Specialized Fertilization, Weed Control, and Soil Nutrition for Lush, Green Lawns
Your lawn needs more than random treatments. It needs a plan. The TurfMedic 6-visit lawn service covers everything from pre-emergent crabgrass control in March through winterizing fertilizer in November, so your grass gets exactly what it needs, when it needs it. Each visit builds on the last one, creating thicker turf that crowds out weeds and stays green through summer heat.
This is the program that gets results in Greencastle, and across Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland lawns where the weather, soil, and seasons demand a smarter approach than what you’ll find in a bag at the big box store.
A Year-Round Roadmap to a Healthier Lawn
The key to a beautiful lawn is consistency. Our six-visit program takes the guesswork out of lawn care by scheduling the right treatments at the right times throughout the year. Each visit builds on the last, so your lawn gets stronger with every application. Here’s what happens during each visit and why it matters.
Early Spring: Pre-Emergent & Nutrient Kickstart
This is when your lawn wakes up from winter dormancy, and it’s our most important visit of the year. We apply premium fertilizer to give your grass the nutrients it needs to green up and grow strong roots. At the same time, we put down pre-emergent crabgrass control to stop crabgrass seeds from germinating before they even have a chance to sprout.
We also treat any dandelions, clover, and other broadleaf weeds that survived the winter, and we add soil probiotics to improve your soil’s natural health. This visit sets the foundation for everything that follows.
Late Spring: Broadleaf Weed Control & Vitality Boost
By late spring, your lawn is actively growing and temperatures are warming up. We come back with another application of premium fertilizer to keep that growth going, and we treat any broadleaf weeds that have emerged since our first visit.
This is also when we start our pest control program with treatments for fleas, ticks, spiders, and other surface insects, plus perimeter pest control around your home’s foundation. We finish with another round of soil probiotics to keep building healthy soil biology. This visit keeps your lawn thick and green as we head into summer.
Early Summer: Managed Release Fertilizer & Surface Insect Protection
The transition from spring to summer is when crabgrass that got past our pre-emergent barrier starts to show up, so we hit it with post-emergent control to knock it out before it spreads. We also apply preventative grub control because grub damage in late summer starts with grubs hatching right now. Broadleaf weed control continues, and we maintain our pest control treatments for ticks, fleas, and other insects. Another application of soil probiotics keeps your soil ecosystem balanced and healthy.
Late Summer: Summer Color Guard & Targeted Weed Spot Treatments
Summer heat stresses lawns, so this visit focuses on keeping your grass healthy through the toughest part of the season. We apply maintenance lime to balance your soil’s pH, which helps your lawn absorb nutrients more efficiently. Any crabgrass that’s still trying to establish is treated with post-emergent control, and we continue to control broadleaf weeds.
Pest control remains active with our flea, tick, and surface insect treatments, and soil probiotics help your lawn handle heat stress by improving moisture retention and root health.
Early Fall: Recovery Fertilization & Soil Conditioning
Fall is recovery season. Cooler temperatures mean your grass can grow aggressively again, so we feed it with premium fertilizer to help it repair any summer damage and build strong roots before winter. We treat any remaining broadleaf weeds, continue our pest control program with flea, tick, and surface insect treatments, and add perimeter pest control around your foundation. Soil probiotics go down one more time to give your soil biology a boost before things slow down for winter.
Late Fall: Winterizer & Root Development Treatment
This final visit is all about preparing your lawn for winter dormancy. We apply one last round of premium fertilizer, formulated specifically for fall feeding. This late-season nutrition gets stored in the roots and helps your grass green up faster next spring. It also strengthens your lawn against winter stress and disease. This visit might seem simple, but it’s what separates lawns that come back strong in spring from lawns that struggle to recover.
Comprehensive Lawn Care Treatments Included in Our Programs
Every treatment in our lawn care program serves a specific purpose. We don’t add services just to increase the price. Each application addresses a real problem that lawns in this area face, and together they create the comprehensive protection your lawn needs to stay thick, green, and healthy year-round. Here’s what each treatment does and why it matters.
