Garden Soon's lawn care program is available in Sewickley, Allegheny County at $320–$480 annually. Heavy clay throughout the borough; compaction is the most common issue, especially on properties without a history of aeration. We account for those conditions in how we time and apply everything across the season.
DIY lawn care is genuinely not hard to do at a basic level. You can spread fertilizer, you can spot-spray weeds, and you can get decent results if you have the right conditions and a little luck. We'll be honest about that. What a bag from the hardware store can't give you is timing tied to what's actually happening in the soil. Pre-emergent works on a narrow window — too early and it breaks down before the crabgrass germinates, too late and you've already lost the season. The products we use are also different — professional-grade herbicides at concentrations and formulations that aren't available on retail shelves, and slow-release nitrogen that feeds turf over 8–10 weeks instead of giving it one big flush that burns out in a month. We also see what's actually happening to your lawn over the course of a year. If dollar spot fungus is showing up in your shaded backyard or your bluegrass is developing summer patch, we adjust. A bag of all-purpose fertilizer doesn't course-correct. We do.
For Sewickley specifically: heavy clay throughout the borough; compaction is the most common issue, especially on properties without a history of aeration. Low spots near the river bottom hold water after heavy rain.
The program is built around soil health as much as surface appearance. Western PA soils run acidic and compact easily under clay conditions, and grass growing in those conditions stays thin no matter how much you fertilize the surface. We address that by testing and correcting soil pH with lime, aerating compacted clay to allow root penetration, and applying slow-release nitrogen that feeds the turf over weeks rather than forcing a single flush of growth. The grub control protects the root system from underground damage that shows up as dead patches in fall. Over time, the turf builds a deeper, denser root system that holds up through summer heat and winter cold better than a lawn that's only been surface-treated.
When we take on a lawn in spring, it's usually coming out of winter dormant, thin in spots, and probably showing some winter annual weeds that got a head start during the warm spells in February. We hit it early with pre-emergent to stop the crabgrass before it starts and put the first round of fertilizer down so the existing grass has something to push into. By late spring the lawn is actively growing and that's when broadleaf weeds are easiest to knock out — we get the dandelions and clover while they're young and vulnerable. Through the summer we're keeping an eye on grub pressure and fungal issues; that mid-summer preventative application protects the root zone during the months when the most damage can happen underground. Late summer is the most important window of the year for lawns with thin or bare areas — core aeration tears up the compacted surface and overseeding fills in where the stand was weak. Going into fall the turf is thicker than it was in spring, and the winterizer application stores energy in the root system. By the following spring, you can genuinely see the difference.
The standard four-application program runs $320 to $480 per year for an average residential lot in the 5,000 to 8,000 square foot range — that covers pre-emergent, broadleaf weed control, grub prevention, and a fall winterizer. Larger properties at 10,000 square feet and above are priced at $520 to $720 annually. Individual one-time applications, if you only need a single treatment, are $75 to $115 per visit. Core aeration with overseeding is an add-on service priced at $175 to $350 depending on lot size — this is scheduled as a separate visit in late summer. Lime applications run $85 to $150 per treatment and are recommended when a soil test shows pH below 6.0. The program does not include ornamental bed weed control, mulch installation, or irrigation service. Pricing is based on measured lot size, not a flat rate, so we can give you an exact number before you commit to anything.
Yes — Garden Soon provides lawn care in Sewickley and throughout our service area. Call (724) 201-9484 or use the contact form to confirm your address and schedule.
Rolling hills with steep pitches toward the Ohio River. Many properties have tiered yards with retaining walls and grades steep enough that mowing requires a walk-behind on some sections. Street access can be tight. We adjust our equipment and approach based on what's actually there.
Yes, grub control is part of the standard program and it's one of the most important applications we make. We apply a preventative grub control product in mid-June to early July, which is before the eggs hatch and the larvae start feeding on root systems in August. If you've already got grub damage showing up as brown patches in late summer, we can apply a curative treatment, though preventative is more effective and less expensive than trying to correct active damage.
The biggest differences are timing, product formulation, and follow-through. Retail fertilizers and herbicides are broad-spectrum, slow to act, and sold without any guidance on when to apply them relative to what's actually happening in your soil. The herbicide concentrations available to licensed applicators are more effective, and the slow-release fertilizer formulations we use feed turf over a longer window than what you get in a consumer bag. Beyond that, we're adjusting based on what we see across the season — if something isn't working or a new problem shows up, we can respond to it.
We time the first application to forsythia bloom in western PA, which typically happens in late March. That's when soil temperatures are approaching 50°F and pre-emergent crabgrass control needs to go down. We don't go by a fixed calendar date because the actual soil temperature is what matters — an early warm spring can move that window up, and a cold March can push it into early April.
Most customers who run our lawn care program also use at least one of these services in Sewickley — they address different parts of the same property:
Weekly or biweekly mowing with edge trimming and blowdown. We cut at the right height for cool-season turf and adjust for growth rate.
One-time reclamation for neglected or jungle properties. We bring equipment rated for heavy material and haul everything out.
Spring and fall cleanup — leaf removal, debris, bed edging, ornamental cutbacks, and disposal.
Family- and pet-safe perimeter spray applied around the home exterior — foundation band, entry points, and window frames.
Vegetable garden design, site assessment, planting plans, and seasonal coaching.
Garden Soon
Licensed & insured in PA · Rated 4.8★ on Google
Providing Lawn Care in Sewickley, PA and surrounding areas.