Is your property hurricane-ready?

When hurricane season rolls around many Floridians find themselves unprepared in protecting their own safety and security. A few easy preventive measures will help prevent a disaster on your property. News-press.com offers these helpful tips:

Roof: Make sure your roof meets high wind standards and have it inspected by a qualified building professional to determine if reinforcement is necessary.

Windows: Cover windows with storm shutters and protect all glass doors and skylights. Plywood is basically only effective for a Category 1 hurricane.

Garage doors: Some can be strengthened with retrofit kits.

Doors: Make certain door bolts or pins can withstand storm winds. If unsure, check with a building supply retailer to determine what would work best.

Electricity: Unplug appliances and turn off electricity (except refrigerator) and turn off main water valve. Turn refrigerator and freezer to coldest setting.

Outdoors: Store outdoor objects, including lawn furniture, tools and grills, inside. Anchor other objects and remove antennas. Remove loose debris that could turn into missiles.

Visit FloridaDisaster.org to learn more.

Countdown to a Healthy and Beautiful Florida Lawn

5) Water Properly. Its best to water in the early morning hours between 12 and 4am. Water twice a week for long periods of time (45 minutes) instead of everyday for short periods of time (15 minutes). This will encourage healthy growth of the root system. Also, check with local ordinance for any water restriction amounts and times. Otherwise you may get a fine for watering on the wrong days or for too long.

4) Fertilize 3 times a year between May and October. Call ProMo – we know when to fertilize and what to do for all different grass types.

3) Sharpen your lawn mower blades. Dull blades rip and shred the top of the grass leaves. This will cause the grass to split and develop brown edges. This splitting also makes your lawn more susceptible to disease and pest infestation.

2) Mow your grass often. Between March and November you should mow your lawn weekly. The cut height should not be less than 2.75 inches and DO NOT remove more than 1.25 inches per mowing. A good rule of thumb is you do not want to remove more than 1/3 of the total grass height per mowing. This is assuming you have one of the Saint Augustine varieties of grass which is the most common turf in Florida.

1) Call ProMo Lawn Care and Leave all your lawn care worries to the Pro’s.

Stay Cool Florida.

Sure, it's cool out now but before long we will be feeling the sweltering summer heat that south Florida is known for. What can you do to stay cool?

Take it easy. Avoid strenuous activity. If you must do strenuous activity, do it during the coolest part of the day, which is usually in the morning between 4:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.

Stay indoors. If air conditioning is not available, stay on the lowest floor, out of direct sunlight. Try to go to a public building with air conditioning each day for several hours. Open windows at night.

Hydrate. Drink plenty of water regularly and often, even if you do not feel thirsty. Water is the safest liquid to drink during heat emergencies. Avoid drinks with alcohol, caffeine and sugar. Make sure your pets get plenty of fresh water as well.

Check the heat index chart. Knowing the temperature alone is not enough. The heat index gives you the temperature of what it "feels like" by taking into account both temperature and humidity.

Ease into it. If you are not accustomed to warm weather, let your body acclimatize to the new environment over several days.

Overheating is dangerous! Call ProMo Lawn Care to do the yard work for you. We’ll even BUY YOUR LAWN EQUIPMENT if you sign up for three year’s service. Call (239) 458-9200 before the heat strikes!

Gas Prices Are Climbing in Southwest Florida

What does this have to do with lawn care?  Well, if you're anything like me, always having to keep up with your neighbor's pristinely and ridiculously manicured lawn (if you cut your lawn once a week) costs you in gas tank fills.  My 5 gallon tank now costs $20!

Floral shops are suffering this Mothers Day too. According to ABC News, it's costing a little extra to deliver that floral arrangement to mom because of the increases in gas prices.

Down the road at Fort Myers Floral Designs, store owner Greg DePasquale already charges a $10 delivery fee. He says right now, he's getting enough orders so he isn't having to pass off the cost of gas to customers. "We know we're going to head in that direction with carload or two trips, so we don't need to pass that on," he said. The price hike is only temporary at Fort Myers Florist. They'll drop the delivery charge after the Mother's Day holiday, but some customers say the increase is enough to make them wait it out.

Gas prices are costing us all at lot of green. Call ProMo Lawn Care for a FREE estimate and let someone else – us — worry about gas prices for a change.