🌱 Turf & Mowing

• aerate EH-reh-ayt ▶ EN
  airear ai-reh-AHR ▶ ES

  Pull plugs of soil out of the lawn so water and air reach the roots.

  Flag the sprinkler heads before you aerate. — Marca los aspersores con banderitas antes de airear.

  Also: aerificar (general)

• bag BAG ▶ EN
  cortar con bolsa kohr-TAHR kohn BOHL-sah ▶ ES

  Collect the clippings in the mower's bagger instead of discharging them.

  Bag this one, the customer complains about clippings. — Este córtalo con bolsa, el cliente se queja de los recortes.

• bare spot BAIR spot ▶ EN
  pelón peh-LOHN ▶ ES

  A patch with no grass; gets seed and topsoil, or sod if the customer wants it fixed now.

  Seed the bare spots where the trampoline was. — Échale semilla a los pelones donde estaba el trampolín.

• bermuda grass ber-MYOO-dah GRAS ▶ EN
  pasto bermuda PAHS-toh behr-MOO-dah ▶ ES

  A warm-season grass cut short; spreads by runners and invades beds.

  The bermuda grass is creeping into the beds — edge it deep. — El pasto bermuda se está metiendo a las camas — orilla profundo.

• blade BLAYD ▶ EN
  cuchilla koo-CHEE-yah ▶ ES

  The spinning steel blade under the mower deck; sharpen or swap it when the cut starts tearing.

  Swap the blades on the 60-inch before tomorrow's route. — Cámbiale las cuchillas a la de 60 pulgadas antes de la ruta de mañana.

  Also: navaja (general)

• blow off BLOH awf ▶ EN
  soplar soh-PLAHR ▶ ES

  Clear clippings and debris off all hard surfaces with the blower — the last step at every stop.

  Blow off the drive, walks, and patio before we roll. — Sopla la entrada, las banquetas y el patio antes de irnos.

• brown patch BROWN pach ▶ EN
  mancha café MAHN-chah kah-FEH ▶ ES

  A fungus that leaves round dead-looking patches in humid weather; more water makes it worse.

  That's brown patch, not drought — tell them to water less. — Eso es mancha café, no sequía — dile que riegue menos.

• clippings KLIP-ingz ▶ EN
  recortes de pasto rreh-KOHR-tehs deh PAHS-toh ▶ ES

  The cut grass a mower leaves behind; bagged, mulched, or blown off the hard surfaces.

  Blow the clippings off the driveway before we load up. — Sopla los recortes de la entrada antes de subir el equipo.

• crabgrass KRAB-gras ▶ EN
  zacate cangrejo sah-KAH-teh kahn-GREH-hoh ▶ ES

  The sprawling annual weed grass that pre-emergent exists to stop.

  Crabgrass is up along the curb — we missed the pre-emergent window there. — Ya salió el zacate cangrejo junto a la banqueta — se nos pasó la ventana del preemergente ahí.

  Also: garranchuelo (general)

• curb line KURB layn ▶ EN
  línea de la banqueta LEE-neh-ah deh lah bahn-KEH-tah ▶ ES

  The edge where lawn meets street or sidewalk — the line the customer sees first.

  A crisp curb line sells the whole job. — Una línea de banqueta bien marcada vende todo el trabajo.

• cut height KUT hayt ▶ EN
  altura de corte al-TOO-rah deh KOHR-teh ▶ ES

  How tall the grass is left after mowing; set by deck position and season.

  Summer cut height is 3.5 inches on all the fescue lawns. — La altura de corte en verano es de 3.5 pulgadas en todos los céspedes de festuca.

• deck DEK ▶ EN
  plato de la podadora PLAH-toh deh lah poh-dah-DOH-rah ▶ ES

  The housing under a mower that covers the blades; its height sets the cut height.

  Raise the deck a notch, this lawn is stressed from the heat. — Súbele una raya al plato, este pasto está sufrido por el calor.

  Also: cubierta de corte (general)

• discharge chute DIS-charj SHOOT ▶ EN
  salida de la podadora sah-LEE-dah deh lah poh-dah-DOH-rah ▶ ES Safety-critical

  The opening on the deck that throws clippings out the side; never pointed at people, cars, or windows.

  Point the discharge chute away from the parking lot. — Apunta la salida de la podadora lejos del estacionamiento.

• dormant DOR-munt ▶ EN
  dormido dohr-MEE-doh ▶ ES

  Grass that has gone brown to survive heat or cold but is not dead; it comes back with the season.

  The bermuda is dormant, not dead — tell the customer it greens up in April. — El bermuda está dormido, no muerto — dile al cliente que reverdece en abril.

