Living Water Lawn and Tree Care - Spring E Magazine

BEYOND APPEARANCEThe Benefits of a Healthy Lawn

If you have a lawn, you are not alone. In the United States, homes, golf courses and parks now grow more acres of turf grass than farmers devote to corn, wheat and fruit trees — combined. In a study published in Environmental Management, researchers estimated there are 40 million acres of turf grass in the U.S., covering 1.9 percent of the land. 

Is all of this turf good for us? Is it beneficial to our health and lives? Fortunately, the answer is a resounding “yes.” A healthy lawn provides a number of benefits to you, your family and the environment: 

• A thick lawn functions as an air conditioner. In fact, one acre of grass has the cooling effect of a 70-ton air conditioner, the equivalent of what is needed for eight houses. 
• A recent survey performed by the Gallup organization states that a well-maintained lawn can increase the value of your home by 15%. In fact, the recovery value (the amount you will receive in the value of your home for every dollar invested in  your lawn) is 100 – 200%; significantly higher than – for example – the investment made in a patio or deck (40 – 70%). 
• The plants in your lawn, including your turf, help muffle noises from the street, helping to create restful areas to enjoy the out of doors. 
• Natural turf provides for good traction between the ground and your feet, especially when barefoot!
• A well maintained and healthy lawn helps control populations of chiggers, ticks, ants, snakes, rodents and other small, unwanted varmints. These pests become more troublesome in the absence of fine lawns and can more easily find a way to your home. 
• Roadside rest stops, parks, cemeteries and home lawns are all conducive to good health because they provide settings that help to reduce stress. 
• Finally, tending or enjoying your lawn provides you with an opportunity to walk, lift, bend and otherwise exercise, creating a more enjoyable routine and an indoor workout. 

As Living Water begins its 24^th season, we are mindful of the positive impact a healthy lawn brings to all of our customers and to our community. As always, we are thankful that you have given us an opportunity to help you create and enjoy the benefits of your healthy lawn. 

Spring Turf Advice

Somebody asked me if you could do just one thing early in the season what would you do to your lawn. So I thought about that one for like about 20 seconds and I came up with an answer. These days the way my mind works 20 seconds is really rare and impressive but it indicates how much this one thing can do for YOUR turf early on. So what was it? I kinda want to keep you in suspense but since I know attention spans are getting shorter I won't.

 Ok as soon as it was mostly dry I would mow my lawn real short. Yup that is it. Doing that one thing can really do a lot to get your turf healthier, happier and greener earlier than anything I can think of. Now for almost 30 years turf, trees and landscapes have been my vocational passion. Truth is I have forgotten more after all these years than most people know. I am not bragging because the forget part is real embarrassing...where did I put those keys? But if you or someone you love or... pay will mow your lawn real short in Mid- late March through mid April everything else you do will be enhanced. Why? Well there is this thing called photosynthesis, you remember science class 5th grade,  photosynthesis is really enhanced and promoted by cutting turf short early in the growing season. 

Did you notice I didn't mention power raking? Well I didn't because in most cases all the benefits of power raking aren't that hot. The damage though to turf can be real from power raking. Power raking often weakens desirable turf species and promotes undesirables like crab grass and broad leaf weeds. People power rake to get rid of thatch but every study I know of and there are plenty come up with the same number. Power raking never removes more than 17% of thatch and usually a lot less. Aeration controls thatch much better, organic thatch reducer controls thatch much better but people can't see that with the naked eye. Now power raking looks impressive...why cause someone just knocked the snot out of their lawn but that doesn't make it a good thing...most beatings aren't. 

So if you take my advice, and you don't have to, and mow your lawn real short the first mowing; and just the first mowing,  here is what I recommend unless you have an amazing commercial mower...you know the kind that cut down trees and do the quarter mile in less than 8 seconds, cut twice. First time mow at about 1 and 3/4 to 2 inches and then drop your mower one more notch to as low as 1and 1/4 inches. Bag it both times and change direction each time. So if you go north south the first mowing go east west the second time and that's it. You can fertilize before or after, treat the lawn for weeds before or after, aerate before or after you mow short and it wont matter but you better believe that short first mow will enhance the benefits of all those very good practices. Ok it's spring I got go...now where was I going?

