lift your mood!