A Healthier, Happier Lawn
With Yard Guard!

Author: Sidne

When is the Best Time to Water Your Lawn?

Understanding some of the foundational strategies for watering your lawn is crucial for maintaining a healthy and beautiful turf. The following guidelines serve as a starting point for understanding when the best time to water your lawn is, including frequency, timing, duration, weather considerations and water retention. While the following information is a helpful guideline, all lawns are unique and have different influences that will affect our recommendations. If you need help with your watering practices, start with what we have outlined here and then adjust accordingly. By implementing these strategies thoughtfully, homeowners can nurture their lawns effectively while contributing to sustainable water usage practices.

Frequency:
We advocate for the practice of deep watering. Deep watering allows your soil to dry out between watering cycles, prompting your lawn’s roots to delve deeper in search of nutrients and moisture. This process fosters a robust root system and promotes the overall health and strength of your turf. Deep watering happens when you water every other day, which if you follow the City of Bozeman’s watering guidelines you would already have this practice put in place.

Timing:
The best time to water your lawn is in the morning, ideally between 5 am and 8 am. During this period, the temperature is still cool enough to minimize water loss through evaporation. Additionally, the weather is typically calm, reducing the risk of water being carried away by wind. Morning watering allows the lawn to dry as the day warms up, mitigating the risk of fungal diseases like leaf spot or mushrooms. Starting your sprinklers around May 1st, even with expected rainfall, can help protect your lawn against diseases and drought during the summer months.

Duration:
Your lawn requires approximately 1½” of water per week, typically beginning around May 1st. A general guideline is to run each zone for 30 minutes. This should equate to .5” of water every other day when doing deep watering. If you’re unsure whether that is happening or not, ask your Yard Guard technician or send a note to our office that you would like a Yard Guard measuring cup. Placing this cup in various lawn zones can verify water distribution. Alternatively, a small tuna can may serve as a makeshift measuring device. Adjusting sprinkler times based on individual needs can optimize water distribution and avoid overwatering or underwatering certain areas.

Weather Considerations:
When considering weather conditions, the primary focus should be on ensuring your lawn receives the required 1½” of water per week. Coordinating watering schedules with rainfall can be beneficial, provided the lawn receives the right amount of moisture.

Water Retention:
Given escalating concerns about water retention, it’s crucial to water your lawn as efficiently as possible. Beginning early in the season is advisable to avoid trying to compensate for water deficits once temperatures rise. One trick we recommend is turning your sprinklers on early in the year and monitoring the rain. When it rains the equivalent of ½”, you can skip the next watering! Maintaining a consistent supply of organic material is essential for soil health, as organic-rich soil can retain more water and reduce compaction, facilitating proper water absorption. This is one of the main tactics in our Blended Organic Program.

In response to water retention efforts, we had planned to test a water-saving product this year on our test plots in Beall Park. However, due to the anticipated high drought conditions, we will be offering this service to our clients starting in 2024. Although the products claim you can reduce watering up to 50%, industry standards fall more in the 20-25% range. Many of our industry friends have reported positive results with this product, and ongoing tests will provide more precise retention data. For more information about this product, click this link.

We hope this information provides a helpful jumping off point for nurturing your lawn. If any of these points brings more questions to the forefront, give us a call and we’d be happy to talk through this with you. Remember that it’s not a one size fits all plan. It’s important to start somewhere and adjust accordingly to your properties preferences! Your lawn is a living, breathing thing and will have its own particular desires!

Spring Lawn Problems and Best Practices

If you are anything like me you are probably wishing for more snow each Sunday night as you fill the new core shots on your skis or snowboard. However, while it may feel like things are finally starting to look like winter, warmer temps and longer days are right around the corner. So as you begin to hang up your skis and boots and bring your mountain bikes in for a fresh tune, it may also do you well to start thinking about your lawn. In this article, I will discuss a few of the common lawn problems we see with lawns in early Spring and how to prepare for those. That way come summer the only thing you have to think about with your lawn is the BBQ you want to have on top of it.

