January
This month's work
- Snow & storm response
- Plan the season — book early
Field Tip
Stay off frozen turf. Foot traffic on frosted blades causes brown streaks that linger until May.
Know what your lawn actually needs
Two free tools for Hudson Valley homeowners. Run the diagnostic for a tailored report, or scroll through the calendar to see what your lawn needs month by month.
A three-minute consultation
Tell us what you're seeing on the lawn, what the conditions are, and we'll send back a tailored report with the services most likely to help — and the ones you can skip.
Signature Tool
Lawn Health Diagnostic
Answer six short questions about your lawn and we will return a prioritized report with likely issues, a letter grade, and the specific services most likely to turn things around.
Step 1 of 6
What do you notice on the lawn?
Select anything that applies — we look for patterns across your answers.
What kind of soil do you have?
Pick the closest match — we can confirm with a free pH test later.
How much sun does the lawn get?
Think about the worst area on the property.
How often is the lawn watered?
Include both sprinklers and hand-watering.
What season are we in?
The same symptom at a different time of year often means different things.
Which region are you in?
Regional climate shifts change the diagnosis.
Official Report
Lawn Health Certificate
Prepared by Fairway Grounds Co.
A
Your lawn looks healthy from what you reported. Keep up the routine.
Findings
Recommended Next Steps
The Groundskeeper's Year
A twelve-month guide to what your lawn actually needs, when. Tap a month on the wheel to see the recommended services and a field tip from the crew.
February
This month's work
- Snow & storm response
- Tune-up equipment, sharpen blades
Field Tip
Late February is the last clean window to sharpen mower blades before the rush.
March
This month's work
- Spring debris cleanup
- Dethatch if thatch exceeds 1/2"
- Pre-emergent crabgrass control
Field Tip
Apply pre-emergent before the forsythia finishes blooming. That window closes fast.
April
This month's work
- Core aeration + overseed thin areas
- Spring balanced feeding
- First cuts begin — keep it high
Field Tip
Keep the mower at 3.5" for the first cut. Short mowing early stresses the root system.
May
This month's work
- Weekly mow at 3.5–4"
- Spot-treat broadleaf weeds
Field Tip
Aim for the 1/3 rule — never cut off more than a third of the blade in a single pass.
June
This month's work
- Weekly mow — raise height
- Slow-release summer feeding
Field Tip
Raise the mower 1/2" before the first heat wave. Taller grass shades the crown and holds moisture.
July
This month's work
- Weekly or bi-weekly mow
- Watch for grub hatch + drought stress
Field Tip
Deep water 1" per week, early morning only. Evening watering invites fungus.
August
This month's work
- Bi-weekly mow in heat
- Treat grubs if patches show
Field Tip
Dormancy is normal — brown does not always mean dead. Do not fertilize in peak heat.
September
This month's work
- Fall aeration + heavy overseed
- Fall feeding for root growth
Field Tip
September is the single best month for establishing cool-season turf. Nothing beats it.
October
This month's work
- Leaf removal begins
- Continue weekly mowing
- Winterizer fertilizer
Field Tip
Do not let wet leaves sit more than a few days — they smother grass and grow mold patches.
November
This month's work
- Full leaf removal rotations
- Refresh mulch in beds
- Final mow — drop to 2.5"
Field Tip
The last mow of the year is shorter than normal — helps prevent snow mold through winter.
December
This month's work
- Final leaf sweep + winter prep
- Snow-ready on first snowfall
Field Tip
Get the irrigation blown out before the first hard freeze. A burst backflow is an expensive call.
Ground Truths
Three things most homeowners get wrong
Lawn care isn't mysterious. There are three mistakes we see on almost every property before we take it over, and fixing any one of them will improve the lawn inside a season.
01
Mowing too short
A 2-inch cut burns out in July. Cool-season grass needs to stay at 3.5 to 4 inches most of the year. Taller turf shades its roots, holds soil moisture through dry weeks, and outcompetes crabgrass seeds on the surface.
02
Watering daily
Daily light watering trains the roots to stay shallow. Deep and infrequent is the rule: one to one-and-a-half inches of water once or twice a week, in the early morning, so the lawn dries by midday.
03
Fertilizing at the wrong time
Most lawn companies push a heavy spring feeding. What the turf actually wants is a lighter spring bump and a generous fall feeding — that's when cool-season grass stores energy for the next year. Get the fall right and your spring takes care of itself.