Lawn company recommendations?

Black Diamond has done some good lawn recovery in the past for me and didn't gouge me.

Hire a company that has a lawn aeration machine :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75kde9a4eS0&feature=related

TruGreen does a great job and their prices are great. STAY AWAY FROM "WEED MAN". The owner is a real prick and their service is subpar.

McClurg Environmental

In my retirement, I am just finishing up an Associates Degree at OCC in Landscape and Turf Management. Hence, I do know what elements should comprise good lawn care and diagnostic services. In fact, I just got my Ohio Pesticide Applicators license. (This is definitely a boast.):)

I reccommend McClurg for two reasons. I have the knowledge to profesionally evaluate their services and they have been my lawn care company for about 8 years. They meet or exceed every standard of care for turf. Even though I could easily now take care of my own lawn I have no desire to do so. I'm getting excellent service at a fair price for the hours and expertise I pay for.

At Owens, in a class called Professional Issues, many of the local lawn and landscape company rates and types of services offered are comparatively evaluated. (Many of the students are already working in the field and have access to company information.) Price wise I would say that McClurg is in the middle to high end of the price range.

In addition they are a locally owned and operated company. And No, I don't work for them. I am not related to anyone who does. Turf will not be my specialty when I finish this degree. My emphasis is on landscape design and install.

http://www.mcclurgenvironmental.com/

Congrats on the applicators license, Holland!

Are you looking for a design/install project? We need to do something at the rear porch to incorporate a rain barrel -- we're leaning towards a dry creek bed look, with a few boulders. Some excavation needs to be done (nothing that a rental Bobcat couldn't handle, but my spouse is reluctant to turn me loose in the yard with something fun like that ;-) Let me know if you're interested. Thanks

Oh wow. A dry creek bed with a rain barrel is a great idea. I'm honored at the offer too. But, this is the summer I'm doing my internship. I cant take on any side employment while working for the company that has given me the internship.

Bobcat's are totally fun. Go for it!

Can anyone recommend a lawn service provided that does quality lawn rolling at a reasonable price?

I've no doubt you will find a company who will roll your lawn. Many lawn service guys will give the customer what they want even when its wrong. It makes them more repeat business.

Its better to address the issues causing the unevenness. Rolling compacts the soil and causes further damage.

I recommend you talk to a competent turf expert who can asses your lawn and give you an analysis. A one time consultation should be free. Get at least two and compare what they recommend and what plan they offer. Then you may decide to do the corrective work yourself. It will likely take a season to get the lawn into shape.

Instead of rolling start by core aerating followed by a fertilizer application and crabgrass pre-emergent. Talk to the folks at The Anderson's about which products are best for your lawn and when to time the applications.

Slice back part of your turf to just below the roots and look for white grubs. If you've got 10 or more per square foot you have a grub problem. You can handle this two ways. Apply a curative grub application NOW. Cold weather has delayed the timing this year. There's about 5 or 6 days left if the soil warms as predicted by the weather forecast. Dylox is very good. There is a VERY short window in the early spring when a chemical grub application will work.

Or wait until late July/early August to apply a preventive grub control. Merit (imidacloprid) is recommended. Most lawn companies only do the late summer application because spring applications are exceptionally hard to time to be effective and they can't get around to all their customers in such a short period. If the lawn is really bad I do two applications the first year, spring and again in late July/early August then an annual late July/early August application thereafter.

Ohio State University Extension has numerous free factsheets about lawn care that will easily enable a homeowner to do a competent job of maintaining their lawn themselves or to be able to understand enough to weed out the competent from the "anything for a buck" lawn care company.

We've been very happy with Bill's Lawn and Landscape in Swanton. No upselling. Totally stand behind their work. Actions indicate that they want a long term relationship, not just to sell you a service. If you call, let him know the chick on Glenwood recommended him. I don't get a kickback, but would love him to see evidence that I feel so strongly about his services.

Bill's Lawn and Landscape
(419) 644-5296
2470 US 20, Swanton, OH 43558-8824

lawnbills@embarqmail.com

I finally found their business card. I recommend:

Lawn Boy Lawn Service
Sean Driscoll, owner
1615 Brim Rd.
Toledo, OH 43612
419 266-1107
419 343-6635

They did a great job for me and for Main Lady.

I use Black Diamond. No complaints, if I see an issue, they are happy to come out and fix it. I switched to Scotts for a year, they were a bit more expensive, but it was one of those situations where I was hoping that I’d get what I pay for. Nope, they were truly awful. They had no idea how to use a spreader and I’d have dark green/blue stripes down my lawn where they over fertilized (or under fertilized everything else).

I once had my entire backyard burned out completely by an over application of high nitrogen fertilizer. The yard was straw colored from lot line to lot line. It was True Green when they first came into the area. I'm pretty sure that the company no longer has the same franchise owner/operator that they had back then. I fired them on the spot and spent the rest of the summer over seeding and watering to bring the turf back myself.

A lot of people THINK they are turf experts, but few really know the science. And its NOT rocket science either.