How to Care for Your Lawn in a Drought

Droughts are almost an inevitability; it is important to be prepared with the knowledge to deal with such an H2O misfortune. Here is a list of things you can do to dampen the negativity of a drought:

1. Always water your lawn deep to encourage deeper root growth. This will allow your grass to survive longer on less water.

2. Mow your grass as high as your mower will raise. This keeps moisture in the ground longer and strengthens your grass.

3. Fertilize your lawn at least 3 times a year. Stronger, healthier grass is able to withstand adversity much better than weak, undernourished grass.

When to Fertilize Your Lawn in the Spring

A lot of homeowners are eager to get their lawn fertilized to help jump start the green growth, but this isn't the best advice to follow. St. Augustine and many other grasses shouldn't be fertilized until they are actively growing. Fertilizing early doesn't get the grass growing any quicker. In fact, it can hurt the grass by encouraging too much top growth in the beginning at the expense of root growth causing a weaker root system. This should be avoided. However, you can put out a fall application of fertilizer to help encourage quicker growth in the Spring. Once you do fertilize in the Spring, make sure to put it out evenly and avoid putting too much out or you might burn the lawn. Here's to another wonderful year of beautiful lawns.

How to Start a Lawn Care Business

Though TruGreen is a very successful lawn care business, starting one is not that difficult. Just look at how many young teenagers are running around with a trailer and some pretty nice equipment. It's not rocket science, but you do need to have some direction. Choosing the right direction takes some knowledge and that is what we are going to give you.

What do I need?

The first thing you need is a desire to start and run a successful business. If your heart isn't in it, then you might as well go home. The next thing you need is to write up a business plan for your new venture. This includes coming up with a name for your business, listing your startup expenses, writing a mission statement, and creating a list of short-term and long-term goals. Develop a list of several points that will be key to your success. Finally, you need to lay out the steps you need to take to meet your short-term and long-term goals.

What should I name my business?

Obviously, one of the easiest names to pick is your own, but some people like to get creative and choose names like Razor Lawn Care or Above the Hedge.

What equipment should I get?

This is one of the most important steps to the success of your business. It is the difference between being professional and well... not. You need to get commercial grade equipment if you want to succeed. The amount of use and abuse your equipment is going to have is very substantial. I'm sorry, but Wal-Mart brands are not going to cut it. You need brands like Toro, Husqvarna, and Exmark. To start out with you are going to need a good walk-behind mower, edger, trimmer, and blower. As your business grows you can add a zero-turn radius mower and other equipment as needed.

How do I get clients?

Ok, so you have your business plan, your equipment, and a will to make things work. Now what? Get some clients. Starting out is the hardest time to get clients. The key is to display yourself and your equipment in a professional manner. First impressions are everything. Once you have established yourself, you won't have to work nearly as hard to get more clients. The easiest and cheapest way to get started is to exhaust your circle of influence. That is family members and people that you know. Then you can make some business cards, signs, and flyers. They aren't that expensive and you can pass them out pretty easily. If you're still not getting enough clients, then you may need to start going door-to-door. Remember to present yourself and your equipment in the most professional way you can.

What price do I charge?

Pricing is a sticky issue. Nobody has a set formula that is easy to apply. It all depends on your location, competition, customer, and the job. I personally have a $25 minimum that I charge for extremely small yards that take 15 minutes or less to finish. The price can go up to as much as several hundred dollars depending on the size and difficulty of the job. The key with pricing is to get the job and charge enough to make it a profitable job.

Do I need accounting software?

If you want to make things a hundred times easier, yes, you need accounting software. I use and recommend Quickbooks Pro. It is pretty easy to setup and makes keeping up with your finances a breeze. You can also create really professional invoices to send out to your customers, keep up with when you receive payments, and who still owes you money.

How do I deal with trouble customers?

Everyone ends up getting a trouble customer and there is nothing more annoying than someone who is never pleased with your work and basically demands something for nothing. I always treat these customers with the same respect that I would any customer with one exception. I always charge them more. If they accept my higher prices, then I get paid for dealing with them. If they decide to stop using me, I got rid of them without a bad taste in their mouth because I was respectful. It is a win-win way to handle them.

