When it comes to protecting the time and money you have invested into crafting the perfect lawn and landscape, Spruce Property Care knows that the time to start working is as soon as the snow melts and the ground softens. Just as you would perform routine maintenance on a house or a car, you should also do so to your landscape to keep it looking beautiful year after year. Spring Cleanups are a great way to be vigilant and proactive about maintaining the hard work that has been done to your grounds already. Whether you're a homeowner, real estate investor, a commercial or industrial property owner in Acton, Maine, our crew wants to help you succeed in keeping your property in pristine condition.
Our Spring Cleanups typically consist of but are not limited to the following service highlights:
Debris Removal
The first step in our process is to remove the obvious debris and eyesore. This could include any litter or refuse that has built up over the course of the Winter, raking old leaves, and removing branches from Maine's intense snowstorms. Often times when snowbanks are slowly melting in Spring, not only does it contain litter that can be lying around the property, but they can also contain chemicals as well. This will be addressed in our next paragraph.
Soil Amendments
The purpose of soil amendments is to help aid your soil in rebalancing its natural pH, improve soil texture, support the soil food-web, improve moisture, and help with air circulation in order to ensure the success of your flower beds, vegetable gardens, and turf. These amendments are made by means of adding materials such as peat moss, wood ash, lime, kelp meal, composted manure, and many more. Each amendment serves a different purposed depending on what you are needing to achieve. Some grass types require higher pH acidity levels as opposed to other grass types needing a more alkaline pH level. Some even need a neutral pH level. It is important to do research as to what you should use on your landscape when considering what soil amendments need to be made in the Spring season. Spruce Property Care offers soil testing to determine what your landscape soil needs are in order to make improvements and set your soil up for success in the coming months.
Lime: Actively works to raise pH levels in lawns and gardens. When soil is highly acidic (lower than pH of 6.0), the ability of your turf and plants to absorb nutrients is restricted. Lime is a significant source of calcium that acts to raise pH levels.
Organic Matter: Including substances such as thoroughly rotted leaves and finished compost, this amendment gets worked down into the soil and ultimately improves the soil's ability to retain water, nutrients, and increases the efficiency of the work the microorganisms can accomplish. Organic matter amendments also encourage a denser Earthworm population which in turn increases Earthworm castings that greatly benefit plant health.
Pruning
The specialists at Spruce Property Care are strong advocates for tree and plant pruning. Each plant and tree are unique in their own ways. This means that they develop growing habits that are unique to themselves. Sometimes a slight difference in daily sunlight amounts and variations in soil nutrition can change the growth patterns of turf, flowers, small trees, and other plants. Generally, pruning is considered preventative maintenance that is good for both mature and young plants and an important part of a long-term maintenance strategy. Pruning trees and shrubs have a number of great benefits. Regular pruning encourages healthy fruit and flower production by removing unnecessary growth, providing a much more tamed look, and promoting plant health by allowing the tree or shrub to prioritize healthy growth.
There are 4 main methods of pruning:
Thinning - The removal of branches at their point of origin. This helps to enhance light penetration and manage excessive growth.
Topping - Removing the vast majority of branches from the top of the tree or shrub to the base. This is most commonly used when training young trees to grow in a particular manner.
Reduction - Trimming back the volume of a tree or branch, typically for safety purposes such as removing a potential obstruction from powerlines.
Raising - The removal of low hanging branches to make room for pedestrians, parking spaces, and driveways.
Edging
What are the benefits of edging your lawn? Lawn edging gives your lawn a much more manicured appearance while also increasing curb appeal as more eyes can be drawn toward the fact that you have a very meticulously maintained garden bed as opposed to the grass that is taking over the edges of your driveway. This practice helps direct the attention toward the focal points of your landscape design and adds significant value without spending a lot of money. Though the majority of the benefits of edging are visual, one key practical benefit of regular edging is that it provides a root barrier to prevent lawn grasses from entering your garden or flower beds acting as sort of a moat.
Organic Fertilizing
Chemical fertilizers often lead to thatching and ultimately dead patches of grass. Most modern chemical fertilizers release nitrogen into the soil very quickly which leads to a sudden and drastic increase in grass growth. It's the equivalent of a steroid for your lawn. Though this may seem good in principle, the growth is uncontrolled and often leads to thatching since the grass is growing faster than it can decompose which leaves an ever-expanding layer of dead or dying material. This material, also known as thatch, builds up and drastically reduces airflow and nutrient absorption of the healthy grass which leads to overall degrading quality in your lawn.
Spruce Property Care also chooses to use natural fertilizers exclusively since they are completely sustainable and environmentally friendly. According to the Organic Trade Association, organic fertilizer has proved to increase species biodiversity by over 30%. Though more costly than synthetic fertilizers depending on where you live, organic fertilizers can reduce the need for pesticides, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium requirements.
Are you looking to increase the appeal of your landscape or improve the quality of your plants, trees, and turf? Call the Acton, ME-based property care experts. We offer quality Spring Cleaning services in Acton, Shapleigh, Sanford, and all immediate surrounding locations. Give us a call today or fill out our contact form below!