When it comes to achieving a lush and vibrant lawn in Northern, IL and Southeastern, WI, having the right tools can make all the difference. At Lawn Doctor, we're proud to introduce the Patented Turf Tamer Power Seeder – a cutting-edge solution that can transform your lawn into a green oasis. In this blog post, we'll explore the remarkable benefits of this innovative technology. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaN7UxqhCoE The Power of the Turf Tamer Power Seeder The Turf Tamer Power Seeder is a game-changer in the world of lawn care. It's a patented piece of equipment designed to address common lawn issues and promote healthier grass growth. Here's why it's making waves in Antioch: 1. Precision Seeding: Unlike traditional seeding methods, which can be hit-or-miss, the Turf Tamer Power Seeder delivers precision seeding. It places seeds at the optimal depth and spacing for maximum germination, resulting in a denser, more even lawn. 2. Improved Soil Contact: ...

When it comes to achieving a lush and vibrant lawn, regular maintenance is key. One often overlooked but highly beneficial practice for lawn care is aeration. If you're aiming to transform your lawn, into a thriving oasis, keep reading to discover why lawn aeration should be a part of your lawn care routine. Understanding Lawn Aeration Before we delve into the advantages of lawn aeration, let's clarify what it entails. Lawn aeration is the process of perforating the soil with small holes to allow air, water, and nutrients to penetrate deeply into the root zone. This practice helps address common lawn issues and encourages healthier grass growth. The Benefits of Lawn Aeration Improved Airflow: Over time, soil can become compacted, restricting the flow of air to the grassroots. Aeration breaks up the compacted soil, ensuring that oxygen reaches the roots, promoting robust growth. Enhanced Nutrient Absorption: Nutrients are essential for health...

Lawn Early April 2016 The spring of 2016 has brought just as many surprises and challenges as any in the past few years since we began writing this blog.  The spring began with a lot of early sunshine in March and no snow cover, which resulted in little to no snow mold on the lawn this spring.  The early sunny days allowed for the grass to begin greening up as the sun began slowly rising higher in the sky.  Although the temperatures did not rise early the sunlight allowed for the first phase of the lawn to begin waking in spring.  The lawn goes through two stages in spring, greening up- which allows for sunlight absorption to begin producing food for the plant through photosynthesis.  The second stage of spring lawn is growth which comes after photosynthesis begins and soil temperatures rise with warming temperatures.  Various weather conditions each spring is what causes varying spring green up and growth.   Lawn Early April 2015 ...

Dull blades cause browning of leaf tissue tips There are many cultural factors that can influence the appearance of the lawn in addition to irrigation and fertilizing.  These consist of proper mowing practices such as proper mowing height and sharpening your mower blades regularly.  Commercial lawn mowing companies sharpen their blades daily and or weekly.  This insures that the blades make a smooth clean cut to the leaf tissue.  Most homeowners fail to keep up with this practice and as a result their lawns can suffer.  As a homeowner mowing your own lawn you should insure that your blades are sharpened every 4 to 5 mowing's or monthly throughout the mowing season.   Shredded leaf tips from dull mower blades Dull mower blades can create damaging effects on your lawn.  A dull mower blade shreds the leaf tissue instead of cutting it clean.  This shredding causes damage to the leaf tissue and can leave your lawn with a light brown have c...

                                      Every year many homeowners in Antioch, Lake Villa, Gurnee, Waukegan and Lake Forest look forward to their lawns greening up from winter dormancy.  Many new and existing customers question why their lawn or neighbors lawn is greening up at varying rates.  I am hoping to explain some of the reasons why this happens along with pictures to explain.                     Lawn is really greening up around mulch bed, why? Soil temperatures  Each spring seems to bring varying temperatures, sunny days and rainfall totals.  These three factors along with grass types influence the lawn greening up in spring more than any other.  Lawns need soil temperatures to rise above 40 degrees, weekly rainfall to be adequate in the one to two inch range and most importantly many hours of sunlight....

