When is the Best Time to Plant Grass?

With the end of winter and  Spring ooming, it’s a critical time for some lawn maintenance. Late September and October are months that you need to get some planting done, and get the right feeding and weed maintenance done to ensure a beautiful bloom in the Spring.

There is some question on planting season. Some people believe that spring is best and some believe fall is best.

Spring or Fall Grass Planting – What’s the Right Answer?

It shouldn’t be too complicated, but there are some important considerations.  This information is for anyone who lives in the Lumberjake.com service area – pretty much all of northern Virginia and extending west into Warrenton and Culpeper.  Here we have very mild fall and spring, with really hot summers.  In August and early September, grass can go dormant, as the oppressive heat turns off growing. If you’re not watering regularly during this time, your lawn is probably going brown.

After the heat leaves us, around mid-September, it’s time to start considering your fall planting and feed schedule.  After all, weeding your front beds and keeping leaves off the lawn in the fall is not the end of your yard work – the biggest part of your job involves the grass!

Grass grows best in certain conditions, so make sure you take a look at your yard and know the intricacies of how it grows and the conditions…Here are some considerations before your start.

• Pick the right grass seed for the weather and location in northern Virginia.
• How much sun and shade does your yard receive?
• If there is full sun, make note of it.
• Do you have any home renovation projects that could ruin the yard?
• Moist soil is needed for the germinating seeds, so get your sprinklers set.
• Weeds and foreign grasses should be removed, so make sure you line up your fertilizing schedule.
• All pest and disease problems should be taken care of. If you think there is some fungus or pest problems, you may need to have a professional inspect.
• Soil should be cultivated and soil additives or amendments applied.
• Limit foot traffic over the reseeded areas for 4-6 weeks after planting.

Overall, fall is a great time to plant. With grass growing in the fall, and then again in the Spring, there is some extra time before the new grass is exposed to drying heat of summer, and it will be that much stronger the following year. Additionally, spring can often over saturate the ground, and drown the germinating seeds before they have a chance to take root. Spring temperatures are also often too cool and delay germination.

Other reasons to plant in the fall…

By this time of year, pest and disease problems are at a minimum because of changing weather. Weeds are also less likely to grow like they do in early summer and spring. Since weeds are less of an issue, they don’t pull soil nutrients from your growing grass. Activities that are high stress to your grass, such as mowing, heat, traffic, weed competition, and inadequate watering are all less likely to occur during the fall-to-spring months, allowing a more relaxed and conducive growth environment.

This doesn’t mean you have to wait to regrow your yard. The summer months are particularly taxing, but if you are prepared to carefully monitor your yard, planting grass can occur at any time. Just be sure to keep the conditions optimal for germination, keep foot traffic free from the area, and water, water, water. The best time to plant is the most prepared time.

Adding Top Soil to Your Lawn – Reclaim Your Lawn

You’re trying to get your lawn in shape, but have lots of weeds, or moss or some other problem, the following steps will help you get started.

Topsoil and Compost Problems for 2020

When you are preparing your home remodeling projects and hardscape designs beware this year there are some considerations that aren’t typical. Since we’ve had a lot more rain than normal over the past year, we have very wet and clumpy topsoil. This is not only true for www.lumberjake.com, but for all topsoil and compost providers in the mid-Atlantic.

The clumpy topsoil problem is not too much of a problem for professional landscapers, but it often presents quite a challenge for a home do-it-yourselfer. When the topsoil is really clumpy, it is very difficult to spread. As such, homeowners may find it difficult to get the material spread evenly. Professional landscapers have two things going for them… First, they have man power. When the topsoil needs to be broken down and raked even, it helps to have an entire crew. Second, they have the right tools. Using soil spreaders can help, but they can become easily clogged. Having a commercial grade soil spreader can really help.

This spring you can expect your topsoil delivery to be a bit moist and clumpy, so be prepared to deal with it.