Snow Mold and Other Spring Turf Diseases

Spring Dead Spot

Disease Overview

Spring Dead spot is one of the most damaging disease of bermudagrass. There are a number of fungi that may cause the disease, but in the U.S. it is Leptosphaeria Korrae and Ophiospharella herpotricha. The disease generally attacks mature bermudagrass lawns that have been established for over three years.

Healthy vigorous turfgrass better resist diseases than unhealthy grass. The most susceptible grasses are those that are stressed and weakened from growing in poor soil, has been poorly maintained, or when growing outside it climate zone.

How the Disease Operates

This lawn disease actually begins in the fall, but the evidence of the disease doesn’t appear until spring. In the fall, when the soil cools to 80 degrees, the disease becomes active and infects the roots. The disease in not noticed because the grass will soon start to go dormant. When spring approaches, the disease progression speeds up. The roots are not able to take up nutrients or break dormancy and the grass quickly dies.

Disease Symptoms

The disease is noticed in spring as the grass is breaking dormancy and greening up. You will notice patches of grass that look sunken and have a dead, whitish look. (A different look from healthy dormant grass.)

The patches of dead grass are circular ranging from 6 inches to 3 feet in diameter. They will often coalesce leaving larger, more irregular shaped patches. The patches are dead and cannot be saved.

Eventually the grass will spread into the damaged area, but it will continue to have problems.

Cultural Practices that Discourage Disease Development

If you have had problems with the disease before, it is important to maintain potash (K) levels in the soil. (K) or Potash is also referred to a Potassium, represented by the third number on a fertilizer bag. Even small deficiencies in K lowers the grass’ resistance to the disease. Even if a soil test shows the level to be adequate, you still need to apply 1 lb of potash per 1000/sq.ft. to soil. However, not more than a pound per 1000/sq.ft. should be applied at one time. You can purchase fertilizer that contains only Potassium. It will look something like 0-0-15. The last number will depend on the percentage of K in the bag.

Maintain the soil pH at 5 to 5.5. No one knows exactly why this helps, but it does. Either the grass’ resistance is raised or microorganisms that are antagonistic to spring dead spots are more active at that pH range.

Raise the mower blade. Higher mowing heights means deeper roots and more blade for carbohydrate production. It may provide enough resistance if disease pressure is low.

Keep thatch to acceptable levels of ½ inch. Use a dethatching machine if you have severe thatch problems. Annual core aeration works well to keep thatch levels within a desirable range.

This is one of the times when applications of ammonium sulfate fertilizers to help speed recovery of damaged areas. Make sure you water the fertilizer in directly after application to avoid burning the grass. Studies have shown that the grass responds better with ammonium sulfate than when using urea based nitrogen. In addition, the ammonical fertilizers do not remain in the root zone for as long as coated urea products. This is important because you want the nitrogen to be used up when fall approaches and the disease becomes active again.

Do not use fertilizer containing ammonium nitrate, however. Ammonium nitrate is not the same thing as ammonium sulfate and will will not give you the desired results.

Fungicide Use

Several fungicides are labeled for spring dead spot. However, university tests have shown that fungicides are not always successful in controlling this disease. Some products displayed no noticeable results at all. For other, results were inconsistent at best. If you do use a fungicide, it must be applied in September or when temperatures dip below 80 degrees. It must be applied as the disease activity begins.

Follow label directions completely. If you are not having good results or having difficulty applying the product, remember that commercial applicators have access to fungicides and equipment that are not always available to homeowners.

Red Thread and Pink Patch Diseases

Disease Overview

Red thread and pink patch are lawn diseases that often occur together. A variety of grass types are affected including Kentucky bluegrass, fine fescue, ryegrass and bentgrass. The fine fescues and ryegrass may be the most severely affected.

This lawn disease is one of the easiest to identify. The late stages of red thread lawn disease produces a network of bright pink to reddish color fungus with a thread-like appearance. On cool, damp mornings, the lawn fungus covers the grass with a pink, gelatin like mycelium. Pink patch develops a gelatinous, pink fungus on the grass.

The lawn disease attacks grass that is low in nitrogen. Their development favors cool, wet spring and fall weather. you will often see them during extended periods of damp, drizzly, overcast conditions. This disease has also been known to appear as snow is melting in winter. Mild winters will generally see more occurrences of the disease than harsh winters.

