September is the time of the year to not only prepare for the Fall Season, but to make sure everything is ready for the Spring! Ken-Mulch is your Headquarters for all Your Lawn and Landscape needs! September Suggestions Now that we are near the end of the summer season, it is time to roll up your sleeves and get ready for this amazing weather we are about to have. September is all about renovating your lawn before winter, cutting back shrubs, dividing and transplanting perennials, bringing in houseplants and preparing your ground for late season planting. Renovating the Lawn Some of the worst times can be when you have no idea why your lawn looks so bad! This time of year is the perfect time to fix that. Here are a couple pointers to help rejuvenate your lawn. Dethatch: Dethatching the lawn will keep your lawn happy and healthy. Think of it as losing a little bit of weight during the winter, so you can be nice and skinny for the spring. Reseed: Reseeding your lawn in the fall has many benefits. Good seed-to-soil contact happens through natural moisture and frost that only occur in late fall and winter. It also repairs the wear and tear of a hot and dry summer. Top 3 Grass Seed for Fall KY-31 KY Bluegrass Creeping Red Fescue Fertilize: The fall is the most important time of year to fertilize your lawn. The reason why is because the morning dew is a natural moisture that helps the fertilizer absorb into your lawn. This process is essential for a bright green lawn for the spring. Cutting, Removing, Reusing for Fall Don't worry, this will be the last time this year that you will be cutting back any shrubs or plants! You will also need to divide and transplant your perennials! Shaping the Shrubs Shaping shrubs for the fall is like shaving before no-shave November . It will be the last time for a while that they will be trimmed so make sure they are nice and pretty! Before Trim After Trim Divide and Transplant Perennials Dividing and Transplanting your perennials can be a tricky task. Here are the three simple steps to ensure you do not kill and replant your beautiful perennials! Dig Them Up: It is essential that when you start this process that you do not kill the plant before dividing it or replanting it. When digging, try to not destroy the root system of the plant. Dig a wide enough area around the plant to make sure you do not damage the roots. Divide one, into many: Transplant: Transplant is just a fancy word for replanting! Enjoy your new perennials without even having to spend money! Dividing your perennials is the trickiest part. Once you have dug up your plant, shake the soil off of the roots, then start splitting the plant up. You can use a knife, shovel, or your hands. Try to keep the root system intact! Bring in those Houseplants! Most house plants will die if you don't bring them in on chilly September nights so make sure to bring in your colorful houseplants soon! If you see any plants that look like yours, BRING THEM INSIDE! Preparing Your Ground for Late Season Planting Preparing your soil for late season planting can be done in 3 simple steps: Till that ground up! Feed your soil! Water like you don't have a water bill! Till it up! Tilling your land is no fun task but by breaking up the soil, it will make planting easier, it will make your ground healthier, and it will allow new nutrients to integrate into the ground. Feed Your Soil! Feeding your soil is essential during the fall because of the natural moisture that the fall season brings. Using organic fertilizers like Okolona Mix, Pine Fines and/or Compost can be great for your soil during this time of year. Ken-Mulch Organic Fertilizer Pine Fines $50.95 per scoop Okolona Mix $42.95 per scoop Compost $38.95 per scoop Water! Water! Water! For some reason, people think that you can stop watering after the summer. This is wrong! You still need to water your soil and plants during the fall so that they can stay healthy!

Price: $31.95 per scoop Dense Grade Coverage per scoop: 80 sq ft x 2" deep Scoop is 1/2 cu yd and approx. 1,530 lbs Dense Grade is a crushed limestone aggregate used in driveways, pathways, drainage and hardscapes.

Price: $145 per scoop Red Lava Coverage per scoop: 65 sq ft 2" deep Our "Lava Rock" is a gorgeous lightweight rock that is commonly used in flowerbeds.

Price: $125 per scoop Zebra Rock Coverage per scoop: 80 sq ft 2" deep This white rock with black stripes and shiny flakes will make your landscape glisten!

Price: $31.95 per scoop Black Mulch Coverage per scoop: 80 sq ft x 2" Deep Scoop = 1/2 cu yd Black Mulch is a double shredded mulch. ALL bark mulch at Ken -Mulch is ALL natural bark. Our premium shredded dyed black bark is a multi-species hardwood bark mixture that is excellent for upscale landscape projects and developments.

