Residential Snow Removal: Services To Keep Your Property Safe & Clear

Understanding the Need for Residential Snow Removal

Snow accumulation, while beautiful, can pose significant risks to residential properties. Inadequate snow removal can lead to safety hazards like slippery walkways and potential property damage. Additionally, homeowners have a legal responsibility to ensure their premises are safe and accessible.

Services Offered by Peter Doran for Snow Removal

Peter Doran Lawn and Landscaping offers comprehensive snow removal services. Our team is equipped with state-of-the-art plows, blowers, and shovels to handle snow efficiently and effectively. We provide snow plowing, shoveling​​, snow blowing​​, and ice dam removal services, ensuring your property is safe from all winter-related challenges​​.

Preparing Your Home for Snow Removal

To maximize the effectiveness of our services, we recommend homeowners clear any debris from driveways and walkways and ensure easy access to the areas requiring snow removal. This preparation allows for quicker and more efficient clearing.

Customized Solutions for Different Properties

Understanding that each property is unique, we offer customized snow removal solutions. Whether you have a sprawling estate or a cozy suburban home, our team tailors its approach to suit your specific needs.

Safety Measures and Best Practices

Safety is our priority. Our team adheres to strict safety protocols while on your property. We also encourage homeowners to keep pets and children indoors during the snow removal process for their safety.

Why Choose Peter Doran Lawn and Landscaping

Our commitment to customer satisfaction and safety sets us apart. With years of experience in snow removal, we have earned the trust of countless homeowners who rely on us for their winter snow management.

Pricing and Packages

We offer competitive pricing and various packages to fit different budgets and needs. Contact us for a personalized quote and discover the best option for your home.

Professional snow removal is essential for maintaining a safe and accessible residential property during the winter. Trust Peter Doran Lawn and Landscaping to provide reliable, efficient, and safe snow removal services. Contact us today to schedule your snow removal services.

Why Raking Leaves in the Fall Is Essential for Your Yard and the Environment

Discover the importance of raking leaves in the fall for a healthy yard and a greener environment. Learn why leaf removal benefits your lawn, enhances aesthetics, prevents accidents, protects wildlife, and contributes to responsible yard care.

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The Essential Guide to Snow Removal Services in Minneapolis

Navigating Winter: The Importance of Snow Removal Services in Minneapolis

As Minnesotans, we’re no strangers to harsh winters filled with heavy snowfall and icy conditions. While it might make for a beautiful winter wonderland, the reality is that navigating life amidst piles of snow is far from easy. If you live or work in Minneapolis, you know that snow removal isn’t just convenient—it’s a necessity. That’s why it’s vital to know what your options are when it comes to snow removal services in Minneapolis. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the need for these services, what types are available, and how to choose the right one for you.

The Vital Importance of Snow Removal in Minneapolis

First and foremost, it’s crucial to understand why snow removal services in Minneapolis are so essential. The city sees an average of over 50 inches of snowfall each year. These conditions not only affect day-to-day life but can also create hazardous situations. Imagine trying to navigate a car through slippery roads or walking on an icy sidewalk—it’s a recipe for disaster. Professional snow removal services in Minneapolis help in reducing the risk of accidents and ensuring that life goes on as smoothly as possible, even in the harshest of winters.

The Different Types of Snow Removal Services in Minneapolis

When it comes to clearing snow, not all services are created equal. Depending on your needs, you may require one of the following:

Residential Snow Removal

For homeowners, snow removal services in Minneapolis offer an array of options, including:

Commercial Snow Removal

Businesses have their own set of unique challenges. Snow removal services in Minneapolis for commercial spaces usually encompass:

Municipal Snow Removal

On a larger scale, the city itself has a role to play. Minneapolis takes charge of:

  • Clearing public roads and highways
  • Maintaining public buildings and parks

How to Select a Reliable Snow Removal Service in Minneapolis

Choosing the right snow removal service in Minneapolis involves a bit of homework. Here are some pointers to consider:

  • Reliability: This is a non-negotiable. You need a service that will show up and get the job done, especially during emergencies.
  • Equipment: The right machinery can make all the difference. Make sure the service you choose is well-equipped to handle your specific needs.
  • Customer Reviews: Online reviews can provide a wealth of information about what to expect in terms of service quality.

