Monster Tree want to give away 50 MegaMillions tickets.

Have you checked out our Facebook page recently? If so you may have noticed, that since this morning we want to give away 50 MegaMillions tickets to our fans! All you have to do is comment and share the post for your chance to get a ticket! Check out our Facebook page here:

Preparing Your Garden for Winter

Winter is coming and preparation for the cold weather is key. We found a great article on Better Homes and Gardens titled, "Preparing Your Garden for Winter" which offers up some expert advice on how to protect your gardens' plants, how to winterize your roses and making leaf mold. Click here to read the entire article or begin below.

"Preparing Your Garden for Winter"
By Better Homes and Gardens.

Putting the garden to bed for the winter is mostly a matter of cleaning up and covering up. As fall progresses and temperatures drop, those planes that aren't killed outright by frost prepare for dormancy. Clear out the blackened stems and foliage of annual flowers and vegetables to prevent the possibility of their harboring disease pathogens and insect eggs over the winter. The cool weather is good time to make a cold frame, dig and box raised beds, and make general repairs.

While it appears as if all activity in the garden has stopped, there's a lot going on under the soil until it freezes. Newly transplanted trees and shrubs, division of perennials, and hardy bulbs are all growing roots, drawing on soil nutrients and moisture around them. Earthworms and various microbes in the soil are still processing the organic material they're finding. Most likely, the organic mulch you spread to protect the soil during the summer months has substantially decomposed. It's important to spread new mulch now -- a thicker winter layer -- to protect plants and soil over the winter months. 

Click here to read the entire article.

"Fall Clean-Up: What to Do When Autumn Leaves Start to Fall "

Monster Tree Services was featured on HGTV Gardens. The article offers suggestions for easy and efficient leaf clean-up. It also discusses multiple ways to recycle leaves. Begin the article below or read full piece here.

"Fall Clean-Up: What to Do When Autumn Leaves Start to Fall "

By: Jeff Stafford

You know autumn is here when the evenings grow cooler and the leaves began to change from green to a dazzling array of colors. Then they begin to fall. That's when you reach for the rake. But there are other alternatives if you don't relish that task. Consider these other options instead along with some suggestions on ways to recycle leaves from ISA certified arborist Max Burton of Monster Tree Service.

LEAF REMOVAL TIPS

Mow Them

Use a lawn mower with a bag attachment to handle leaf debris on your yard. Disposal becomes a simple matter once the ground-up leaves are collected in the bag.

Vacuum Them

With a leaf vacuum, you can suck up all of the fallen leaves, twigs, acorns, pine cones and other debris into a bag and then grind them up for mulch or compost.

Read full article here. 

Brace Your Trees For The Winter

Like it or not the cold and snow of winter is quickly approaching. Just like you must wear a winter jacket and gloves, trees need a few necessities too in order to stay healthy too. The folks at How Stuff Works have provided us with some great tips about how to prepare our trees for the winter and keep them safe. See full article here or begin below.

"Preparing Evergreens and Shade Trees for Winter"

By: C. Colston Burrell





Wrap the trunk of thin-barked trees, most notably fruit trees, in winter to help keep the bark from splitting. Tree wraps and firmer plastic tree guards can also discourage rabbits and rodents from chewing on the bark and can prevent accidental damage from mowers.

Remove the tree wrap in the spring so it won't get too tight on the swelling trunk or provide a hiding place for pests.

Read full article here.

Preparing Trees for the Cold Months

Our own Tim A was featured on KUTV. Find out what you need to do now to in order get you trees ready for the harsh winter season, along with efficient and easy fall cleanup tips, and money saving advice! Watch segment here.

Capturing The Essence of Fall

Now that Fall is in full force, we found some great ways to use those leaves before packing them up and sending them off to the curb. Thanks to the folks at Better Homes & Gardens they have given us some great DIY ideas this Fall season in the article titled, "Fall Crafts with Leaves." Click here to read the entire article or begin below.

"Fall Crafts with Leaves."
By BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS

Leaf Frames and Art

Mix and match leaves for a mantel full of fall crafts. An old cigar box showcases a multihue leaf display. On the wall, leafy greens seemingly grow out of a pair of birch photo frames. 

Leaf Labels
Fun for labels, trace the outline of a leaf onto cardstock and cut out. Host a wine-tasting party and use these festive labels to help guests identify their favorite. 

Read full article here.

Why the Owner of Monster Tree Decided to Sell Franchises

This is the follow-up to the article to the one that was published last week featured on The New York Time’s “You’re the Boss” blog. 

The blog post is about Josh deciding to franchise and where the current locations are. Josh elaborates that he felt franchising would help him grow at a faster pace with higher revenues. He elaborates that franchising is like a partnership to help the business grow. Josh also discusses employees and systems differences within franchise systems. He mentions that Monster is set up as an executive model and that all locations are on track to make $1 million in annual sales for their first year. Josh positions Monster as the national provider of tree service. Click here to read full article or begin below. 

"Why the Owner of Monster Tree Decided to Sell Franchises"

By JOHN GROSSMAN

Last week, we published a case study about the founder of a suburban Philadelphia tree-trimming and -removal business. Having built his five-year-old company, Monster Tree Service, to 15 employees and more than $2 million in annual revenue, Josh Skolnick, 29, debated how best to expand: With corporate-owned locations or with franchises?

The experts we assembled and most readers offered pretty much the same advice — that he forgo or postpone franchising at least until he opens a second  company-owned location. In a conversation that has been condensed and edited, Mr. Skolnick explains why he decided to franchise Monster Tree Service, which is based in Fort Washington, Pa., and how that decision is working out. The first franchise opened in May, near Salt Lake City. Eight more have opened since then, all in Pennsylvania.

Click to read full article.