Keys to Success

Finally, let's discuss the keys to your success in starting up a lawn business. Always do more than is expected of you. Going the extra mile always pays off. It means higher customer retention, referrals, and ultimately more money! Present every aspect of your business with the utmost professionalism. Your image and reputation are everything to your business. Do not do anything to hurt them. Last, have fun and enjoy your work. Take pride in the job you do and you will succeed beyond measure.

You can learn more about lawn care, grass types and ways to increase your lawn business at: http://www.bladeslawncare.com

Scotts Fertilizer - A Need to Know Guide

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, the parent company of Scotts Fertilizer, offers many different kinds of fertilizer with different formulas that are catered to many different kinds of lawns. When you are looking for what kind of fertilizer you will need for your lawn, keep in mind that you may in fact need more than one formula, depending on the time of year and where you live. Somebody who lives in Scottsdale, Arizona will not need the same kinds of fertilizer for their lawn as someone from Duluth, Minnesota.

Scotts Turf Builder Lawn Fertilizer with 2% Iron is a popular choice among many lawn care hobbyists because of its universal formula that can be applied to any kind of grass. However there are also specialty blends that are formulated for specific types of grass in different parts of the country. For instance, Scotts Southern Turf Builder with 2% Iron is formulated specifically for southern regions, which are more susceptible to intense heat and long dry periods.

While Scotts offers many different kinds of fertilizer for just about every need (at least thirteen), if you want the best looking lawn you're going to want to look at a combination of different fertilizer formulas. Scotts themselves suggests you fertilize your lawns using a four-part schedule. In the early part of spring, apply a typical fertilizer. If you have children, use Scotts Organic Choice, that way the kids can run out and play as soon as the fertilizer has been laid on the grass without risk. In June, apply a fertilizer with Weed Control to keep any weeds that may be growing at bay. In late-July, early-August you will want to apply Scotts Lawn Pro Super Turf Builder with Summerguard to protect your lawn against the intense strain from the heat, as well as helping your lawn stay healthy during the drought months. Finally, apply a fertilizer with a winter formula near the end of the lawn mowing season to prepare your lawn for the winter months ahead.

From organic-based eco friendly, to strengthening the roots to help your grass suck in every nutrient it needs to give it that healthy, green appearance, Scotts has a formulated fertilizer for your needs.

Learn more about lawn maintenance and organic lawn care at: http://www.bladeslawncare.com/

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It's Winterizer Time

Last year was the first year I put out some Scotts Winterizer in late fall. Fertilizing during this time really made a difference in the green up this Spring. My grass was much healthier and prepared for winter than any of my neighbors. I plan on putting out this years application in the next few weeks. If you are looking for the best bang for your time and money, I recommend putting out some of this winterizer fertilizer this month. You will be glad you did it come next Spring!

So the Lawn is Worth Something

I have been really busy the last few months, but I have had the time to keep the lawn maintained. My son, Ethan, has proved that it has more than aesthetic value. He enjoys crawling and checking things out in the lawn. It won't be long before he's playing catch with daddy on it...

Turf Builder with Summer Guard

I have been hesitant to put out fertilizer this summer because of all the rain we have had. It could easily cause gray leaf spot and other diseases to develop in my lawn with heavy saturation. However, with a slight break in the rain, I think I will put out some Turf Builder with Summer Guard from Scotts on my lawn soon. My goal has been to fertilize about every 2 months or 5 times per year. I should be able to do this even with the weather setbacks this year.

Saint Arnold's Fancy Lawn Mower Beer

Last time we were in the Ft. Worth area, we visited a store that we have come to really like called World Market. I was browsing the beer section and noticed a beer called 'Fancy Lawn Mower'. Naturally, I had to purchase some and take a picture of it to post on here. Enjoy :)

New Lawn Toys

I am really excited about all my new toys. I was extremely blessed with all my graduation gifts(money). I bought a 20" reel mower at Lowe's for $130 and a hand-held Stihl gas blower at Kirkpatrick's local store for $140. Now that I am graduated, I have loads of time to do lawn care activities. Now, all I need is some chain link fences. :)

Green Grass, Snow Near Easter

I finally got this picture off my camera from when it snowed around Easter in Texas. I have never seen anything like it. We drove by a house that had a man mowing his lawn right in the middle of the snow. Hey, when you only have Saturday to mow your lawn, your gonna mow it :)