With the topsoil issue aside, here are the steps you need to take to get your lawn growing great this year.

1. De-Thatch your lawn. Thatch is the woven, un-decomposed grass and weed build up at the very top surface of your lawn. You may want to rent a power dethatcher for this. It’s usually around $50 for a few hours and you can bang out the job much quicker than with a hand rake.
2. Add your topsoil/or grow/compost. A good idea is to top dress the yard before over seeding. Lumberjake.com has several options depending on your needs. If you’re not sure what you need, give the Garden Center a call. Spread your top dressing across the yard in a thin layer – usually 1-2″. If you have depressions or low areas, you can fill them to level things out.  Order Topsoil or Orgrow Here.
3. Choose a seed that will match the growing conditions. It’s important to use a shade seed or a high sun seed to help your lawn grow best.
4. Water. When you first plant, you’ll want to water once or twice a day as directed on your chosen seed bag.

These steps should help you grow a beautiful lawn this summer. Order your top dressing today!

Land Clearing Grubbing & Excavation Services

Land clearing and grubbing is when we completely remove all of the trees, vegetation and brush from a site. This is one of the first phases of development and requires knowhow, experience, and the right equipment to get the job done. Depending on the size and scope of the job at hand, various heavy machinery may be used and different techniques employed.

Land Clearing and Grubbing

In a land clearing and grubbing job, trees may be pushed over and removed with roots left on, or trees may be cut down, and then the stumps ground. This depends on the site requirements and either can be accommodated. In both cases, the resulting materials can be repurposed. JK Enterprise makes the most of these resources and will grind and prepare the materials in to forestry products that can be re-used.

Professional Services for Land Clearing

There are some occasions where a site can be cleared without professional help, but for almost all commercial jobs, machinery and the right people behind the process are needed.

People play a big role in the effectiveness of a land clearing operation as the experience on site can make for a much faster and efficient process. Moreover, understanding the local laws and regulations can be a huge benefit and save time and money as the site progresses.

Site Development Planning

When JK Enterprise comes onto a land clearing and grubbing job, care is taken to properly evaluate the area and work with the site management to plan for the proper work. Our state of the art machinery is brought in and the work completed, leaving the site ready for the next phase of development. Depending on the time frames involved, there may be instances where land covering is needed after the clearing operation is complete, as the raw soil left after clearing is vulnerable to rain, weather and erosion.

JK Enterprise has the experience, people, and equipment needed to make your land clearing and grubbing job easy. Call us today and talk to one of our commercial site experts about your project. We’ll be glad to help.

Commercial Excavating Services

JK Enterprise provides commercial excavating and truck services to clients all across northern Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC. For any type of land clearing or site work, we can help with various excavators or trucks.

Commercial Excavation Services

Commercial excavation projects come in all shapes and sizes, and the site work needs can be just as varied. JK Enterprise has the people, experience and machinery to get the job done.

With over 20 years of commercial excavating experience, our operators know how to work with you to determine the scope of the job and get it done without costly mistakes or delays.

Beyond Commercial Excavating

Not only can we help you with commercial excavation projects, but we can also help in other areas of site development too.

Here is just a short list of some of our heavy equipment:

• Diamond Z Tub Grinder
• Precision Whole Tree Chipper
• Hogzilla Tub Grinder
• Extec Trommel Screener
• Retech Trommel Screener
• Freightliner Mulch Blower Trucks
• Hitachi Excavators w/Thumbs
• Precision Tub Grinder
• 5-Yard Kawasaki Wheel Loaders
• 963 Caterpillar Loaders
• Tandem and Tri-Axle Dump Trucks
• Tractors and Low-Boy Trailer
• Roll-Off Truck and Containers
• Tractors and Walking Floor Trailers

As you can see from this list, if you need help with a commercial excavating job, JK Enterprise if the company to call.

Originally Seen At: 

COMMERCIAL EXCAVATING & LAND CLEARING SERVICES IN NORTHERN VA

Popular Mulch Choices for Delivery This Year!

