New direction?

[swstout]

It's been a very interesting week. Today was the most expensive! One of my local competitors went out of business and had an auction for his equipment. I bought a Troy Built 3" Chipper and shredder for $300.00 (Lowe's lists it for about $800.00), an Echo string trimmer for $95.00, and an assortment of attachments for the Echo trimmer (pole saw, edger, and tiller for $125.00) Plus a tow behind drop spreader for $120.00. Ron, the owner, wanted to know if I would need his help as a sub contractor. Mowing is all he is interested in for evenings and weekends (he got a grant to go back to school to become an accountant). On Monday, I put an article on lawn top dressing on my blog. I only received 1 response on my blog, but I received 51 emails from interested people in my area (my blog is posted on the Hartsville web site). It seems that nobody offers top dressing service here. I spent most of the rest of the week researching top dressing and learned that the two main organic material components can be classified ad "Green" mulch and "Brown mulch. Green is high in nitrogen and brown is high in carbon. I also received 29 requests for leaf removal this fall. Leaves are considered "Brown" organic material. Because the soil here in South Carolina has such low carbon content, I feel this is an untapped market. I want to offer a high carbon organic material as a top dressing for lawns next spring giving me 6 months to market it. I have a reliable manure supplier already set up and have worked out a method to mix the various ingredients for a good top dressing. Here is my delema! I can mix and enhance the top dressing material during the next 6 months to get an adequate supply, but how do I store it? Do I have to bag it to keep moisture out? can I make a compost pile and leave it exposed to the environment? Should I make a compost pile and cover it with a tarp? I want to concentrate on building soil, humus and organic lawn care services and products. Any suggestions or experience will be appreciated. Steve

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[Little's]

Lawn care business tips

Wow, that's a great question and I have no idea the answer. But I would be interested to know too. Sounds like your on to something. On a side note, how did you hook up with your town website? I would be interested in doing something like that too. What was the approach?

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Northern California

[swstout]

Originally Posted by Little's

Wow, that's a great question and I have no idea the answer. But I would be interested to know too. Sounds like your on to something.

On a side note, how did you hook up with your town website? I would be interested in doing something like that too. What was the approach?

Someone on the city council read my blog and called me for permission to add it to their website. I thought about it for a mili-econd and said sure! They contacted me.

I do however spend a lot of time on my posts and get my wife to put in her 2 cents before posting them. Her input is invaluable. Just as much as her questions as her input. I have had more insperation from her questions. 37 years nest month!

Steve

[Steve]

Steve,

We haven't discussed top dressing on the forum much at all. Can you tell us the basics of what it is, how you do it and how it is helpful?

[swstout]

Originally Posted by Steve

Steve,

We haven't discussed top dressing on the forum much at all. Can you tell us the basics of what it is, how you do it and how it is helpful?

This is my draft marketing page. Work in progress.
This pretty much explains it.
100% Bio-enhanced, organic, soil building, top dressing.

· improves soil structure, health, fertility, aeration, compaction, thatch build-up, and weed growth
· reduces water usage by maintaining soil moisture
· reduces rainwater runoff
· lessens soil temperature fluctuations
· reduces maintenance
· eliminates the need for expensive, messy, unproductive mechanical dethatching and aeration
· inhibits many plant diseases
· builds humus
· increases brix values deterring lawn insects
· makes the lawns more attractive

Component	Material	Action
Brown Organic Material	Mulched dry leaves, twigs, dried vegetation	High in carbon Low in nitrogen Trace elements Micro-nutrients Builds humus Brown organic material decomposes into organic matter at a rate of about 5:1 (5 pounds organic material = 1 pound organic matter)
Green Organic Material	Mulched grass clippings, kitchen scraps,	High in nitrogen Low in carbon Trace elements Micro-nutrients Green organic material decomposes into organic matter at a rate of about 10:1 (10 pounds organic material = 1 pound organic matter)
Composted manure	Composted manure	Adds bulk Adds uniformity Adds micro-macro nutrients Adds trace elements Sustains , Micro-organisms
Sharp sand	Sharp sand	Adds uniformity
Aerify	Bio-enhanced liquid aerifying agent	Aerates lawn to a depth of 10" plus. Reduces irrigation needs. Allows air exchange. Breaks up clay soil. Relieves soil compaction.
Liquid dethatcher	Bio-enhanced dethatching agent	Supplies soil with the beneficial bacteria and enzymes needed to convert organic material in to organic matter building soil fertility and increasing humus production

[Steve]

What kind of equipment are you using to do the top dressing? Are you using the tow behind spreader? How thick should it be?

Also how often through out the year should this be done?

[swstout]

Originally Posted by Steve

What kind of equipment are you using to do the top dressing? Are you using the tow behind spreader? How thick should it be?

Also how often through out the year should this be done?

I have a tow behind drop spreader (not broadcast spreader) but I probably will dump and rake in. This will fill in low spots and be more uniform. After spreading I will apply Aerify, Mature's Magic, and the biological dethatcher with a tow behind sprayer.

What I posted was my first draft. There will probably be many changes and additions before I'm satisfied with it. I'm not planning to start until spring. Have too many things to work out, refine, develope into a process. Storing the top dressing is my main problen point.


Steve

[Steve]

Very interesting stuff!

Is the top dressing service something you can do all year round or are there some seasons that are better times than others?

[swstout]

Originally Posted by Steve

Very interesting stuff!

Is the top dressing service something you can do all year round or are there some seasons that are better times than others?

From the research I have done so far, spring is the best time for warm climates and Fall is the best time for cold climates. I have seen recomendations for frequencys of once every year to once every 5 years.

The major drawback (from my research) is cost. I am trying to overcome that by combining aerating, dethatching, insect control, fertility, irrigation savings, soil building, etc. in an Organic All-In-One process.

Steve

[Steve]

The major drawback (from my research) is cost.

Do you mean that it costs a lot to perform this service and the customers may not be willing to do that?

What makes it a costly service?