September newsletter
After what appears to have been the longest hottest summer ever we had a great and pleasant September to usher in fall. Warm sunny days with warmer than usual nights made for ideal growing conditions and the grass took the fall fertilizer well. The lawns are looking great (my totally biased opinion).
We’ve gotten quite a bit of early pruning done and for the most part have put down the last Roundup of the season. The cutting height has been lowered gradually over the last 3 weeks to allow all of the energy in the grass plants to go from leaf growth down to food storage in the roots. Irrigation clocks have been turned down to 60-70% to keep things from getting soggy.
We will turn OFF the irrigation starting the 13th. By turning off the water we insure that the landscape will dry out a bit for cleanups and not be icy and frozen. The irrigation will get blown out by a licensed contractor over the weeks that follow and will be billed to you separately. If you have any questions or concerns about blowouts please email me and we’ll address them.
The idea behind cleanups is to make as few trips out as possible. Ideally, all of the leaves drop in one day and then we clean up the property. Reality, however rarely fits our plans and we’ll end up with 2 visits or more. We will make the rounds as time and weather permit and will not be following the weekly schedule of the summer. Typically we’ll get all of them done before Thanksgiving. Please don’t’ hesitate to contact me with any requests or concerns and we’ll get them taken care of.
As we do every October (there’s really nothing going on…grass isn’t growing and leaf drop hasn’t happened yet) we will be taking the week of October 6-10 off. We have a major equipment repairs to see to and I will be headed east to visit family also.
There are still 4-6 weeks of great weather ahead so get out and enjoy Central Oregon if you get a chance.
Thanks as always for your input and support.
ed
Ed Bartz
ECO-SCAPES
PO Box 205
Bend OR 97709
541-419-1578