What can I do to control weeds in my yard? What are some lawn fertilization mistakes to avoid? How can I choose the best layout for my garden? SIMPLE ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS IN THE YARD Introducing Ask Troy. Simple answers to your questions in the yard. As a homeowner, you have your hands full. You have to control weeds, plan a garden, find a mower – and that’s just the start of it. Ask Troy is Troy-Bilt’s way of helping you when you need it. We’ll answer your questions in the yard and some you didn’t even know you had yet with this collection of helpful tips, articles and more. About Ask Troy .................................. 3 LAWN & GARDEN EQUIPMENT INFO LAWN PROJECT TIPS & HOW-TO’S What Type of Lawn Mower How Can I Control Weeds Should I Buy? .................................. 18 in My Yard? ........................................ 4 Which Tools Do I Need as How Should I Care for My Lawn a Beginner Gardener? ..................... 20 from Season to Season? ................... 6 What Are Some Lawn Fertilization LAWN & GARDEN EQUIPMENT Mistakes to Avoid? ............................ 8 MAINTENANCE What Are Some Low-Maintenance What Are the Most Lawn Care Tips? ............................. 10 Common Equipment Maintenance Mistakes? ................... 22 GARDEN PROJECT When Should I Perform TIPS & HOW-TO’S Routine Maintenance What Are the Steps to Properly on My Mower? ................................. 24 Plant a Flower Bed? ........................ 12 What Should I Prune in Each Season? ................................. 14 What Are Some Tips for a Successful Garden? ..................... 16 2 3 How Can I Control Weeds in My Yard? Some of these plants are not like the others; some of these plants just don’t belong! Sing it! When it comes to taking care of our lawns, we can all agree on one common enemy: weeds. So what can you do to get rid of them and make sure they don’t come back time and time again? These 6 tips will lead you to a weed-free yard that stays that way. Pull ‘em: First thing’s first. To keep your yard free of weeds, you’re going to have to remove any that are already there. Set aside 10-15 minutes once a week when it’s warm out to pull any weeds that have appeared since the last time you weeded. Make sure to get the whole weed, roots and all. Apply herbicides: You may also want to consider applying herbicides to problem areas. Fall is ideal for controlling weeds with herbicides because, in response to cooling temperatures, weeds move food to their roots for winter storage. Herbicides also get pulled down to the roots, which helps prevent weeds from growing back. Reseed problem areas: Once you’ve done your due diligence pulling those pesky weeds, it’s time to reseed the problem areas. Reseeding those spots will help prevent weeds from filling them in. Cut high: To prevent weeds and improve the overall health of your lawn, use sharp mower blades to trim your grass to the tallest recommended height. Taller grass shades the soil, helps it retain moisture and hinders weed germination. Aerate and fertilize: Keeping your yard healthy is a big part of weed prevention. Weeds do not like to compete for space, nutrients, water and sunlight, so they are less likely to invade thick turf. Lawn fertilization and aeration in the fall can strengthen your turf and help keep weeds away. Water generously: Making sure your lawn gets enough water is also an important part of controlling weeds – not only for the health of the grass, but because well-hydrated weeds respond better to herbicide treatments. 4 Want to learn more about reseeding? Watch this quick video 5 for an overview on proper techniques. How Should I Care for My Lawn Whether it’s a source of personal pride or solely done to create from Season to Season? curb appeal, we all strive to achieve and maintain a lush, green lawn. But you don’t get the perfect yard by working in the spring and slacking off for the rest of the year. Here are some season-by-season lawn care tips that will ensure your yard is the envy of the neighborhood all year long. Spring Summer Fall Winter • Prepare: Sharpen your mower blades to ensure • Keep mowing high: A lush summer lawn starts • Control leaves: The easiest way to deal with • Prune or trim trees: Pruning trees is easiest clean cuts and tune up your mower if needed with deep, healthy grass roots. Continue leaves in the fall is to chop them up into dime- in the winter because the leaves are gone and with a new sparkplug. You may also want to buy mowing at the highest setting for your grass size pieces using your lawn mower and let them you can see the entire canopy. Use a pole saw fresh gas, since gas that sits over the winter can type to