Add fertilization and weed control to your lawn care business and watch profits skyrocket

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

Leave a comment down below and let me know if you offer fertilization and weed control in your lawn care business, and if your city or town is starting to ban the use of herbicides?

[@kungfury6410]

I'm getting certified next week and will begin marketing right after for our different packages. I know these videos are older but they're very helpful.

[@underdogspraying]

One tip, TRUGREEN used to mow lawns. Now they’re all weed control/fertilization. There’s a reason why. Congratulations on moving up to certification!!

[@orangerootslawns]

I learned a lot from this channel. Great tips always. I'm 22 have a lawncare and landscape business with a crew of three plus me. I take a lot of advice from this channel.

[@tylerneuhaus573]

New z spray is 22k. Wouldn’t say it’s a cheap investment unless you’re only planning on only using a push spreader. Also different licenses and insurances needed.

[@nitricdx]

How do you charge for the fertilizing and mulching? do you charge them for product + labor or is that priced in to your service?

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

I charge a price that includes the labour. For example I buy a bag of fertilizer for $30 that covers 16,000 sqft. All the properties I do are small averaging 7,000 sqft for the entire property including the house, the driveway, and patio and the lawn etc. So I can get about 3 houses done on a single bag of fertilizer on average. I charge on average $50 per application so roughly $10 for material and $40 for the labour of doing the job and blowing off the paved surfaces when I’m done plus picking up the fertilizer and driving to the job. Thanks for watching.

[@michaelfabian8241]

I think it’s great that your promoting to your audience to apply fertilizer. I own a Fertilizer only company called GreenStripe and I also sell fertilizer(plant Specialty) to company’s looking to expand their business into applications. Please explain to your audience the importance of measuring out properties exactly using various tools and charging correctly for applications. The going rate for lawn applications are $8-12 per 1000 square ft depending on the product you use. I see to many guys not knowing what to charge and ruining the business. Education is key to making money.

[@jeeperskreepers6292]

Hey man we have a ton of houses we have been cutting for a while now and they have all started asking we fertilize them and charge them extra do you know of a program to learn how to spread fertilizer how much to use or what kind

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

Every fertilizer will be different so start out with learning how accurate your fertilizer spreader is and then follow the fertilizer instructions on the bag. Over time you will get the hang of how much needs to go down for the pace that you walk at. For example now I don’t even need to measure it out. I just fill the spreader and go. I have been doing it so long that I know what it looks and feels like to get the right amount down and it always turns out great. Thanks for watching.

[@jeeperskreepers6292]

@@LawnCareBusinessSuccess could you maybe do a video or a podcast explaining on how to get started on it or maybe offer a program we could buy. Awesome videos on here and the podcast are always informative!

[@chrismorley148]

Looking to purchase and good spreader any suggestions commercial manufacturers?

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

Spyker spreaders have a very good reputation. I had one that I used for around 10 years. The one in my thumbnail picture is a shindiawa RS-41 its about 3 seasons old now and showing some wear now. It’s definitely not built as tough. Also ECHO released a line of commercial spreaders last year that feature metal gears, large tires, with some models that have a powder coated frame and some with stainless steel frame.

[@Virtuewz]

I asked you a question on another video, and you answered it here. Thank you for sharing. Whats your name?

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

No problem. Glad you found value in my content and the answer you were looking for. My name is Julio. Thanks for watching.

[@Virtuewz]

@@LawnCareBusinessSuccess Julio I can tell you provide valuable service. Thank you for helping me out

[@stephfong4577]

How do you deal with weeds if no herbicide is allowed?

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

Lots of weeds can be prevented by other means. For example broad leaf weeds such as dandelions only grow in compacted soil. So aerate regularly and broad leaf weeds will not be an issue. Another common example is clover in a lawn is a sign of low nitrogen so fertilizer the lawn with enough nitrogen and no more clover. It’s always better to find what conditions is causing a weed to grow and fixing that vs a band aid fix of putting harmful chemicals on the lawn. Thanks for watching.

[@Sargeantyardpros]

I’m trying to add this to my business. The fertilizer I use cost me $20/$25 a bag I charge $40 if the home takes a full bag. I find most people want it but say they can’t afford it at that price. Am I changing to much?

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

Sargeant Yard Pros I don’t think your charging enough, but every area will be different. I buy bags of fertilizer for around $35 that cover up to 16,000 sqft. With the small size properties I do, I can average around 3 properties per bag and I charge a minimum of $50 per application. So I’m getting roughly $150 per $35 bag of fertilizer. Thanks for watching.

[@Sargeantyardpros]

Lawn Care Business Success wow thank you I’ll definitely look for the bulk size bags that will help. Thank you so much for the reply!

