You wouldn’t go to the Doctor and say “just give me drugs”. Well maybe you would depending how you feel, but my guess is the doctor is going to give a thorough once over. Heck, I bet they will even poke and prod you if something’s been ailing you for a while. So why is it that we in the green industry tend to throw various “drugs” at our lawn problems without doing some poking and prodding of our own?
This has always been a mystery to me because every time I do convince someone to invest $20 or less on a soil test we most always find a solution to their sick lawn. Furthermore, that someone buys something from me to address said malady.
I understand it isn’t always practical to soil test, but what if you took a composite sample from a street or a neighborhood? Obviously it wouldn’t be the most accurate but my hunch is you could better hone in on macro problems with pH, Phosphorus deficiencies or texture issues just to name a few. Spread that 20 bucks over 6 or more lawns in an area and you’ve done some inexpensive reconnaissance.
There have been numerous times customers have said, “The lawn just won’t respond no matter how much nitrogen I put down.” More often than not the lawn needs P, but without some kind of soil test we would just be throwing drugs at the problem. Again I know this process can be cumbersome especially if you treat a lot of lawns. But the next time your customer opens the door even the tiniest bit, I encourage you to sell them on soil testing. If you do it and do it right, that customer will work with you for a long time.
For more info on the merits of soil testing CLICK HERE
Good Day,