Disease Cycle The disease over-winters in in thatch and organic lawn debris. The following spring as temperatures reach 65 degrees the disease becomes active. Moisture is important for the disease to spread. Prolonged dampness from rain, dew, or irrigating in the evening or at night accelerates the disease activity.

Once the disease starts, it can be easily spread by mowing. Collecting the grass clippings and disposing of them may slow the disease. Animals or people walking across the lawn can pick up and deposit the lawn fungus in other areas.

Cultural Practices that Discourage Disease Growth

Be sure to maintain proper nitrogen levels in the turf. The disease doesn’t usually attack healthy grass. Lawns that are low in nitrogen will be the most severely affected.

Don’t over-fertilize or you will predispose your grass to other lawn diseases, such as leaf spot.

Fungicide Use

Red thread usually isn’t a serious lawn disease and fungicide use isn’t recommended. If you properly maintain your lawn with sufficient nitrogen you will have few problems.

Spokane Dandelions, African Watermelons, and Our Friend Martha

If we had a nickel for every time we were asked the question, "Do you know where we can get a tasty African watermelon?", we'd, um, well we'd be broke. But that doesn't mean that African watermelons aren't important. Furthermore it doesn't mean that African watermelons aren't important in Spokane. Further, furthermore it doesn't mean African watermelons aren't important to Living Water customers because in a very direct way you helped grow them. That's right, while you may not be a hands-in-the dirt melon farmer, you are still, in a significant way responsible for those tasty summer treats. Even if they are grown half a world away in Adiedo Kenya.

A few years ago Mike and Lisa Fairburn, Living Water's owners, were introduced to Spring Of Hope International, a Christian non-profit group involved in bringing clean water and business opportunities to the people of Adiedo Kenya. While the ministry opportunities were immediate and obvious, Mike and Lisa also relished in that fact that they would be able to invest their time, talents, and treasure (through the Living Water Foundation), in helping these beautiful people build a sustainable income to help their families and communities.

An opportunity to invest in agribusiness arose and they jumped at the chance to be a part. With investments of both time and money, a handful of small community farms were started. This not only provided an income source and jobs for the villagers, it also gave the young men and women a reason to stay in the villages instead of moving to the slums around Nairobi. So, not only do these farms establish the obvious monetary changes these poor villages need but it keeps families intact and helps with overall community wellbeing.

Our friend Martha is one of the leaders that oversee's the farming projects. You see her here in some of these pictures. The news coming out of the area is fantastic. We are seeing hope, promise, and sustainability in these villages restored. Yes, there is hope again in what once looked like a hopeless situation. In a very significant way, every Living Water customer has a part in this. A percentage of every dollar we bring in goes to this mission in Adiedo Kenya. So while you might be paying us to make your lawn green, kill the dandelions, or get rid of those pesky aphids, you are also providing jobs and hope to people that desperately need it. And because of this we say THANK YOU!

Please remember the people of Adiedo and agribusiness in your prayers. Among their many needs is rain. Rain at the right times, in the right amounts to sustain the farming progress.

So the next time you get asked if you know where you can get a tasty African watermelon, you can say "Actually I invest in African farming and they produce some tasty mouth watering watermelons. Let me make a few calls."

Contact us at 509-487-3439, if you would like to know more about how you can make a difference in Adiedo, or visit www.springofhope.org.

Alright You Composters...

The leaves are in their final few days of being attached to a tree. Hanging on for dear life they try so hard to remain affixed. But Mother Nature, as we know, always wins. The slow descent is inevitable. The only question that remains is... large green trash can or compost pile?

Let me help you decide their leafy fate. Most composters know that deciduous leaves make fantastic compost for gardens come spring time. However, not all leaves should be used. If your trees had a fungus this year, like shot hole or powdery mildew those leaves need to be discarded.


Fungal spores can overwinter and be detrimental to your garden. The problem is that while the internal temperature of your compost pile might be hot enough to kill most diseases often times it doesn't get hot enough to fill fungi. Even if the pile heats to a point of being able to actually kill the fungi it only takes a handful of leaves not properly mulched to remain a threat.

If you have any questions call us at 1-800-LAWNCARE or check out the website www.livingwaterlawncare.com.

Last Chance to Drench

The leaves are turning hues that would make Crayola jealous just before making their pilgrimage south. Lying quietly having fulfilled their annual duty. Now giving one last bit of life before they wind up behind steel teach and black plastic. Content knowing their offspring will start the cycle again in the spring. A life well lived......

