Guard Your Yard from this Weekend’s Scorching Heat!

Local weather experts are predicting the hottest weekend so far this year for the River Region. Will your lawn be ready for the heat? Homeowners all over Montgomery, Prattville and Millbrook are looking for ways to keep their grass from withering to a sad brown crunch this summer. Take a look at some tips from the Home Builders Association of Alabama to help keep your lawn as beautiful as your brand-new Lowder home.

Avoid Summer Lawn Stress
Care, patience and a little bit of knowledge can make the difference between a lush healthy lawn and an arid brown eyesore. But proper lawn care is more complicated than setting out a sprinkler every once in a while. You can water or fertilize a lawn too little or too much, and even the time of day matters.

Overwatering is the most common lawn care mistake home owners make, according to the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. It can damage or even kill a lawn. Too much water leads to a shallow root system; it makes a lawn more vulnerable to weeds, insects, and diseases; and it reduces tolerance to drought and other environmental stresses.

Before you pull out the hose, though, you need to find out how much water your lawn is getting by measuring the irrigation and precipitation rates. You don’t need sophisticated tools to figure this out; all you need is a coffee can.

Here are some tips from The Cornell Cooperative Extension Service:
Determine the irrigation rate by placing a can on an area that is being watered and taking note of how much water is in the can after 15 minutes.

Calculate precipitation amount by leaving a can in the yard for a week and seeing how much rainwater collects in it.

Actively growing turfgrass requires about one inch of water a week; water your lawn for as many minutes a week that are needed so that precipitation plus watering totals one inch.

Water your lawn in the early morning to reduce evaporation and so plants dry by mid-morning. Letting the leaves stay wet for too long can lead to disease.

Don’t mow your lawn too short. Keep it about three inches tall to reduce stress and pest problems.

Wait until fall to fertilize, about two weeks after the last time you mow. If you fertilize in the spring, you will get fast-growing leaves, but weak roots, which will make the plants more susceptible to diseases and insects. Heeding these few guidelines will go a long way to helping you maintain and enjoy your lawn, even through the hot, dry summer.  

*”Avoid Summer Lawn Stress” originally posted by the Home Builders Association of Alabama on June 30, 2010.

Posted on Jul 20, 2010 | 4:02 PM

Three Reasons to Buy in the River Region Now!

For many of our military families and those considering relocation, Montgomery may not be your last home, so the decision to buy is an important one. The River Region is a great place to work, raise a family and provides a great investment opportunity. With interest rates at record lows, there are several reasons why you should buy a home in Montgomery and the River Region:

It’s a great place to work.

Forbes Magazine currently ranks Montgomery #53 in the Top 200 U.S. metro areas for the Best Places for Business and Careers.  And Montgomery is ranked in the top 10 cities in the country for projected job growth.

It’s a great place to raise a family and retire.

The numbers and accolades here are almost overwhelming.  MSNBC Today Show’s Best Life editors named Montgomery in the list of Top 100 Places to Raise a Family.  Our access to the arts, culture, sports and healthcare was noted by U.S. News and World Report when they named Montgomery as one of the Top Ten Affordable Places to Retire.  Our public and private schools are ranked as some of the best in the country.  U.S. News and World report named 4 Montgomery public schools as America’s Best and Loveless High School was ranked as one of the Top 25 high schools in the country.

It’s a great place to invest in a home. 

In 2007 CNN.com ranked the Montgomery Housing Market 5th in the U.S. in home values and we have remained stable while many markets have experienced dramatic ups and downs.  The Montgomery Area Association of Realtors reports that home values in the tri-county area have remained stable and have experienced average annual appreciation over the last 10 years of  2.5% - that’s a lot better than the “lost decade” of the stock market. 

Many of our military families invest in real estate because of the strong housing rental market. Montgomery hosts many officers and their families each year who attend the ACSC and AirWar College at Maxwell-Gunter.  The strong military base presence makes the River Region a stable housing & rental market.  Montgomery is a city strongly committed to the future – now is the time to buy!

*This article, written by Lowder New Homes Vice President Jimmy Rutland, originally appeared in Know the Community.

Posted on Jul 16, 2010 | 10:12 AM