"6 things you must know before you hire a Lawn Fertilization Company"
So you are looking for a lawn care company. Before you call and around and ask for estimates, you MUST read these tips to save yourself a lot of MONEY and TIME.
1.) Don't make the mistake of comparing apples to oranges.Break every quote down to cost PER APPLICATION not PER YEAR. Some companies are very clever with their marketing. One may have a 7-step treatment program. Some may have a 5 step treatment program. The number of steps in the program represents how many treatments you will receive annually.
Example: One company may quote you at $250 a year for lawn care, but when you read what is actually in the program it only includes 4 treatments That cost it $62.50 per treatment. Another may quote you at $350 a year, but will offer 6 treatments which comes to $58 per treatment.Break everything down to the per treatment cost. Ignore the Per Year price. See how many treatments a company will offer and then you will find the real best deal.
2.) Watch for "False Synergy". It is common in the industry for a company to do one application per visit. There are times of the year and certain situations where it is beneficial to do two application at the same visit. An example of this would be if you had a really bad grub problem in the lawn. During the late summer visit, the technician should do your late summer fertilizer and your grub control at the same visit. This is best for the lawn because of the time frame you have to get the product down. It is also best for the environment: it cuts down gas, carbon footprint, and useless wasting of other resources. We call this "Synergy" and it can be a good idea. But their is need for Caution: Some companies try to pull a fast one on their clients and apply 4,5, and I've even seen 6 treatments at once. This is what I call "False Synergy". To much of a good thing can become a bad thing. When you add anything to your soil it changes the chemistry of it; to much at once can become dangerous and harmful to the beneficial insects, microbes and microorganisms living in the soil.
3.) The Danger of incorrectly applying and abusing pesticides.People now more than ever are concerned about the use of pesticides on our crops, in our homes and on our lawns. I am not anti-pesticide; but I understand the DANGER of improperly applying them. Any Commercial Pesticide in the USA must be registered with the Environmental Protection Agency. Depending on the state you live in they may have additional requirements. Each pesticide label clearly explains the dangers of misuse, the amount to be mixed, and how and where to apply. Many Companies Do NOT take these precautions seriously. They buy the product, hire some untrained people, and call them "technicians". Then they send them out with a truck to YOUR HOME and tell them to "spray the weeds or spray the lawn down". One of the biggest problems with this is they hit areas where the pesticide should not be (non-target areas) and cause damage to the soil structure, microbes and beneficial organisms in the soil.
Pesticides can also be harmful to your health, your children's health, and the environment.
*Between 1973 and 1991, the overall incidence of childhood cancer increased 10%.Soft tissue sarcoma and brain cancer incidence increased more than 25%
*A study sponsored by the National Cancer Institute indicates that household and gardenpesticide use can increase risk of childhoods leukemia as much as seven-fold
*Children take in more pesticides relative to body weight than adults and have developing organ systems that are more vulnerable and less able to detoxify toxic chemicals. (/Lawn/Lawn%20Pesticide%20Facts%20&%20Figures.htm)
Your best bet: eliminate the use of any pesticide and go with an organic, Eco-friendly lawn Company.
4.) Don't let them oversell you! Educate yourself.One of the biggest mistake I see in the industry is people being oversold and ripped off!First of all if someone tell you that you need 12 lawn treatments a year, just hang up the phone.Believe it or not their is a lot of science behind fertilizing a lawn. Let me quickly teach you the basics.1.) Start with a soil Sample. This can be done by any legitimate lawn company. You can also do it yourself and save a few bucks but you may need an expert to make sense of it all. A company can do this for around $40-50. They take the samples from your lawn using a probe and mail them to a lab. The lab breaks it down and analyzes it. They send you a report that will show you if your lawn has a surplus or deficiency of a few different specific nutrients. They will normally include: P.h balance (if your lawn is to acidic, or alkaline), Cation Exchange Capacity (Measurement of the soils ability to hold and break down nutrients), Iron, Nitr ogen, Calcium levels and much more. Once you have this you will know what your lawn really needs. 2.) Find out how much Nitrogen your lawn needs. Depending on what part of the country you live in also depends on how much Nitrogen your lawn needs. This is very very important! If you over fertilize and put to much Nitrogen down on a lawn you will hurt it. This may cause the grass and the top part of the plant to be dark green and grow fast but the soil will suffer for it. You will find yourself getting more fungus in the soil. When the top half of the plant grows to fast the roots cant keep up and support the plant during tough times like the summer or winter. The balance of the plant is thrown off and will eventually deteriorate. Go to your local Co-operative extension which is a state provided resource for agriculture. They will guide you along the way and tell you exactly how much nitrogen your lawn needs. Remember, every area is different, there is no one size fits all.
5.) Utah Cooperative Extension: the best kept secret!Just about every state has a government funded program that provides free information on everything that has to do with lawns. If you find an insect that you want to get rid of but not sure what it is or how to get rid of it, take it to them, they will find your answer for free. They have a "Master Gardner" on staff. She/He usually has a degree and is an expert in all things agriculture. Trees or lawn dying and you don't know why? Take some samples in, they have a lab and will diagnose and tell you what you need to do. Visit the website, call them, stop in. They are friendly and passionate about what they do and love to help. As a lawn care business owner I keep them on speed dial and visit regularly. They really are the best kept secret and the best part it's all FREE. Chat with them before hiring a lawn fertilization company to get educated so you don't get ripped off.
6.) Don't just feed the grass, feed the soil.As mentioned earlier in this report most companies focus on giving you the greenest lawn and not so much the healthiest. To do this they may put extra amounts of nitrogen and fertilizers so that the leaves of the blade are dark green but forget to take care of the rest of the plants, especially the roots. Synthetic fertilizer is like a drug. The lawn may wake up and green faster but its only a high and will wear off until the next feeding of synthetic fertilizer. Its very addictive. When you use organic fertilizer made from natural materials like, bone and blood meal, sugars, humus, molasses, worm castings, yeast and organic matter you are feeding the soil. They feed all the million of microscopic organism that live in the soil and create a healthy environment for them to thrive, which in return organically heals and sustains your lawn. Traditional chemical companies overlook this and do not understand the importance of feeding the soil. When you feed a lawn organically, you are helping it to be self sustaining and not reliant upon the chemicals. When the lawn is healthy and self sustaining, it requires less fertilization, less water, and no more chemicals. You get the best results for the short and long term. Organic fertilizer is safer for your family, safer for the environment and safer on your budget.
Robert Ah
iAutoblog the premier autoblogger software
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