Vole damage
Each year after the snow melts you may notice small tunneling trails criss-crossing your lawn with loose dead grass atop them and wonder what caused it. The answer, Voles. These rodents normally live in the fields and prairies surrounding our lawns but in the winter they tunnel underneath the snow and take up residence in our lawns. The damage the voles cause occurs when they dig up and eat the crown of the grass effectively killing the grass blade which are the leftover remnants.

Now I know you might be thinking “Tate there hasn’t really been a snowpack in my yard. Do you think I will see vole damage this spring?” While I too am hopeful that the mild winter will reduce the vole damage this year it’s important to remember the words of Jeff Goldblum’s character in 1993’s Jurassic Park “life finds a way.” In the instance that you do see vole damage this year, don’t panic. By June your lawn should have recovered from that damage and have filled back in. However, if you want to take a few extra steps to speed up the process go ahead and rake up the dead grass that is on top of the lawn. Then, apply a half inch of topsoil over the affected area. This will ensure that the remaining grass roots in the area stay moist while the grass fills back in.

If you want to learn more about preventative vole measures click HERE to see a blog we wrote about that very issue.

Snow Mold
Snow mold is a pinkish-white or greyish-white type of fungus that affects cool-season turfgrasses and causes circle-like brown patches. The fungus that causes both types of snow mold is always in the soil but remains inactive during warmer temperatures. That is why as the snow begins to melt and temperatures range from 32 – 45 degrees, it creates an ideal environment for these fungi to release their spores. The main difference between the two types of mold is the extent of the damage they can potentially have on the turf. Gray snow mold can only harm the grass blade while pink snow mold has the potential to harm both the grass blade and the grass root. If you see either type of snow mold in your lawn, don’t panic, it’s not a death sentence. Most cases resolve on their own. If you want to take some form of action your first step should be to gently rake up the area that is affected by the mold, this will break up any compact grass and allow the soil to dry quicker and prevent more mold from growing. In the instance that you have pink snow mold and it was able to affect the grass to the root, reseeding the affected area will help to fill in the patch.

Watering
Almost all of the turf grasses you will find in Southwest Montana are considered cool season turf grass. This means that the grass is happiest during the cooler temperatures we experience in the spring (optimal temps are between 60-75 degrees). This means some of the best preventative measures for your lawn can be taken in the spring while the grass is at its peak growing season.

The first step you should take is turning on your sprinkler system early. I know at times during a Montana spring it may seem like we are getting a ton of rain, but from April of 2023 to June of 2023 Bozeman only got just over 4 inches of precipitation according to the National Weather Service (⅕ of the moisture our lawn needs). Our lawns are happiest when they get 1 ½ inches of water each week. So while it may seem like mother nature is taking care of our lawn for us, it’s actually struggling to survive with such little water.

To combat this we recommend turning your sprinklers on as soon as freezing night time temperatures are out of the weekly forecast generally speaking, mid to late – April. Once your system is up and running you should be shooting for 1 ½ inches of water per week on your lawn. If you are concerned that a section of your lawn might not be getting 1 ½ inches of water each cycle, ask one of our technicians for a rain cup when you see them this spring or you can put out an empty tuna can which will also hold about 1 ½ inches of water when full!

Fertilizing
One of the best things you can do for your lawn is to put down a spring fertilizer application. Not only will the fertilizer give your grass a nice green up and full look, it will also promote growth in the root systems which will help the lawn throughout the summer as well as create turf that will outcompete the weeds trying to grow in the same resource area as your lawn! Yard Guard uses a granular fertilizer blend, affording us the opportunity to apply this fertilizer in almost all conditions. Light snow, rain, shine we can apply in all of them. Since it’s a slow release fertilizer the product will naturally get “washed in” to your soil over time and the nutrients will be available for the grass to grab whenever it needs. We also have a Blended Organic fertilizer that will add more organics to your soil making more soil nutrients naturally available! If you want to hear more about our Blended Organic fertilizer give us a call!

I hope that these tips will help you feel empowered to get the lawn of your dreams this year and I look forward to seeing some of you this spring!

Is it Better to Power Rake or Aerate Your Lawn?