DIY vs. Professional Snow Removal Services in Minneapolis

The debate between tackling snow removal yourself and hiring a professional service boils down to a few key considerations:

  • Time and Effort: DIY may save you some money, but it’s often time-consuming and labor-intensive.
  • Quality and Safety: Professionals have the equipment and expertise to do the job quickly and safely.

Legal Requirements for Snow Removal in Minneapolis

Be aware that Minneapolis has specific laws regarding snow removal. As a property owner, you’re responsible for clearing snow and ice from sidewalks adjacent to your property within a specific timeframe. Failing to do so can result in fines, and in some cases, the city might handle the snow removal and charge you for it.

Conclusion

Facing a Minneapolis winter without a snow removal plan isn’t just risky; it’s downright dangerous. The city’s winters are not to be trifled with, and having a reliable snow removal service in Minneapolis can make all the difference. It ensures not just the comfort but also the safety of your household or business. As winter looms, now is the time to research and choose a snow removal service in Minneapolis that fits your needs. Whether you opt for a DIY approach or hire professionals, the key is to be prepared. Your safety and peace of mind are worth it.

Spring Lawn Care 2020

Many people take an immense amount of pride in their homes, and rightfully so. Your house is a reflection of who you are and the values you hold dear.   

However, not everyone pays as much care and attention to the state of their lawn even though this is an extension of their home. The state of one’s lawn and the way they keep their yard largely influences the curb appeal of your home. Not to mention it’s far more pleasant to look out onto and spend time in a wonderfully landscaped yard.

There’s no better time to jump into lawn-care mode then now. The weather is temperate, the season is appropriate, and you’re probably sick of being stuck inside all winter. Here are a few tips on how to jump-start your spring landscaping.

Post-Winter Maintenance

Depending on the condition of your lawn this could be a big or small project. Once the ground is dry do a light raking, cut away any raised areas and fill sunken ones, and use an aerator to loosen any compacted areas. These steps will make your lawn healthier and more prone to growth in the spring and summer.

Reseed

Reseed the parts of your lawn that are bare or brown. However, make sure your soil is in good condition to be planted and use the proper seeds for your soil environment. Once the seed is planted remember to regularly maintain with water and fertilizer.

Fertilize

After you’ve allowed the seed to settle and the grass to establish, it’s time to encourage growth and eliminate weeds. A combination of fertilizers and herbicides should do the trick, but make sure to apply with care. Read directions carefully as these chemicals usually come with specific application instructions.

Mow

Mowing your lawn does more than just keep the length at a comfortable level, it also keeps the grass healthy. Mowing height and frequency are important to the health of your grass so pay special attention to the kind of grass you have and how often you cut it.

A beautiful lawn adds to a beautiful home. And what better way to spend spring and summer than in a yard that is manicured and maintained?

Minneapolis Winter Apps That Save You Time and Money

Along with snowy winters in Minneapolis, along comes parking restrictions and hazardous road conditions.  To help you stay ahead of city plow trucks and congested traffic throughout the Twin Cities we would like to share with you some apps you can download to your phone.

Minneapolis Snow Emergency App

The Minneapolis Snow Emergency App can help you avoid the costs and hassles of a ticket and tow during a snow emergency.  This app has recently been updated and will tell you when a snow emergency has been declared and when and where you can and cannot park your car.

You can download the app for android here, and for apple here.

 

Google Maps App

If you don’t already have the Google Maps App downloaded on your phone, you may want to consider downloading it.  The Google Maps App will let you know about congested traffic and potential crashes on the roadways.  Open the app before heading out for work, if you see red lines on roadways that means traffic is backed up and you may want to consider taking a different route to work.

You can download the app for android here, and for apple here.

