The Property

Homeowner, Dale Tebby loved the look of a nicely kept, green lawn. However; how to get there continued to baffle him?  “I couldn’t grow grass, and I was becoming really frustrated with trying,” shared Dale, laughing.   For years, he struggled to keep his property both green and healthy. Frustrated, he reached out to the lawn care industry for assistance, however, the initial company he had contracted were unable to bring his lawn back to health. 

Before giving up completely, Dale decided to give one another lawn care company a try, Earth Elements. He wanted  to see if their customized approach would be able to aid his ailing lawn. “Since then, I’ve been told that it was most likely that the grass wasn’t getting enough water,” he stated. 

The Challenge

When property owners see brown patches, the automatic response is often to fertilize the property.  These chemical fertilizers consist of high amounts of salt.  When properties are overfertilized, this salt builds up on the lawn burning the grass instead of nourishing it.   In fact; when lawns are stressed, fertilizer applications can sometimes cause more harm than good. 

When Earth Elements arrived, they immediately noticed that the lawn was extremely burnt and damaged.  Further investigation revealed that the damage occurred from the property being both overfertilized and underwatered.   As a direct result, weeds and clover were able to easily take over the property.

Recommendations

Earth Elements prides itself in providing customized recommendations to all their clients.  This includes assessing not only the needs of the property but also responding to both the goals and challenges of the property owner.  Hearing both Dale’s challenges and goals, including lacking time to invest in regular lawn maintenance, Bill provided his recommendations.  “He shared, what you need is an irrigation system, and while we are ripping up the lawn, let’s start you off right with new top soil and sod,” shared Dale.  There was little to any healthy turf remaining.  However; Earth Elements didn’t want just to fix the lawn and go.  Instead, they offered a long-term solution that would help establish a healthy and thriving lawn.

The Process:

Earth Elements solution provided Dale’s home with a fresh start.  This began by removing the surface layer, including the damaged turf and weeds and adding in 6 inches of Hutcheson soil blend. This rich soil blend, which is normally used for golf course tees, helped ensure that the new sod would get off to the right start. However; before applying the sod, Earth Elements installed an underground irrigation system.  Automatic irrigation ensured that the water would get right to the roots of the turf, providing the new lawn water exactly when and where it needed it. With the irrigation installed, Earth Elements did a final rake out and re-sodded the entire property.

Follow Up

Happy with the services and advise that Earth Elements provided, Dale requested that the company take over the regular maintenance for both the lawn and irrigation system.  Every year, Earth Elements aerates, overseeds, fertilizes and top dresses repairing any winter damage and establishing a strong foundation for a healthy lawn season.  “Each spring they come in to add any seeds, fertilizer, whatever the lawn needs to get it off to the right start,” said Dale. “I just cut it.”  In addition to the lawn care, Earth Elements conducts seasonal maintenance checks on the irrigation system, ensuring that each component functions at its maximum efficiency.

Five years later, the lawn still looks incredible. Dale shared that he is incredibly happy with both the products and service he has received from Earth Elements. “The lawn gets watered at 3 am every morning,” shared Dale.  “The entire organization is great. They arrive in a timely fashion and get the job done quickly and efficiently.”