Picture this, it’s spring and you’re excited to have a nice green lawn, but you still have stubborn brown and yellow grass that seems to take forever to disappear so you start asking yourself: should I power rake, dethatch or aerate, or do all three???

All good questions to ask when you’re trying to take care of your lawn. Unfortunately, if you turn to the internet, you’ll probably get several different responses so I’m hoping to shed a little light on what we recommend for Southwest Montana.

Let’s address a few things:

Should you dethatch your lawn?
Is it better to power rake your lawn?
Should you aerate your lawn?

We’ll step back and address the grasses that grow in and around Park County and Gallatin Valley, define what dethatching, power raking and aeration are and then answer the questions with our recommendations.

First, what types of grasses grow here? We have cool season grasses, typically a mix of Kentucky Blue Grass and Fescue. Cool season grasses love the temperatures in May and June and Late September and October, but you won’t catch these grasses in the warm climate of the South. Our grass has a very short growing season, usually mid-April to mid-October.

So why is that important? Since we don’t have a very long growing season, our grasses don’t have the chance to build up a thatch layer which brings us to answer the question: is dethatching recommended for my lawn?

Dethatching Recommended?

I’m going to start by saying that each lawn is unique and will need different things based on your mowing practices, soil structure and biology, fertilization practices, etc. so this answer will attempt to address the average lawns that we see.

Dethatching is the practice of removing excess dead grass, debris and whatever else may be between your soil and grass layer (aka thatch), preventing the soil from receiving adequate sun, air and water. This is done via your standard handheld metal rake or something you can tow behind your mower.

At Yard Guard, we find dethatching unnecessary as this practice won’t get rid of all the brown and yellow grass that you’re seeing. Instead, we would prefer that you mow your lawn short in the early spring, think late March/early April, (before it comes out of dormancy) and bagging those clippings. This should give you pretty much the same results in half the time. The other option is to simply do nothing and wait 2-3 weeks until your lawn starts growing evenly.

Is it better to power rake your lawn?

Power Raking is a very aggressive and unnecessary approach. This uses a machine that’s about the same size as a push mower with tines that turn and rip the thatch up from the ground. While this might sound great, our season doesn’t create enough thatch to need this. Also, this approach will not only rip up thatch, but also a large amount of healthy, established roots. While you’ll receive instant gratification by removing some of the brown grass, it actually sets your turf back about a month in terms of its growing season, which is only a couple of months long anyway.

Just like with dethatching, we don’t recommend power raking your lawn. If the brown grass bother you, we recommend one of these two alternatives:

Do nothing and wait 2-3 weeks for your turf to have even, green growth
It might seem odd, but get out in late March or early April and mow your lawn on a short setting before it comes out of dormancy and bag the clippings. This will remove the brown grass you see and show more of the new green grass coming through.*

*You can only mow your lawn short while it is still in dormancy. If you are too late and do this once it starts to green up you will stunt its growth.

Should you aerate your lawn?

Compaction is the number one limiting factor in soil. Why? Because compaction restricts air (the main limiting factor in growth), and water (which runs off rather than being absorbed on compact soil), then sunlight (obvious), then nutrients.

With that, let’s talk about aeration. Aeration, whether done mechanically or with a liquid product, is the process of aerifying the soil, allowing more room for oxygen, water, and nutrients to take its place. Compaction is created from the use of the lawn (walking on it, pets, etc), poor soil structure (biology and organic material) and originally from home construction in the first place

If there is one thing we could recommend all of our customers to do every year (outside of being on our Blended Organic Lawn Program) it would be aeration. Whether it be mechanical, liquid or both.

We are now offering a liquid aeration product that we love. It took a while to find one that wasn’t just going to be a temporary solution, aka didn’t use organic material or biology to change the soil structure. So now, our customers are going to receive a better product, not have to mark their sprinkler heads and they don’t have to deal with those plugs everywhere! We’ll be doing this application in the summer so give us a call if you’d like to add it to your lawn care program.

I have always appreciated these questions from customers because they are essentially asking “what is the best thing I can do for my lawn to make it thrive?” I hope that with this blog, it’s more clear about what we recommend for our area. At the end of the day, I don’t want you to waste your time and money on unnecessary services that could have the reverse outcome that you were looking for.

