Lawn Care Advice?

Rumple Stillson

I am wondering if there is a gap in the market for a lawn care consultant? Or if you use one what are your thoughts?

My background is in greenkeeping and I have a pretty good understanding of how to create a good turf or lawn. Through education and experience I think I could offer some sensible advice to people who are serious about having a high quality lawn.

Would any of you consider paying for 3 to 4 visits from a lawn care specialist?

In theory I would provide a program for the year and carry out the more technical stuff like soil testing, herbicide spraying, fertiliser applications, aeration, scarification and seeding leaving you to just cut your lawn regularly.

Some feedback would be greatly appreciated as to whether this would be a viable business.

melon_collie

Rumple Stillson wrote: »

I am wondering if there is a gap in the market for a lawn care consultant? Or if you use one what are your thoughts?

My background is in greenkeeping and I have a pretty good understanding of how to create a good turf or lawn. Through education and experience I think I could offer some sensible advice to people who are serious about having a high quality lawn.

Would any of you consider paying for 3 to 4 visits from a lawn care specialist?

In theory I would provide a program for the year and carry out the more technical stuff like soil testing, herbicide spraying, fertiliser applications, aeration, scarification and seeding leaving you to just cut your lawn regularly.

Some feedback would be greatly appreciated as to whether this would be a viable business.

Hi op. I can tell you that I am OBSESSED with my lawn. However I'd say I'm in the minority. It took my lawn a long time to get going after being sowed due to a lack of organic matter in the soil. I had a hard time finding someone to give me that conclusion but when he did the remedial work he carried out to address it was impressive. It cost me about €3000 to address it over two years. But it was well worth it.

I sought advice from a lot of guys before arriving at the mentioning the guy above and to be honest they were all full of crap. There are some guys out there doing what you are hoping to do. I'd say a lot will depend on where you are based.

May I ask where u are based?

At the moment I do all my own spraying aeration and scarification. I bought a ride on sprayer and tow behind aerator. It can be hard to find the time to do it all sometimes and I would consider getting someone now and again but it would have to be cost effective.

I hope this helps

Rumple Stillson

melon_collie wrote: »

Hi op. I can tell you that I am OBSESSED with my lawn. However I'd say I'm in the minority. It took my lawn a long time to get going after being sowed due to a lack of organic matter in the soil. I had a hard time finding someone to give me that conclusion but when he did the remedial work he carried out to address it was impressive. It cost me about €3000 to address it over two years. But it was well worth it.

I sought advice from a lot of guys before arriving at the mentioning the guy above and to be honest they were all full of crap. There are some guys out there doing what you are hoping to do. I'd say a lot will depend on where you are based.

May I ask where u are based?

At the moment I do all my own spraying aeration and scarification. I bought a ride on sprayer and tow behind aerator. It can be hard to find the time to do it all sometimes and I would consider getting someone now and again but it would have to be cost effective.

I hope this helps

Hi melo_collie, thanks for your reply. I am based in the Mid-West, close to Limerick. I am aware of some guys providing the type of service I am talking about but they seem to be mostly based around Dublin.

You sound like you're pretty clued in and wouldn't need my help but I think a lot of people are slightly confused when it comes to producing good quality turf.

I have a very simple and effective approach to producing a quality lawn. It's not rocket science but once you are going in the right direction it becomes intuitive.

Whether people would part with money for such advice is the big question!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I'm obsessed with my lawn and learning every year but there is so much free advice available now compared to years ago when we relied on radio programs reading questions for experts sent in by listeners, or having to rely on a decent book for advice. Much as I'd love some hands on opinion I would be very loath to actually pay for it.

Rumple Stillson

Jazmine Pitiful Martini wrote: »

I'm obsessed with my lawn and learning every year but there is so much free advice available now compared to years ago when we relied on radio programs reading questions for experts sent in by listeners, or having to rely on a decent book for advice. Much as I'd love some hands on opinion I would be very loath to actually pay for it.

Well that is the crux of the matter, would people pay for it.

I do have an issue with the "free advice" that's available, I think people are being pulled in a lot of directions and wasting a lot of time and money.

