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Our Take on Accuweather.com’s 2012-2013 Official Winter Forecast
Accuweather.com released its official Winter forecast for this 2012-2013 season. The full forecast can be viewed here, but here's what they said for us in the Midwest. From Accuweather.com: Below-Normal Snow for Midwest; Normal Lake-Effect Snow for Great Lakes...
Wizardry of Meteorology – How the forecast is determined for each storm
As made obvious by the varying forecasts above, predicting snowfall levels for an entire geographic area is no easy feat. If it was, every meteorologist would come to the same conclusion. Forecasting the amount of snow, ice and sleet specific areas will get during one...
Latest Winter Weather 2012-2013 Prediction
What El Nino Effect means for this Winter 2012-2013 Winter Outlook May be White As we look toward the upcoming winter season, there's never a lack of speculation about temperatures and snowfall. Especially after a drought-filled spring and summer. While...
Smart Irrigation: Technologies that use Water Efficiently
There are many “smart” technologies available today that allow you to maintain beautiful landscapes while maximizing water efficiency. With so many options on the market it can be difficult to understand the difference between your options and to decide which product...
10 Steps to Fine-tuning your Irrigation System
Save Money & See Better Results Automated irrigation systems are convenient and protect your landscape investment. A well-maintained unit can keep your property beautiful and healthy while minimizing water waste. To raise awareness of the benefits of efficient...
Scope of Work – What is it? Why have one?
In the snow removal industry, a scope of work is a document that outlines the parameters required for snow and ice management. Most property or facility managers have some version of a scope of work, indicating the proper care and maintenance of their property. A...
2012-2013 Winter Weather Predictions
There are a lot of factors that going into predicting the weather. From trade winds to volcanic activity, the earth is always alerting us on what to expect. Weather experts are saying that this winter we can expect much more cold and snow than last year. Long range...
8 Questions to Ask a Snow Removal Company Before Signing a Contract
As budgets are slashed and bottom lines diminish, it's common, even necessary, for decision makers to treat once value-based services as commodities, selecting them based solely on price. Snow removal is not exempt from this scenario. While it's true that, by and...
Why Choose your Snow Removal Company over the Summer?
We know, it's 90+ degrees outside and snow removal is probably not something you're thinking about. Fortunately, we are! As one of the largest snow and ice management services in the country (ranked 13th in 2011), we think about snow removal all year long. Sure, last...
How to save your dying trees.
One of the most common challenges we're seeing here in the Midwest is a tremendous amount of tree loss on commercial properties. In this article we're going to be giving you some information about how trees work and what they need. If you'd like to know even more...
Sustainable Business Practices
How to influence people, the planet and profits with your brand When marketing or promoting your brand, focus is frequently placed on the core business such as landscaping, accounting, or architecture. You may approach potential clients with a message that says, "We...
What is the Ideal Mowing Height?
Most landscape maintenance routines include a regular mowing schedule. If you manage a commercial property of any type this is an important part of keeping your landscape looking well groomed. With that in mind, we'd like you to take a moment and think about a factor...
How To Prevent Trees from Dying
One of the most common challenges we're seeing here in the Midwest is a tremendous amount of tree loss on commercial properties. In this article we're going to be giving you some information about how trees work and what they need. If you'd like to know even more...
Concrete Spalling: What causes it and can you do anything about it?
According to the Portland Cement Association (PCA), the freezing and thawing of concrete is one of the main causes of spalling. The other two main reasons are high water/cement ratio and finishing concrete too early. As we all learned in science class, water is one of...
How to make the Most out of this Rainy Season
How to Cut Costs this Rainy Season The biggest benefit of the rainy season is that we can all save money on irrigation water, but you have to know how to use rain water to your advantage. One of True North's product partners, Alter Eco Agronomics recently released an...
Irrigation Water is Destroying your Landscape
Irrigation is a great tool that most property managers use and many homeowners have come to adopted as well. First used in the agricultural industry, landscapers discovered the cost saving benefits and overall efficiency when covering a lot of ground in a short amount...
Concrete Corrosion: What causes it and what can be done about it?
The basic definition of corrosion is the deterioration of metal due to interactions with its surroundings. The explanation of how all corrosion happens is a little more detailed and involves anodes, cathodes, electrons and electrolytes. Interestingly, there are...
LEED Landscaping Ratings? Get sustainable landscaping ideas here.
While standards exist for sustainable structures-"green buildings"-there are no comprehensive guidelines or performance benchmarks for those who want to create and measure sustainable landscapes. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a stakeholder in the...
Record amount of snow fell this winter… Just not in the US.
During the months of December 2011 through February 2012, significant snow fell; It just didn't fall in the United States. Due to heavy snowfall across central and eastern Europe in January and February, the Eurasia winter snow cover reached the 4th highest in...
What is Fertigation
Fertigation is a word commonly associated with the agriculture industry, but it is a methodology that can and should be practiced on a commercial landscape. Simply put, fertigation is the delivery method of providing materials to nourish soil. The most common material...