Our Favorite Winter Activities

Happy New Year! Hopefully, you’re reading this after doing a little bit of celebrating for the year to come, even if it was just a quick raise of the champagne flute!

We write a lot of blogs that are focused on helping your property be the best it can be, but for this one, we want to help you get to know some of our staff more so that the next time they come out to visit your property you can strike up a conversation on a mutual interest! Our customers and our staff are the heart of our business!

So we went around the room and asked our staff that are on for the winter season:

What are your favorite winter activities?

Keri (Customer Service Representative):
Keri is the happy and bubbly voice that helps you figure out all of your lawn, tree and holiday lights needs!

Keri’s Favorite Winter Activities:

- - Staying Inside – she’s not a huge fan of the cold.
  - Selling stuff from her phone on her couch – If you didn’t know, Keri also runs her own online boutique called Just Rad Market and it is truly RAD! Check it out if you’re also hanging out on your couch shopping.
  - Hanging out with her family of 6 + 2 Great Danes – (hopefully you’ve seen Gus on our Instagram, if you’re not following us yet, start now!)
  - Snowshoeing – She braved her fear of the cold and rocked some snowshoeing!
  - Potentially Pow Surfing – she said that she was getting a Pow Surfer for her husband, Ricky and that she would maybe be giving it a shot. Of course let’s all encourage her to do so!

Tate (Field Manager) –
Tate gets to do a little bit of everything at Yard Guard, but his main focus is helping out current staff with questions and maintaining quality control, but you’ll also see him training new staff, spraying lawns and trees here and there and helping customers when they have questions about their property.

His favorite things:

- - Skiing – if you didn’t know, it’s said that Yard Guard has created a bit of a ski cult, eh hem, I mean club and Tate is a full contributing member of the club!
  - He loves Mexico, so he can’t wait for the next time to go surfing and buy the amazing street tacos!
  - In his spare time, he’s also growing out his mullet and may take up bobsledding. We wish him good luck in his endeavours 😂.

Cisco (Customer Services Representative):
Cisco’s voice rivals Morgan Freeman and if you’ve ever called and spoke with him, you probably get the overwhelming sense that everything will be all right.

Cisco’s Winter Favorites:

- - Hopefully skiing – We’re also trying to induct Cisco into our club, we’ve found him some boots and it’s only a matter of days before he’s ripping down Bridger Bowl!
  - Watching Football and cheering on the Georgia Bulldogs!
  - Spending time with family – his girlfriend Victoria and their two dogs!
  - Smoking Things – as a Georgia native and an expert in BBQ, we get pretty excited when Cisco offers to cook something for the team on the Traeger! Check out our Facebook post for our End of Year party when he whipped us up a crawfish boil!

Colin (Owner):
The man who makes it all happen! Colin makes sure all of us are well taken care of and that Yard Guard is running efficiently! Most days he spends his time in the office, but he loves to get out and meet our customers and vendors when he has the chance.

Colin’s Winter Activities:

- - Skiing – Colin is the leader of this infamous Yard Guard ski club. If you joined Yard Guard and didn’t ski before, you certainly do now.
  - Snowmobiling – rivaling his love for skiing, you’ll also see him zipping around and enjoying the “sweet” smell of two-stroke.
  - Working – if you know Colin, you know he loves what society would consider “working.” For him, finding a better way to do lawn & tree care or reward his employees brings him a ton of joy and in the winter he gets to focus on Finding A Better Way to do these things.
  - Going to Mexico – Colin & I (Sidne) love going to Mexico and enjoying the sun and reading a book on the beach. Usually we’ll try and make a couple of trips down in the winter.
  - Traveling – because winter is our down time, now is when we get to take the time to travel. Beside Mexico, Colin loves doing ski trips or loading up the camper or sled and heading to different places to explore. This year we’re (Colin and I) headed to Japan to ski some POW!

Sam (Lawn Technician) –
Sam is one of the kindest people you’ll ever meet! He’s always willing to lend a hand and is well known for helping our customers as much as he possibly can so they’re excited about the health of their property.