I think paying someone to have a look at your soil and growing environment and creating a simple program for your lawn could be worth it in the long run. Whether that person could maintain a living doing this is my worry.

macraignil

Rumple Stillson wrote: »

Hi melo_collie, thanks for your reply. I am based in the Mid-West, close to Limerick. I am aware of some guys providing the type of service I am talking about but they seem to be mostly based around Dublin.

You sound like you're pretty clued in and wouldn't need my help but I think a lot of people are slightly confused when it comes to producing good quality turf.

I have a very simple and effective approach to producing a quality lawn. It's not rocket science but once you are going in the right direction it becomes intuitive.

Whether people would part with money for such advice is the big question!

Getting enough customers to make a business viable is a big concern particularly when starting a new business. It would be worth trying to have a discussion with those already working in the area. Do they travel to jobs outside the Dublin area? Could they refer on some of their potential business closer to where you live? Would they consider sub contracting you to do some of their business or are they struggling to find work themselves?

Got a fairly large area of lawn established in the last couple of years with the help of the girlfriends da using his ride on lawnmower and have had no major problems although I would not be really interested in a perfectly manicured lawn anyway. Just dug out some problematic stones, thistle, dandelions and dock leaves with a trowel occasionally but haven't had to do anything else besides the regular mowing. The grass seed seller got the girlfriend to buy some fertiliser as well but I haven't used it in case it would discourage the clover which I think is a valuable part of a good lawn mix (helps bees etc.). I think most people will just try to get their lawn established themselves.

Rumple Stillson

macraignil wrote: »

Getting enough customers to make a business viable is a big concern particularly when starting a new business. It would be worth trying to have a discussion with those already working in the area. Do they travel to jobs outside the Dublin area? Could they refer on some of their potential business closer to where you live? Would they consider sub contracting you to do some of their business or are they struggling to find work themselves?

Got a fairly large area of lawn established in the last couple of years with the help of the girlfriends da using his ride on lawnmower and have had no major problems although I would not be really interested in a perfectly manicured lawn anyway. Just dug out some problematic stones, thistle, dandelions and dock leaves with a trowel occasionally but haven't had to do anything else besides the regular mowing. The grass seed seller got the girlfriend to buy some fertiliser as well but I haven't used it in case it would discourage the clover which I think is a valuable part of a good lawn mix (helps bees etc.). I think most people will just try to get their lawn established themselves.

There may be an opportunity to franchise a company who provides this type of service but the question remains whether there is a market for this in the mid-west. I estimated that I would need somewhere in the region of 80 to 100 clients to make the business worthwhile.

macraignil

Rumple Stillson wrote: »

There may be an opportunity to franchise a company who provides this type of service but the question remains whether there is a market for this in the mid-west. I estimated that I would need somewhere in the region of 80 to 100 clients to make the business worthwhile.

Based in Cork myself and interested in getting back into landscaping work so I would really like to say such an opportunity exists. Still think however that most people will just try and make their own effort at making their lawn work out and make adjustments as problems arise.

Also marketing could be tricky with no obvious way at bringing your message to those who have just got a new garden to contend with. Most new developments I have seen in recent years don't allow for much of a lawn, and one off housing seems very unfashionable with county counsels with the regulations and charges applied. Ireland is a small country with a small population even compared to the bigger cities globally but the idea of developing the country outside of the M50 seems too much out of the box for the people put in charge of development here.

lazybones32

I can't see there being a large demand for that service alone but if you offered it as part of grass cutting, there would be a much greater uptake of the service.

Unless you add a few more strings to the bow (pitchcare maintenance programs) i can't see it being a full time occupation.

ravima

There is such a service in Cork - Lawndoctor.

Discodog

There are a few companies & some are franchises. I have heard that some have run into problems especially with guarantees.

I would suggest that you google Landscape Juice Network & join as you will get lots of valuable advice.

You would need a lot of clients prepared to commit. You also have a problem when clients don't do as you tell them & the grass suffers.

Rumple Stillson

Discodog wrote: »

There are a few companies & some are franchises. I have heard that some have run into problems especially with guarantees.

I would suggest that you google Landscape Juice Network & join as you will get lots of valuable advice.

You would need a lot of clients prepared to commit. You also have a problem when clients don't do as you tell them & the grass suffers.

The more I think about it the less viable it appears. It might be something I could try on a part time basis to see if it has legs and how it might work in practice.