Florida Lawn Weeds

Mulch is magical for our gardens

Mulch is magic. Mulch turns stone to soil, protects your plants from the dangers of the string-trimmer, adds a much needed organic component to your soil and helps keep unwanted weeds from popping up.

Turning stone to soil sounds a little too good to be true, and perhaps it is, but mulch can alter your soil profile from pure limestone to something a bit more organic and beneficial for your plants. South Florida’s main type of “soil” is Miami limestone, read “rock.” It doesn’t hold nutrients or water well. It is hard to dig in. It is high in pH, which causes nutrient deficiencies. And did I mention it was rock?

When you add mulch to your garden beds, it breaks down with the help of decomposers like millipedes and beneficial bacteria and fungi. The broken down mulch becomes rich, organic material that helps augment our terrible soil and makes it something much more agreeable to grow your plants in. Mulching is kind of like on-the-spot composting and it is a must for the South Florida garden.

Mulch is also a great protector. If your plants are left to grow on islands in the vast sea that is your lawn, you will undoubtedly have some grass growing up and onto the trunks of your plants. If you pay someone to cut your grass, or even if you do it yourself, your plants are not safe as long as grass is encroaching on them. The string-trimmer is often used with much satisfaction by your lawn company to remove grass growing next to your plants, which in turn, strikes and damages your plants. The outer layer of most plants is very often damaged by string-trimmers, and it is that bark or phloem that transports energy produced by the leaves to the roots. If this vascular tissue is damaged, plants will suffer and can even wither and die. A mulch border keeps grass away from plants and, more importantly, keeps the string-trimmer far enough away to avoid damage.

Weeds are always a problem in the garden and mulch helps to keep them at bay. Weeds have a much harder time germinating in a thick layer of mulch than in top soil. A nice layer of mulch also makes landscapes look better and more uniform.

Real Green Systems conference hosts LCOs in Florida | Absolute ...

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Real Green Users Conference took place in Florida last week, offering lawn care operators and their technicians a chance to learn about everything from invasive species to social media.

The annual event, organized by Real Green Systems, brought about 400 LCOs to central Florida for five days of technical and management training, as well as a few healthy doses of entertainment: attendees were treated to a casino night Thursday and a hypnotist show Friday. 

Highlights of the show included:

Emerald Ash Borer Elliott Schaffer, owner and founder of Environmental Horticultural Services in Dublin, Ohio, outlined the threat posed by this invasive species. First discovered in Detroit about eight years ago, this pest feasts on healthy ash trees – which cover two thirds of the continental United States – with no known natural predator, making it particularly “insidious,” Schaffer said.

But, there is still hope; Schaffer treated 1,300 trees last year with a 98% success rate. “We can protect any tree. We just have to treat it,” he said.

Mostly, he injects trees with imidicloprid, which so far has worked well. “This is all proactive, folks. It’s like a flu shot – get this treatment before you get the emerald ash borer,” he says.

He cautioned technicians to be on the lookout for woodpecker activity, a thinning crown and vertical splitting on the bark. The insects are a half-inch long and a sixteenth-of-an-inch wide, so you’ll likely never see them with your naked eye, he says. They feed on leaf tissue, but again, that damage is so minute, that it’s hard to see.

“Unless it’s a heavy population, you’ll never see the feeding,” Schaffer said.

Social Media •    Increase your fan base by sending out coupons or free articles for signing up or leaving positive feedback about your company. Moyer Indoor Outdoor hands out a $10 rebate to anyone who posts something to their Facebook page about a good experience they had with the company, and also collects the e-mail addresses for use in future in-house marketing campaigns. Brad Johnson, owner of LawnAmerica in Tulsa, Okla., spoke on how companies can measure their customer satisfaction.

Florida

Florida

Florida: A Guide to the Southern-Most State

Florida

Florida, the land of enchantment; including an account of its romantic history from the days of Ponce de Leon and the other early explorers and settlers,and the story of its native Indians; a survey of its climate, lakes and rivers and a description of its scenic wonders and abundant animal and bird life; and a comprehensive review of the Florida of to-day, as a state important for its industries, agriculture and educational advantages as well as the unsuprassed and justly celebrated winter resort of America, with unparalleled attractions for health and pleasure seekers, nature lovers, motorists and sportsmen