Landscape Calendar—How to Keep the Garden Healthy and Blooming

The Truth about Weed Barrier Mats

weeds-crabgrassWeed barrier mats are made of porous, plastic, woven sheeting to allow penetration of water to plant roots and prevent weeds from germinating. The idea behind weed matting is to suffocate the weeds and keep them from coming up through the mulch by applying this woven fabric on your garden beds. The fallacy is weeds still grow on top of the surface over time. The roots of the weeds extend down through the woven fabric and make them even more difficult to eradicate. When a weed is pulled in conjunction with this matting, the roots are locked into this blanket. Roots break off and the same problem exists.

Our solution is to eliminate weeds by carefully applying herbicide in accordance with the directions at the recommended rates. This will get to the roots, killing the plant and preventing propagation. If you prefer more organic methods, then pull the weeds (refer to Farmer’s Almanac for best days), after which apply a 3-4” base of mulch in landscape beds to hold in moisture and prevent weed seeds from seeing light and germinating. If you see patches of dirt in your beds, then weeds have a safe haven to grow. Applying fertilizer and organic matter will also present an unfavorable haven for weeds (as they prefer more compact, unhealthy soils).

If you need garden maintenance, please contact us and we’ll take care of the dirty work!

Steps to Tree Stump Removal Made Easy—

If you’re having a few trees removed, now is a good time to consider what to do with the stump removal-land clearing-lot-landscaperstump. If it is a small tree, sometimes the stump can be removed with a shovel. For the bigger jobs, here’s a tip. When cutting the tree, leave 3-4’ of tree sticking up from the ground instead of chopping off at ground level, especially if a building project is planned for the area. This will make it a snap for a sizable tracked excavator machine or bulldozer to grasp the timber section of the stump protruding from the ground to remove. This will alleviate future time and expense for building contractors forming driveways, roads and foundations.

If the trees have been previously cut to the ground level, not to worry. A little extra heavy-duty machinery can come to the rescue! We use our skid steer loader and track excavator backhoe to dig around the sides of the stumps, drop the bulging stump into the loader bucket and haul to our trucks to remove from the area. Fill dirt and grading are also part of the services we provide. If you need stump removal and big machinery to get the job done, call Lawn-N-Order Landscaping at 828.712.1590.

Preparing the Site Before Land Clearing

lot-land clearing-debris-cleanup-property development

Unless you’re building on a cow pasture with no trees in sight, you will want to prepare the site before a land clearing crew arrives. Walking the land with your architect, landscape designer and contractor will be prudent during this foundational process. As professionals with experience, they can advise the best views, environmental advantages and avert potential hazards while making financial recommendations that will save money, time and headaches later. After this meeting, prepare with these tips:

  1.  Consider the house footprint and other buildable areas to clear. These should be marked off clearly with neon paint or tape. (i.e. driveways, septic tank and leach fields, wells, garages, outdoor patios, fire pits)
  2.  Property boundaries should be marked clearly for land clearing.
  3.  Consider the road access for construction and heavy excavation machinery for land clearing on the property. Where will it be stored daily to not constrict traffic flow?
  4.  Protect trees that will not be cleared by taping off around the tree out to the drip edges or beyond. Compaction of the soil in these areas around the roots will deprive it of oxygen and bring about death. In addition, piling soil or debris around a tree or its root system will also kill the tree.

For a consultation with us, use our easy contact form online to schedule an appointment. We’d love to talk to you about your land/lot clearing needs and to educate you on other proper procedures to ensure your land is treated with environmental delicacy when land planning. Our forestry mulcher and chipper can leave your lot and land clear with no environmental damage occurring. Call us today at 828.712.1590.

 

 

Lot and Land Clearing Bidding Process and Questions to Consider

Before land clearing, some considerations have to be in place before a contractor and crew start clearing. When hiring a landscape contractor ask yourself these questions in order to clarify what exactly you want them to do. You will be better prepared to compare apples with apples in the lot and land clearing and bidding process. Each landscape contractor may have a different vision for what a lot should look like afterwards but may not measure up to your expectations. Consider these factors in the bidding process:

  1.  What do you want the lot to look like when it’s cleared? (Having photos of
    299 d CAT-grapple bucket-land clearing

    The grapple bucket attachment mounted to our 299D CAT xhp devised to lift trees, rocks, logs, brush, culverts and more up to 4500 lbs.

    other cleared lots will help explain your vision.)

  2.  Do you have valuable timber on your property and do you need to contact a lumber broker for resale?
  3.  What happens with the trees, debris and large stone after clearing? Is it hauled away, piled out of site or burned?
  4.  What about drainage on the site? Do you have any or anticipate any potential drainage issues?
  5.  Are there zoning, HOA covenants, restrictions or permits required before the job can start?
  6.  What areas do you want to be cleared and preserved?
  7.  Are there view scapes to consider and how will they be cut out?

We are equipped to handle the production of lot and land clearing with our machinery for this type of work. Our equipment includes a 299D CATxhp mulcher with clearing head on skid steer loader, a Woodsman 18x Chipper with winch and drag loader equipped with a rolling wheel, a grapple bucket attachment to lift and maneuver weighty, awkward size materials, a Kubota track hoe with thumb and Kubota BX-24 tractor with backhoe. You are guaranteed a fast, efficient thorough job leaving your property clear, clean and void of mess and debris ready to build, plant or develop.

If you’re ready to discuss your property needs with a professional, call our office at 828-712-1590 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.

Seven Autumn Garden Tips

garden tips-landscaper-lawn-n-orderBefore winter sets in and you get too cozy by the fire, take some time to stroll through the garden to do these last minute chores. Just doing these will help preserve your garden while it sleeps through the winter and prevent damage to your beloved plants.

  1. Snow and rain can cause leaves to mat down and smother the grass. So be sure to rake away those accumulating leaves! Even those blown over from your neighbor’s yard and garden. Just pay it forward!
  2. You can continue to plant pansies and snapdragons for winter and early spring color. The plants may look a little wilted on cold days, but as soon as the sun warms them, they perk right up. Fertilizing with Osmocote after planting will keep them blooming throughout the cold months and give them a boost for spring in your garden.
  3. Now is a great time (October) to use dormant or sun oil to treat scale on your trees and shrubs. As long as the weather isn’t extremely cold, spray now to smother the scale on the leaves and stems. This will keep your garden healthy.
  4. Planting new shrubs and trees in the garden will give them time for the roots to get established before the plant breaks dormancy and begins the work of producing foliage and flowers.
  5. Keep your waterfalls and water features running or install an aeration device to keep water feature-aeration-landscaper-Ashevillethe surface from freezing. A solid surface of ice over the water feature will trap harmful gases under the surface and harm the fish.
  6. The weight of ice and snow can seriously damage your evergreens. Take a broom and gently brush off ice and snow. If damage occurs, call us, and we will recommend a course of action to save the specimen.
  7. Keep a garden journal. Make notes of plants you want to replace, transplant or change in your garden for the upcoming season. Record what worked and didn’t work. Then note it on your calendar and give us a call when spring arrives.