Premium Fertilizer
Our fertilizer isn’t the same stuff you’ll find on store shelves. We use professional-grade products formulated specifically for the season when they’re applied. Spring fertilizer is high in nitrogen to promote green growth and thick turf. Fall fertilizer is balanced differently to build root strength and prepare your lawn for winter. The timing matters just as much as the product itself. Apply fertilizer too early or too late and you’re wasting money. We apply it when your lawn can actually use it, which is why you see results that last.
Pre-Emergent Crabgrass Control
Crabgrass is an annual weed, which means it grows from seed every single year. Once it germinates and starts growing, it’s hard to kill without damaging your lawn. That’s why pre-emergent control is so effective. We apply it in early spring, before soil temperatures are high enough for crabgrass seeds to germinate. It creates a barrier in the soil that prevents those seeds from sprouting in the first place. Miss this window, and you’ll be fighting crabgrass all summer. Hit it at the right time, and you barely see any crabgrass at all.
Post-Emergent Crabgrass Control
Even with pre-emergent control, some crabgrass still finds a way to grow. Maybe there’s a thin spot in your lawn where the barrier wasn’t as strong, or maybe some seeds germinated later in the season when soil temperatures spiked. That’s where post-emergent control comes in. This treatment targets crabgrass that’s already growing and kills it without harming your lawn grass. We apply it as soon as we spot crabgrass during our spring and summer visits, so it never has a chance to spread and drop more seeds.
Dandelion, Clover & Broad Leaf Weed Control
Dandelions, clover, and other broadleaf weeds compete with your grass for water, nutrients, and space. Left unchecked, they’ll take over entire sections of your lawn. Our broadleaf weed control targets these weeds specifically while leaving your grass unharmed. We apply it multiple times throughout the growing season because different weeds germinate at different times. Dandelions might be your biggest problem in spring, while clover shows up more in summer. By treating consistently, we keep them under control all year long.
Preventative Grub Control
Grubs are beetle larvae that live in your soil and feed on grass roots. By the time you see brown patches from grub damage in late summer, the problem is already severe. That’s why we apply preventative grub control in late spring before the grubs hatch. This treatment creates a protective barrier in your soil that kills grubs when they’re young and vulnerable. It’s far more effective than trying to treat grubs after they’ve grown large enough to cause visible damage. One application in spring protects your lawn all season long.
Soil Amendment – Maintenance Lime
Soil pH affects everything about how your lawn grows. If your soil is too acidic, your grass can’t absorb nutrients properly, no matter how much fertilizer you apply. Lime raises soil pH and brings it back into the optimal range for grass growth. We apply maintenance lime during the summer to keep your soil balanced. This isn’t something most homeowners think about, but it makes a huge difference in how your lawn responds to fertilizer and how well it handles stress.
Flea, Tick, Spiders & Surface Insect Control
Nobody wants to deal with fleas, ticks, or spiders in their yard, especially if you have kids or pets who spend time outside. Our surface insect control treats your entire lawn for these pests, creating a barrier that keeps them from establishing populations in your grass. We apply it multiple times during the warmer months when these pests are most active. This treatment doesn’t just make your yard more comfortable. It also protects your family from the diseases that ticks and other pests can carry.
Perimeter Pest Control
Insects that invade your home often come from your lawn first. Our perimeter pest control creates a protective barrier around your home’s foundation, treating the areas where ants, spiders, and other pests are most likely to enter. We apply it to the exterior of your home during our spring and fall visits, and it works alongside our lawn treatment to keep your entire property protected. Most homeowners don’t realize how many pest problems actually start outside, which is why this treatment prevents issues before they move indoors.
