Save the soil

As Jeff Carroll was driving by a 50-foot hedge in the neighborhood, he saw that a middle section was going yellow, while the rest of the plant was green and healthy. “Now is it fertilizer or too much water?” he says. “You could, in essence, do a soil test in that area and see what it is.”

Typically, when doing soil testing, Carroll, who is also landscape industry certified, finds that the soil has way too much nitrogen as a result of over fertilizing. According to CLC Labs in Westerville, Ohio, nitrogen will give you a nice, green lawn, but not long-term plant health. It’s important to look at pH and other nutrients. Plus, a test can identify what the soil really needs, saving on over-application of fertilizers.

Fewer fertilizer applications means less expense for Carroll, who says that he uses that conversation to build trust with homeowners. “I do not feel as though we’re losing money on fertilizing because we’re making money on doing the right thing for our client,” he says. “Our client is the one who care about the environment and it’s about that trust factor. If I’m selling them something that they don’t need and they find out, where’s the trust?”

He’ll let the client know that they don’t need as much fertilizer, and then suggest that they use the money for another service like mulching or a building a new patio. “And on the flip side, I can come into this and say ‘How many times are you fertilizing now? If you want to gamble with me, we can cut that down,” he says. “It’s all about the trust of the client.”

Rather than trying to do a soil test in-house, Carroll outsources to a local vendor. He says the cost is about $35 for a soil test, but it can be more cost in the man hours required to collect the sample and drop it off. At CLC Labs, soil testing fees can range from $12.50 for a basic test to $85 for a diagnostic nutrient test that includes a micronutrient test package and production test package.