Price: $31.95 per scoop #9 Coverage per scoop: 80 sq ft 2" deep Scoop is 1/2 cu yd and approx. 1,360 lbs #9 is a crushed limestone aggregate used in driveways, pathways, drainage and hardscapes.

Price: $145 per scoop Black Lava Coverage per scoop: 65 sq ft 2" deep Our "Lava Rock" is a gorgeous lightweight rock that is commonly used in flowerbeds.

Price: $85 per scoop Ken-Mulch Coverage per scoop: 80 sq ft 2" deep Ken-Mulch is a decorative lightweight rock with a beautiful rustic color. Also, known locally as Solite, Ken-Lite or Groundcover.

April Anticipation! April is by far, one of the best months of the year. Not only does the weather start to change, but spring break is coming! Everyone needs a break. Some may be on the beach for this break, but others can be outside improving their landscape for the rest of the season. Pull Them Weeds Out Of Your Landscape! Once winter is FINALLY over, pull those weeds out as soon as you can! The earlier in the season that you can control your weed problems, the earlier your weed problems will go away! The proper way to get rid of weed problems is to remove the entire weed, including the roots out of the ground. After you are done pulling everything out of the ground, put down weed preventer. Preen Weed Preventer guarantees up to 3 months of weed free landscaping! Starting Spring Fertilizers Is your grass looking a little sad? Is the grass a little bit more brown than usual? Are your flowers looking like they need a boost? Maybe you should start using some fertilizer! The best time to start spring fertilizers is when the temperature starts to be consistently above 55 degrees. This allows the soil to dampen with enough moisture and allows the fertilizer to activate. Flower/Plant Fertilizers -Monty's Growth -Plant-Tone -Holly-Tone -Wide Range of Espoma Products Grass Fertilizers - GreenView Lawn Fertilizer - 10-10-10 Fertilizer - Lime - Gypsum Starting Your Garden April is the perfect time to start your gardens for the spring. With the warmer weather and rainfall coming, it is a great time to start planting and growing your spring time vegetables. If you plan on building vegetable boxes or if you need to put down some new soil, Ken-Mulch offers a perfect gardening soil called Okolona Mix. It is a combination of Topsoil, Sand, Compost and Pine Fines. Vegetables to Plant in Spring -Broccoli -Lettuce -Potatoes -Kale -Onions -Carrots -Beets -Spinach Time to Start Watering Again! Time to bring out the hoses and sprinklers and start watering again! Early spring watering benefits your lawn and plants.