Mulch is mulch, is it not? Not exactly. Mulch is a basic term for the subset of organic products used to adorn and protect the ground in your garden; mulch helps to keep plants’ roots warm and nourished while improving the condition of the soil and reducing overall water consumption. Hardwood bark mulch is a common choice among Gainesville VA homeowners, but there are other options to consider when planning your spring garden and beds.

Shredded hardwood mulch

Shredded hardwood mulch lends a seamlessly natural look to landscaped garden beds and wooded scenes; JK Enterprise Landscape Supply often recommends the use of shredded hardwood for creating paths and trails. Choose shredded hardwood for steep slopes and areas likely to flood, too, because this mulch isn’t all about aesthetics — providing a solid layer of protection against unwanted moisture.

Cedar mulch

Cedar mulch smells so good. As the wood’s natural oils break down, the air is filled with a pleasant odor, and what’s more: insects be gone! Cedar mulch is a great choice for Gainesville VA homeowners who struggle with termites and other infestation. You might choose to line delicate garden beds with cedar mulch, for its fine texture will never overwhelm your prize perennials.

Colored mulch

Usually made of hardwood and shredded, dyed mulch comes in red, black, or dark brown and is delivered bagged or bulk. Colored mulch really makes a statement.  Dyed and naturally colored wood mulch are equal in performance property.

Order online today!  You’ll be just in time to get your yard ready for Easter and then the hot summer (it’s coming!).

Chimney Fires – Don’t Let it Happen to You

It's that time of year! All of your neighbors are calling and placing orders online for firewood delivery in northern Virginia. Of course we’re happy to send you the perfectly seasoned, neatly stacked firewood you expect.

But you have to be safe with it.

The first chimney fire in northern Virginia of the season was reported last week, and every year we see them happen to families across the area. What’s such a shame is that these fires are often preventable!

Chimney fires don’t need to happen.

There are some simple steps you can take to make sure your fireplace and chimney are safe to use in your home.

Our friends over at the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association have put together some guidelines for making sure your fireplace is safe to use and will avoid the danger of chimney fires.  You can get the entire fire safety report here.

Here are the highlights:

• Have the chimney inspected annually, and cleaned as necessary, by a professional chimney sweep to ensure it’s clear of obstructions and
  creosote.
• Have a cap installed at the top of the chimney to avoid the possibility that debris or animals can block the chimney.
• Install both a smoke and carbon monoxide detector. (Make sure the batteries work.)
• Keep a fire extinguisher on hand.
• Make sure the area around the fireplace is clear of furniture, books, newspapers and other potentially flammable materials. (Two feet away is the minimum.)

Although LumberJake.com sells firewood online, natural wood burning fireplaces are not the only place danger may lurk this time of year. Gas fireplaces are also very common in houses across the area.

As with wood burning fireplaces, there are some precautions you should take with gas fed fireplaces too. When a service tech comes out to service your gas fireplace, here are the things they should inspect and adjust as needed:

• Adjust millivolt output
• Clean and adjust the glowing embers and logs for best appearance.
• Clean the fan and related air circulation passages.
• Clean the glass.
• Check the batteries in the carbon monoxide detector.
• Ensure the vents are unobstructed and able to do their job.

These common sense precautions will help avoid tragedy and make your winter season happy and warm!

Don’t forget to stock up on wood now – supplies will run low before long. Get a half cord of wood delivered so you have it for Christmas (Santa likes a nice warm fire, chimney climbing notwithstanding.)

Protect Your Garden When Winter Comes to Gainesville

Have you heard? HA. Right. Have you stepped outside? Brr! We’ve got that pesky polar vortex to thank for wind chills in the teens and an ice storm that threatens to disrupt holiday travel plans from Virginia to Maine. After a hot, hot summer and a warmer than average fall Gainesville VA homeowners are stunned with the early and sudden arrival of winter.

