TREE CARE IN DEERFIELD BY TREES ‘R’ US, INC.

 

What is the Deerfield?

The Village of Deerfield offers several tip for greening up your landscape.

Lawns are a challenge. They need fertilizer, weed control and water. Chemical fertilizers routinely contain phosphorus, which is a watershed pollutant, adding to overgrowth of algae and choking out other aquatic life. These substances also deplete the soil, making grass chemical-dependent. Below are some tips to make your garden more environmentally friendly.  Click here for tips from a Lake County group called the Librerty Prairie Conservancy.

FERTILIZER

•All fertilizers display three numbers, like this: 10-10-10; look for one with a zero in the middle. That’s the amount of phosphorus.

•Ask your lawn care provider to use a phosphorus-free fertilizer.

•Find a good organic fertilizer and apply it yourself. Organic fertilizers improve soil, making grass healthier over time.

•Try corn-gluten fertilizer. If you apply it early enough (late March/early April), it will prevent even crabgrass from sprouting.

•Click here for more information about green fertilizers: http://www.gardensalive.com/default.asp?sid=100309&eid= and http://www.arbico-organics.com/

 

WEED CONTROL

•Avoid weed and feed products, especially if you have pets or children. It’s better to spot treat existing weeds, preferably with a “green” weed-killer.

•Dig out occasional weeds by hand.

•Boiling water will also kill weeds and is a good choice for little sidewalk invaders.

•Click here for some additional tips and information: http://livingclean.com/cheap-green-weed-killer-lee-ohara/

Flower and Vegetable Gardens

•The key to a nice garden is good soil. Test for Ph and add supplements as necessary.

•Add compost and manure. These materials are available, bagged, at garden centers, or in bulk at material yards.

•Keep flowers and vegetables mulched in the summer. Mulch conserves water and keeps weeds from sprouting.

•Organic fertilizers are available at local garden centers.

 

PEST CONTROL AND PLANT CHOICES

•Be aware that when you apply broad-spectrum insecticides, the “good bugs” (bees, butterflies, ladybugs, and praying mantis) will also be killed. Good organic pest control products are available on-line and at local garden centers.

•Use plants that are either native or disease resistant to avoid the need for spraying and constant watering.

•Annuals need much more water and must be grown in greenhouses every year. They are trucked to garden centers. They have a big carbon footprint.

•Rose Lovers: There are many beautiful rose varieties that are hardy and disease resistant. They won’t need spraying like some of their fussier cousins. Ask at a local center, or find a good grower on-line.

•The Chicago Botanic Garden is an excellent resource for plant information: http://www.chicagobotanic.org/plantinfo/index.php .

•The Lake County Forest Preserves usually have a native plant sale in the spring: http://www.lcfpd.org/html_lc/plantsale/plantsale_2011.html

 

The Trees “R” Us, Inc. Plant Health Care Division can help you easily and affordably green up your landscape to the standards of Deerfield.

 

We provide free onsite estimates, as well as initial phone discussions, by a licensed Arborist. Contact Trees “R” Us, Inc. at 847-913-9069 or email us at info@treesrusinc.com. Trees “R” Us, Inc. - The Right Choice!