Keep your friends close and your enemies...you know the rest

The other day something strange happened. An alliance of mine from another lawn company approached me and asked me who I had "pissed off?"

When I asked him what he meant he told me he'd been down at the franchise show and had been accosted by several people from another franchise asking all kinds of questions about my business-"Who are they?","Do you know them?", etc.

I can only imagine this is due to the fact many of their customers have come knocking on our door, dissatisfied with their previous lawn care provider. From the way they make us sound, We must seem like Mosses thundering, "Let my people go!" and then leading a mass exodus through the desert to the promised land.

The truth is, before I started this little venture, some four seasons ago, I worked for one of the larger companies. From watching the day-to-day operations and listening to disgruntled customers moan about the companies short-falls, I believed I could do a better job simply by being everything the bigger company was not.

I also did, what is called, a S.W.O.T. analysis. By understand strengths, weaknesses and opportunities I crafted a business model I felt would be successful.

We have had substantial growth in every season since we started. Sure we lose a customer every once in a while -they move, they die, they can't afford it, but we always do our best to resolve any issues our customers might have.

So, to the other company- sorry we're taking your customers, but perhaps it's time you went back to basics and did your own S.W.O.T. Because eventually if you let your ship drift aimlessly you're going to find yourself hitting the rocks and sinking fast.

Saying a whole lot of nothing

So...the IPM Symposium for 2011. If I don't type another word you already know all you need to.

Perhaps it was the smaller atmosphere of last year in Barrie, but this year's, all-in-one extravaganza in Toronto was nowhere near as informative, or interesting.

Most of the yawns came, as per usual, from the Ministry of the Environment-they never fail to disappoint.

A Study on leaching chemicals into the ground water, although of interest, I found more amusing as they were hard pressed to find waterways and tributaries in Ontario that didn't snake through farm land and golf courses. The result of lower contaminants in ground water stirred a "well duh" moment and not a true reflection on what's really happening out there unless you factor in the wasteful expenditure of tax payer's money.

Even the information on Fiesta just reiterated what I already knew: Two applications 30 days apart for effective control, the product is not systemic, applications over 30 degrees is a no-no and the product is outrageously priced. I was however, told to wait until next year for more results while further tests were conducted.

You think with the outlaw of adequate controls there might be a little urgency to develop more reliable organic controls. Yet the Lawn Care Industry only accounted for 4% of all pesticide use, so what's the rush right?

Perhaps if I had walked away with one of the door prizes I might have felt my time was better served, but all I see when I look at my IPM certification is no answers and a whole lot of nothing.

One man's solution is anothers poison

So, it's been a while since I last posted something and I trust everyone had an exceptional holiday season. I hate to jump into the deep end right off the start but...

I came across a very interesting blog about Fiesta the other day and I thought I'd share it with you. After all, Fiesta is the best of a bad lot on the market when it comes to legal control for weeds.

I understand this is a new product that no one has had for a full season yet, but I'm already seeing cracks in the armour.

From my experience and my opinion this product is nothing more than a cash grab for Scotts and Neudorff given the price of the product and the ratio at which it must be applied for effective control. It's a feeding frenzy taking advantage of an industry desperate for reliable products and a consumer fed up with regulations in his own backyard.

But try making profit on a blanket application of this product when your cost for an average size lawn is already $50.00 and I'm being conservative. That's at least 31x higher than the old tri-kill.

Man! Someone's making a lot of money, but it isn't me.

So, let us examine the shortfalls of Fiesta other than price.

Ever hear the expression, "too much of a good thing"? With Fiesta it's hard to claim Organic and environmentally sound when we're talking extremely high volumes of active ingredient,(hydroxyethylenediaminetriacetic acid ( HEDTA ) to form FeHEDTA.)

In fact, the minimum dose is over 700ml of product per 1000 square feet of lawn. By comparison the old methods- you know, the products that will kill your pets and eat your children- was 56ml. Just sayin'.

Also of note, Fiesta is not a systemic control, which is to say, if you don't spray those little buggers twice in a 30 day time frame, your weeds just come right back for the smile and wave photo opp. With the recommendation, you only spray twice per season, pick Spring, or Fall for your tea party. You can't have your cake and eat it too.