encourage deep roots and thick growth. naturally decompose. Leaves that small won’t like the TB25PS to safely reach higher branches. accumulate moisture, which hurts small engines. cause any damage to your lawn. • Treat for grubs: Beetle larvae can start feeding • Keep off of the lawn: Grass becomes dormant • Clean up: Grab your rake and remove any on grass roots in early summer, resulting in • Aerate: If you have cool-season grass, fall is in the winter in most regions. Protect it during its leaves and twigs that have accumulated during unsightly dead patches. To check for them, pull the best time to aerate your lawn to help water, resting periods by limiting foot traffic on the lawn. the cold months to clear the way for fertilizer back the sod and look for white, C-shaped fertilizers and oxygen reach grass roots. Choose Avoid parking vehicles on the grass as well. and herbicides. If left on the lawn, wet leaves grubs. If you see more than 10 per square foot, a day when the soil is damp, but not soaked. can smother your grass. treat your yard with a chemical pesticide. • Melt ice carefully: Select ice-melting products • Mow short: In late fall, drop your mower height that are meant to be used around the yard. • Mow high: Position your deck height to cut the • Water: To keep your grass green, make sure to cut your lawn 1 to 2 inches shorter than usual. When used in excess, rock salt (sodium grass at the highest setting for your grass type. it gets 1 inch of water per week, via either This helps prevent snow mold come spring and chloride) can damage plant roots. This will encourage grass to grow thicker with irrigation or rainfall. When watering it yourself, keeps leaves from matting down the grass. deeper roots, to help stave off weeds. aim for early morning between 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. • Make plans: Plan the landscaping and to minimize evaporation. • Fertilize: Fall feeding is critical. If you gardening you want to do, come springtime. • Fertilize: Give your lawn its first feeding in have cool-season grass, fertilize around If you decide to hire a landscaper, meet with mid- to late April, when soil temperatures • Feed: Using traditional fertilizer in the heat Labor Day and then a second time 6 to them to go over options. reach 55 degrees. Fertilize again about four of summer can harm your lawn. For your 8 weeks later. If you have warm-season weeks later, in mid-May. summer feeding (6 to 8 weeks after your grass, you’ll only need to fertilize once, second spring feeding), it’s best to use an in early fall. • Fight weeds: Spot treat for weeds. Use a organic material. Consider grasscycling, spray weed killer in lieu of hand weeding to which is simply leaving clippings on your • Seed again: Now is the perfect time to patch Your Mower avoid disturbing the grass and unearthing lawn after mowing. These will naturally bare spots in your lawn and thicken thin areas Needs Care too. dormant weed seeds. If you’re not planting decompose and fertilize your yard. by overseeding. grass, lay down a pre-emergent herbicide as Watch these videos to get weed prevention. • Remove remaining weeds: Remove any • Plant and transplant: Fall is ideal for planting your mower ready for spring. weeds that survived an herbicide application, trees, as cooler temperatures reduce stress Riding Mowers • Sow: Patch and thicken your lawn with a bit using a garden fork. You should only consider on their roots. Planting flower bulbs later in of spring sowing. Early spring is the best time a post-emergent herbicide if the situation is out the season will help them establish strong roots Walk-Behind Mowers to sow for cool-season grass, and late spring is of hand. before winter. If you have plants or shrubs that recommended for warm-season grass. you’d like to transplant, do that now too. 6 7 Wrong Formula One of the most common mistakes gardeners make when tending to their lawn is choosing the wrong fertilizer. Factors like grass type, soil type, your yard’s foot traffic and climate conditions should all be considered when shopping. The What Are Some Lawn Fertilization wrong combination of nutrients can poison your soil, affecting Mistakes to Avoid? your grass and other nearby plants. Make sure to look at the fertilizer numbers on the packaging, which refer to the amount of core nutrients that the fertilizer contains. Being savvy about this will help you select the best fertilizer for your lawn. Failure to Dethatch Dethatching is an essential step in maintaining the look and Fertilizing is an essential step in health of your lawn, since layers of dead organic material maintaining the look and health of tend to accumulate on your grass before being covered up by snow.