Lawn service recommendations
 

Hi all, newbie here..Village of Belle Aire..looking for reasonable lawn service for mowing, trimming, weeding. Got estimate from Massey, seems high and do we need grass cut weekly all year? Thanks in advance

Weekly grass cutting is not necessary every month of the year. However, most lawn services around here charge a monthly fee whether you have weekly cuts in one month or every other week. Weekly cuts are necessary during warm and hot months; not so much in colder months when every other month service will suffice and keep your property looking nicely manicured.

Not sure what you are seeking. Some people want and pay for full service, weeding, fertilizing, insecticides, fungicides, bush trimming etc etc.

It is a matter of choice. We have a guy who only mows and edges. We've been here for nine years. Truth it is a tough job. This is florida. Imagine mowing lawns in this HEAT.
We always pay on time, others frankly are more demanding then we are. If, they leave grass cuttings behind, I do not call them and have them come back, I rake it up and it is done. These people, in 9 years we are on our third mowing guy. We pay at the end of the month for the next month. First one did a good job, probably the best. We paid him,the check was cashed and he just disappeared-stealing a month from us. The next one perhaps not as good as the first but good enough. Family issues he quit in the middle of the month he did refund us he offered the whole month we only accepted half for the two weeks he did not do it. We are now on the third guy. Nice guy. Quality of his work, probably the worst of the three. But, so far he has lasted 3 years.

Proper lawn mowing in Florida. Fortunately your lawn can't read. It is suggested that you do not cut off more than 1/3 of the grass leaf. To do that in peak growing season you would need to mow twice a week. None of the pros will do that they do it once a week. As I said good enough is for me good enough. We pay these guys every month.
In the summer they more than earn their money in the winter they mow every two or three weeks but we still pay them the same.

Personally, we've lived in private homes, lawns etc most of the time. I am older than I was just yesterday. It seems my back is older than some of the other parts. This is the first time in my life that I have hired someone to mow my lawn. In high school I ran my own lawn mowing service. Perhaps, explains why we pay promptly, buy sodas for our mowing guy and are not demanding

Cheaper, my wife and I do the weeding, the fertilizing, hedge trimming, etc. I do not pay myself or my wife. Don't tell her. I cannot get over that she helps.

Ask your neighbors for recommendation

Newbie here too. We have a guy that does a good job on the lawn, mows and trims, $60 per month. Augustyne's :awn Care, 352-480-9494.

Back in Virginia we fertilized our lawn twice a year, sprayed weeds as they popped up, put down insect killer. That worked well.

But this is a different climate and different grass. We have been here 3 months and done nothing except mow. We haven't even turned on the watering system. Lawn looks OK, same as everyone else on the block.

What services are really needed? Can we do everything ourselves?

Mowing, trimming, hardscape and plant design, palm tree, plant and hedge trim......Showtime Landscaping, Bill Law, (352) 303-1334. Lawn treatment, plant and palm tree fertilization ......Green Smith, Hoke Smith (352) 303-0205

Here’s the problem, the good ones are booked and not taking any more clients. Mine is okay, however, i can’t replace him.

Suggestion. First determine what type of grass you have. Likely either St Augustine or Empire Zoysea. The care is different. As to proper care you will find endless conflicting advice. I would look it up on the internet. As far as Virginia, you may want to attend one of the lectures from cooperative extension. We've lived here for roughly 9 years. I still remember an introductory lecture about lawn care. The speaker said how many of you are northerners? His punch line was forget everything you knew.

My suggestion, first thing to do is a soil test. You go to cooperative extension and they have bags for samples and an instruction sheet. If, I recall the test was like $7.00 and the full test is like $14.00. Most of the villages is sandy clay with a lot of lime stone.
PH in places is as high as 8 alkaline. A lawn should be 6.5. Cooperative extension will help you as far as what to do.

Yes, you can do it yourself. Re: Twice a year fertilizer. We get a lot of rain. Slow release fertilizers last roughly 6 weeks. Twice a year sounds like Kentucky blue grass it grows in cool weather spring and fall and goes dormant in summer heat. What we have are southern grasses. To steal his punch line, you likely need to forget everything you knew or a lot of it. I'm not familiar with Va but, for us it is a bit of a shock there are no dandelions here. That is good news and bad news. No shortage or weeds we did not have before we moved to Florida.

I'm looking for an all-in-one service. Does anyone have a recommendation for one of those?

Do not use PAX or ISOM. Poor service.
8 months a year cut weekly, 4 mos cut every other week is the norm. Rates are the same every month through out the year.

Truth be told they are all the same. If they do a good job their not reliable. If their reliable they don’t do a very good job. I’m a bit picky so I cut my own

I have found 100% of the lawn services to be relatively high on the incompetence scale, in seeing the yards around. So if you know of one who IS competent, please post. Most swerve into neighbor yards instead of mowing straight, leave huge clumps of grass, broken sprinkler heads, missed patches of grass, especially at the corners due to their oversized equipment. These are small lots and can't be effectively and attractively maintained by large equipment. I will do my own until I can't physically anymore. You can always tell who does their own and who does not. Unfortunately the high school kids that were available in other communities to hire, don't exist here. Its a conundrum. Ron

Get to know your neighbors. You may find an established provider that will do your lawn due to proximity. Weeding is the most expensive item on your list. It may be harder to find a provider for that, as most independent lawn cutters don’t include the service. A member of the mowing crew might be willing to do it for extra money. We have found that using pine straw in beds a la villages helps reduce, not eliminate, the amount of weeds. Rock beds seem to become weed beds.

Massey, as far as I know, does not do any mowing or trimming.
They will provide lawn control only. no flower bed except for palm fertilizer which is a joke.
My freshly planted Robellini Palm is dead.
They will buy new one on the contract.
As for mowing.
Sit out front, enjoy your coffee, and write down phone numbers from the 1 million landscaper trucks floating thru TV.

Best advice. Talk to your neighbors.

I am ready to toss my mower guy.

Again moderators of TOTV.
These comments were so far off topic.

POG MO HOIN

Full Service: CHOICE MAINTENANCE. Well known established company.