Soil Probiotics
Healthy soil grows healthy grass. Our soil probiotics introduce beneficial microorganisms into your lawn that improve soil structure, help retain moisture, and make nutrients more available to your grass roots. Think of it like probiotics for your gut but for your lawn.
These treatments improve your soil’s natural biology over time, which means your lawn becomes more resilient to stress, disease, and drought. We apply probiotics during most visits throughout the year because building healthy soil is an ongoing process, not a one-time fix.
The Science of Local Soil: Why Greencastle Lawns Need Specialized Care
Greencastle sits in USDA Hardiness Zone 6b, where we receive an average of 42.9 inches of precipitation annually. That rainfall is great for keeping lawns green during the growing season, but it creates a challenge that most homeowners don’t realize exists. Heavy rainfall gradually washes away essential minerals like calcium, magnesium, and potassium from the soil.
As these minerals leach out, the soil becomes more acidic. Pennsylvania soils, including those in the Greencastle area, naturally tend toward acidity, and our local soil conditions range from clay to loamy depending on where you are in the area.
The problem with acidic soil is simple. Grass needs a soil pH between 6.0 and 7.0 to absorb nutrients efficiently. When the pH drops below that range, your lawn can’t take in the fertilizer and nutrients it needs, no matter how much you apply. You end up with thin, discolored grass that struggles to grow even when you’re doing everything else right. Clay soils, which are common here, make the situation more complicated because they hold water when wet but turn hard and compacted when dry, making it even harder for grass roots to grow and access what they need.
That’s why our program includes maintenance lime applications. Lime neutralizes acidic soil and brings the pH back into the optimal range where your grass can actually use the nutrients we’re providing. It’s not enough to just fertilize. You have to make sure the soil itself can support healthy grass growth. Without addressing the soil conditions specific to this area, you’re fighting an uphill battle that you can’t win.
The Turf Medic Difference
Here at Turf Medic, we realize each and every landscape is an investment, and the main goal of our tree & shrub program is to protect and grow this investment for our homeowners. Our experts will diagnose your landscape frequently, so that any symptoms that arise get treated immediately, and any pest issues we identify get controlled properly in an eco-conscious manner.
Turf Medic will only apply the proper treatments at the proper times, no unnecessary up-selling! If protecting and growing your precious landscape investment is important to you, give the experts at Turf Medic an opportunity to serve you this season, and just like all of our services, we stand behind our products and we guarantee customer satisfaction.
Turf Medic is dedicated to ensuring our customers are completely satisfied with their lawn care. Contact our team to learn more about our services and let us create a custom package to meet your needs and budget.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I treat my lawn?
Professional lawn care programs typically treat your lawn 5-6 times per year with applications spaced 6-8 weeks apart, starting in early spring and ending in late fall. Our six-visit program covers everything from pre-emergent crabgrass control in March through winterizing fertilizer in November, so your lawn gets consistent care without gaps.
How often should I fertilize my lawn?
Fertilize your lawn 3-4 times per year in Pennsylvania – early spring, late spring, early fall, and late fall – when grass can actually absorb nutrients. Our premium fertilizer applications are custom-blended for each season and included in every visit.
What lawn treatments do I actually need?
A complete lawn program needs fertilization, pre-emergent crabgrass control, post-emergent weed control, grub prevention, lime for soil pH, and pest control for ticks and surface insects. Skipping any of these means you’re constantly fighting problems instead of preventing them.
When should I apply pre-emergent for crabgrass?
Apply pre-emergent crabgrass control in early spring before soil temperatures reach 55 degrees, typically late March or early April in Greencastle. Miss this window and crabgrass seeds germinate, which means you’ll fight weeds all summer instead of preventing them.
How do I keep my lawn healthy year-round?
Keep your lawn healthy with a seasonal lawn care schedule that addresses different needs each season – preventing weeds in spring, managing heat stress in summer, building roots in fall, and winterizing in late fall. Consistent year-round maintenance means your lawn gets stronger with each visit instead of just recovering from problems.