 

SnowCast App

Whether you love the snow or hate it, the SnowCast App will tell you exactly how much snow to expect over the next 48 hours.  The cool thing about his app is that you will be able to determine how much snow is going to fall on the south side of the cities or the north side.  This will allow you to determine where the best snow is for sledding or whether you should just stay inside by the fire.

Right now this app is only available for Apple products and can be downloaded here.

 

Conclusion

We hope these apps will help you save time and money as well as help you find or avoid the snow when possible.  Do you know of any other great apps we should have during the winter?  If so, please tell us about them in the comments section below.

Fall Cleanup Season 2019 Is Approaching

The Minnesota state fair is here and that means the unofficial end of summer.  Before you know it, kids will be heading back to school and temperatures will begin to cool off.  

This means we are in store for one of the most beautiful time of the year when the leaves on the trees begin to turn all sorts of bright colors.

However, eventually those bright colored leaves will fall off the trees and onto the ground.  This creates all sorts of extra yard work if you want your lawn to remain healthy.

Whether you don’t have time to take care of your lawn this fall, or simply would rather watch football and enjoy time with your family on the weekends, we offer the following fall lawn care services for you to take advantage of.

Leaf Clean Up Services

Leaf clean up services is by far the most popular service we offer during the fall season.  Our lawn mowers are equipped with powerful lawn bagging systems that make picking up leaves a breeze.

We can bag up the leaves in your lawn and leave them for you to dispose of or we can simply haul them away to the compost for you.

Over Seeding

Over seeding is important to help you maintain a lush and healthy lawn come spring.  Your lawn has experienced a lot of wear a tear throughout the year which means some blades of grass have died off.

Over seeding will give your grass the nutrients it needs to survive through winter as well as promote new blades of grass to grow.

Fertilization

Our slow release fertilization services in the fall provides your lawn with the nutrients it needs throughout the winter.  As your lawn goes dormant, our slow release fertilizer ensures it still gets everything it needs to sprout up come spring.

Gutter Cleaning

As the leaves fall it is inevitable that some are going to end up in your gutter.  This can cause water backups on your roof and in your gutter which will eventually lead to ice dams as temperatures continue to fall.

Getting your gutters clean is essential to the structure of your home.  The weight from ice dams can cause stress on your roof and walls and expose cracks.  As the ice melts it will find its way into your home and can cause costly damage.

Core Aeration

Core aeration provides your lawn with the extra oxygen, moisture and nutrients it needs to survive colder temperatures. 

Core aeration relives compact soil by punching holes in the ground and makes your lawn less susceptible to damage from weeds, insects, drought and disease.

Need Fall Lawn Care?

As one of the leading lawn care companies in the Minneapolis area, our schedule fills up fast.  To ensure you can get on our schedule we also recommend requesting a free estimate as early as possible.

Fall 2019 In Minnesota Is Almost Here!

Fall is almost here and that means cool temperatures, sweaters, leaves changing colors and Thanksgiving.  All in all, fall is the best time of they year, except when it comes to yard work!

For those of you with mature trees in your lawn, you know those leaves are about to fall and that means countless hours of yardwork picking up leaves.

So, what are some of the best ways to efficiently pick up the leaves in your lawn?  Lucky for you, we have years of experience.  Here are some of the tricks we have learned over the years.

Start Mulching/Bagging Early

For most of us in Minnesota, we stop mowing our lawns mid to late October.  However, there are still leaves on the trees that haven’t fallen yet.

In order to avoid an over abundant pile of leaves in your lawn, consider raising the height on your lawn mower to either bag or mulch leaves.  Doing this every other week will help reduce the overall workload of picking up all the leaves at once.

Use A Tarp

If you like doing things the old fashioned way, with a hand rake, rake the leaves onto a tarp.  This makes it easy to drag the leaves around to make a big pile that can later be dumped into a container.  Or better yet, drag the leaves to the curb and hire a company to come suck them up.

Hire A Professional

At Peter Doran Lawn & Landscaping we use our commercial lawn mowers and equip them with a Protero leaf vacuum.  This allows us to make quick work of any yard, no matter how many leaves are on the ground!

Our lawn mowers mulches the leaves and dispenses them into a collection container.  From there, we empty the containers near the curb where our big leaf suction truck comes by and sucks them up.

