I have found it interesting this spring that many HOA’s are threatening homeowners with fines because of the decline of their lawns due to the drought, ice, record number of freezes this past winter, shade, or other weather related conditions. Locally, the St. Augustine lawns really took a beating due to the ice con-ditions this past year. On one hand the home-owners associations are fining homeowners (or threatening fines), and on the other hand, cities are fining homeowners (or threatening fines) for water usage because they refurbished their lawn with new sod or seed. What are we homeowners to do?

First, do everything you can to keep your lawn healthy. At the first sign of decline take ap-propriate steps to keep from losing your lawn to the point of having to put down new sod or seed that will require daily watering for the new grass to get established that first month. Second, if you DO have to replace your lawn, consider replacing smaller areas of the lawn

a month at a time that will allow you to hand water on a daily basis. Thirdly, do everything you can to conserve water. We do not want to go to stage 4 watering, like they are in Wichita Falls, TX, where there is no outdoor watering of any kind allowed!

Summer Time TroubleS…WaTer DroughT & moSquiToeS

real Solutions For This Summer’s Crisis

We are now in our third year of critical drought conditions in North Texas. As far as I know, every municipality in the DFW Metroplex is under water restrictions for outdoor use on lawns, trees and landscapes. Most of us have been under watering restrictions for the past couple of years, but now even the Dallas County cities are restricting their outdoor watering use. Some of us can water our lawns twice a week, others, once a week, and for those of us in the North Texas Water District, we can only water once every two weeks.

In ThIs Issue:

29 ThIngs You Can Do

To use Less WaTer anD have a green LaWn

5sprIggs BroThers

MosquITo KnoCKouT soLuTIons

5MosquITo BITe ConTroL TIps

8a personaL WorD

FroM DavID

pLus! Don’T

MIss our

suMMer Coupons

For greaT

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(800) 855-9362 www.OrganicGreenLawns.com

Newsletter, sUMMer 2014(800) 955-9362 • www.OrganicGreenLawns.com

lOCAl lAKe leVels(As of 06/14)

lAKe % FUll

ForK –––––––––––––––––– 87%grapevIne –––––––––––– 61%Lavon ––––––––––––––––– 51% LeWIsvILLe ––––––––––––– 65%raY huBBarD –––––––––– 67%raY roBerTs ––––––––––– 71%TaWaKonI ––––––––––––– 67%

More information can be found at www.waterdatafortexas.org

9 ThingS You Can Do To uSe leSS WaTer anD have a green laWn1. Core Aerate Your Lawn. This is the simplest and least expensive thing you can do. I get asked all the time, “how many times a year should I core aerate my lawn?” There is no “one” answer to that question. I would say that you should aerate, organically fertilize, (and water your lawn on the same day or next day), at least once a year.

I will tell you this, last year I started rehabbing a repo property that had sat empty for 3 years. Because it was my prop-erty and I didn’t have time or energy to topdress the lawn, I would aerate, put down an organic fertilizer, molasses and humate once every two or three months during the summer, fall, and twice this spring. There are still some areas that need improvement due to poisons and neglect for the 3 to 4 years this house sat empty, but the lawn has done a 360 de-gree turnaround in terms of health, color, and water retention. As of June 1st of this year, we had not irrigated our lawn one time since last fall. The only water our lawn had received was what nature provided during the 4th driest winter and spring in North Texas on record. Yet this lawn is unbelievably green.

Core aerate your lawn on or the day of or the day before your scheduled watering day once every two or three months. To get the best results of your aeration: (1) Water your lawn briefly in the morning to soften up the ground. Don’t over water because we don’t want to aerate in mud. This could tear up your lawn. (2) When your lawn is aerated, add organic fertilizers and soil amendments such as molasses and humate. This process will deep root feed your turf and the organic fertilizers will help hold water around the root zone of your grass. Beware of chemical fertilizers that will burn the roots and kill your grass when you combine them with lawn aeration. Also beware of natural based fertilizers that use high concentrations of urea. This also could burn the root system of your turf. Use OMRI certified organic fertilizers when aerating your lawn. (3) Water that evening or the morning after the lawn aeration to deep water the turf root system. This process will improve the density and color of your lawn if you do it on a regular basis.