  Also: en dormancia (general)

• double cut DUB-ul KUT ▶ EN
  doble pasada DOH-bleh pah-SAH-dah ▶ ES

  Mowing the same lawn twice, usually crosswise, when the grass got away between visits.

  It rained all week — double cut everything on the Tuesday route. — Llovió toda la semana — doble pasada a todo lo de la ruta del martes.

• edge EJ ▶ EN
  orillar oh-ree-YAHR ▶ ES

  Cut a clean vertical line where the lawn meets sidewalks, driveways, and beds.

  Edge the driveway and both sides of the walk. — Orilla la entrada y los dos lados de la banqueta.

  Also: bordear (general)

• edger EJ-er ▶ EN
  orilladora oh-ree-yah-DOH-rah ▶ ES

  The bladed machine that cuts the vertical edge along pavement.

  The edger is out of line — there's spare spool in the trailer. — A la orilladora se le acabó la cuerda — hay repuesto en el tráiler.

  Also: bordeadora (general)

• fescue FES-kyoo ▶ EN
  festuca fes-TOO-kah ▶ ES

  A cool-season grass, mowed tall; common on shaded northern lawns.

  This is fescue — don't cut it under three inches. — Este es festuca — no lo cortes a menos de tres pulgadas.

• gate check GAYT chek ▶ EN
  revisar los portones rreh-bee-SAHR lohs pohr-TOH-nehs ▶ ES Safety-critical

  Confirming every backyard gate is closed and latched when leaving — dogs get out through the one you forgot.

  Gate check before the truck moves — every gate, every stop. — Revisa los portones antes de mover el camión — cada portón, en cada parada.

• growth regulator GROHTH REG-yoo-lay-tor ▶ EN
  regulador de crecimiento rreh-goo-lah-DOHR deh kreh-see-MYEN-toh ▶ ES

  A product that slows grass growth so high-end accounts hold their look between visits.

  The stadium lawn gets growth regulator monthly. — El pasto del estadio lleva regulador de crecimiento cada mes.

• irrigation flag ir-ih-GAY-shun FLAG ▶ EN
  banderita de riego bahn-deh-REE-tah deh RRYEH-goh ▶ ES

  The small marker flag set at each sprinkler head before aerating or digging.

  No irrigation flags, no aerator — that's how heads get destroyed. — Sin banderitas de riego no sale el aireador — así es como se destrozan los aspersores.

• lawn LAWN ▶ EN
  césped SES-ped ▶ ES

  The grass area of a property, the thing the whole route exists to keep looking good.

  The front lawn gets bagged, the back gets mulched. — El césped de enfrente se corta con bolsa, el de atrás con mulch.

  Also: pasto (MX) · grama (general)

• leaf cleanup LEEF KLEEN-up ▶ EN
  recogida de hojas rreh-koh-HEE-dah deh OH-hahs ▶ ES

  The fall service: blowing, tarping, and hauling leaves off lawns and beds.

  Leaf cleanup starts next week — load both big blowers and the tarps. — La recogida de hojas empieza la próxima semana — sube las dos sopladoras grandes y las lonas.

• mow MOH ▶ EN
  cortar el pasto kohr-TAHR el PAHS-toh ▶ ES

  Cut the grass with a mower.

  Mow the back first, the sprinklers ran out front this morning. — Corta el pasto de atrás primero, los aspersores regaron el frente en la mañana.

  Also: podar el pasto (MX) · cortar el césped (general)

• mulching MUL-ching ▶ EN
  triturar el recorte tree-too-RAHR el rreh-KOHR-teh ▶ ES

  Mowing with the discharge closed so the clippings are cut fine and dropped back to feed the lawn.

  Run it mulching unless the grass is wet and tall. — Pásala triturando el recorte, a menos que el pasto esté mojado y alto.

• one third rule WUN third ROOL ▶ EN
  regla del tercio RREH-glah del TEHR-syoh ▶ ES

  Never remove more than a third of the blade height in one mowing; more stresses the lawn.

  It's six inches tall — one third rule, take it to four this week. — Está a seis pulgadas — regla del tercio, déjalo a cuatro esta semana.

• overseed OH-ver-seed ▶ EN
  resembrar rreh-sem-BRAHR ▶ ES

  Spread grass seed over an existing lawn to thicken it.

  We aerate and overseed this one in the fall. — Este lo aireamos y lo resembramos en el otoño.

• route ROOT ▶ EN
  ruta RROO-tah ▶ ES

  The day's ordered list of properties; the crew lives and dies by it.

  Thursday's route has 22 stops — no long lunches. — La ruta del jueves trae 22 paradas — nada de lonches largos.

