Lawn Care Questions, Answered
Straight answers to the questions we actually get asked. If yours is not here, call 905-401-7600 or email info@lawnjunkie.ca — we would rather tell you than have you guess.
Getting a quote
How do I get a quote, and what does it cost?
Quotes are free and there is no obligation. Call 905-401-7600, email info@lawnjunkie.ca, or send us your details. You hear back from a person within one business day.
Where do you work?
Lawn work across St. Catharines, Thorold, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Falls, Welland, Fonthill and Jordan. Snow removal covers a much smaller area — see below.
How quickly can you get to me?
We reply to enquiries within one business day and can usually schedule most services within three to five business days. Urgent problems like grub damage or a disease outbreak get priority, because those get worse while they wait.
Sod, seed, or something else
Should I go with sod or seed?
Sod gives you a finished lawn the day the crew packs up. Seed costs less, gives you far more choice of grass variety, and establishes directly in your soil, which tends to build stronger roots over time — it just takes a season to get there. Need a lawn now? Sod. Can you wait and want the grass matched to your yard? Seed.
Sod installation · Seeding and overseeding
When is the best time to lay sod in Niagara?
Spring, roughly April to June, or early fall, late August into November. Cooler temperatures let the roots establish without summer heat stress. We use premium Kentucky Blue Grass sod suited to local conditions, laid over properly prepped and graded soil.
Do you do new builds?
Yes — post-construction is one of the jobs we do most. Builder ground is usually compacted and rutted from months of being walked over, so it gets tilled, graded and raked out before a single roll goes down. That is the part nobody sees and the part that decides whether sod knits in or just sits on top drying out.
See a Niagara Falls one, photographed from bin-on-the-driveway to finished lawn
My lawn is rough. Renovation, or start over?
A renovation usually makes sense if the lawn has 25% or fewer weeds, only certain areas need attention, and the soil underneath is in reasonable shape. Removal and disposal on a full replacement often runs $500 to $1,000 on its own, so if you can avoid it, you should.
Lawn renovations · Leveling and grading
Feeding and soil
How often should I fertilize in the Niagara region?
Four to six professional applications a year: early spring for growth, summer for resilience, fall for root strength. We use slow-release fertilizers matched to your soil and grass type, so the lawn gets fed rather than force-grown.
What makes your program different from a bag from the hardware store?
Soil testing. The program is built around what your soil is actually short of, plus grass type, sun exposure and what you want the lawn to do. A one-size bag cannot know any of that.
When should aeration and dethatching happen?
Early spring, or late summer into early fall. Around 99% of Niagara lawns are cool-season grasses and those are their peak growing periods — enough rain, moderate air temperatures. We group nearby properties onto the same day to keep the price down, so booking early genuinely helps.
How much thatch is too much?
Half an inch is healthy and helps hold moisture in the soil. Past that, heading towards an inch, the thatch layer starts blocking water and fertilizer from reaching the soil and air from reaching the roots. Sitting water plus no air is how lawn disease starts.
How much topsoil will I need?
Use our free topsoil calculator. Measure the area, pick a depth, and it works out cubic feet, cubic yards, cubic metres, weight and bag counts. No sign-up, no email address.
The unusual one
Do you really build backyard putting greens?
Yes, and almost nobody else in Niagara does. A green is a built surface, not a bit of lawn cut short — shaped and staked to contour, then grown on a rootzone that behaves the way a green has to behave. It is the hardest thing you can ask turf to do, which is exactly why we like building them.
Custom golf and putting greens
Snow removal
Do you do snow removal?
For the 2026/27 season: residential driveways only, in St. Catharines and Niagara-on-the-Lake. That is a smaller area than our lawn service, and it is deliberate.
Snow removal · St. Catharines · Niagara-on-the-Lake
Do you take commercial snow or ice contracts?
No — not this winter. Commercial snow and ice is planned for the following season. Ask us and we will keep you on the list.
Commercial work
Do you do commercial lawn care?
Yes — businesses, condo corporations, apartment complexes and municipal properties across the Niagara region: maintenance, seasonal fertilizer programs and landscape enhancements. Snow is the one exception, as above.
Do you do patios, walls and decks?
As part of a whole-yard project, yes. We lead the project, do the turf and grading ourselves, and bring in and manage the trades for the hard landscaping — one quote, one schedule, one contact. As a standalone patio job, no. If the project is "rethink the whole yard", that is what design and build is for. If it is one patio, you want a hardscaping specialist and we will say so.
Still stuck?
Call 905-401-7600 or email info@lawnjunkie.ca. If it is a question other people would ask too, we will add it to this page.