March Madness! Winter is finally over! March is here and the sun is shining. Hopefully everyone is finally able to go outside! We know, everyone is excited for their favorite basketball teams to play for a National Championship, but that does not mean your yard should not look as good as a game winning shot! Developing Your Landscape Plan Having a plan is essential to start the development of your landscaping. What are you interested in? What type of plants do you want? Are you interested in mulch or rock? Have you measured the area that you are going to be landscaping? Are you going to be doing the work or do you plan on hiring someone? What is your budget? These are all very important questions in regards to starting your landscaping. Step 1: Research and Budget Researching for plants that are practical for your landscape can be tough. Sometimes it is hard to differentiate from what you like and what will look good. One thing that you need to remember is that the plants you buy are going to grow and/or look different eventually. No plant ever stays the same. You will need to research the mature growth of every single plant that you plan on purchasing to make sure you do not have a cluttered landscape. Ken-Mulch has FREE consultation to help bring your landscape plan to life. With pictures, measurements and sun facings, Ken-Mulch will help you with your design to fit within your budget. Step 2: Designing Your Landscape Once you have found plants that you want, it is now time to start designing! Designing a proper layout of where each plant will specifically go is crucial. Eye balling or guessing any measurements can totally throw off ones landscape. A layout of where everything will go can help prevent mistakes and speed up the process of planting. Knowing where everything is going to go before you do anything outside can save you from wasting time and tons of frustration. Ken-Mulch will help in this process. Call us today (502) 964-7222 Step 3: Buying the Material Today is the day. You wake up bright and early on a hopefully somewhat cool, sunny morning and are ready to buy your plants! Hopefully your landscape beds are clear, clean and ready to go. Ken-Mulch offers a wide variety of landscape rock, mulch and plants to help satisfy any landscaping needs. Step 4: Planting and Beyond Step 1: Clean Out Your Landscape Beds! This is where you will most likely accumulate all of the dirt under your fingernails . Having a clean landscape bed is essential before starting your new landscape. There should be nothing but top soil unless you plan on re-purposing plants that were in your previous landscape. It makes your life a whole lot easier when their is nothing in your way. Step 2: Planting!!! Once you have purchased plants and your landscape beds are clear, it is time to start planting! -Take the plant out of the pot! -Loosen the roots on the bottom of the root ball! -Make sure the plant is in the position you want it to be in! -Look at the plant from different angles to make sure it is straight. -Dig a hole 2 times wider than the width of the root ball. -Dig the hole deep enough to where the top of the root ball is 2" above the ground. -Once the plant is in the ground, fill in the hole with dirt and/or soil mix. Step 3: Weed Cloth After all of your plants are in the ground, you are now ready for putting down weed fabric. Weed Fabric helps prevent weeds from growing or showing in your landscape! Ken-Mulch has the perfect weed fabric for your project. Make sure to measure your landscape beds to know how many square feet of weed fabric you need. Don't forget sod pins, they help hold down the weed cloth. Step 4: Rock or Mulch You are on the home stretch! The final step to complete your new, beautiful landscape is to cover the weed cloth with rock or mulch. Ken-Mulch offers a wide variety of rock and mulch to put in your landscape beds. Step 5: YOU ARE FINISHED! You are finally finished! Invite everyone over to show off your new and improved landscaping! It might have taken some time, hard work, and a good amount of money, but I am sure you did a great job and it looks amazing! Send pictures of your finished landscape to Ken-Mulch to brag!

Ken-Mulch offers natural and rubber Playground mulch for your Landscape Project PLAYGROUND MULCH Price: $24.95 per bag Rubber Mulch Coverage per bag: 8 sq ft x 2" Deep Bag = 1.60 cu ft Made from 100% recycled rubber mulch, our 99.9% wire-free rubber playground mulch is ideal for your playgrounds and more. Designed to meet ADA and IPEMA standards when used to a depth of 6 inches, it’s a durable, environment-friendly choice that adds safety to your Landscape Material. Price: $29.95 per scoop Kids Carpet Coverage per scoop: 80 sq ft x 2" Deep Scoop = 1/2 cu yd Kids Carpet (Playground Mulch) is a splinter-free mulch shredded from Poplar Wood. Kids Carpet is approved by OSHA and EPA and is free from dyes and chemicals. Not just for playgrounds, this certified mulch is excellent for any area where people play, walk, etc.

IT IS JULY! Welcome back everyone for this month's blog! It just keeps getting warmer and warmer, so I hope everyone is staying cool and hydrated. Speaking of hydration... YOUR PLANTS NEED WATER! Don't you get thirsty on a hot summer day? Well, surprise! Your plants are as well. Harvest Daily Harvest like you have no food in the house! It can be very difficult to judge when to pick those fruits and veggies in the summer. Some helpful advice would be to pick earlier rather than later. Some foods such as cucumbers, green beans, zucchini , and eggplants often taste better when you pick them earlier. Give Me the Mulch! Ken-Mulch sounds like a broken record when we say you need even MORE mulch but you need some more mulch. Summer is a crucial time for re-mulching. This may be confusing because we use mulch in the winter for warming purposes, but in the summer we use it for moisture purposes. Mulch holds water which keeps the plants cool and hydrated. More mulch also means less weeds and lets face it, no one wants to get down on their knees in the blazing hot sun. Get Rid of the BUGS! Here are some helpful tips to get rid of those annoying bugs! Get a ceiling fan or fan for outdoors. Invest in a bird bath. Remove all litter from house and yard. Remove all bodies of water in your yard and house. Use Frog tape to seal small cracks so bugs cannot get into your house. Take a Look Around the Neighborhood Sometimes it is okay to cheat off of someone else. On a nice cool, summer evening, go take a walk or drive around your neighborhood . A lot of people will have their landscaping looking flawless before their 4th of July parties. This is the perfect time to go out and steal some ideas. Do not be ashamed about it!