Lawn Mowing & Aeration in Martinsville, IN

River-Bottom Sand, Hillside Clay and the Mowing Heights Each Needs

Bottomland near the White River

Sandy loam near the river drains fast and holds little water or fertilizer. Lawns here brown early in a dry July and lose nutrients after heavy rain. They do best with a taller cut, lighter and more frequent feedings, and drought-tolerant turf-type tall fescue.

Hillside lots east and south of downtown

Up the hills, the soil is heavier and often shallower, and many lots have slopes and wooded edges. Water runs off instead of soaking in, so compaction and erosion are the main problems. Core aeration in Martinsville each fall, plus careful trimming on banks, matters more here than the fertilizer bag.

Leaves, runoff and the wooded east side

The hills east of downtown carry a lot of oak and hickory. In late fall their leaves don't stay put: rain washes them downhill until they pack against fences, foundation walls and the culvert at the bottom of the drive. A clogged culvert sends the next storm across the lawn instead of under it, so fall cleanups here include clearing drainage points as well as turf.

Those same slopes make leaf work slower than on flat ground. Blowers push uphill poorly, so we work the leaves down the grade in stages and load them at the bottom.

Representative Jobs from the Courthouse Square to State Road 39

A common Martinsville job is an older home a few blocks from the Morgan County Courthouse, where the lawn is small but the trees are big and the side yard is steep. We mow high, trim the grade by hand and do edging along the sidewalk and drive so the yard reads clean from the street.

On the sandier ground toward the river, a typical call is a lawn that browned out in an August dry spell. We check for dormant versus dead turf, plan drought lawn recovery with early-September overseeding and keep the mower high for the rest of summer. Our article on how to revive a drought-stressed lawn covers the basics.

Feeding looks different on the river side of town too. One heavy spring application on sandy loam leaches away after a couple of big rains, so bottomland customers get a lawn fertilization program built on smaller, more frequent doses weighted toward fall. Hillside yards on heavier ground hold nutrients longer and need fewer visits.