We can handle any size yard and typically work until the snow falls.  If you are in need of a reliable company to come take care of the leaves in your lawn this fall, contact us and we will get you on the schedule.

Landscaping Ideas To Add Curb Appeal To Your Home

  

Landscaping investments big or small can add a dramatic effect to the curb appeal of your home.  Some ideas to play around with in the design stage of adding landscape alterations would be to maximize the landscaping budget by weighing in on problem areas to enhance or renew old or worn product or to include the following common ways in which homeowners add value.

Hardscaping – Hardscaping whether it be for privacy like patios or for show like front entrance pathways, stairs or retaining walls can be a maintenance free way to add value to your home and upgrade your home’s curb appeal.  Raised and contained gardens with retaining wall rock segmented along pathways can be an elegant way to enter a home or shape a yard for maximum benefits.

A grand way to emphasize or spotlight your home is to guide the arrival of the homeowner or guests in a way that pleases the eye for a pleasant entryway into the home.  Use pathways with bends and curves to emphasize the experience of entering the home.           

Lighting effects such as uplighting, downlighting, spotlighting, and shadowing are just a few ways to use landscape lights to make a dramatic effect in your landscape.  Landscape lights will add interest to a home’s curb appeal through each season with very little care and maintenance.  One common lighting mistake to avoid is placing a lantern or light at the top of a post when at night dangerous shadows cover nearby stairways.

When it comes to choosing shrubs, perennials, and flower gardens tune in to your color wheel.  Choosing opposing colors in your gardens so that the vegetation will really manage to make a great contrast in color against your home.  Balance outdoor vegetation with shrubs and trees that proliferate all year round such as evergreens of all different shapes and sizes to show interest in the winter months. 

Last but definitely not least, dress up your front door!  Use seasonal wreaths, welcome mats and plantings to celebrate the seasons and make a welcome entrance for yourself and for curb appeal considerations.

10 Summer Lawn Care & Maintenance Tips

Some of the best parts of summer include playing in our own spaces.  Make the most of your summer lawn by following a few simple tips for great lawn care and maintenance.  

 

  • High sun in midsummer takes a toll on your turf make sure your watering schedule includes deep watering opportunities in the early morning hours. Watering recommendations for lawns include approximately 4-6 inches of soak before shutting off the access.  Manage your watering wisely to avoid evaporation or fungal growth if watering after large rainfalls.

 

  • Weeds never just go away so, continue to spot spray weeds with a weed killer. Manage edges of lawn turf near difficult spaces with a weed whacker.

 

  • Use feed on your lawn at different intervals during the summer to encourage a thick turf of healthy grass.

 

  • Sharpen your mower blades for a quick and efficient pass of the blades on the grass. Lower your blade in the spring and cooler months, raise the blade in the hot months to avoid burning your turf.

 

  • Let clippings lie, don’t collect them in a waste bag. Mulch is some of the best opportunity for natural breakdown to occur that will help feed the turf.

 

  • Natural remedies for fungus circles can include but are not limited to neem oil, compost tea, and baking soda contact applications.

 

  • Preventing and controlling crab grass is best done in the spring months when herbicide can attack the pre-emerging plants and prevent them from spreading.

 

  • If you have Clover in your lawn and it is spreading, it could be that your lawn has not been fertilized enough. Clover thrives in undernourished turf. Weed and Feed mixture turf applications are available for a thick clover problem.  Although, it can be contained by weed pulling and weed killer spot applications with sparse growth needs.

 

  • If you are struggling with uneven growth in the shade the best opportunity to grow grass would be to choose a shade tolerant seed of grass or shade tolerant ground cover in and around pine trees.

 

  • If the grass is thinning you may want to consider aeration of the turf. Using an aerator will help build thicker and stronger grass roots by puncturing holes and allowing the nutrients to penetrate.  Aeration should only be done in the growing season to allow the turf to heal after the application.

Continue to enjoy your summer and have the best lawn for flawless curb appeal and family fun with these care and maintenance tips.  Enjoy!

