Help Me Take Care Of My Lawn!

Spring has sprung!  Of course, living in Utah, we can never be 100% sure that one last snowstorm will sneak up on us, but for all intents and purposes, we are on the eve of a summer of outdoor fun and adventure.  One of the first steps to segue into spring and summer is by taking care of your lawn, which may or may not have been as battered as normal due to our mild winter.

When caring for your lawn, it's important take the appropriate steps to make sure that it is healthy, green, and beautiful.  Follow the basic steps below to ensure that your lawn is ready for summer barbecues, flag football games, and more.

1.     Follow the One-Third Rule – NEVER cut your grass more than one-third of its current height.  Taking more than that one-third is traumatizing on the grass plant and will lead to unhealthy, dying grass that is hard to treat.  If your lawn needs to be cut by more than this one-third rule of thumb, you can do it in stages over a few days.

2.     Cut Your Grass to the Highest Acceptable Height – By cutting your grass a little longer, you are ensuring that it retains water more than if it were short.  More retained water means greener grass.  While a short lawn may hold some visual appeal, your lawn will brown and the soil will quickly dry and lose crucial nutrients.

3.     Sharpen Your Mower Blades – Unsharpened mower blades take a toll on your grass, as that hack at the grass rather than cut it cleanly.  Grass that has been hacked at is damaged and more prone to not growing healthily.  Blades can be easily sharpened, and should be sharpened at least twice a season.

4.     Fertilize – Fertilizing your lawn ensures that your grass is given the appropriate nutrients to stay healthy and green.  Fertilizer is readily available at any home and garden center, and is easily applied to your lawn.  It's best practice to treat your lawn with fertilizer every 4-6 weeks to keep it looking beautiful and green.

5.     Treat Weeds and Disease – If you have some unsightly brown spots or dandelions, you may have a problem with your lawn.  Insects, disease, and weeds can undermine a dedicated lawn care effort.  There is treatment through various products such as weed and feed, but the best course of action is to consult a lawn care professional for further advice and treatment.

6.     Watering Your Lawn – Deep watering is  When watering, it's more effective to water every few days than for a little bit every day.  Having said that, you will want to give your lawn at least 1 ½ inches of water a week.  Make sure to water it in the mornings to make sure the water doesn't quickly get burned off by the scintillating summer sun.

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Crowell's Flying Wrench is a full-service mobile repair company that comes to you and services your equipment at your convenience.  Our lawn mower repair service in Draper, Utah provides years of experience and friendly service that will leave a lasting impression upon you.  In addition to Draper, we service all of the Salt Lake Valley.  Give us a call today to see how we can help you!

By: Kyson Crowell

How To Care For Your Lawn

It’s easy to look at many of the beautifully manicured yards that exist throughout our neighborhoods and communities and wonder just how they do it.  Pristine lawns and perfect flower beds perfectly complement houses, and it all can make us a little jealous.  Believe it or not, most of these horticultural masterminds were once in our shoes and had to hone their craft through years of trial and error. 

In order to really get your yard looking swell, the main tools for success you will need are a lawn mower and a string trimmer, which is more commonly known as a weed whacker.  It’s more than likely that you already have at least a lawn mower, and you can buy a weed whacker quite affordably. 

When mowing your lawn, it’s important to remember the following steps:

• -        Remember to mow your lawn when the grass is dry
• -        Be sure to adjust the blades to ensure that the grass cut no shorter than least 3 inches
• -        Mow in a distinguished pattern, and change the mowing pattern each time you mow
• -        Always mow with the mower in front of you
• -        Avoid mowing in the heat of the day to prevent heat stress on the grass (and on yourself)
• -        Keep your mower blades sharp and balanced

When trying your hand at weed whacking, remember the following steps:

• -        Hold the weed whacker as close to the ground as possible, then start it
• -        Use a steady side to side motion, walking forward
• -        Make sure to not run the weed whacker on rocks, as they will wear down the line more quickly.
• -        If weeds aren’t being cut immediately, turn the weed whacker off and pull more thread out.

As you hone your craft, mowing will become more easy and enjoyable.  Caring for your lawn mower can seem overwhelming, but as long as you are adding the right kind of fuel and are sharpening the blades regularly (experts agree that blades should be sharpened every 8-12 hours of use), you’ll be ok.  Caring for a weed whacker is fairly simple as well, as you will need to make sure that you have enough line to get the job done, as well as the right kind of fuel, if your weed whacker is gas-powered. 

If you need further repairs, Crowell’s Flying Wrench offers affordable, convenient mobile small engine repair.  Our lawn mower repair in Herriman, UT will come right to you and make sure that your mower or weed whacker is always running like new.  Give us a call at (801) 860-3605 or schedule an appointment on www.crowellsflyingwrench.com today.  We look forward to serving you!

How Long Should Your Grass Be When You Mow It?

Now that spring has sprung, it’s nearly time to dust off your lawn mower and get your yard looking immaculate.  Mowing a lawn is considered an art form by many people, as you will often see various patterns and trims as you head through your neighborhood.  One question that is often asked is regarding the length of cut grass.  The length of grass is vital to keeping a beautiful, green, weed-free yard.

When dealing with grass height, there are several considerations to be taken into account.  By keeping grass at least 3 inches tall until the autumn, you are ensuring that weed seeds from germinating and taking over your yard.  Those nasty crabgrass seeds need light to germinate, and by keeping your grass long, you ensure that doesn’t happen.  Certain species of grass, including bentgrass, Bermudagrass, and seasore paspalum can be cut down as low as one inch, but these are the exception, rather than the rule. 

Also, by keeping it at least 3 inches in length, you are ensuring that your soil doesn’t dry out, which leads to brown grass and overwatering.  Overwatering has become a problem in our Utah communities in the summer, especially with the water conservation acts that have become vital as our population continues to grow. 

