Healthy and Sustainable Turf Care

You have seen Alden Johnson of Barrett Tree East quoted in this newsletter before as he is a Certified Arborist and works for one of the best tree companies in the Boston area, with whom I almost exclusively work. I sat down with Alden and their new turf expert, Kyle Peigh, at distance and with masks, a few weeks ago to learn more about the program and why Barrett Tree has entered into turf care.

Last season Barrett’s owner, Trumbull Barrett, hired Kyle to develop a turf care program that would deliver a service on par with the quality of their tree care. According to Trumbull, “Building a turf program was actually the response to a request from some longtime tree care clients. They were happy with our approach to plant health care and wanted the same level of attention and service for their turf”.  In response to the success and positive feedback after its first season, Barrett has brought on another turf expert, Justin Adams, to help service more clients. 

Kyle has been a golf course superintendent for years and is an expert in all things grass, especially in the current efforts to create sustainable and healthy lawns. He is a graduate of the Turfgrass program at Penn State and has extensive experience in tournament conditioning and golf course construction.

Not everyone is interested in a great lawn or is willing to invest the effort or money to have a lush and healthy lawn. In fact with last years drought, more people than ever are looking into alternatives to grass or other plants that can be added to a grass lawn (e.g., clover, ground covers, planting beds). The most challenging are those who want a perfect lawn through the use of cheap insect and disease mitigation chemicals and synthetic fertilizers, as they are the most dangerous for their family, pets and the environment — not to mention the beneficial living organisms in the garden.

We need insects, worms and active biology in our lawns and gardens, otherwise the soils and environment become dead, unsustainable, and require further remediation thereby spiraling down. Good plant and lawn health-care companies keep everything in balance and apply chemicals only when necessary to create balance.  The result is limited and often a localized use of chemicals and more substantial use of organic fertilizers and other sustainable products.

Kyle and Barrett Tree decided to create this program to help homeowners have beautiful lawns with the least intrusive applications, organic products, and a healthy soil environment. They are doing this by spending the time to observe each lawn and acting appropriately. On top of that they help homeowners employ healthy and efficient practices for irrigation and maintenance. Most lawn care companies come 4 or 5 times and rarely communicate in real time, leaving the homeowner to figure out the rest.  Kyle said, “over time, commitment to soil health and biology will lead to the soil working for you and reducing the amount of water and synthetic products needed.” 

When developing these hybrid programs, Kyle wanted to pay attention to all parts of the landscape that contribute to lawn health such as irrigation levels, proper irrigation zone set-up, light, soil, maintenance and other factors. He says that overwatering is as dangerous as drought and can cause even more complications. The greatest challenge to a happy lawn is a lack of good observation with specific and timely intervention. Most companies send out their applicators to apply without considering the individual challenges that may be present in each lawn. Kyle works with client’s to create the best irrigation practices and has even reworked irrigation zones to eliminate over/under watering in areas that have different needs. You have heard me say to water more deeply and less often, and Kyle strongly believes in this practice as it leads to less evaporation(think less wasted water), deeper roots, less disease, and more drought tolerant lawns.

Kyle has created two lawn programs that go beyond the passive, pre-determined programs that are currently available to homeowners. The first is their ‘Signature’ program that will entail 8 standard visits with treatments delivered only as needed.  He uses some of the finest available organic fertilizers and compost amendments. Disease or insect imbalances will be treated as needed and with limited applications rather than covering your whole lawn for a small patch of sedge or a fungus outbreak. 

The ‘Standard’ program involves 6 standard visits with the same attention to your specific lawn needs but just not at the most intensive level. Some of the work included in the ‘Signature’ program is available à la carte.

Another great aspect to his program is his communication. The Signature program provides detailed site reports after each visit with recommendations or other maintenance practice adjustments as needed. 

With these programs, Kyle and his team have the capability to also perform aerification, slice-seeding, composting and any other work that may be required for your lawn. He wants to be seen as flexible in his work and able to shift the program in response to  his observations, seasonal challenges, and your lawn’s specific needs.

A lawn doesn’t have to be demanding or challenging if it is managed by an expert like Kyle, who can make it healthy, sustainable, beautiful and show you how to keep it that way.

While a program like this certainly isn’t for everyone, if you want to be more efficient in your watering, have less environmental impact, work with someone who will be proactive, and have a beautiful lawn, then you should consider working with Kyle and Barrett Tree East.