Sam’s favorite activities:

- - Skiing – Sam’s been skiing forever and has now become part of our club! He’s one of the bada** skiers ripping down Bridger!
  - Pow Surfing – he’s also a big fan of Pow Surfing so hopefully he’ll be teaching Keri a thing or two!
  - Hanging out with family – if you know Sam, you know that hanging out with his wife, Madi and their black lab, Lida brings Sam so much joy!

Reilly (Lawn Technician) –
Reilly has been with Yard Guard for two seasons now and is always eager to help and learn! When he’s not hiking around Three Forks, he loves making sure the shop is clean and that everything is running smoothly for his teammates!

Reilly’s Winter Activities:

- - Snowboarding – (maybe one day we’ll get him to ski ;)) but this year, Reilly is learning how to snowboard!
  - Leaving – when he’s not learning how to snowboard this year, he’s excited to travel South to the warmer weather!
  - Going to the Hot Springs – While he didn’t have a favorite, it was very clear that he was excited to hang out in the hot springs and relax with a beer!

Sidne (Office Manager + the person writing this blog)
It’s always hard to write a description for yourself, but my main focus at YG is making sure the customer service team has the support they need and then helping Colin with whatever needs to get done. I love working on growing the business and helping with marketing when time allows!

My Favorite Things:

- - Skiing – I was also not a skier when I first started at YG, but you should see me now! This winter, I’m just praying for snow….
  - XC Skiing – I love a good workout, so cross country skiing is a good alternative and something I can do quickly after work to burn some calories.
  - Traveling – I love planning fun trips in the winter, whether that be our quick getaway trips to Mexico or something larger like Japan!
  - Reading – because we’re not as busy in the winter, I’m able to take the time to learn from different books that will help during our busy season!

I would assume that if you are living in Bozeman or Livingston during the winter, you can relate to many of these! Hopefully we see you the next time we’re on the mountain (please pray for snow)!

Happy New Year to you! Cheers to 2024.

The Best Holiday Lights Around Bozeman

Tis the Season For Holiday Lights!
There’s a reason every Hallmark Holiday movie looks like it’s set in Bozeman… we’ve got charm, loads of cute puppies, a fun bunch of small businesses and snow! Holiday Lights are an area where Bozeman really shines!

We’re also home to light displays that would make Clark Griswold need to kick it up a notch, too! What better way to get your family into the holiday spirit than tossing everyone in the car with some hot cocoa or coffee, turning up your Christmas playlist and staying warm while you take it all in!

Yard Guard has helped to add to the festivities around Bozeman this year by installing lights on loads of homes in the area, so we’re privy to some of the best drives. Friends don’t let friends miss out on an awesome time, so here’s our list of must-see neighborhoods and experiences!

Use our interactive map to help you locate all the fun stops listed in our blog!

Livingston

You won’t want to miss the Christmas light display at Depot Park! It’s straight out of a Hallmark movie and we guarantee an awesome time!

Find them on Facebook for event updates!

Bozeman

Sherri’s Christmas Drive Through

Sherri’s Christmas Drive Through at 8670 Fowler Ln is a local favorite with a light display that gets bigger every year! This one is THE Christmas house! While you’re there, make sure you also drive through the Home 40 neighborhood- just start at the intersection of Clancy Way and Fowler Ln and you can’t miss it- it’s like an explosion of Christmas cheer! Yard Guard did several amazing homes in that neighborhood!

902 West Babcock Street

Photo Credit

West Babcock Street is a local favorite as well- this one’s known as the Bah Humbug house and once you see it, you’ll see why!

15 S Western Ave
Western Avenue always goes all out and this neighborhood will keep the Merry Christmas vibes rolling! 15 S Western Ave is the showstopper, but you’ll love driving down the whole street!

313 Powder River Ave
You know a house is gonna be great when you can see it before you even turn onto the street! This is one of those rad houses that has music synced to the display- just turn your radio to the station listed in the yard and enjoy the show!

4486 Shadowglen Dr
This house is known as Christmasland, so you know it’s gonna be good! They may even have a hot cocoa station set up; if you need to replenish your mugs, here’s your chance!

