Corona virus impact on the Landscaping Industry

Auburn, AL is located in Lee County. As of today, Lee County alone already has over 45 cases of the Corona virus and the numbers will continue to rise. As global concern over the corona virus grows, landscaping companies should prepare for how to handle a possible outbreak in their area and urge employees who are sick to stay home. Companies are continually updating their clients on what the corona virus will mean for your business, plus events and policies are changing by the moment. Here in Auburn, AL, we are not on any sort of lockdown or stay at home order, but most of our restaurants and social gathering spaces have been closed or forced into offering take-out and delivery only options. For now, most all landscaping in Auburn AL needs in the city are being handled as usual. Many teams of landscapers are taking extra precautions by offering tele-services and leaving invoices at your front door for you to pay online later. While I prefer the traditional southern way of introducing yourself at the front door, this is not something many landscaping companies are choosing to do during this time in Auburn, AL. This is simply for the safety of the landscapers and of all clients.

There is growing concern that Auburn, AL may be put on a stay at home order soon. If this is the case, only business deemed essential will be allowed to operate and only people working for these businesses will be allowed to go to work. One of the big questions floating around the landscaping industry here is whether or not landscaping is an essential business. If landscaping were deemed to not be essential, this could be detrimental to many, if not all, of the small- business landscaping companies here in Auburn, AL. Many companies would be forced to layoff employees. We would be entirely out of work for weeks if not months. Many of us rely on landscaping to provide food and shelter for our families, and many people and lives would be hurt by a decision like this. When and if the economy does return to normal, many months from now, many of our existing customers will be long gone. The seasons will have changed and many landscaping projects will no longer be necessary. Small landscaping companies in Auburn, AL will not be able to rehire many of their employees and residents of Auburn will be hurt by this move. This will cause lasting damage.

On the other hand, if landscaping companies are considered to be essential businesses, we could use this time to continue to flourish and keep our beloved city of Auburn, AL beautiful. The National Association of Landscape Professionals has said it will be keeping tabs on each state’s stance on whether or not landscapers are essential. They will also help fight to keep our doors open. Given that most landscaping work is not done in large groups or by people working in close quarters, you would think that landscaping companies would be able to get by without further spreading the virus.

Day to Day Landscaping

As you already know, my name is Elton Adams and I love landscaping. From maintaining my lawn to growing herbs from my vegetable garden, plants and grasses are my passion. This past winter I took it upon myself to do some landscaping around my yard to prepare for spring planting. I’ll take you through the steps that I took, and which areas of my yard I chose to focus on.

First I cleaned out some debris. I swept across my lawn and picked up any fallen twigs or tree limbs that may have fallen during winter storms. These twigs are the perfect place for pests to stow, so it’s important to clean them up to prevent pests from seeking shelter in your yard. Be sure to clean out your flowers beds as well. If you have rose bushes, pay special attention to them because their foliage is known to foster disease over winter months.

The second thing I did was till my vegetable garden. While many of you may not have a till laying around, there are other things you can use that will get the job done just as well. After the final harvest, I was sure to pull out old vegetables and plants so I was able to till the entire plot. If you’re like me and you like to compost, now would be a great time to add a layer of compost to help nurture your soil for the next planting.

Not all winter cleanup comes directly from the yard. This is the perfect time of year to clean out your gutters as well, as they can drop leaves and other debris into your yard if they are not properly maintained. Be sure to check for proper drainage and to clear out any blockages with a small garden trowel. Then rinse your system with a hose to ensure it is finally working properly.

Another seasonal hack I have is to aerate my soil in the off season. Aerating helps to break up the soil which keeps water from pooling and guarantees that nutrients will reach the roots of the plants over the winter season. Think of this as using a scrub wash on your face. You are removing any blockages and ensuring the nutrients of your facial wash can reach deep into the layers of your skin, just as you are doing to your lawn. Much of the soil in Auburn, AL is very dense, so aerating yearly keeps my soil happy and healthy. A garden fork can do the job for small yards, but larger yards may require a walk-behind aerator which you can find for rent at your local hardware store.

It’s also important to feed your lawn during its off season. This is a landscaping hack that can apply to almost anyone with any size yard. You will want to be sure you are sending your yard into the off season with the nutrients it needs to survive the long, cold sleep. Adding a winter lawn fertilizer should also encourage root growth and ensure a green lawn come spring.