Lawn Care in Industry, PA

When we show up in early spring, the first thing we're doing is timing. We watch the forsythia bloom — when those yellow flowers open, the soil is approaching 50°F and that's the window to apply pre-emergent herbicide before crabgrass seeds germinate. We use granular pre-emergent combined with a starter fertilizer so the existing grass breaks dormancy with something to feed on. Late spring we're back for broadleaf weed control — liquid applications targeting dandelions, clover, plantain, and ground ivy, which is one of the harder ones to knock out. Mid-summer, we apply preventative grub control before the eggs hatch; skip this and you'll find out in September when sections of turf peel back like a rug. If the program includes aeration, we core-aerate in late summer — pulling actual plugs of soil to break up compaction — and then overseed immediately into those open channels. We close the year with a winterizer application that's heavier on potassium than a standard fertilizer to harden the root system before the ground freezes.

For Industry specifically: silty clay loam from river deposit origin throughout most of the borough. Compaction is common on older properties without aeration history. Properties near low points along the river terrace can hold water after heavy precipitation and may require multiple days to firm up before mowing.

The program runs five to six visits timed to what's happening in the yard, not just the calendar. First visit happens when the forsythia is blooming — usually late March in western PA — and we put down pre-emergent crabgrass control with a starter fertilizer to get the existing turf moving. Second visit comes around Mother's Day to Memorial Day, targeting broadleaf weeds that are actively growing: dandelions, clover, ground ivy, plantain. Third visit is the mid-June to early July window for preventative grub control — this is the visit people sometimes skip and regret in August when they find dead patches. If the program includes aeration and overseeding, that happens in late August, ideally before Labor Day, with a second starter fertilizer application to support the new seed. The final visit comes in October to November before the first hard frost — a winterizer application with elevated potassium that helps the root system go into winter in the best condition possible. Lime applications, when needed, can happen at almost any visit depending on the soil test results.