• runner RUN-er ▶ EN
  guía GHEE-ah ▶ ES

  The creeping stem a spreading grass sends out over ground or into beds.

  Pull the runners out of the rose bed by hand. — Saca las guías de la cama de rosas a mano.

  Also: estolón (general)

• scalping SKAL-ping ▶ EN
  pelar el pasto peh-LAHR el PAHS-toh ▶ ES

  Cutting the grass so low the soil shows; it burns the lawn and it is what the customer complains about.

  Slow down on that mound, you're scalping it. — Bájale en ese montículo, lo estás pelando.

• skip SKIP ▶ EN
  saltar la visita sahl-TAHR lah bee-SEE-tah ▶ ES

  Pass a property this cycle — drought, customer request, or gate locked; always logged.

  Skip the Hendersons, they asked to hold service this week. — Salta la de los Henderson, pidieron pausar el servicio esta semana.

• sod SOD ▶ EN
  pasto en rollo PAHS-toh en RROH-yoh ▶ ES

  Grass sold in rolls or slabs with the roots and soil attached, laid for an instant lawn.

  The sod pallet lands at 7, we lay it before it cooks. — La tarima de pasto en rollo llega a las 7, lo tendemos antes de que se queme.

  Also: tepe (general) · pasto en placa (MX)

• spring cleanup SPRING KLEEN-up ▶ EN
  limpieza de primavera leem-PYEH-sah deh pree-mah-VEH-rah ▶ ES

  The season opener: beds cleaned, first cut, edges re-established, debris hauled.

  Spring cleanups run two weeks before the mowing route starts. — Las limpiezas de primavera van dos semanas antes de que empiece la ruta de corte.

• st. augustine grass saynt AW-gus-teen GRAS ▶ EN
  pasto san agustín PAHS-toh sahn ah-goos-TEEN ▶ ES

  A thick warm-season grass with wide blades, common in the South; cut tall, never scalped.

  St. Augustine grass burns if you cut it under three inches in July. — El pasto san agustín se quema si lo cortas a menos de tres pulgadas en julio.

• string trimmer STRING TRIM-er ▶ EN
  desbrozadora des-broh-sah-DOH-rah ▶ ES

  The handheld machine with spinning nylon line for grass the mower can't reach.

  Take the string trimmer around the fence line and the tree rings. — Pásale la desbrozadora a la línea de la cerca y a los círculos de los árboles.

  Also: desmalezadora (MX) · orilladora de hilo (general)

• stripe STRAYP ▶ EN
  rayado rrah-YAH-doh ▶ ES

  The light-dark mowing pattern left by alternating passes; some accounts ask for it.

  This account wants stripes, run it north-south this week. — Este cliente quiere el rayado, pásala de norte a sur esta semana.

• thatch THACH ▶ EN
  paja PAH-hah ▶ ES

  The layer of dead grass built up between the green blades and the soil; too much chokes the lawn.

  This yard needs dethatching — look how thick the thatch is. — Este jardín necesita que le saquemos la paja — mira qué gruesa está.

• tree ring TREE ring ▶ EN
  círculo del árbol SEER-koo-loh del AHR-bohl ▶ ES

  The mulched circle kept around a tree trunk so mowers and trimmers never touch the bark.

  String trimmer damage kills trees — keep the tree rings wide. — La desbrozadora mata árboles — mantén los círculos amplios.

• trim around TRIM uh-ROWND ▶ EN
  desbrozar alrededor des-broh-SAHR al-rreh-deh-DOHR ▶ ES

  Run the string trimmer around obstacles the mower can't reach — posts, trees, meters, fences.

  Trim around the mailboxes and the AC units. — Desbroza alrededor de los buzones y los aires acondicionados.

• trimmer line TRIM-er layn ▶ EN
  cuerda de la desbrozadora KWEHR-dah deh lah des-broh-sah-DOH-rah ▶ ES

  The nylon line the trimmer head feeds out; carry spare spools on the route.

  We're almost out of trimmer line — grab two spools at the shop. — Ya casi no hay cuerda para la desbrozadora — agarra dos rollos en la bodega.

  Also: hilo de nailon (general)

• wet grass WET gras ▶ EN
  pasto mojado PAHS-toh moh-HAH-doh ▶ ES Safety-critical

  Grass too wet to cut clean — it clumps, clogs the deck, and the mower slides on slopes.

  Start on the sunny side and let the shade dry — no mowing wet grass on that hill. — Empieza por el lado soleado y deja secar la sombra — no se corta pasto mojado en esa loma.

Open this glossary in the app — search, favorites, and every term offline.