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

What Size Of Tiller Is Best For You?

Due to the unseasonably warm weather here in Utah, many of us have started to think about getting our gardens ready for spring.  Many of us have gardens both large and small, and yards that are waiting to be cultivated.  It’s important to pick the correct tiller for the job, but it’s also important to understand what size of tiller will be best for your particular project.

When thinking of what type of tiller you will need, think about the size of your garden.  A small garden is considered to be less than 1,500 square feet, a medium garden ranges from 1,500 square feet to 5,000 square feet, and a large garden is anything over 5,000 square feet.  Another consideration is based on the type of garden soil you are dealing with, as well as the size of the gardener! 

Typically, a small garden can be managed by a mini-tiller.  Mini-tillers range in price from $200 to $350.  A medium-sized garden is manageable with a 5 to 6-horsepower front-tined tiller, which range in price from $500 to $800.  Large gardens require at least a 6-horsepower rear-tined tiller, which can run from $800 to $2,000.

If the soil in your garden is very hard or rocky, a mini-tiller will often be underpowered to perform admirably, usually requiring a larger 4 to 6-horsepower tiller.  Keep in mind that if you are looking to till your entire yard, you won’t be able to get by with a mini-tiller either.  A large rear-tined tiller will typically work best when you are covering a large area, and the abundance of room to maneuver will be important. 

There are other cons  Front-tined machines are a little more difficult to manage, but that difficulty is offset by the lighter weight of the machine.  Rear-tined machines are a bit easier to use, due to their increased power, but they are more expensive and take up a great deal of space in your shed or garage. 

iderations when you look at what type of tiller would be more effective for you.

Crowell’s Flying Wrench offers tiller repair in Salt LakeCity, UT for any type of tiller.  Our mobile service will come to you anywhere in Salt Lake County or Park City, and our professional staff will quickly get your tiller running at full speed again.  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