Thanks to my Dad who played “spray model” in this one. Those are his knockout roses that were infested with the Japanese beetles. If you are viewing the blog in the email newsletter, please click the title above to come to the site and view it. I get some nice closeups of the beetles on this one!

Here is an organic/natural/green insecticide choice that I would also endorse for killing Japanese beetles. Get a couple bottles guys… this is not a concentrate. It is pre-mixed in a small spray bottle.

I was talking to a buddy this weekend about his lawn and something occurred to me. But before I go into that, let me tell you a funny story for a moment: a story sadness, abuse and of lawn care injustice!

This friend of mine (who shall remain nameless) has been struggling with his grass for a couple years; and this season he finally gave up his pride and asked me for help. Of course, I was happy to offer him a discount price of $7 for my lawn fertilizing ebook! (”business is business” as they say!)

All has been going well in his yard as far as I knew until just yesterday he called me telling me that my book was crap and that my lawn treatment plan was bogus! So, of course, I gotta defend my little pea patch, so I stormed over to his house to see what the heck was going on and guess what? … it was his dang fault!

You see, my friend was doing all the right lawn care applications: fertilization, weed control, crab grass control, etc: but he did not know (or care to read about) the very basics.

He had been scalping his lawn (mower set on very lowest setting) from the beginning because he was under the impression “that is how golf courses do it.” The abuse is in the fact that he was destroying his perfectly good turf by cutting it too low, but the true injustice is in the fact that he blamed me for it! Ain’t that just the way things go sometimes?

(No, the pic of that hand in grass above is not from his lawn, that is actually my lawn where I took him to demonstrate what a proper cutting looks like.)

Story over (my friend has to buy me a 6-pack now to apologize ): but wait… I checked the blog stats and we have gotten more than 200 new newsletter subscribers here in the last month. Welcome ya’ll. However, that means that many of you may have missed out on some of the very basic lawn tips that act as the foundation for everything else.

With that in mind, here are some articles for all of you to read and brush up on the basics of lawn care before you go trying to get all fancy and make your lawn look like a golf course! By the way, one of our most popular articles ever on this site is about Lawn Striping. But before you can have a lawn worth striping, you need to get it healthy and green.
Here are some helpful links for you guys!

How To Mow Your Lawn Properly

How To Fertilize Your Yard

Best Sprinkler To Buy, How To Water Your Lawn

Growing Grass, Lawn Seeding

And last but not least: get the book for $7 on step-by-step lawn treatments. It works; I know cuz I use this same treatment schedule on my own lawn.

Lawn Treatment Schedule Book

Ok, so first off, we need to get out clean up any trash that is lying around. Garbage out on the lawn looks bad, but even worse, underneath the garbage is a perfect breeding ground for fungus! Watch the vid and see the color difference in the lawn when I lift up the piece of debris.

I actually look stupid in this vid, but the point is solid. Watch it ok?

(if you are seeing this in an email, you need to click on the title above to come to the blog and view the vid)

In addition, we need to make sure and rake up any leaves that are left from last fall. Get them ALL! We need to let our beautiful lawn breath freely as it wakes up from winter slumber.

Now, if you want to, you can call a landscape pro to do your cleanup for you. You can get estimates for spring cleanup by clicking here.

A note to regular readers: Guys, I am really looking forward to this year’s lawn care season. I have purchased a high definition video camera and I want to go 100% video posting. With that, I think I can convey my passion for lawns a little better and also teach you guys a little better.
I also recommend you get my ebook on lawn care. Not to schlep my crap, but because the lawn care program I outline works! thanks guys, I appreciate you.

If you want to become a regular reader too, please subscribe to the blog by entering your email in the form on the top right. No spam ever! we love lawn care.