As spring rapidly approaches, a lot of thought is going into what exactly should be the program of choice for the New Year. For those of you who have been following along for a while; or who have recently jumped in and read the past two years of articles, you no doubt have noticed a pattern around the aspects of our business that I write about. I like to look at all of the things that the industry is doing, moving toward, and what it has forgotten. This gives us all the opportunity to see what has risen and replaced old technology, what is moving forward by utilizing tried and true techniqu­es, and what is coming based on the new knowledge and greater understanding of the world in which we live. A good way to see where we should position ourselves as service providers and provide context for designing our programs, is to understand our markets and in particular, the last decade of Lawn Care.

Prior to the great recession, the marketing industry finally accepted the “natural care segment” as something that wasn’t going to go away. Small natural grocery stores were quickly gobbled up by larger chains, natural cleaning products, toothpaste, vitamins, soaps, etc. were all captured by corporations looking to cash in on the “return to wholesome living” that was occurring in metro areas around the U.S. When this started, the innocence of the “organic movement” was replaced with Greenwashing in an effort to continue a trend of inexpensive goods that people would pay more for because “Organic” or “Natural” was attached.

The lawn care industry has had natural options since the beginning. In fact, many companies used natural fertilizers without ever calling a program natural or organic long before it was cool. For my first company, I was on the leading edge of this movement and it was very much considered “alternative” and “witchcraft”. Even though I was following common sense methods, I was using technology to get me there. When the great Greenwash occurred, everything changed and consumers wanted more options that are natural. More and more companies started pushing organic treatments and natural options and suppliers were happy to overcharge them for items that didn’t really work that well.

When the recession hit, money was tight and people weren’t spending what they had. If lawn care was an affordable expense, organic lawn care wasn’t an option. For the next few years, a new buzzword came into being; “sustainable.” Organic programs shrank and now are getting close to 5% of the total industry volume. This number was speculated to be 20% 10 years ago. As sustainability became the new norm, the green industry had a hard time adapting to this trend. What about sustainability is there in killing weeds? Chemical applications? Manufactured fertilizer? Not much. This is when people began to independently study more on microbiology, soil and plant interfaces, plant physiology. As knowledge about “the lawn” and its role in the world began to surface, a deepened understanding took hold.

The next hurdle came with the question, “how do I execute and give my clients what they want?” or “How do I do what I feel is right and still provide the service and results my clients expect?” This was a challenge for many people. We were all facing the same dilemma and people came out of the woodwork with miracle products to fill this void. Many of these have gone away; some remain but have lost their following. The problem was, no one knew how to properly market the sustainability aspect without overpromising on results.

During this entire time period, I was running an underfunded and unknown company with a small group of committed individuals that saw the future as I did. I had the answers that addressed all of these concerns and no one knew about us. I was 23 years old when I first got started and to this day have a hard time seeing past that “kid with an idea” that I was. Up until I turned 30, I didn’t think anyone would ever take me, or my program, seriously. We were running a tight ship and spreading the word as best we could, but were under the radar for a long time. The benefit of this was that it gave the industry time to catch up to what we were doing. It also gave us the opportunity to define a new method of creating fertility products and application programs that actually fit the “sustainability” model. I have always believed that the way to do the most good is to use the Earth’s own inherent systems first and use man made technology second. This is the basis for a “hybrid” program.

Let’s differentiate the types of fertility programs first:

1. The Standard. Uses conventional fertilizer at university recommended rates to accomplish “optimum (?)” results. Products are easily applied, consistent in form and function and are not “fertilizer.” These products are plant food. Fertilizer of this style does not contribute to soil fertility.
2. The Organic– Uses combinations of fertilizing materials with more of a focus on “organics.” These programs are typically no more than 50% natural which qualifies them to be marketed as “organic” in lawn care.  Standard fertilizers are often used to supplement lackluster results when customers complain.
3. The Hybrid– uses both earth-based materials and manufactured fertilizers at different times of the year based on the needs of the soil and the visual requirements of the customers. Rates of synthesized materials are lessened greatly as greater attention is being put into soil health. Fertility of soil becomes attainable.

While I do have my own beliefs, theories, and years of executed results that tell me which is best for our industry, the ultimate decision will rest on your ability to understand the pros and cons of each style of program. With a standard program, the consistency and ease are a major draw. Issues take a few years to arise, but when they do, no amount of “fertilizer” will fix the diseases that are created by treating lawn turf like a hay field. Eventually the gas runs out and the soil has given its last bit of energy to support the taxing amount of top growth without root structure that has been forced upon it without regard to its own ecosystem. We’ve all seen it. Without a balanced approach of considering the soil or even micronutrient supplementation, lawns quickly fail.

The Organic program takes a different approach than standard program but is stuck to the same “rules” as the standard program. The issue that quickly comes to the forefront of the program is the amount of organic fertilizer needed to hit even a half a pound of N per thousand feet. Organic products will typically be less than 10% nitrogen with most being around 6%. To get to 1 – 2 pound of N, roughly 350 pounds of fertilizer will be needed per acre. This is a lot of material and a great expense. The further problem comes with the organic nitrogen releasing at a rate of 50% annually. After 4 years, the release rate will have finally come up to the level of synthetic nitrogen sources and given the typical average lifespan of a lawn care client, only a few of them will see the benefits of all of that labor. While the concept is sound, customers like to see results a bit faster than what is typically available in an organic program.

The biggest question to ask you as a service provider is, “who am I doing this for; me or my clients?” Offering a full organic program is great and in many cases, it can get new, more environmentally minded people on to your customer lists. Just remember that only 1-5% of total customers NEED or WANT an organic program.

The Hybrid Program (my favorite) is where modern technology truly meets earth based science, all while giving the client what they want to see and allowing you the to rest well at night. As a service provider, you have the benefit of knowing that you are doing what’s best for your customers and the soil (earth). Synthetic nitrogen sources are coupled to organic materials or carbon to provide a consistent release to the plant while giving the soil something to work with. The resulting effect is a lawn that requires less nitrogen than either organic or standard programs and has the ability to fight its own battles. Because the N is still getting tied to carbon, we have a function similar to slow release synthetic sources and nitrate releases from organic fertilizers. The half-life of organics is nonexistent because we are not dealing with a “dead” carbon source like manure. Activated carbon materials like humates provide energy to the soil that manures cannot. This stimulates soil bacteria in a way that mimics rain. When this happens, coupled with a readily available nitrogen source, the soil food web goes to work.

All of our products are designed around these principals and we have the ability to take both standard and organic programs to the next level. As we move forward in time, this style of program is the most sustainable as we are continually able to lower the overall nutrient demands of the turf by turning over power to the soil. Careful consideration is always a good idea when designing a blanket program for all of your clients. The most important thing for a customer is for you to have the confidence to put the green foot forward and that their property will look better than ever. This is why you were called in the first place; to guide your clients through issues when they arise, to solve and prevent problems, and to be the most knowledgeable person that has ever stepped on their lawn.