But I digress. A great way to honor the fallen leaves of yester year is to give their replacements the best possible shot at completing their cycle without disease or insect infestation. And believe it or not that starts now. This is the perfect time for a soil drench around your shade trees.

The soil drench is a systemic treatment full of nutrients and insect control that will be absorbed by the root system and stored until spring. This gives the tree a great shot at those early spring insect larva and diseases. The new growth is particularly vulnerable and needs all the help it can get. A late fall soil drench coupled with a dormant oil spray in the spring is a great way to head off disease and infestation.


If you have any questions let us know by calling 1-800-LAWNCARE or visit our website www.livingwaterlawncare.com. 

Just A Little Off The Top

Today we will continue along the same path that we did in our last couple of blogs: getting the landscape ready for winter. The unique thing about today's blog however, is that we are going to reverse fields on you. We're going to do an about face. We're flipping the script. We're doing a 180. You get the idea. Something we told you to do earlier in the year is now not a great idea. But I would like to assure you that we are not crazy people. No it's about the weather. Earlier in the year during the summer we hammered mowing your lawn at your highest mower setting. This helped with keeping the grass healthy. That is not best practice when it comes to fall though.

The thing we have to keep in mind when preparing your landscape for winter is this; limit liability. Deep root feedings help a tree over winter and come out in spring better. Sprinkler blowouts help you avoid a costly sprinkler repair in the spring. Spider sprays help with insects trying to find a warm place in your house for the winter. It's the same thing with mowing short for winter. This practice limits the surface area of the plant which does two things: 1) Allows greater air circulation before and after snow and 2) there is physically less plant to get matted down over the winter so it's harder for snow mold and other early spring fungi to take hold.

So.... scalp it! Take it all the way down. Set your mower at the lowest setting and bag the clippings. Our best guess is you probably won't have to mow more than once or twice more this year. Make sure before you put you mower away for the winter to do one short mowing. You'll thank us come spring.

If you have any questions call us at 1-800-LAWNCARE. Or check out our Tips, Tutorials, and FAQ's page. There's a good chance you'll find the answer there.

Sprinkler Blow Outs, It's Time

There can be two huge benefits to not having your sprinklers blown out before winter. The first is obvious, I mean who doesn't enjoy the beauty of a twenty foot tall geyser in the spring caused by an exploding sprinkler head. They're beautiful and the sound of running water is so peaceful. The second is less obvious but still fun and that is the pond you can create from a frozen line breaking under ground. If you let it go long enough you could probably add koi and some lily pads. You may eventually develop a safe haven for various water fowl.

However, if you don't want to turn your yard into Yellowstone Jr., we would highly recommend a sprinkler blowout. They're inexpensive and could save you a lot of headaches down the road. What happens is this: As the temperature cools and the ground freezes, so does everything in the ground including water left in sprinkler lines. As water freezes it expands often time bursting the plastic lines that transport water to sprinkler heads. You could also have similar problems with the heads themselves. They can retain enough water in the housing to break when it freezes. Costing time and money.

A simple solution is to let us come out and blow the lines out for you. The method is simple. We just hook a big air compressor to your system and turn it on. This forces air through the lines, driving the stored water through the lines and out of the sprinkler heads.

It's pretty painless and gets you all set for winter.

Call us at 1-800-LAWNCARE to get one scheduled. Or go to our website and request we contact you.

Trees: Feed em' good

It's about this time of year we start enjoying the crisp morning air and dreading the rake and black garbage bag brigade that inevitably follows. The leaves will fall covering our nice landscapes and we are forced to clean up after them. It's at this point we typically tell them "we'll see you in the spring" and figure our responsibility has ended for a few months. Not so fast, I say.

While you can take this route for sure, we would highly recommend a deep root feeding. Our method is pretty simple really, we spread a special blend of nutrients around the root system under the canopy of the tree. This will help you trees in a number of ways. First of all the trees soak up the treatment as the last little bit of nutrients before they go dormant and this helps them to winter healthier. Secondly, we find that the trees come out of dormancy with less winter damage. Finally, we typically don't see the early spring fungi and diseases in the trees we feed in the fall. They also fend off the insects better the next year.

