O'Hara is the leading provider of sprinkler and irrigation service in West Palm Beach.

April 10, 2011 - PRLog -- The first thing to remember with any landscape in West Palm Beach is that it’s a living, breathing entity. Even the simplest, easy-to-care for yard will need watering, feeding, cleaning, and disease prevention. If you aren’t a big fan of yard maintenance, it might be wise to implement landscaping that’s easy to maintain. Indeed, landscape maintenance is much more involved than the average homeowner believes. Mowing, mulching, and weeding are frequently done but rarely done right. Often, the difference between solid and poor landscape maintenance is in the details. Taking those few extra minutes to do the job right will pay off enormous dividends with a more beautiful lawn and fewer maintenance problems in the future.

So, how do you do the job right? Simple: you research, create, and diligently follow a landscape maintenance checklist. We’ve conducted the research for you in this handy checklist, but this is only a baseline for your individual lawn and landscaping. Different landscaping features and design may require their own maintenance items, but this will get you started…

Landscape Maintenance Checklist

Planting areas

Some plants require constant attention, while others won’t add anything to your landscape maintenance. Check on the condition of your plants during spring.

Covering ground with organic mulch will help soil retain moisture and keep weeds at bay.
After the first hard freeze, cut back plant branches and cover them with mulch.
Many flowers do better when you dead-head them (i.e., pinch off spent blooms), which encourages new growth.

Insect control

Sometimes a plant can be washed clean with a strong stream of water. Many garden centers sell insects such as ladybugs to get rid of bugs and worms.
Chemicals are also an option; however, use extreme caution when applying them.

Consider using household “natural” chemicals to control insects. For example, placing a shallow plate filled with beer in your slug-infested garden usually will attract and kill these pests.

Weeding

Removing the entire weed by its roots is the surest way to get rid of it.
Herbicides do work, but use caution when applying. They will not only kill the weed, but also other nearby plants.
Keep weeds to a minimum by covering the soil with an inch or two of mulch.
Weed prevention

An inch-thick layer of mulch will keep your planting beds relatively weed-free.
Grass is a plant that grows thick and bushy when healthy and will usually choke out any other weeds.
Some chemical fertilizers come with a “pre-emergent,” which kills the seeds in the spring when the plants are dormant.

Mowing

Don’t cut grass too short. Longer grass is healthier and retains water better.
Many mowers come with a mulching option that cuts grass into tiny bits and returns it to the lawn. This returns important nutrients to the soil, and reduces the need for fertilizer.

Leaf removal

Remove all leaves from grassy areas. The layer of leaves can restrict the amount of light reaching the lawn and trap water near the roots.

Fertilizing

Depending on your climate, fertilize your lawn and growing beds two to five times per growing season. Both chemical and organic options are available.

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The fact is, most lawns could use more water than they’re getting. The amount and frequency of rainfall is often not enough to keep a lawn healthy. Of course, you can try to help your lawn by applying water with a hose. But not only is that time consuming, but you may essentially end up drowning the grass. Installing a system from O’Hara Sprinkler is a better o Whatever amount of water your particular lawn requires, an automatic sprinkler can be designed to deliver it.

Everyone knows that a home’s value can be significantly enhanced by a good external appearance. When you have a sprinkler system installed by O’Hara , you’re making sure that your property looks its best. Buyers will get the impression that your home is well cared for, When they see your vigorous lawn and beautiful landscaping. Not only can sprinkler systems extend the life of your lawn and gardens, but they can last at least ten years with regular maintenance and service. A sprinkler system can even rescue grass that looks beyond hope – anemic, wispy, and patchy!

One thing that may worry you is an increase in your water rates with an automatic sprinkler system. A careful design, such as O’Hara can provide, will use water as sparingly as possible. The arrangement of the sprinklers is important. For instance, they should be placed so that water is delivered in overlapping patterns so that minimal runoff occurs. In contrast, hand-watering results in the waste of at least half the water through runoff and evaporation. You might forget to turn off the hose, or over-water your lawn. When a qualified O’Hara Sprinkler tech installs a sprinkler system for you, these possibilities become a thing of the past. The system will pay for itself in the money you save on your water bill!

O’Hara Sprinkler : Understanding the Types of Sprinkler Systems

In lawn watering, there are a total of 3 main kinds of systems. The three are: impact sprinklers, pivoting sprinklers, and underground irrigation systems. Depending on the size of your lawn and its water needs, O’Hara will use an assortment of all three. It’s best to use an assortment of sprinkler heads, as that helps to create a specific “zone” for watering the lawn.

Underground sprinklers are one of the most popular for use in residential lawns. They conveniently pop up when the system is triggered. Otherwise, they remain just under the surface, so that mowing the lawn is not a problem. O’Hara technicians are experts at judging the requirements of your lawn, and deciding if this type of sprinkler would be the best solution for your lawn.

Although all systems are custom-designed by O’Hara , there are some basic similarities. Every sprinkler system will include a controller, which receives and sends commands to the sprinklers; valves, which control the flow of water to the pipes underground; and sprinklers, which actually distribute the water. Your O’Hara professional will take a number of steps before customizing your system, including assessing water pressure, water source, soil conditions, and existing plants on your property. Modifying the system after the fact can be costly. However, if you make provisions for future changes right from the start, adding onto the system won’t be a huge problem.

O’Hara Provides a Priceless Service

Although you could install a sprinkler system yourself, there is a strong likelihood that you would do more harm than good, since it is easy to cause major damage to your yard. Professional O’Hara technicians are knowledgeable about what kinds of permits you need to install the plumbing required, and they are also experts at minimizing lawn damage. In the past digging trenches was standard practice, but now it’s no longer required. And of course any damage to your yard during the installation process will be repaired by O’Hara technicians. The professional contractors and engineers from O’Hara Sprinkler.



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Since 1973, O'HARA SPRINKLER INC. has been providing reliable sprinkler, irrigation, and landscape beautification to thousands of residents in community associations and commercial properties in Palm Beach and Martin County.