2. Topdress Your Lawn. The #1 thing you can do to improve the water holding capacity of your turf is to amend the hard clay and rock soil that most of us inherited with a 3/8ths to ½ inch layer of topdressing. Topdressing will: (1) Act like a sponge and allow your turf to hold more water before run off. (2) Your grass will retain moisture longer. (3) It will keep the root zone of your turf cooler in the hot summer months and warmer in the winter months. (4) With the right soil amendments, topdressing is the best fertilizer you can use to feed your lawn. Spriggs Brothers has developed and im-proved upon a topdressing formula over the past 15 years that we think is the absolute best thing you could do to im-prove the health of your soil and lawn. During these drought conditions and water restricted days, topdressing is the best thing to save and preserve your lawn. We use molasses, humate, zeolite turf aid, worm castings, compost, Actino-Iron, lava sand, green sand and corn gluten meal in our topdressing formulation. Every one of these ingredients has a specific purpose in greening up your lawn and helping it maintain soil moisture.

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topdressing with Compost and Organic soil AmendmentsThese provide soil organic matter (carbon), which improves soil structure and increases the amount of water contained in soil by: •Increasingsoilwaterholdingcapacity •Improvingabilityofwatertomovethroughthesoil •Increasingtheamountofwaterabsorbedbysoil

3. Spriggs Brothers Texas Turf & Garden Tea. Our Texas Turf and Garden Tea is one of the secret weapons that we have to keep your lawn green during the summer months. You can use our Texas Turf and Garden Tea in conjunction with any (chemical or organic) fertilization program you may be on. Those of you on our annual organic program already receive 4 applications of our Texas Turf and Gar-den Tea. If you are not on one of our annual fertilization programs, we have a 4 spray summer special package that you can add to your current lawn and landscaping feeding program. That’s right, we will spray your lawn, garden and flowerbeds and it won’t burn or hurt your plants in the summer heat!

4. FourPlay is a patented blend of liquid humectant and hygroscopic compounds that attract and hold moisture like tiny water magnets within soil. Golf course managers have used a similar product called “Hydretain” to reduce water uses for up to 50% the past few years. FourPlay incorporates seaweed extract biostimulant with a potassium humate soil conditioner along with the patented liquid humectant. Tests have shown that FourPlay enhances root growth, aids in penetrating moisture absorption and water holding capacity of soils and increases nutrient availability to your turf and plants. FourPlay extends watering intervals of indoor and outdoor plants, flowers, vegetables, shrubs, trees and grasses by as much as 2 to 3 times. This is a break through product for those of you on once a week or once every two week watering schedules. Nature’s Guide, a Fort Worth company that is a leading innovator of developing and bringing or-ganic products to the general public, is working with Ecolo-gel Solutions, to bring this product to the market place.

Spriggs Brothers Texas Tea Turf Plus 4 combines all the great ingredients of our regular Spriggs Brothers Texas Turf & Garden Tea plus the added water features of FourPlay. We have put together a 4 spray program over the course of the summer and early fall months when we still have typically 90 degree plus heat and warm nights. Because FourPlay needs to be watered in to get the prod-uct into the soil to be effective, we need to schedule treat-ments on your scheduled watering days or the afternoon or evening before watering. So please call ASAP so we can coordinate with you on your city’s mandatory watering schedule.

5. Organic Granular Fertilizers. One of the great benefits of using organic fertilizers is that they don’t have to be immediately watered in order to not burn or destroy your turf. Organic fertilizers do not have to be watered in to be effective either. They are not a water soluble product like chemical fertilizers, but rather compost into your soil and feed your grass like mulch does in your flowerbeds.

Even an organic lawn will need some additional fertilizer to stay green in drought conditions. Organic fertilizers are slow release in form, providing a long-term green up of the lawn. Organic lawn care is based on the premise of feeding the soil as well as the grass, trees and landscap-ing. The “soil food web” is a complex ecosystem of mi-croorganisms and macroorganisms. It is a scientific fact that lawns grown in soils with rich organic matter require much less water.