The great thing is that this is part of our Fall 40 Special running now until the end of the season. The treatment is 40% off for any customer not currently getting a deep root feeding. So there is no better time to call. 1-800-LAWNCARE, or email us livingwaterlawncare.com/contact-us/.

Sulfur, We Promise It Won't Stink

Do you know that rotten egg smell? The one that stings the back of the throat it's so bad. That's what sulfur smells like. Except, not when we use it. Sulfur is smelly, real smelly but ours doesn't stink. Do you want to know why? It's simple really, our supplier makes it that way. Which is good because who wants their lawn to smell like a natural gas leak.

We use sulfur for a handful of things but primarily it's a late season fungicide and it's a great application to put your turf to bed for the winter. We've seen quite a bit of fungus this year and we'd highly recommend a late season application for any of our customers who've received notes from their techs about melt out, or red thread, it even helps necrotic ring spot. These fungi can tend to reappear. Obviously Necrotic Ring Spot tends to stay around year in and year out. Every extra sulfur application you can get on it will help move it along.

The other reason to order a late season sulfur application is it really helps your lawn go into dormancy healthy and in turn wake up in the spring healthy. Our customers who get the application in the fall not only see their grass come back quicker in the spring but usually there is very little if any of the early spring fungus we tend to see, fungus like snow mold.

It's a very inexpensive treatment and we will start applying it any day now. We usually do our sulfur treatments all the way through the end of the season. Check out our website for more details. Or email us for an estimate. You can always call us too at 1-800-LAWNCARE.

Overseeding, Not Just For The Grassless

Yes, I'm pretty sure grassless is a word. If it's not I will create a Wikapedia page for it just to avoid being wrong. I have issues. Not major issues, but issues none-the-less. I only eat corn if it's on the cobb in it's natural state, I only wear black socks, and I cannot be wrong when it comes to grammar. That's it. It's those three things. It could be so much worse, right?

Enough of my ramblings. Even if grassless isn't an actual word, the truth about overseeding remains. It is not just for barren patches of dirt. You see overseeding, if done correctly, does wonders for new and mature lawns as well. Our process is a little involved but as you can see by the photo it works.

If your lawn is sparse with lots of ground showing through the turf we can help. Overseeding would be a huge benefit to you and will help thicken the turf up. If your lawn is decades old and tall fescues and bent grasses are creeping in, we can help. It would help push out the grass variations and give the lawn a nice uniform look. If you have a nice established lawn that you are looking to take to the next level; again, we can help. Overseeding will give your lawn the kick in the pants it needs to be the envy of your neighbors.

Our process is involved but it's certainly not rocket science. First we aerate the lawn. This allows for faster root development and more seed to dirt contact. Next we spread a top of the line blue grass seed. Not all seed is created equal. We are looking for results so the seed we use needs to reflect our commitment to that end. Finally we spread a special blend of grannual fertilizer over the top. This helps the soil germinate a greater ratio of seeds. The results are undeniable. It works. It's more affordable than you might think and it's not too late to do it this year. We probably have another month or so of growing season left and seeds will winter if we have a cold snap.

Call the office, 1-800-LAWNCARE, to schedule an estimate.

More Than Backpacks

I've already written about our partnership with Willard Elementary, but I wanted to give you a few quick takeaways from the day. You see, at Living Water we're not new to community outreach events. It's in our DNA. Over the years God has poured out His blessings on us and we honestly believe that the more we honor Him with our finances the more he blesses and sustains us. So when it came to Willard it was a no brainer, it's in our wheel house. What we didn't realize is how deeply personal this relationship would become and how the backpack drive would affect a few or our employees.

Most of the time our outreach is done behind the scenes. We prefer to donate time and money anonymously but we knew that for some reason we were supposed to take the lead in regards to Willard. Lisa Fairburn, one of our owners, has worked countless hours with the principal and staff to get this backpack drive off the ground. When it came time to hand the backpacks filled with school supplies to the students and parents we wanted to include some of our employees to help them understand that this is part of our company culture. Here are few stories and takeaways from that evening.

Kaileen recalls; "I was giving out backpacks to 4th through 6th graders, and it was an amazing experience. Parents had such fantastic reactions when they realized that they didn't have to pay and the backpacks were filled with school supplies. I didn't see one unhappy child, they were all so excited. One little boy was almost in tears when he said 'I've never owned a new backpack before.' It was all I could do to hold back tears. Such a great experience."

