How Arizona’s monsoon season effect on your lawn

Arizona’s monsoon season came in early and came in hard this year! As dry as things have been for the last several months, the rain we’re expecting to see this season is desperately needed and potentially problematic…

Monsoon Weed Control

Because of the monsoon wind we’ve been experiencing, weed seeds have been spreading and are now lying in wait, in your grass and or rocks, both above and below the surface of your yard. Now that the rain is starting to fall, those seeds are going to start sprouting all over your neighborhood. If you’d like to prevent the weeds from taking over your yard, we can come out with both our pre-emergent and post-emergent weed sprays.

• Pre-Emergent: We can spray your entire property with our pre-emergent weed killer, which can kill un-sprouted seeds in and on your soil. In both your rocks and grass, this will need to be “watered in” with 1/2” (15 minutes with a sprinkler) of water, to carry the weed killer to the seeds hiding places.
• Post-Emergent: We’ll spray your existing weeds with weed killer, ensuring that your yard looks great and will continue looking great for up to 6 months! If any weeds pop up within 2 weeks of our treatment, we’ll come and re-apply the post-emergent weed killer at no charge. Our six-month service also includes two free calls, at your request, to spray any weeds that happen to pop up.

Falling Trees

Monsoons weather is famous for uprooting trees around the valley, here’s how that happens and what you can do about it. Because most of our soil is clay based, it gets pretty compacted during the year and it doesn’t absorb water very well. Instead, yards flood, the clay softness and the once-firm soil supporting hundreds or even thousands of pounds of tree limbs start to shift. Add to that, the driving wind, there isn’t much that can keep it from falling. You can improve your tree’s chances of survival by:

• Tying your tree to supports: If you are able to tie your trees to support posts or nearby fences, you could help your soil and your trees’ root system keep your tree up.
• Trimming back your branches: If your trees get too top-heavy, they are at a greater risk of falling down or breaking. Cutting out dead branches and trimming back, in general, can help make your tree more stable.

Stay off the Grass

While your lawn is flooding and runoff is carving pathways through your lawn, it could be worse, you could be walking on it! Walking through your grass, or letting your pets run through it, during a monsoon you could be killing your grass, 1 step at a time. The thick clay-mud seeps and slides underfoot, uprooting grass with every step. As much fun as it can be to walk around in the rain, it might not be the best idea to do it on the lawn.

Enjoy your monsoon season and remember that the rain is a good thing and we need it desperately! With a little preparation, you can sit safely inside and watch the rain.