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Benefits of spriggs Brothers texas turf & Garden tea 1. Detoxifies the soil. 2. Improves blooms on flowering plants. 3. Breaks down soil compaction over time. 4. Improved taste of fruits and vegetables. 5. Stronger plant growth and a thicker root system in your turf. 6. Significant lawn and turf health in North Texas drought and heat. 7. Organic and environmentally safe. 8. Will improve and benefit both organic or synthetic chemical fertilization programs. The addition of FourPlay to turf and plant

applications can keep lawns green during drought.

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6. Proper Lawn Maintenance. Mow your lawn at 3 to 3 ½ inches. The added blade tissue aids in water storage in the blades of grass and photosynthesis. Also, taller grass will create shade which will reduce evaporation of water from the soil and protect the roots from excessive heat.

7. Have an Annual Irrigation Tune Up. I am by nature a DIY type of person. But there are some areas of expertise that you need a licensed professional to do for you. One of those areas is with your irrigation system. Please hire a Texas licensed irrigator who specializes in wise water management. You should have your automatic irrigation system checked out once or twice a year. Irrigation systems have moving parts and without your knowledge your sprinkler heads may be watering the street or your neighbor’s yard. Ask your irrigation specialist about updating your sprinkler heads to ones that use less water but give you better coverage and a deeper soaking.

Spriggs Brothers has licensed irrigators on staff and we offer a tune up where we go through your system, adjust your heads and make recommendations for any repairs or upgrades that you might need in order to save water and money on your utility bills. The cost is $79 for average size lawns for an irrigation tune up.

8. Mulch and Organic Soil Amendments in your Landscaping. One of the big mistakes I see over and over in custom-ers’ landscaping is that there is not a good 3 inch layer of native hardwood or cedar mulch. Mulch will hold in moisture longer and moderate the soil temperatures, keeping your plant’s roots cooler in the summer. A good layer of mulch will help keep your plants from stressing out in the hot Texas summer sun.

Another mistake I see is customers raking out their old mulch before they put down a new layer of mulch or they just put down layer after layer of mulch on top of one another. The old mulch should be turned and worked into the landscaping soil. You want the partially decomposed mulch to break up the clay soil and allow the decomposing mulch to feed your plants. On the other hand, I see customers who just add new mulch on top of the old mulch. Adding layer after layer of new mulch on top of the old mulch leads to further soil compaction and your shrubs roots can’t breathe. You need to regularly work and loosen the soil in your flowerbeds to keep from having soil compaction.

To have proper soil drainage and for your plants to breath and have proper soil cation exchange capacity, you need to add soil amendments regularly to your landscaping. Some of the items we suggest to work in are lava sand, greensand, expanded shale or zeolite, horticultural molasses, compost and corn meal.

In problem landscape settings, the use of soil amendments can dramatically help to revitalize a challenging area. The long term maintenance costs will be lower as well since the problems associated with an unhealthy landscape or turf area will decrease if soil problems are resolved. A properly balanced and biologically active soil provides the key to your landscape success.

9. Choose the right turf or turfs for your lawn and the right plants for your landscaping. Time and space do not allow us the opportunity to discuss this point in this newsletter. When it comes to grasses, do a web search on zoysia grasses for Texas, particularly Palisades Zoysia or Zorro Zoysia. We also like to recommend Celebration Bermuda. These grasses use significantly less water and are hardier than the typical “builders model” turf. Second, look up drought tolerant pe-rennials and shrubs for zone 7. When you are ready to make changes in your landscaping or turf, give Spriggs Brothers a call and we can discuss your options.

It’s been interesting to watch the industry the last few years and the pendulum shift of the chemical guys starting to switch over to organic products and practices. The move to being organic has nothing to do with their concern withtheir customers’ health and the environment, but that organic fertilizers are proving to work better over the long term oncustomers’ lawns. We are convinced that you can retain your home’s curb appeal, value and beauty by adhering to these practices during these difficult days of temperatures and drought.