Brenda said; "The children's faces were priceless. When they realized that they were getting new backpacks.... it was like Christmas for them. Several of the parents eyes welled up with tears because they weren't sure how they were going to afford either backpacks or supplies. Words can't describe how appreciative they were. Perhaps the icing on the cake for me was how welcoming and appreciative the staff was. Amazing all around!"

Christina echoed; "Something that I took away from the event, was when a mom broke down in tears because she couldn’t believe the backpacks had all the supplies in them. I was raised in a household that didn’t have a ton of money, so I thought this project was a great idea. It was cool to be able to give back to the community and I look forward to future opportunities to serve locally!"

These are just a few of the stories coming out of just that one night. We thought this might brighten some of your days. If you would like to get involved with our partnership with Willard Elementary please  go to our "contact us" page and put "Willard" in the comments section.

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.

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.

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/

There's Nothing Like A Good Plugging

In the lawn care business we deal with a whole bunch of myths. Such as, too much water can grow lawn gnomes, or if you mow too short your turf's spirit might escape, or my personal favorite pink flamingos keep the weeds away. While obviously none of these are true..... to my knowledge, there is one other myth I'd like to dispell, and that's aerating is for spring or fall only.

Aerating is typically done in the spring or fall but it is absolutely valuable any time of year. In fact more than one in a season is a great idea especially if you're in an area where your soil tends to get compacted or if you have a thatch problem. Please don't power rake as it tends to stress the turf more than help. A better solution would be to order an aeration and liquid dethatch.

The benefits of aerating regularly cannot be under sold. It helps establish a strong root system, it gets air circulation to a part of the plant that desperately needs it, it makes your watering more affective, and it recycles plant material back into the turf. All good things. So call 1-800-LAWNCARE or contact us for a good plugging.

I Was Expecting More Dartmouth Green

According to Wikipedia: Varieties of the color green may differ in hue, chroma (also called saturation or intensity) or lightness (or value, tone, or brightness), or in two or three of these qualities. Variations in value are also called tints and shades, a tint being a green or other hue mixed with white, a shade being mixed with black. 

While Wikipedia is really the expert on, well, nothing. For our purposes their blurb (above) on the different variations in the color green serve our needs today. Because we are in the business of green, green landscapes that is. And while we do profess to be the expert in the different hues around your home, we don't pretend to be magicians. What I mean by that is, there are influences that are going to affect your lawns, trees, and shrubs that we can't control 100%. We can help mitigate these issues but sometimes we can't solve them until the influences change.

Mother nature can be cruel and like most lovely ladies she holds all the cards and she plays them like she's always holding pocket aces even though she probably has a 2/7 off suit. My analogy is quickly breaking down so I'll get to the point. If mother nature wants to win, she wins, period. A thirty degree temperature swing within a week can be seriously damaging to lawns and trees. Especially when those temperatures peak in the high nineties or low one hundreds. Our services, proper watering, and mowing will help but to what degree is going to vary quite a bit.

My hope is that this doesn't sound like a cop out for bad service. I assure you it's not. We take pride in our work, we believe that we're the best at what we do and we don't like it when control is taken away from us. But sometimes it is. She does that.

We've seen quite a few lawns that normally have that deep, rich green color that...well.... aren't nearly as deep, rich, and green as we like them. We hate to say there is nothing we can do about it but on some level there isn't. We can only exercise best practices with your fertilizer and weed control and ask you to do the same with watering and mowing. Our first video tutorial on proper mowing should be posted on the website by the end of the week, and one on proper watering will follow shortly.

In a nut shell here's our advice: water 5-6 days per week for twenty minutes. Most of the time our rains storms don't provide enough water for your lawn. Mow at a height of 3-3.5 inches and keep your blade sharp. The extra height will help against drought stress and the sharp blade will insure you are cutting and not tearing the grass blade which in turn will also protect against drought stress. Do this and it will give us the best chance at minimizing mother nature's musings at least until she's in a better mood. Once the weather turns and the temperature is consistently in the seventies and eighties we should start to see the turf and trees recover as long as your watering and mowing correctly.

Remember, if you have any questions please call us at 1-800-LAWNCARE or contact us at livingwaterspray.com.