The label will tell you not to apply Fiesta when temperatures reach 30c. What the label doesn't tell you is you have to factor in humidity to the equation. I'm thinking there were some burnt lawns last year.

Yet, for an organic product I have some questions as to why more protective clothing is needed when mixing and applying a weed control with low toxicity? Fiesta has an Oral LD50 greater than 5000 mg per kg. Wait a minute! That's the same as Killex.

After all I've said, I'll still continue to use this product- mainly because my options are slim and none, and slim just left town. But I might just go back to pulling more weeds until I can see what Phoma Macrostoma can do in 2012.

That's one for Mother Nature

Final score: Mother Nature 8 Lawn Companies 4

From the start Mother Nature took control of the game. Working from a mild winter, she scored early with weeds popping the first week in April and with trade talks stalled for all-star weed control Fiesta, the Lawn Company had no choice but try to fend off an early flourish with alternate organic methods.

Core Aeration only seemed to compound the problem by stirring up dormant weed seeds, pulling Broadleaf could not keep up to the invasion and by May, shell-shocked Corn Gluten was pulled from the net down 3-0 as the first period mercifully came to a close.

Early in the second period the visiting Lawn Company struck back as all-star Fiesta finally entered the game and found the net narrowing the score to 3-1. Yet as temperatures increased past 30 degrees, Fiesta was penalized for burning lawns and gross misconduct and eventually benched.

Management- the Harold Ballard-like Provincial Government- began to wonder if they had not made a mistake by trading away the future for this highly touted weed killer, but by this time Mother Nature had already countered with a second weed invasion, unleashing Oxalis, Crabgrass and Chickweed. Soon the Lawn Company was down 6-1 with one period to go. Even Chinch Bug broke through the usually steady defence of Neem Oil wreaking havoc on the Lawn Company goal.

In the third period the Lawn Company watched helplessly as Grubs and Sod Webworm sent the home team up 8-1 before they could get one back with Nematodes.

Even with late goals from Fiesta-back off the bench-and Late Fall Fertilizer with a well deserved assist from Eco-Lawn Over-Seeding to make the score 8-4, the damage had been done. Frustrated and battered the Lawn Company watched as the last seconds of this year's game ticked down and Mother Nature hoisted the coveted trophy high.

Well, there's always next year.

I hear there's a Gretzky-like prospect on the horizon for 2012 called Phoma Macrostoma. Perhaps we'll have to build through the draft?

Literally....the grass is greener

So we are in the midst of the perfect storm- wet Summer last year; mild Winter and temperatures that had weeds popping early April; late approval and delivery of the newest weed control by the PMRA, hot Summer this year.

But what does all this mean?

Well, excessive grub damage that I can't treat until mid August at the earliest for one, Chinch Bugs who have made a triumphant return after a two year absence, weeds I can't spray because the new Fiesta weed control burns lawns in temps over 30 degrees factoring in humidity and Crabgrass that has run rampant over the last few weeks despite, in some cases, putting down a pre-emergent in May.

And let us not forget the wonderful HST. Now, not only do I have to tell the customer, there's nothing I can do while their lawn quickly disappears to the elements, I have to tell them it's going to cost more.

"But why does my lawn have all this stuff and my neighbours doesn't?" Many customers ask.

Actually if you look closer you'll see that those living next door to you, do have problems. It's just, from a distance everything looks status quo. And if they don't then there's some cheatin' going on.

In fact, I overheard a conversation the other day, how the old Tri-kill is now selling for $1,000.00 for a 10 lt. jug on the black market.

Wow! A G-note for something I used to pay under a $100.00 for.

As a Lawn Care company owner, I feel a sense of helplessness mixed with frustration over this whole mess. I mean, golf courses and farmers are still exempt under the bylaw and they are dousing their crops/ turf. So if you feel the environment is reaping the benefits of the pesticide ban, think again.

Think of all the acres of farm land and golf courses in Ontario and the picture may seem clearer as all the pesticides still seep into the ground water.

The anger felt is not just me, it's the homeowner, the competitor, the distributor, the manufacturer.

