Brown or green

I'v spent the last few weeks watching my neibors father cut her lawn (single mother) and have noticed the same thing week after week that makes me want to go over and give her a business card... the only thing stopping me is... well honestly it gets cut on a weekly basis when it doesn't need to be... The lawn is all brown.. Doesn't look like it has a tread to hang onto as far as life goes. I'd like to see how to make it full and bring it back to green. The sad part is the home was just built about a year ago and the grass was planted.. my question is what are some tips and tricks to bring back a brown lawn without too much exspense to the customer... my first thought and most likely the first step is not cutting too short and maybe watering... I'd like some views of some more experienced folks though thanks Rob

[Little's]

Lawn care business tips

A good fertilizer. Try to stay away from the weed&feed's.

__________________
Northern California

[StartALawnCareBusiness]

Hi Rob:

I have written a few articles on getting a greener lawn. With proper care, most lawns can be helped without extensive fertilizer programs or costly irrigation systems.

I will list a few highlights below.

1) Raise the blade: Cutting grass higher will increase most grass' drought tolerance and help choke out weeds.

2) Selective landscaping: Landscaping areas of the yard with selective plants, shrubs, trees, groundcover, and mulch reduces the aggregate temperature of a lawn on a summer's day and positively affects the lawn's water retaining qualities.

3) Autumn maintenance: Core aerate and overseed during fall / early winter.

4) Soil test: There is no sense offering to fertilize your neighbor's lawn if you don't know what it needs. Take a soil sample to your ag. extension office and ask for a soil test. This will help you determine which fertilizer, if any, is needed.

Rob, put a proposal together for your neighbor tonight and approach him tomorrow. I bet he will be open to your suggestions and you might get a great customer out of it.

Let us know how this works for you:

Keith

Keith,

I appriciate your insite into this, I want to look into doing something for the home... it is a beutiful home that was just built about a year ago... currently resideing their is a single mother... I looks to me like her father or maybe even brother comes by once a week usually saterdays and cuts the lawn... Its more of a burn situation he has been cutting it way too short from what I can see...

I'd like to get an estimate together and talk to her this week about restoreing her lawn to its full potential...

I'll let you know how it turns out...


give me a couple of days... I got food poiseing from something over the weekend... hopeing it clears up before tomorrow morning to I can get out to work early

Rob

ok,

Ill admit I'd really like to get the work with my neibor but I just got stuck... I am completly lost as to how to quote this...

It could take a pretty long time to get her lawn looking new again (with the exception of sod)

I'v come up with a plan that I think will first consist of

Not cutting as short as its been cut.....
watering (nothing fancy but it does need some water)

and some over seeding because after looking at this I honestly believe this will never come back without some help....

but again this all is going to take atleast weeks if not a month or so to get it looking anywheres near what it should....

My main worry is getting the job and cutting to the height that it should be cut (to prvent from ruining what IS growing ) and then looseing the job because the customer doesn't think I'm doing anything... any views???

Rob