[diy001]

I am in Boston MA area. I hope my lawn is good enough. I am just wondering how those lawn companies will take care of a lawn.

Do they add seeds into the lawn every year? when?
Do they spread weed killers when they cut the lawn?

My front yard doesn't get enough sunshine due to big trees. I am fighting with moss. what is the effective way to get rid of moss? watering with iron? and a few weeks later apply limes?

 

[RRH]

I am in Boston MA area. I hope my lawn is good enough. I am just wondering how those lawn companies will take care of a lawn.

Do they add seeds into the lawn every year? when?
Do they spread weed killers when they cut the lawn?

My front yard doesn't get enough sunshine due to big trees. I am fighting with moss. what is the effective way to get rid of moss? watering with iron? and a few weeks later apply limes?

A lot of questions and depends on grass type. Also lime will raise PH and help some with moss. But to high ph and grass will not grow. Moss is caused by a few things. To much shade, low ph and to much moisture.

Most dont realize just about all cities have a local extension office. Started years ago for framers. But most of their time is spent answering questions about lawns and flowers.
Use term they know local conditions and best grass types.
Like weed killers can be a little tricky. Some are pre emergents ( before they come up) which is best way to control crabgrass.
Some are post emergent s which are best way to kill broadleaf weeds after they have germinated and come up.
Need them but a waste and can actually harm the grass a little ( even if they say they are safe) so use them just when you need them.

Best is liquid weed control in something like a Chapin sprayer. Spot spray as you see broad leaf weeds. Weed & feed is not bad. It is just that the small granular s have to stick to the leaves of the weed to kill. Since broad leaf weeds have WC absorbed thru the leaves to kill from top down.
A lot of weeds then do the weed and feed. Then follow up with the spraying after 2 weeks where needs another dose.

You are lucky that most grasses up there are easier to grow and dont need reseeding each year. Like my area in Va. which has no really native grass. And not great for cool or warm season grasses.

 

[DexterII]

As RRH said, a lot of questions. And he gave you a lot of good advice, the best in my opinion is to contact your local county extension service. I'm sure access to such things vary, but in my area several of the independent nurseries and even one of the feed mills work direct with the extension service which ultimately work with one of the state universities, so you can drop off a few soil samples and receive a very comprehensive report full of advice specific to your property. There are a lot of types of grasses, and most seed that you buy will be blended to some extent, but the bottom line is that grass needs sun. So, as far as your front yard, I would first look at the possibility of trimming some of the trees to allow at least partial sun. In the middle of our front yard is a large red maple, under which the grass was slowly disappearing, the bare spots creeping out a little more each year. Last year I got a bit more aggressive, removing a number of lower branches, thinking that I will reseed it at some point, but some of it is already filling in itself this year. Now, I'm not sure how much of this is actually relevant because I'm not sure if you are saying that you want to tackle any of it or if you're wondering what a lawn company will do. If the latter, you will have to contact a few in your area and see what they recommend and offer, because you want one good plan, not two; you don't want someone else to come in and do one thing and you end up countering or doubling up on their activities. Not that you can't still assume some aspects, but fertilizing and killing weeds are pretty much either/or.

 

[JIMMIEM]

I'm also in the Boston area and have used a lawn care service for fertilizing. You could check with one or more and see what their annual service provides. Mine has a 4 or 5 visit program which is for basic fertilization and weed control. The extras are for lime application, grub proofing, overseeding, etc.
I used to do it myself but missed doing the grub proofing one year due to my work schedule/weather and the grubs took out a large portion of my lawn. I don't find the cost of the service very expensive when I compare the cost of the material to do it myself and the time to do it.
If you PM me I can send you a photocopy of what is done on each of my lawn service's visits and the extras that are available.
I'm not pushing lawn care services but if there are any problems, e.g. extra weeds, etc. a phone call and they come out and address the problem.

 

[SPS-1]

Most lawn care companies have different plans available. The more you ask them to do, the more you pay.

I used to have a lawn care company look after my lawn. They had a good supply of weed killers for anything that might pop up. But then Ontario restricted most chemicals for cosmetic residential use, so mostly they were just putting down fertilizer every couple of months. Heck, I can do that --- they probably can buy fertilizer a lot cheaper than me, but I probably buy better fertilizer.

Your hardware store will likely have a moss control product. I use the Scotts concentrate. Works very well. But the real solution is to either get sunlight to that area, or put something other than grass in that area. I have a strip along a fence with the same problem --- gets no sunlight --- if I were smart I would put down a strip of red granite along that fence. But you likely missed the timing for killing off the moss --- new grass is not going to start in July. Better to hit the moss in March and overseed.

 

[JIMMIEM]

I am in Boston MA area. I hope my lawn is good enough. I am just wondering how those lawn companies will take care of a lawn.

Do they add seeds into the lawn every year? when?
Do they spread weed killers when they cut the lawn?

My front yard doesn't get enough sunshine due to big trees. I am fighting with moss. what is the effective way to get rid of moss? watering with iron? and a few weeks later apply limes?

I received your PM but couldn't figure out how to add attachments so I'm adding them here. Not sure if policy allows sending documents with company names so I blocked out the name of the company that I use.
https://www.diychatroom.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=603719&stc=1&d=1592673168