Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Beyond The Green

Some of you know over the last few years owner's Mike and Lisa have transitioned out of day to day operations of Living Water. While they still provide oversight and vision to the company, most days you won't find them tooling around the office. Mike did however get out and spray lawns on quite a few occasions this year. Whether it be to help get production caught up or to train his youngest daughter Amelia in the ways of LW, he still loves the work. His trick knee on the other hand, not so much. They still remain a vital part of the management team, so rest assured LW remains a local, family centered business.

Starting about five years ago Mike and Lisa started feeling that God was leading them to plant a church. After speaking with their pastor and graduating from Spokane Ministry Institute they started meeting in their home with a handful of people. Mike settled on a name for the group and called it City Church. Just over three years ago the group had out grown their home and was pressed to find a more permanent meeting place. Mike and Lisa felt the Lord lead them to the Garland District where they found a building that they could share with another church and thus began their ministry to the neighborhood.

The church is growing and thriving in a very diverse part of town. One of the major points of ministry for City Church has been to Willard Elementary. Lisa has spear headed this venture into the public school system. While it is very hard for a religious based organization to get any head way into the schools, Lisa has managed it with character and grace. Finding ways for City Church and LW to be involved while abiding by the federally mandated rules regarding church and state.

It started by simply bringing a group of volunteers to hang out with the kids at recess. Policing some of the goings on, or simply playing with the kids in some of their favorite recess games proved to be a perfect first step in cultivating a relationship with the staff and students. Rumor has it Mike has yet to win a game of wall ball. He swears it's that dang trick knee and not that he's on the other side of fifty years old.

This relationship grew over the following months and proved to be invaluable when the Willard family experienced tragedy in February of this year. I'm sure some of you remember the triple homicide that occurred close to the Garland neighborhood, the victims were students at Willard. Mike and Lisa were called by the principle and asked to provide a pastor's presence and counseling to the staff, families, and students. While something like this was never on their radar when they felt called to the neighborhood, they both agreed there couldn't have been a time when the love of God poured out through a local church was more needed.

There have been plenty of other ways that Mike, Lisa, City Church, and Living Water have served  Willard over the last few years, like serving at spaghetti feeds, organizing fundraisers, math nights, and back pack drives just to name a few. However, they would say that without God using you, their customers, to support LW through the years, this new chapter of ministry would not have ever been possible. Whether you realize it our not you are supporting this outreach and several others like it by simply being our customer. So, in conclusion, THANK YOU! We value your business.

Monday, August 13, 2012

There's A Fungus Among Us..... Sorry...

First let me start by apologizing for the title. But honestly, how can I blog about lawn fungus and not put that ever-so-clever, overused, play on words in here somewhere? It can't be done... at least I'm not capable of it. I have issues.

Anyway we're seeing some lawn fungi out there and would like to make you aware of them since we can help.

Melt Out is a fungus we see a lot of this time of year. To the untrained eye it looks like a dry patch and is often over watered because the home owner misidentifies the problem. Melt Out has a dry, straw like look to it and sometimes looks like the mower is spreading through the lawn. It's not however, it just appears that way.  Check out our fact sheet for more info and photos.


Pythium blight is another fungus that thrives in the heat. This fungus can be devastating to turf and can spread throughout a lawn in as little as twenty four hours in the right conditions. It first appears as small, sunken, irregularly shaped, purplish, spots 1"- 4" in diameter. Leaves within the patches will eventually become orange or grayish and matted in appearance. Check out our fact sheet for more info. But if you think you might have this disease call us right away 1-800-LAWNCARE.


Curvularia blight is another fungus that looks similar to melt out but is typically only seen in patches of turf that are fully exposed to sunlight and/or turf next to sidewalks and driveways.

There are a handful of other fungi that we see but in reality the treatment is usually the same:
1. Mow at the proper height of 2.5" - 3.5".
2. Water regularly but do no over water the affected areas.
3. Keep thatch to a minimum, but do not power rake, we can help. A liquid de-thatch will help.
4. A fungicide application will probably be necessary.
5. Switching you lawn program from a traditional to an organic program will really help too. Organic fertilizer tends to balance the PH in the soil and help grass resist fungus.

If you're thinking you may have a fungus, call us right away. We can have a tech look at your lawn quickly and assess the problem. 1-800-LAWNCARE or www.livingwaterlawncare.com.


Monday, August 6, 2012

It might Actually Be Billbugs!

There's a fairly new issue we're seeing in our Northwest lawns and I'm not talking about that neglectful neighbor that thinks nine inches is the proper mowing height and swears he prefers a weed filled lawn because it has more character than one without weeds. Nope it's not that, in fact that problem has been around for years. We do have a solution however, buy your neighbor a lawn program. We'll get that turf whipped into shape in no time flat. Actually the newer problem is billbugs.

Billbugs typically prefer a dryer climate such as Boise or the Tri Cities but they've found their way to Spokane and with the hot weather we've been having they seem to like the Lilac City. The biggest issue with billbugs is the symptoms of an infestation often look very much like more common problems.

Billbug damage usually appears in late-June through August, when summer drought stress is common. Light infestations in lawns often produce small dead spots that look like the turf disease, dollar spot. Sometimes the damage looks like irregular mottling or browning in the turf. Heavy infestations can result in complete destruction of the turf, usually by August. The major problem with billbug damage is that it looks like a variety of other problems. Most turf managers confuse billbug damage with drought, disease, chinch bugs, greenbugs or white grubs. Billbug damaged turf turns a whitish-straw color rather than the yellow caused by greenbugs. Soil under damaged turf is solid, not spongy as in white grub attacks.

To confirm billbug attacks, grasp the affected turf and pull upward. If the stalks break easily at ground level and the stems are hollowed out or are full of packed sawdust-like material, billbugs are the culprit.

If you think you might have billbugs please call us right away at 1-800-LAWNCARE or visit the website at livingwaterlawncare.com/contact-us/