What is all that white moldy looking stuff on my lawn? Snow mold is present on most lawns in Antioch, Gurnee, Lindenhurst, Lake Villa and Northeastern Illinois this early spring.  Snow mold is a fungus that grows on leaf tissue under wet snow cover during the winter months.  It is dependent on cool temperatures, moisture and dark cover.  We just experienced about 35 days of continuous snow cover from early January through this past week allowing the fungus to grow to moderate levels.  The quick warm up we are experiencing has melted the snow cover fast.  As the snow melts, sunlight warms the newly exposed ground elevating temperatures outside of the acceptable range of growth for the fungus.  Raking or mowing the fungus while still active could actually spread the spores and cause more damage next year under similar conditions.  The best thing to do is to let the turf and fungus dry out while the sunlight and temperatures rise.  Most lawns w...

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Save 5% and get 2 FREE Iron Treatments in 2014!!!  Pre Pay letters have been sent out to all current Lawn Doctor customers with a 5% Off and 2 FREE Iron Treatment Offer.  By using the online payment option and entering the coupon code in the letter you can Save an Additional 2% Pre-paying for your 2014 lawn care program now insures your lawn will be greening up as soon as the weather breaks next spring.  Pre-paid services will be the first services performed as the weather begins to warm next spring and the weeds begin to grow.  Take advantage of the discount now along with the peace-of -mind knowing your lawn will be "healthy for life" with the Lawn Doctor lawn care program.    Spring 2013 Antioch customer lawn Spring 2013 Gurnee customer lawn Keep an eye and ear open for our New Services being offered in Spring 2014 that will revolutionize the lawn care industry!!! For further information regarding the importance of ...

Labor Day weekend is the unofficial end of summer and lawns are suffering from a lot of normal heat and drought stress associated with this time of year.  Although we started off the year with heavy rains in April and adequate rains in May the lawns dried up quickly in June, July and August.  June ended up at around normal rainfall due to a rainy last weekend of the month, but July and August are way behind in normal rainfall totals.  In fact according to Weatherbug as of today August 30th, August rainfall is a mere .17" in the Gurnee area.  Remember, 1-2" of precipitation is needed per week for turf grass to remain vigorous during the growing season.  As a result many non-irrigated full sunny areas of grass are fully dormant and brown.  Irrigated and or shaded areas are hanging on with green color but a heavy rainfall is definitely in order. Non-irrigated full sun turf 8/30/2013 A lawn can resist the stresses of summer better when irrigated properly...

Once again this year,  a week or two makes a huge difference in the Midwest weather.  Throughout this week the soil temperatures have shot up into the 100 degree plus range in most sunny areas.  Rainfall has been non-existent since July 1 and we are only at .18" of rainfall so far for the month.  This is the opposite of my July 5 post where I was looking backwards at the conditions of the end of June and praising mother nature for cooler temperatures and rainfall.  This turn of events has been ideal for the growth of lawn diseases such as rust and has severely dried out the clay-based lawns found in most of the Lake county area.  The high heat and lack of rainfall has also resulted in many brown and low-growing lawns across the area.  We all have to remember this is normal for the month of July and early August and every fall when the temperatures drop and rainfall is more common the lawns return to their full green and thick appearance.   ...

      Here is just one sample of how the Lawn Doctor program can help turn a sparse lawn into a green and thick lawn in just 6 weeks.  The main difference between our lawn care program and that of our competitors is in the products we use.  Our program uses all granular fertilizers which fertilize the entire turf plant from the roots upward.  This means that the turf benefits from root and rhizome growth during the cool and wet spring months.  Liquid fertilizers just green up the leaf blades at the top of the plant and are not beneficial for the entire turf plant.  As seen below our fertilizer program helps bluegrass to promote its root structure and rhizome growth.  This helps the plant grow laterally and fill in the turf area.                     This picture was taken in late April around the time of our first fertilizer application.             ...

WOW!  What a Season to Remember       The 2012 growing season has finally come to a slow and casual stop.  Unlike many years prior to 2012, this season has been one of the longest on record with the number of soil temperature days above normal.  An early warm up in mid-March started the season several weeks early and now the fall has taken a few extra weeks to wind down.  This extended season has brought us many challenges from some of the most severe evergreen damage this spring, to one of the hottest and driest summers causing insect and drought damage and finishing with an extended dry fall.       With the wild weather and all the challenges I'm glad to wind down and take look at all the beautiful lawns we have successfully maintained through the season.  As you prepare your landscapes for the holidays please take notice of your lawn and compare it to some of the neighbors who don't benefit from t...