[@TheRandyDulin]

I keep thinking about it but in MD you have to take a test to get license and if they catch you doing it without a license its a $1000 fine for each occurrence

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

Ok. So take the test and get a license. I did. I took a weekend course first then wrote the test. Here where I’m at the test and license were only for herbicide applications. No license required for fertilizer as long as it’s not weed and feed. Do you need a license for fertilizer where your at? Either way I think the profit potential is worth taking a test and getting a license. Thanks for watching.

[@TheRandyDulin]

Lawn Care Business Success honestly man I started researching it right after I watched your video. In my area you have to licensed for Every. Single. Thing. But I think it might be worth it. They have a test date coming up in 3 weeks so I’m gonna take a crack at it and see what happens. Thanks for the inspiration

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

No problem. Best of luck. I would research what the test covers and study that stuff. Also be prepared for math equations. Not hard, but need to be able to calculate how much product to use for the square footage for example, so that your not over applying nasty chemicals. Like I said just research the rules and regulations and what the test covers for your area. Also if there is a 1 or 2 day course available I would consider doing it. That’s what I did and the instructor basically taught everything that’s on the test, then gave us a mock test to practice.

[@MimizAntrax]

Dulin Cut & Trim I got licensed by the Arizona Department Of Agriculture at 19 for 3 categories (Turf-ROW-General Pest ) had to wait two years to qualify to take my Qualify Party exams to do weed control on my own an pass a buisness exam and I did know studying for my CR 21.. Didn’t even get to graduate high school bro it can be done 👌💯

[@cgtull]

To apply here in Illinois we have to be insured and have an applicators license to do this for income. Its @$300 for the test here.

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

Is that for fertilizer as well. It was about that much here as well to do the herbicide spraying but the fertilizer part no license is required. If you have enough clients that’s not that bad. You could pay that off easily in one day of applications.

[@elephantom12]

A lot of companies around me in Calgary offer 4-6 granular fertilizer application packages. I'm just wondering, I'm guessing you do something similar? Would you be able to let me know which fertilizer brand you use and what N-P-K ratio you look for when applying the 4-6 applications from the very first visit in the spring through to summer and finishing in fall. The siteone here in Calgary offers Lesco. I appreciate any Info, I can't seem to get any help from other companies here.

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

The brand I use is just a local BC brand from a seed and fertilizer supplier here locally. The N-P-K I use varies between the time of year and recommendations from the supplier for the application (ie newly seeded lawn for example or established lawn) I can tell you that I always start the season with a moss control first. Usually it’s a 9-3-6 with 13.5% iron. That really gets things greening up. After about a month I do the lime and usually a 18-18-18 fertilizer and then do the next fertilizer applications in June, September and The last one with another application of lime in the late fall as the season ends. Thanks for watching.

[@elephantom12]

@@LawnCareBusinessSuccess hey I really appreciate the help, that's great to know. When you apply the lime you're adjusting soil PH to allow better uptake of certain nutrients, I'm also wondering what soil test kit you would use in order to find out how much lime you need to put down? Is it just one from a local garden supply or one from the distributor you get your seed/fertilizer from? Thank you for your time.

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

I actually don’t do soil testing. With the amount of rain here in the the Pacific North west, lime is a requirement for all lawns as everything gets leached out. So I do two applications a year based on recommendations from local gardening experts and just follow the application rates on the bag. Like I said here with the rain even following the application rate on the bag in the spring by fall it will be almost all depleted. It’s more important here to just do it regularly.

[@elephantom12]

@@LawnCareBusinessSuccess I really appreciate you getting back to me so quick and answering these questions I've had. Thank you very much!

[@BRLCLLC]

I think it’s high profit when you purchase subpar product in bulk. IMO the lawns culture is extremely important and also to properly treat a lawn is not cheap at all, real industry created products. ( siteone products ) not Lowe’s

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

I was tell people to find a local fertilizer or seed supplier that only sells to contractors rather than go to the big box stores. I actually find it’s more profitable. In my experience the bags are larger and buying wholesale is great as well of course and the products will be specific to your area rather than a generic retail product. Thanks for watching.

[@BRLCLLC]

Lawn Care Business Success 100 percent agree !

[@floridalawncareexpertsllc2817]

You need to be licensed for fertalizer..your applicators license

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

Depends where you are. Every province and state will be different. Where I’m at no license required for fertilizer just for herbicides. I’d say it’s probably still worth it though, given the high profit margin. Thanks for watching.

[@floridalawncareexpertsllc2817]

@@LawnCareBusinessSuccess for sure. I need to take a 6 hour course then send in 25$ here in florida im gonna get that done and then work on my applicators for pesticides. A few years ago when working with someone else I was studying for my junior applicators license because spraying for mosquitoes and ticks with a blower is also super fast and profitable. Thanks for the videos good luck this year

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

No problem. Thanks for watching.