Why Aerate Your Lawn?

What Are The Benefits of Aeration?

Core aeration can help make your lawn healthier and reduce its maintenance requirements through these means:

  • Improved air exchange between the soil and atmosphere.
  • Enhanced soil water uptake.
  • Improved fertilizer uptake and use.
  • Reduced water runoff and puddling.
  • Stronger turfgrass roots.
  • Reduced soil compaction.
  • Enhanced heat and drought stress tolerance.
  • Improved resiliency and cushioning.
  • Enhanced thatch breakdown.

Equipment Affects the Outcome

The type of aeration equipment can determine how effective the treatment will be. In general, turf responds best when core holes are close and deep. Equipment with hollow tines removes soil cores. Equipment with open tines divots the soil surface. Aeration equipment also varies in tine size up to 3/4 inch diameter and in depth of penetration up to 4 inches, depending on the manufacturer’s specifications. In most home lawns, fertile topsoil may have been removed or buried during excavation of the basement or footings, forcing grass to grow in subsoil that is more compact, higher in clay content and less likely to sustain a healthy lawn.

Why Is Aeration Necessary?

In most home lawns, fertile topsoil may have been removed or buried during excavation of the basement or footings, forcing grass to grow in subsoil that is more compact, higher in clay content and less likely to sustain a healthy lawn.

Walking, playing and mowing will compact soil and stress lawns. Raindrops and irrigation further compact the soil, reducing large air spaces where roots readily grow. Compaction is greater on heavy clay soils than on sandy soils, and it is greatest in the upper 1 to 1 1/2 inches of soil.

Aeration can help relieve soil compaction, allowing your grass to grow deeper roots and make better use of water and fertilizer.

 

ROOT GROWTH – Core aeration allows air, water and fertilizer to better reach the root zone. This stimulates root growth to create healthier, stronger turfgrass plants.

Relieve Thatch Accumulation

Most home lawns are subject to thatch accumulation. Left unmanaged, it impedes water, fertilizer and pesticide effectiveness. Core aeration combines soil with the thatch debris, so soil organisms are better able to break down the thatch and reduce its accumulation.

How Often Should Lawns Be Aerated?

Most lawns benefit from annual aeration. Heavily used lawns, or those growing on heavy clay or subsoils may need more than one aeration each year. Again, turf responds best when tine spacing is closer and penetration is deeper.

When is The Best Time to Aerate?

If you have cool season turfgrass such as Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass, both spring and fall are ideal times to aerate. In spring, aerate between March and May. Perform fall aeration between August and November. Aeration before or at the time of late season fertilization enhances root growth and improves spring greenup and growth.

Warm season turfgrasses such as zoysiagrass and bermudagrass should be aerated in mid-spring to summer. Avoid aerating when warm season grasses are dormant – it may encourage weed competition. In addition, avoid aerating warm season grasses during spring greenup, and not until after their first spring mowing.

Herbicides, Fertilizers & Aeration

It’s best to aerate before you apply pre-emergence herbicides, rather than after. Aerating after a herbicide application can reduce the chemical barrier formed by the herbicide, allowing weeds to germinate. Applying fertilizer after aeration helps the lawn compete against weeds. Water the lawn after aeration, particularly in areas where drought and high temperatures are common.

What can you expect?

Immediately after aeration, your lawn will be dotted with small plugs pulled from the soil. Within a week or two, they break apart and disappear into the lawn.

About 7 to 10 days after aeration, the aerification holes will be filled with white, actively growing roots – a sign that the turfgrass is receiving additional oxygen, moisture and nutrients from the soil.

On compacted soils and on lawns with slopes, you should see an immediate difference in water puddling and runoff after irrigation or rainfall. After aeration, your lawn should be able to go longer between waterings, without showing signs of wilt. With repeat aerations over time, your lawn will show enhanced heat and drought stress tolerance.

Remember, most lawns benefit from annual aeration. And while you shouldn’t expect miracles, especially with poor soil, lawns that receive this care will be healthier, more vigorous, easier to maintain and have fewer pest problems.

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