Expert posts by:

Mark Marino

My name is Mark Marino, and I am the founder, owner, and operator of Lawn Phix. With a passion for lawn care and turf nutrition for over a decade, I've dedicated countless hours to correcting soil and perfecting lawns. Today, my expertise, backed by formal courses at UMass Extension Pesticide Education, allows me to offer top-tier lawn care services and advice. I am a fully licensed and insured lawn care applicator in Massachusetts, specializing in comprehensive turf nutrition, weed control, and lawn pest control. My license number is AL-0053865. Contact me at mark@lawnphix.com or +1 (508) 500-8402.

Petra Tools 28-0-0 Liquid Nitrogen

Lawn Care

Urea vs Ammonium Sulfate: Nitrogen Fertilizers for Lawns & Turfgrass

Both urea and ammonium sulfate can give your lawn a fertilizing boost and are good alternatives to ammonium nitrate, which may be more difficult to procure and more costly. Each of these is a nitrogen ...
liquid yucca extract

Lawn Care

Yucca Extract for Lawns: Everything You Need to Know

Yucca is a flowering plant that grows in the desert and is native to the American Southwest and Mexico. The yucca plant works as a biostimulant and natural surfactant when applied to lawns. Not only ...
Soluble Sea Kelp for Lawns

Lawn Care

Sea Kelp for Lawns: Nature’s Secret to a Stronger, Healthier Yard

If you’ve been chasing that deep green, lush lawn but feel like something’s still missing, you’re not alone. Lawn care can be a puzzle, especially when it comes to building long-term soil health and resilience. ...
Kelp4less Aeration + Yucca closeup

Lawn Care

Humic Acid for Lawns: The Ultimate Guide for Healthier, Greener Grass

Let’s be honest: lawn care can be a bit of a mystery sometimes. You put in the work, but the results don’t always match the effort. If you’ve ever wondered how to make your lawn ...
calstar lime with humic granules

Lawn Care

Calcitic Lime vs Dolomite Lime (Limestone Differences and Similarities for Lawns)

Gardeners and farmers alike have long used lime to improve the fertility of their soil. An alkaline material, lime reduces the pH of acidic soils, to ensure that lawns, plants, and crops grow better. There ...
crabgrass-drive

Lawn Care

How Long Does it Take for Quinclorac to Work & Kill Weeds?

Quinclorac is an effective selective herbicide to control any crabgrass problems. This weed killer is popular among many homeowners and most lawn care professionals as it kills a broad spectrum of grassy weeds and broadleaf ...
Crabgrass and weeds in lawn one week before applying Drive XLR8

Lawn Care

Crabgrass vs Bermuda Grass (Difference & Similarities)

The chief difference between crabgrass (or crab grass as it’s sometimes called) and Bermuda is that some property owners actually choose to cultivate Bermuda grass as their lawn, while nobody wants crabgrass. On the other ...
quackgrass with clasping auricles

Lawn Care

Crabgrass vs Quackgrass in Your Lawn (Differences & Similarities with Pictures)

In the war between crabgrass vs quackgrass, you’ll want to take any appropriate measures you can to ensure that it’s your lawn grass that is victorious. Keeping desirable lawn grasses free from weedy grass does ...
several-ant-hills-in-yard

Pests

Why Are There So Many Ant Hills in My Yard?

You’ve spent the fall and winter seasons totally free from pest activity. But as the weather starts to warm up and the growing season reappears , you’ve spotted dozens of new ant mounds all over ...
Jonathan Green July 2019 Show Us Your Lawn Contest Winner

Lawn Care

What’s the Difference Between Chelated and Non Chelated Iron for Lawns?

If you’re longing for a lush vibrant green lawn but yours remains a dull or pale green, your soil might be iron deficient–or it might have a high pH that makes it difficult for the ...
Gopher on the lawn is peeking out of his hole. Close-up

Pests

How to Get Rid of Chipmunks

When we think about destructive or frustrating lawn pests , visions of cute, furry rodents aren’t the first things on our minds. However, they definitely should be — tiny animals like chipmunks can wreak havoc ...
Trey L LOTM2

Lawn Care

Flea, Tick & Mosquito Spraying in Bellingham, MA

There are so many reasons to enjoy the summer season–and so many insects that seem bound and determined to wreck your backyard fun. When insect pests like fleas and ticks infest your landscape, they can ...