Archive for November, 2014

How to Mow Your Lawn like a Pro

Thursday, November 13th, 2014

When you have a lawn that you are proud of, you want to take good care of it so it stays in excellent shape. One of the things that can make a huge difference in the appearance of your lawn is how you choose to mow it. The famous lawns on sports fields and golf courses look the way they do because of the way they are mowed. Follow these tips to mow your lawn like a pro. Lazer_Z_X-Series_Outdoor_004

Professional Mowing Tips

  1. Mow your lawn when the grass is dry. This is typically in the late afternoon or early evening after the dew on your lawn has dried. When the grass is wet, it can clog the blades of your mower, and because the grass is slippery, you cannot mow it as evenly.
  2. Put a roller behind your mower. The lines that you see on professional fields stand out because of the way the grass is bent. There is a rubber tail on the back of your lawn mower that is made to bend the grass, but it will not do a good job unless you add some weight to it. You can add some weights to the rubber tail, or even make your own by attaching a door mat to the back of your mower so it drags behind it. To get lines across the lawn, you can start by mowing around the perimeter, then mow back and forth in opposite directions, and finish by mowing the perimeter again.
  3. Keep your grass long, and cut it regularly. The grass will bend better and look better if you keep it between two and four inches long. It will look best if you mow regularly so it doesn’t grow out too long. Once a week is usually a good schedule to keep for mowing your lawn. When your grass is a little longer, it will actually be healthier too.
  4. Get a trimmer for your lawn. You can purchase a weed whacker or other type of lawn trimmer to cut around the edge of your lawn. It is worth it to invest in one and use it after you mow every week. This will create a clean edge for the lawn.

Increase Profitability and Customer Satisfaction with Lawn Care Services

Tuesday, November 4th, 2014
New stand-on machines including spreader sprayers and aerators increase productivity and reduce employee fatigue, which leads to increased revenue and profitabilty.

New stand-on machines increase the profitability of lawn care services by increasing the productivity each employee is capable of, while reducing employee fatigue to make performing the services more sustainable.

According to the 2014 LM150 report from Landscape Management magazine, seven of the country’s top-25 landscape maintenance companies are also in the top-25 lawn care companies. As competition in the maintenance category increases, an increasing number of landscape maintenance professionals are adding lawn care services as a way to deliver increased customer satisfaction while also increasing profitability.

Thanks to recent advances in stand-on lawn care equipment such as aerators and spreader sprayer machines, landscape professionals can deliver high quality lawn care services more profitably than ever. New machines such as the Exmark spreader sprayer offer greater flexibility in the chemicals used for weed and pest control, allowing lawn care professionals to do more with each pass of the machine.

The addition of high-quality lawn care services can help to grow maintenance business and grow your status as an expert at delivering beautiful, well-manicured landscapes among your customers.

The addition of high-quality lawn care services can help to grow maintenance business and grow your status as an expert at delivering beautiful, well-manicured landscapes among your customers.

Exmark estimates the switch from a 21-inch walk-behind aerator to a 30-inch stand-on machine can be paid back in 2-3 weeks. Lawn care professional Kent Harlan said he has made enough money to pay for his $9,500 Exmark spreader sprayer in 2-3 days.

In a competitive marketplace, the addition of lawn care services is a competitive advantage for an existing maintenance business. Today more than ever, customers want to hire a lawn care expert that can deliver a beautiful, manicured, weed-free yard. They don’t want to deal with one contractor for maintenance and another contractor for aeration, fertilization or weed control. As such, the opportunity exists to make more money for contractors willing to add the lawn care services customers want and need.

Today, it’s easier than ever to add lawn care services to an existing maintenance business.

When deciding which services to add, listen to customer feedback to learn which services have the most demand.

Employee training is important for the quality delivery of lawn care services. Additionally, certification and licensing are required for landscape professionals looking to add fertilization or chemical application services. In most states, certification and licensing are coordinated by the Department of Agriculture, or Office of State Chemist.

Download the complete Lawn Care Services white paperEPSON018 (in Adobe PDF format).