Friday, January 14, 2011

8 Reasons to Choose Turf King Lawn Care

8 Reasons to Choose the King of Green


  • Healthier, Greener Lawns, Guaranteed
  • Ask about our Green Organic Programs
  • Programs Customized for You and Your Budget
  • Weed & Insect Treatments
  • Over 40 Years Experience
  • Locally Owned and Operated
  • University of Guelph Degree in Environmental Horticulture
  • "We Care" Personalized Service
  • AIR MILES(R) reward miles

Seniors' Discounts

Turf King Hamilton The Lawn Care Experts since 1962
Call Now to Start Your Lawn Program
905-318-6677
1-888-887-3546
www.hamiltonturfking.ca

Gerry Okimi B.Sc.Agr.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

IPM Symposium 2011- #3 "Let's kill some weeds"

Pam Charbonneau from OMAFRA
Let's kill some weeds

Outline
Fiesta 09-10
Fiesta re-growth '10
Organosol '10
Fiesta + organosol '10

Fiesta 09-10
In the fall of 2009 Fiesta was applied to dandelion, black medic, narrow leaf plantain. Results were good but would there  be regrowth the next spring?

The fall treatments involved using 3 rates
Low label rate 200ml/m2 
High label rate 400ml/m2
2x label rate

Fall results showed good results with dandelion,  black medic. However narrow plantain was only about 40% weed reduction.

By the end of April, With one treatment in fall
Dandelion by spring close to the same amount as the fall. Black medic was less with higher rates.
Plantain - no change- perhaps because it doesn't grow early spring??

Evaluate regrowth of weeds after 2 applications
4 types of weeds Clover, Narrow Plantain, Wide Plantain, Dandelion. Individual weeds were tagged so it could be seen if there was regrowth
Treated June 7 and July 7 with Spot treatment to coverage to wetness

Results were evaluated one month after second treatment
Dandelion and both  plantains showed good results.
Clover not as good.
Weeds treated with 2 Fiesta applications one month apart showed a good weed control.


Organosol '10
Cheese byproduct that contains Citric and lactic acid
Mix 25% Organosol plus 3% surfactant ( LI700) + 72% water
Applied at 200 ml/m2 
5 treatments 2 weeks apart starting end of May
Some yellowing of grass 2-3 hrs after spray which grew out after one cutting.

Did good control of clovers, black medic and oxalis
Organosol did not do very well as a dandelion treatment

http://pr-rp.pmra-arla.gc.ca/PR_SOL/pr_web.ve1?p_ukid=20090

Fiesta + organosol '10
Is there any synergy with Organosol and Fiesta together?
Sprays end of September, end of October
Stayed tuned for results.

IPM Symposium 2011- #2

Roberto Sacilotto MOE
Cosmetic Pesticide Ban -Compliance & Enforcement

www.Ontario.ca/Pesticideban

www.additupontario.ca lawn care tips

During April  to December /10,  158 landscape sector inspections were completed.
43% in full compliance. Majority of non compliance issues found were administrative.
Only 3% -use of banned pesticide

 Common violations administrative included-
Improper storage-vehicle and permanent
Improper container
Lack of fire department notification
Licensing/certification concerns

Enforcement Actions
Most were voluntary

There were 4 inspections that were more serious
2-involved the sale of banned product
2-involved use of unregistered product licensing concerns

There were 3 convictions. 2 resulted in fines of $8-10,000 (plus victim impact surcharge)

On the Vendors inspections there was less full compliance when compared to the landscape inspections.

www.hamiltonturfking.ca

IPM Symposium 2011- #1

MOE water quality monitoring by Aaron Todd
With respect to Cosmetic Pesticide Ban
Urban stream water study.

Full report at http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/publications/7879e.pdf

Pesticide levels  were measured in about 10 small urban streams. The streams were almost all residential, little agricultural, no golf courses. Purpose to measure whether there were reductions due to the pesticide ban. Golf courses and agriculture were mostly unaffected by the ban, so any streams that were in a watershed of golf or agriculture would be less likely to show reductions due to the pesticide ban.

Samples were taken in 2008 and again in 2009. Samples were also taken in 2010, but the results have not been fully analyzed at this time. (I wonder how the study was implemented in 2008 before there was supposedly any certainty about whether and exactly which pesticides were to be banned)

88 samples were taken in 2008 and 80 samples were taken in 2009.

33 pesticides found in very low percentages. Concentrations were less one ng/liter -one in a trillion, (ng = nanogram)

Dramatic reductions were seen in the 2,4-D + Mecroprop, dicamba herbicide group. Insecticides but not as significantly.
Others not significant. These are soluble.

Some like Glyphosate and its degradates did not decrease. Even they were banned and only allowed to be used to counteract prescribed uses such as poison ivy, the products were readily available at many hardware store. (by the skid)

Pesticide concentrations rarely exceeded guidelines.


.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Google Maps Offer

Google Maps Savings

Lawn care savings here, limited time offer,
Not valid with any other offer or discount

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Grubs Starting in British Columbia


Date: Monday Jan. 3, 2011 5:04 PM PT
An invasion is underway in Vancouver's wealthiest neighbourhood, where the tiny European chafer beetle is causing thousands of dollars in lawn damage.
The disaster is unfolding on the manicured lawns of Shaughnessy, where skunks, raccoons and crows are ripping up the grass to get to the beetle larvae buried below.
"We're talking multi-million-dollar properties where people spend thousands of dollars a year on their landscaping, and some of them with rather large lawns. It's not a problem that's going to go away in the foreseeable future," Paul Corbett of Cutting Edge Lawn Care told CTV News.
The beetle infestation has been a problem in New Westminster and Burnaby since 2001. It's believed an infected shipment of soil arrived from Ontario, and Corbett says the beetle is now migrating west toward the University of B.C.
"The beetles, when they hatch, fly towards the setting sun. They always hatch at night or in the evening, and they always just tend to fly toward the sunset," he said.
Homeowners like Annie Jangze are trying to stop hungry animals from pawing at their lawns by laying down chicken wire.
"I tried to scare a raccoon off, and I brought a hockey stick and I said, ‘Hey you,' and he just looked at me," she said.
"I want to enjoy my green."
Some residents on Wiltshire Street are removing their lawns altogether.
Corbett says the cold weather won't kill the beetles, and there is nothing that homeowners can do until the summer, when the insects lay their eggs.
There are only two treatment options: microscopic worms called nematodes that attack the eggs, or Merit, an insecticide that is only allowed in certain municipalities.
Corbett suggests that neighbours get together and agree on a treatment plan so that the beetles can be eradicated.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Lisa Rossington