A big one....

[Pristine1]

Ok, tomorrow I have an appointment to meet with the owner of a large waterfront estate. He was about to re-up with TruGreen when he got my flier in the mail. He is an extremely particular person and wants to "step out of his hot tub and walk barefoot across a lush deep green lawn". He then asks me if I thought I could provide this with an organic program. I, of course, say "without a doubt".

How the hell am I going to provide this organically?!?!

OK organic support system, I need a boost of confidence and any advice you may have. This could be a home run account if I convince him that I can do it....and of course then do it!

[robtown]

spend his money...
Start where it always starts
Soil test. ..that will tell you what is there and not there.
Everything else is a guess.

[Smallaxe]

Seems to me that this might be the one account that could make or break your future.

Do well here and you are the darling of a great neighborhood in which to work. Screw it up and you are back to the squirt and fert routine - pre-m,ing dead spots till fall..

If he has nice grass now there is no reason for him to oay for a soil test. He will resent that.

If - you are serious... what kind of soil and grass coverage does he have at the moment?... Clay, sand, weedy, spotty, compacted and discoloured, etc., etc... Ask him about his philosophy of watering and if you cannot talk him into allowing the soil to dry before watering again, you run a risk.

So if you are serious about landing a good account be sure to know what you are talking about.

[TMGL&L]

1. Well you are from Maine... home of king Tukey, you could ask him.

2. You should do a whole bunch of reading right now.

3. Mentor somebody

4. Find a consultant

5. Pray

6. Offer a hybrid program where you "spot shot" problems that may arise in the first year of the organic program... as an organic lawn transition might be hard for a drug addict lawn that may be suffering from withdrawl in the future.

7. Front load your contract billing because if you aren't confident you will make it through this year then you might not be able to so make your money early before things might get bad.

...jk... well at least half joking anyway... sorry I got a little of topic there its been a long day.

I think its easier than people think it is to be "organic." Be sure to educate the customer on what to expect and what you are doing. Be a teacher and a landscaper at the same time...That's what I try to do.

[TMGL&L]

Oh yeah...

As Rob said I second that...

Soil test... Make that #1.

[TMGL&L]

If he has nice grass now there is no reason for him to oay for a soil test. He will resent that.

Tell the customer its part of your yearly routine on every property or something. You need a soil test.

...sorry for the triple post :)

[Smallaxe]

Chemlawn never requires a soil test... and everything works fine with them... What's wrong with this guy?!?!

Not being difficult, just realistically portryaing the way customers think about things... Especially once you go into a rant about HOW organics work and WHAT he can expect and there MAY BE a downturn in results. Don't tell the client anything except that watering is an important key - and only, if he is not willing to give it up without a discussion.

There is no need for additional herbicides if Chemlawn has been doing their thing for 2 or 3 years. Organics only means growing grass w/out EXCESSIVE pesticide tools.

But - you do need to know how grass grows and not be so caught up in the hype.

[ICT Bill]

Ok, tomorrow I have an appointment to meet with the owner of a large waterfront estate. He was about to re-up with TruGreen when he got my flier in the mail. He is an extremely particular person and wants to "step out of his hot tub and walk barefoot across a lush deep green lawn". He then asks me if I thought I could provide this with an organic program. I, of course, say "without a doubt".

How the hell am I going to provide this organically?!?!

OK organic support system, I need a boost of confidence and any advice you may have. This could be a home run account if I convince him that I can do it....and of course then do it!

Go here and download the standards for organic land care www.organiclandcare.net
This will give you the tool to move forward
go to amazon and buy "teaming with microbes" by Jeff Lowenfels this will explain why it works and why it is so powerful especially in lawn and landscape care

Also know that there are estates all up and down the sea coast that have been taken care of by NOFA folks that have not seen a bag of fertilizer or pesticide in 20 years and they are stunning

Call us if you have any questions or are questioning your self I know some good composters up there
DO NOT call Paul, he is a wonderful guy just don't mention the address or customer

[TMGL&L]

DO NOT call Paul, he is a wonderful guy just don't mention the address or customer

...:confused:...why? what will he do? Take his customer? ... have his time wasted?

One of my professors gave me his personal number. I wish I could call him or meet him but I don't even know enough stuff to be able to have an intelligent conversation with him... Until I get some degrees under my belt I will stay here on the lawnsite. :)

[Kiril]

Know your soils, know what they are capable of naturally, know the plant needs.

Soil test IS (should be) the beginning of any management program. This is really not an optional item, unless you do your own "field" tests and manage the system based on plant response.

[Pristine1]

Thanks everyone....I think I have already pre-sold him on the idea that we will need to do a soil test. I also have told him that going organic is 180 degrees from what he is used to. I am pretty confident with what I already know, and I am pretty sure that I will nail this. He did say that he had an organic company in there previously....don't know who or how "organic" they were, but the level of service wasn't there. He said that he is in the "commercial" division of TruGreen and the service has been excellent. Being a small and aggressive company, I know that service will not be the issue.

I'll post this afternoon on how things go!

[TMGL&L]

go to amazon and buy "teaming with microbes" by Jeff Lowenfels this will explain why it works and why it is so powerful especially in lawn and landscape care


Does anyone know of any other good books that are written as well as "Teaming
With Microbes"?

I want to read something that doesn't require a PHD to understand. That book was awesome and I have yet to find a readable source that is as educational.

[fl-landscapes]

Just do the test if you want. the $15 won't break you. Don't even charge him if you don't want to offend him. Probably can get samples without him knowing what your doing. I've never heard of anyone worried about taking a sample Think it makes you look professional and really gives you some good info going forward.

[Pristine1]

OK, things went very well. Can't say I've definitely got it yet, but I know his wife is pushing hard for the organic approach and he was very happy with what I had to say. I will be putting together a basic plan for him, with the understanding that we may need to alter things once we get the soil test results back. Ground is still pretty frozen for now, so in a couple of weeks I'll be able to pull the ST.

He also wants a program for the shrubs and perennials, and I will probably get the maintenance on all plant material on site. Easily a few thousand a year account, and if I can get him to allow me to do his mowing as well, $5-6k per year.

Thanks to everyone for their input! On to the next new customer!

[tiggazee]

How exactly do you do a soil test? Do you buy a kit?

[TMGL&L]

Go to your local garden center with a few core samples from different locations on your property. Tell them you want a soil test. They will send it off to a lab somewhere and they will send you the results in a couple weeks. its like 20 bucks for a standard test.

[Kiril]

http://www.spectrumanalytic.com/services/analysis/soilguide.pdf

http://www.soil.ncsu.edu/publications/Soilfacts/AG-439-30/

[TMGL&L]

I think you can buy little kits too but they aren't really worth your time unless you just wanna check your pH