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sprIggs BroThers MosquITo KnoCKouT soLuTIons

• SpriggS BrotherS MoSquito KnocKout Spray allows you to take control of your backyard and enjoy the outdoors this summer and fall with regular organic mosquito treatments. We will protect you and your loved ones by put-ting a barrier of protection around your entire yard. Our organic program not only immediately kills existing mosquitoes but also will repel mosquitoes, fleas, ticks and chiggers in the days to come so that you can have peace of mind and enjoy the outdoors.

Approximately every 21 days we will visit your outdoor area and apply an EPA approved OMRI organic certified treat-ment to the designated areas. Our unique spray formula and fogging solutions last approximately 3 weeks and do not harm beneficial insects such as lady bugs and earthworms, amphibious organisms such as frogs, koi fish in water features, or life in our natural creeks and streams, or the family pets. Our products are even certified to use in organic gardening for fruits and vegetables.

• SpriggS BrotherS MoSquito KnocKout pluS prograM - We take the protection of your outdoor space 2 steps further with this application. Most other pest control companies will offer a barrier spray, but because we are a family business and our concern for the safety of your family, we are taking extra steps to provide a comprehensive program.

1. First, you will receive our organic barrier spray that has been found to reduce 90% or more of mosquito and pest problems.

2. Secondly, we spread BTI, an organic product that kills mosquito larvae in your mulched areas of the landscape, french drains, and other places we find standing water. BTI is 100% OMRI organic certified and is not harmful to aquatic life or the environment.

3. Thirdly, we spread an organic granular product in your lawn and landscaping that gives added longevity to our barrier spray.

Because this application is so comprehensive, we recommend our Mosquito KnockOut Plus program approximately every 30 days.

MosquITo BITe ConTroL TIps▶ Reduce - Reduce standing water to eliminate mosquito threats, including those in children’s sandboxes, wagons or plastic toys, underneath and around downspouts, in plant saucers and dog bowls. Other hot spots include tarps, gutters, and flat roofs.

▶ Remove - Remove excess grass, leaves, firewood and clippings from yards.

▶ Turn Over - Turn over larger yard items that could hold water like children’s portable sandboxes or plastic toys.

▶ Remove Tarps - If tarps stretched over firewood piles, boats or sports equipment aren’t taut, they’re holding water.

▶ TREAT - Utilize a mosquito elimination barrier treatment around the home and yard. Using a barrier treatment at home reduces the need for using DEET-containing bug spray on the body. Spriggs Brothers Mosquito KnockOut Spray eliminates 90% or more of the mosquitoes and chiggers on your property.

▶ Personal Repellant - Use an organic, DEET FREE, mosquito repellant for added safety, particularly when outside at dusk or dawn. There are several organic products on the market today that will give you personal protection whether you are out and about or you are at home enjoying your yard. We recommend that you always use a personal protection for added safety, particularly at dusk or dawn when mosquitoes are most active.

TEXAS TURF TEA PLUS 4!

189$Season Package of (3) maximum

water hydration treatments for your lawn & landscape - $459

Priced based on average size lawns up to 6,000 sq ft

of lawn and landscape. Larger lawns will be priced by amount of product

needed for adequate application.

NEW SPRIGGS BROTHERS PRODUCT!FOURPLAY APPLICATION

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PER TREATMENT

PER TREATMENT

Season Package of (3) treatments - $259

Priced based on average size lawns up to 6,000

sq ft of lawn and landscape. Larger lawns will

be priced by amount of product needed for adequate application.

A unique blend of 4 proven technologies that maximize water efficiency within the soil matrix, improving water penetration and increasing nutrient availability while controlling and eliminating localized dry spots.

$

organIC pesT ConTroL prograMHomes 4,000 -6,000 Sq Ft Lawns and Landscapes

Our organic pest control treatments are for the perimeter of your home and lawn. We have had good success with perim-eter treatments of the house, lawn treatments that do not harm beneficial insects, and using household vinegar or orange oil to clean baseboards, floors and counter tops inside the house to repel insects. The free bottle of Nature’s Guide “Home Pest Control” can be used inside the home or outside on potted plants. Everything we use is organic and 100% safe for your children, family, and pets.