Black Bull Neighborhood
This neighborhood went all out with holiday lights! When you’re driving down Love Lane, you’ll see several houses in the distance just twinkling with joy! This one’s a personal favorite of Yard Guard’s- we’ve got several amazing Holiday Lights customers over there! Durston and Baxter are the streets you’ll be looking for!

Gallatin Heights
After you drive through the Black Bull neighborhood, you might swing over to Gallatin Heights and check out another neighborhood that really decked the halls! We’ve got a house in Bobcat colors that we’re pretty crazy about over there and 349 Mammoth Fork is another local favorite- your whole car load will have fun pointing out the movies in their display!

Belgrade

Photo Credit

Belgrade has some of our favorite events for the holidays! You’ll definitely want to take a look at some of these dates and put them on your calendar! The Truck Convoy is one of my favorite events of the year- I’m sure your families will love it too!

(Belgrade Holiday Events you don’t want to miss!)

Belgrade Senior Center

Photo Credit

The Belgrade Senior Center at 92 E Cameron Ave will put a smile on anyone’s face! This one’s a walk-through display, so button up those coats and stretch your legs while you take it all in!

527 Red Barn Dr
If you’re in the mood for a 15 minute perfectly festive light show (and who isn’t?), this is the one for you! Tune your radio to 103.9 and you’ll be in for a treat!

Cameron Bridge Rd
You’ll definitely want to make some time to take in the awesome displays off Cameron Bridge Rd, too! 185 W Cameron Bridge Rd has a lighting display set to music and you’ll also want to swing by 51 Cameron Bridge Rd while you’re there!

And that wraps up our Bozeman Holiday Lights Extravaganza!
We hope it brings some joy and fun to your December!

Interested in being part of the display?
If all of those Holiday Lights have you feeling like Clark Griswold, but overwhelmed with all that work- we’d love to help! Our Holiday Lights Program has been wildly popular this year and we take so much pride in being part of the festivities around town!

Contact us in the office and we’ll have a custom quote for your home on the same day! With our Holiday Lights Program, you can leave the ladders, ice, fuses and tangle of lights to us- we’ll build out your custom lights, install them for you and even set the timer so that all you need to do is sit back and enjoy the season! When our roofs are covered in snow come January, we’ll also take them down and store them for you here!

Citation Links:

https://blog.bozemancvb.com/blog/where-to-find-holiday-lights-around-bozeman
https://www.belgreatmt.org/fol-info
https://bozemanrealestate.group/blog/best-christmas-lights-in-bozeman
https://knoffgroup.com/best-holiday-light-displays-in-the-bozeman-area/

Weed Control

When we do need to apply weed control, our products are applied with your kids and pets in mind. By taking care of both our customers and our employees, we are able to retain long-term, career-minded staff who understand plant science. You’ll have peace of mind knowing that everyone who steps foot on your property is a trained, licensed applicator.

Weed control requires more than just a “one-shot knock some weeds back” approach. At Yard Guard, we promote better soil and healthier turf that can fight weeds on its own.

To keep the weeds at bay, we feed your lawn with proper nutrients from the start. Our program is built based on the Montana soils and climate and around the feeding period of our nutrients. By using high-quality, slow-release products, we can extend the feeding period to about 40 days. With proper watering and mowing, you will have a lawn so thick that there won’t be room for pesky weeds!

During the second application of our five-step program, we can start tackling any of the newly germinating weeds making your yard a home.

Some common weeds we remove include:

Crabgrass
Dandelions
Quackgrass
Clover
Cinquefoil
Black Medic
Creeping Charlie
Broadleaf Plantain
And more!

When we do need to use weed control, our products are applied with your kids and pets in mind. By taking care of both our customers and our employees, we can retain long-term, career-minded staff who understand plant science. You’ll have peace of mind knowing that everyone who steps foot on your property is a trained, licensed applicator.

If weeds appear in your yard, help is just a phone call away or get a quote online. The longer you wait to initiate weed control, the bigger the problem becomes. You should never delay weed removal. Remember, a thick, healthy turf means there’s nowhere for the weeds to go!

Author: Sidne

Some common weeds we remove include:

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