Yet, I am abiding and doing what I can. That means once the temperatures cool down, I can get nematodes into the soil to combat grubs, I can spray, the very expensive, Fiesta without fear of toasting a lawn....and crabgrass.....well, since Acclaim is no longer on the menu and Corn Gluten will not affect established weeds, there is nothing I can do.

In fact I'm sure if there were a nuclear holocaust tomorrow the only things to survive it, would be cockroaches, my step-mother and crabgrass.

In the meantime, stay cool, remain composed, and understand the situation.
Grass is resilient and your lawn can recover with care. In time, so will you.

Return of the giant hogweed

No this is not a post about an early 70's progressive rock song by Genesis, this is an actual article posted this week about the invasive weed up near Renfrew Onatrio, that is threatening to move south. This plant can cause severe blistering on your skin and potential blindness if you get any sap in your eyes.

Just great! Try telling your kids not to touch it when this weed grows in excess of 6 metres tall and stands out like a sore thumb.

In the same breath I came across this article, how a new University of Guelph study reveals some organic pesticides can have a higher environmental impact than conventional pesticides because the organic product may require larger doses.

Could they be talking about Fiesta, that works well enough, but has to be applied to the point of run-off? Or, corn gluten fertilizers that have me applying with my spreader wide open? Or, perhaps the 500 million nematodes I'm putting down per acre to combat grubs?

Look, I'm all for what's best for our environment, but to be told that I can't use traditional means to combat weeds and then be told that, "we're not sure the organic methods are any better in contamination", well....you can see the dilemma especially when Phomamicrostoma is still 2 years away from hitting the market.

My thoughts on the matter are, the powers that be, jumped the gun without having a suitable replacement so they could look like they were doing something.

Yet, don't think there weren't some back room handshakes on this whole deal and someone out there isn't rolling in the green while we all roll in clover and *ouch* Canadian thistle.

I now have a product that costs 3x more then what I used to pay for the Tri-kill and I have to apply at a rate 4x heavier to be effective. It only stands to reason there will be more leeching into the soil. Meanwhile, weeds with a deep tap-root are just laughing.

Heracleum mantegazzianum! Giant hogweed lives!

Push comes to shove

Now, I know I have broached the subject before. The one where some of the larger companies in the lawn care industry seem to have a playbook on converting former customers back into believers of the faith.

However, after listening to some of my loyal patrons moan about tactics their former providers are still using trying to win them back, I find it hard to fathom there would be any register of success.

Let's explore the various levels shall we?

The soft sell tactic: Is the post card you get in the mail from your former company expressing regret. "Something went wrong between us, but we will do what it takes to win you back."

This sentiment is usually accompanied by a picture of flowers, or kittens, or kittens with flowers.

Regardless the customer knows, if that company hadn't sent out students who didn't do the work in the first place, there'd be no need to send a card now.

The hard sell: This is a very aggressive tactic. Incessant phone calls to the point of belligerence demanding to know who's doing the lawn now, promising to under cut the price and even going as far as slander- "the company you have now isn't using the correct products on your lawn."

If they mean Sarritor, then touche'! They've got me there?

Most people I talk to, find this manner of trying to win a customer back infuriating. Why didn't they get a better price two years ago when they were being gouged by the very same company offering the discount?

The Blindside technique: Funny as it may seem, I lost one customer to this tactic. It involves the company targeting other members of the family and offering them a special price if they purchase lawn care for their parents/daughter/ son/ etc. perhaps as a birthday gift?

But usually this special price also comes with some extra applications you didn't ask for. Applications you are subsequently billed for anyway.

The desperate sell: It may involve some or all of the tactics listed above, but no matter how many times they hear the word, "No!", they remain aggressive and will even sneak an application in on your lawn then bill you for it, threatening legal action if you don't pay.

In all, I have an opinion on all the horror stories I have heard over the years. Yet, I know my advice will fall on def ears.

If you'd only treat your customers with more respect and do a decent job with the work you have been contracted for, there would be no need to lower yourself to such a crass member of the bad business animal.

Hello! Is anyone in the lawn care industry listening?