It is also important to remember the rule of thirds.  What this means is that when you cut your grass, no more than one-third of the grass plant should be cut at any one time.  Then, after trimming the grass, you will need to wait at least 48 hours before trimming again.  The grass plant is sensitive, while resilient, and cutting it affects the plant, necessitating a 48-hour period to heal.  After these 48 hours have passed, the grass has had an ample opportunity to fully heal, so it can again be trimmed, by that same one-third ratio.

In order to ensure a freshly cut lawn, it’s vital to make sure that your lawn mower is in tip top condition.  If it is in need of service, Crowell’s Flying Wrench will help you get it running like new.  Crowell’s Flying Wrench is a full-service mobile repair company that specializes in small engines.  Our lawnmower repair in Sandy, UT will come to you and get your lawn mower running like new in no time.  Give Crowell’s Flying Wrench a call at (801) 860-3605, or visit our website at www.crowellsflyingwrench.com to schedule an appointment today!

How Often Should You Sharpen Your Lawn Mower Blade?

Although we are mired in the cold of winter, spring is never far away.  As those winter snows melt away and flowers begin to blossom, many of us get back into the routine of lawn care.  Part of that lawn care means unpacking the lawn mower and making sure your grass looks trimmed and well-maintained. 

If you've owned a mower for a while, you surely have noticed that your lawn mower might not seem to trim as cleanly or effectively as it did when it was brand new.  The quality of your work has decreased, and a mowing job that used to take you 30 minutes is now taking you 45 minutes, and the results just aren't as good.  No, your mower isn't losing its efficacy, nor does it have any mechanical issues.  In reality, your lawn mower blades are dull and the time has come for the blades to be sharpened. 

It is recommended that you sharpen lawn mower blades twice a season.  Considering the typical mowing season in Utah can range anywhere from 6-9 months, it’s something you will want to look to do at the beginning of the spring and at some point in the summer.  Sharpened lawn mower blades will help you maintain a green, healthy lawn.  A sharp blade not only cuts grass cleanly, but it reduces the time it takes to mow your lawn, as well as helping grass to recover quickly, helping you maintain that pristine, green lawn that you've worked so hard to cultivate.

A dull lawn mower blade doesn't cleanly cut grass.  In fact, it rips, pulls, and hacks grass blades, which leaves your lawn looking poor and promotes the invitation of fungal growth, disease, and weeds.  Grass that is not in top health can often be a battle that last months, or even years.  Sharpening a blade is important, and it’s something that is neglected far too often. 

Crowell’s Flying Wrench offers a mobile, convenient blade sharpening service that will come to you and leave you ready to mow your lawn like a boss once again.  Our friendly, professional service team will come to you anywhere in Park City and the SaltLake Valley to fix your mower, and no job is too big or too small.  We work on both push and sit down mowers, and our full-service offerings will also repair other lawn mower issues, including engine repair and full blade replacement.  Give us a call today to see what we can do for you!

By: Kyson Crowell

Summer-Prepping Your Home

When preparing for the summer, a homeowner needs to take a few minutes to think of his or her wants and needs. It is easy to let time fly by and forget about your house, but this is unwise as you can save money, prevent problems, and avoid time-consuming maintenance jobs. Furthermore, by fixing up your house before the summer, you can avoid calling a professional who may take a long time to come to your house. Here are four tips to summer-prepping your home in an intelligent manner.


Appliances
You probably own multiple appliances such as a washer, dryer, dishwasher, and other smaller items. When these break or function poorly, you will pay higher electric bills and deal with downtime. When a breakdown occurs in the hot summer months, you will deal with rotting food or uncomfortable household members. To combat this and prevent an annoying issue from popping up in the middle of summer, call a home appliance repair specialist who can look at your appliances and repair or upgrade them. With a proactive approach, you will spend less money in the long run and you won’t worry about a breakdown on the hottest day of the year.



Air conditioner
If you live in a hot climate, you need an air conditioner. Without one, residents will experience plenty of discomfort when the temperature passes 90 degrees. At night, without a working unit, you and your family will experience sleepless nights as a fan won’t keep you comfortable. It is difficult for the average person to fix their unit and you need to call a professional to take a look at the air conditioner, before problems occur. With a quick checkup, you can find any minor issues and fix them immediately. If it is in perfect order, you won’t need to do anything and you now can use your unit without fear. Otherwise, if you ignore your air conditioner, you will suffer and spend more money if it malfunctions in the middle of July.



Pool
While a backyard pool is a fun for the family, it presents issues for a homeowner. You will need to remove the cover, add chlorine, and look for any items in the pool such as dead animals. If you don’t know what to do, you need to call a professional who can clean the pool and prep it for the summer. You don’t want to ignore this as people can end up sick if the pool does not have the right amount of chlorine. It will also look nicer when you pay someone to clean it up and remove any nasty surprises.



Your garden needs work
Over the winter and spring, homeowners often ignore their garden as it is often too cold and rainy to head outside and start digging weeds or watering plants. Once the hot and dry months hit, you will regret your laziness. In March or April, or possibly earlier depending on your location, you need to remove dead plants, pull weeds, plant seeds and organize your garden. If you deal with pests often, buy the appropriate products or hire an exterminator to kill the bugs or rodents. While a proactive approach is a wise one, it is easy to ignore the garden as it is not always fun to head outside when the weather is not perfect. If you invest an hour or two a week during the spring, you will enjoy a beautiful garden. Just as importantly, when summer hits, you won’t spend your days cleaning it up and getting rid of weeds.



If you own a home, you need to prepare it for the summer. While it is a time-consuming task at first, it will save you time and money in the long run as you will find the root of problems and fix them immediately.

By: Kyson Crowell