But perhaps no one, nothing is caught more unaware by winter’s first icing than the plants in your garden. Go on and bundle up; in advance of this weekend’s forecast extreme weather, take a few minutes to take special care of your landscape.

Keep your plants well hydrated.

Dry, winter conditions aren’t kind to human skin, nor to Christmas trees, shrubs, and other evergreen plants. As these plants continue to lose moisture through their leaves, less is available in the air — and so need watering more often. Well-hydrated plans are hardier and more likely to survive a hard freeze or ice.

Cover and protect your most fragile plants.

There are plants that will easily withstand whatever Mother Nature has in store, but others need a bit of added protection. Cover your flowerbeds with a healthy layer of hardwood mulch from JK Enterprise Landscape Supply, which helps trap moisture in the ground and keeps plants’ roots warm. Keep falling snow, ice, and sleet from penetrating the surface of the ground with a windscreen; this can be achieved with two stakes and a surface of burlap. Woven burlap allows air to pass, simultaneously trapping the warm air inside and allowing for proper oxygen flow unlike plastic tarping.

Spread your salt, but do it carefully.

Salt is an effective way to prepare steps and walkways before a winter storm, but it’s important to note that when spread too far and too wide, it can negatively affect the life of your plants and trees. Salt dehydrates. Minimize the risk by using a more environmentally friendly alternative like calcium magnesium acetate. CMA is both biodegradable and non-corrosive, and poses little to no risk to animals, plants, and the rust-prone metal underneath your vehicles.

Bring potted plants indoors.

This is necessary and should happen any time temperatures drop below 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Perennials, shrubs, and trees that have spread roots underground find warmth from ground cover and wind barriers, but potted plants are far more vulnerable to damage from wind and ice. Bring them inside to bloom another day.

To learn more about protecting your garden when winter comes to Gainesville, and how premium hardwood mulch can help, contact JK Enterprise Landscape Supply at (703) 810-3654.

BENEFITS OF MULCH DELIVERY

There are few things that spruce up a property so quickly as a thick layer of mulch spread neatly around foundation plantings, perennials and trees. You can even add it in side yards and along pathways where grass can be thin and weedy.

In fact, once you start thinking about the places you can use mulch, you’ll realize that the little bags you’re buying just aren’t going to cut it. A large bag of mulch will only cover an area 3’x4’. That’s about the area under one dwarf tree.

Luckily, there is an alternative to hauling dozens of wet, dirty plastic bags in the trunk of your car– bulk mulch delivery.

The Benefits of Having Mulch Delivered

Mulch delivery is beneficial in many ways. First of all, there’s no tedious lifting and loading (then unloading) your car, and no multiple trips.

There are no wasteful plastic bags to dispose of, and we can deliver your mulch as close to the worksite as the dump truck can get. Trust us, you’ll appreciate it after the tenth wheelbarrow full.

There is a minimum order for bulk mulch delivery. It’s 10 cubic yards. It’s hard to visualize how much that is, but ten yards is enough to cover an area 30 ft by 36 ft, three inches deep. That might still seem like a tremendous amount, but when you’re outside, measurements seem very different.

Let’s do the math: say you own a ranch-style house with four-foot-wide foundation plantings on three sides (the fourth side is the driveway). The house measures 60 feet x30 feet.

(60×4)+(60×4)+(30×4)=240 + 240 +120 = 600 square feet, at three inches thick = 150 cubic feet or about 5.5 cubic yards. Don’t worry, we have a handy calculator for you to use, I’m just showing you the process.

That’s over half your truck load right there. If you have any trees or plantings in your yard, it won’t take too long to use up the rest, and you can always split a load with your neighbor. And if you have room to reserve a small pile, you won’t have to buy the bags to refresh your mulch next year.

It’s far more efficient, environmentally aware and just plain easier to have us drop off a truckload at your home. Call us today to schedule a delivery of the finest mulch money can buy! You won’t know how your home did without it.