Fungi Isn't Fun Guy

The lowest form of humor is a play on words and as you can tell I'm not afraid to pander to the lowest common denominator. Titling blog posts can be a tough task so when I get to pepper in a little humor, no matter how low brow, well let's just say I'll take the liberty. However, fungi, whether on toenails or trees is no laughing matter. While we'll need to refer you to your local podiatrist for the former, the latter is one of our specialties.

While the weather in the great Inland Empire remains schyzophrenic year to year, the tree fungus problem in the area varies only slightly depending on conditions. This year the conditions were perfect. A very long, cool, wet spring and really hot temperatures coming on basically overnight. The problem with this is the trees don't have time to adjust and they take in as much moisture as they can find when it gets this hot to protect themselves from drought. In turn we generally don't keep watering the root system to prevent this, and with excess water in the tree and excess heat outside the conditions end up being perfect for fungus.

Some of the fungi our techs are seeing out there: Shot Hole Fungus in any fruit bearing tree that has pits instead of seeds. But also in ornamental plums that are in many of our customer's landscapes. It starts by looking like a few brown spots in the middle of the leaf and then eventually the spot dries up and falls out. It ends up looking like it was shot with a "BB" gun. One way you can typically identify between Shot Hole and insect damage is that Shot Hole will/can start in the middle of the leaf whereas insects typically start from the outside & work their way in. Powdery Mildew affects many of our hardwood trees such as maple, alder, birch, and hazelnut, but it also causes problems on roses and other ornamental plants. It tends to look like a white powdery substance on the leaf of the plant. Dogwood Anthracnose infection begins in the leaves, causing them to brown and dry up. Over time, infection of twigs and shoots may kill branches, usually beginning with those low on the tree and moving upward. Infected trees can die within one to three years. Treatments in the spring help prevent and control anthracnose infections.  Flowering Apples and Crabapples are susceptible to a fungus disease called Apple Scab. The results of this disease are yellow and brown leaves in the spring, and defoliation by early summer. There are literally dozens of other fungi that could damage your trees. Check out our Turf and Tree Tip page for more info.

One great way to help prevent these diseases is to water your trees and shrubs regularly, and NO, watering them along with the lawn is not enough. Typically a regular hose around the drip line of the tree is your best bet. One hour once a week should really help. However, if you already have what looks to be a fungus be sure to contact us for a fungicide treatment. You can request an estimate online or call us at 1-800-LAWNCARE.

Watering Your Lawn

Well it got hot and it got hot fast. Remember yesterday when you said "I don't mind the heat, I just need some time to adjust." Was I the only one who said that? I doubt it. Well if you didn't say that your lawn certainly did. This sort of 30 degree temperature swing can wreak havoc on grass and landscapes. Proper watering in heat like this is essential. Let me write the same thing with emphasis added....  

PROPER watering in heat like this is essential.

Before we get into what exactly "proper" watering practices are let’s tackle a few myths:

1. A dry patch in my lawn needs excessive water to green up. This is not true and can cause more damage. If you have a dry patch, too much water can actually cause a fungus and make things worse. You might actually already be looking at a fungus that's called Melt Out and is caused by drought and wild swings in the weather. The best thing you can do for this is water regularly and let it grow out. There might be a possibility that your technician could help accelerate the growth with a little extra fertilizer but they would have to take a look at it to determine if that's the case. Call us 1-800-LAWNCARE or you can email as well.

2. Watering at night is the best time. Again not true. While this practice does prevent less water from evaporating it can create an environment where fungi can fester and different lawn diseases can accelerate.

3. Less frequent, deeper watering is the way to go. While this is not a complete myth there are several factors to take into consideration here. Type of soil, air temperature, geographic location, etc. Check out our FAQ page for more information.

Here's the bottom line during the heat of the summer. It's best to get a half inch of water per day on your turf at either early in the am (before it gets hot, 8 am or earlier) or late evening (after it starts to cool down, between 7 and 8 pm) A good rule of thumb is 20 minutes of water will get you that 1/2 inch your looking for. When in doubt put a tuna can in the middle of the yard and wait until it's about half way full.

Here's a warning about not watering properly in this heat. Our office manager has a sprinkler system and generally doesn't have to give it too much thought. However, she had one station break down and didn't realize it for a about a day and a half. By that time the area of her yard that this particular station covered was already several shades of green different than the rest of the lawn. That's just one example of what this kind of heat can do to turf in less than 36 hours.

There is a lot more information on our website watering www.livingwaterspray.com.