Beneficial Nematodes - Plus Option - You can add a beneficial nematode treatment twice a year (spring and fall) to kill fire ants, grubs and termites. Nematodes are unsegmented roundworms. Most are not visible to the naked eye. They can be found practically everywhere on the planet in all different types of soil. Over 25,000 different strains have been cataloged. Different strains of beneficial nematodes are raised commercially for their ability to control insects safely and biologically. The strain of nematodes we use to treat your lawn are nature’s biological way to kill and control fire ants, fleas, white grubs, and soil borne termites. Beneficial nematode treatments are regularly $120 per treatment for regular size lawns.

1. Bronze pacKage - For our Bronze Package, you will receive a perimeter treatment once every 3 months. Our pe-rimeter treatment includes spraying all the weep holes, the house foundation, and around all doors and windows. We also spray 3 feet up the side of the house and 5 feet out from the house to give a solid perimeter of defense around your home.

Annual payment of $289. Regularly $360 or $90 per perimeter treatment.

2. Bronze pluS pacKage - $480 annual payment, regularly $600. Includes 2 beneficial nematode treatments for Lawn & Landscape and quarterly home perimeter treatment.

3. Silver pacKage - The Silver Package will gives you a home perimeter treatment every other month ( 6 treatments). For our silver package we treat the perimeter of your home every other month or 6 times a year.

Annual payment of $430. Regularly $540 or $90 per perimeter treatment.

4. Silver pluS pacKage - $624 annual payment. Includes spring and fall beneficial nematode treatments for Lawn & Landscape and every other month (6) Home Perimeter treatments.

5. gold pacKage - The Gold Package includes 6 perimeter treatments plus 3 lawn treatments (April, June & August). For the lawn we use a granular organic product that repels ants, fleas, chiggers, flies and gnats for 30 – 45days in dry weather.

Annual payment of $696. Regularly $870 or $90 per perimeter treatment and $110 per lawn treatment.

6. gold pluS pacKage - $888 annual payment. Includes spring and fall beneficial nematode treatments, 3 Lawn & Landscape treatments, and 6 Home Perimeter treatments.

7. platinuM pacKage - $1,168 annual payment. regularly $1,460. Recommended for families that have swimming pools, outdoor living spaces or live next to creeks or common areas that have standing water. Includes 4 home perimeter treatments, 6 lawn and mosquito treatments, and 2 beneficial nematode treatments.

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1918 University Business Dr, Suite 503 McKinney, TX 75071

PRSRT STDUS POSTAGE PAIDPROSPER TXPERMIT NO. 8

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A Personal Word From David

I must apologize. March through the first part of June is our busiest time of the year in the landscape industry. We struggle to get to all of our customers’ lawns in a timely fashion during the spring. We usually do 60% of our business during this time frame. Sometime after Father’s Day we start to slow down. I can promise you that we are doing everything possible to give you great, timely customer service.

One of our biggest struggles is to find high character, honest, trainable people to work for us. I don’t want to get too political, but we have made it too easy for some not to work. I think one of the important things you can do as a parent is to insist that your teenage child work at some kind of job and save for college. I especially like to see young people who start their own companies. Yesterday I met two that teenagers that impressed me. Samuel, 15 years of age, mows 10 -12 lawns in his neighborhood. Catherine, 16 years of age, bakes and sells cakes. These young people are learning people skills, financial planning, and the value of hard work.

One of the things I have tried to teach my sons is that “There are few jobs, but there is always work to do. If you will work and hustle, you can work yourself into a job.” Spriggs Brothers is looking for hard working high character people to train in the “cutting edge” industry of organic fertilization and landscaping. If you know someone who is looking for an opportunity, have them call our office. They will have to be willing to start at the bot-tom, but if they will learn what we teach in the field and study the books that we give our technicians, there is a real career opportunity.

It’s not too late to get started on an organic fertilization program this year. If you are not on one of our annual programs or if it is time for you to re-sign up, call our office to find out how we can help you have a green and healthy lawn during these tough times. We want to earn your fertilization and landscaping business!

Thanks!

P.S. If you want to order a cake, pie or other baked goodies from Catherine, her website is www.catherinescakes.jthawes.com. I understand that her big sellers are the German Chocalate and the Italian Creme Cakes!