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Fertilizer, Weed control

My husband and I were wondering if you provided service as far south as Mt Pleasant, IA? We currently have TruGreen and have not been happy with it for several years but there are no other options in our area. Would you be willing to give us a quote on fertilization and weed control to start and then add additional services in future?

We have seen lawns that you service in the Iowa City area and were very impressed.

Thanks,
Kimn H.

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Tree Damage

Hello Karen-

I hope this finds you well after such a storm last week…..it seems never ending this year…..

We noticed a couple of tree branches that are broken and hanging in the trees. Did you want us to cut them out or do you have this work scheduled with another? If you would like us to get these please let me know and I will send someone over.

Sincerely,
Kevin Tompkins

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Kevin:

If you can and would that would be great!!!!

I was planning on contacting you to let you know how very pleased I, as well as my kids and the neighbors, are with your services. Chuck would be very pleased, as well, of your care of his ‘baby’. You definitely have not missed a beat!!!! I feel fortunate that we were able to connect.

Please keep up the good work. ‘FANTASTIC’!!!!!!

Sincerely,
Karen Downs

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Thank you for saying that, it is so nice of you. We appreciate you and are proud to serve you. I will let Jeff know that he can proceed and it should be done the next time they are there to mow. It appears there is a designated “brush” pile across the street and we were planning on placing your branches there. If so, cost will be minimal and we will be happy to prevent a possible future “headache” to us or others, lol.

Sincerely,

Kevin Tompkins

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Revised – Estimate

Hi Ken-

I was working another estimate for seeding this morning and I realized that I made an error in your previous estimate. You may recall my confusion on our call, I had assumed that you had only recently installed the geothermal and I thought the area to be completely baron. Also, when boring and pumping occurs, the slurry used will often need to removed because it is not fertile. As I expected the area to be completely exposed soil, I planned to cover the whole area with netted straw. All of these these things would have caused additional material expense and considerable additional labor.

Given the current status, discounting my incorrect assumptions, the work can be much different there and we can still provide the same results. If we plan to simply prepare the soil as it lays, using core aerators to open up the soil so that it accepts seeds without disturbing it all and omitting the added expense of netted straw and the time to lay it out, I’ve reduced the cost significantly.

I appreciate that you have other expenses to deal with but i wanted to bring this to you with my apology. I’m sorry for an assumption that made the project more involved than it needed to be. In effort to save face, I would be happy to defer payments for 90 days if it helps to fit this into your plans. This may allow you to get the lawn fixed now, while we have a prime window of opportunity. Getting the seed in the soil soon will insure the best results by capitalizing on perfect timing for seeding. Having the seed in place for when the weather changes will be key to success measured in weeks over months. Please let me know if you have any questions and again, my apologies.

Sincerely,

Kevin Tompkins

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Hi Kevin,

Thanks for giving the yard a second look. I really do respect your professional opinion and appreciate the assessment.

We did have a few questions.

1) Can we still overseed with that much crab grass or do we need to start over again?

2) There is drainage tile running through the yard. Will your treatments be able to avoid damaging it?

3) Did the turf just go dormant in some areas and if we water it consistently, will it come back?

4) Can you help us define a proper after care plan? (As per your warranty statement) We have hoses and a few sprinklers but we would appreciate an expertly derived schedule.

5) There are cracks in the topsoil. Is there something we should be doing about that?

Basically. It makes us nervous making this kind of long term commitment without meeting and talking through the planned course of action first. Is there any way we can book 20 minutes of your time to go through what we want our yard to look like and what we have planned for it in the next 3-5 years?

Best Regards and Thanks Again,

Ken

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I can answer your questions by phone if you like. As mentioned, its not difficult. These are things we do every day and its as simple as recognizing what plants need to survive….sunlight, nutrients and water. If you take any of those things away there will be problems. You have sunlight but your missing the other two variables.

We can set you up with a properly prepared seeding but unless its watered, when required, until its mature, the seeding will fail as it has previously. The other component is fertility, the seedlings need food in order to grow, spread, and thicken. The food needed is not present in the soil and is why fertilization is required. Without stimulating growth and maintaining vigor, weeds will fill in as nature’s way of protecting the soil from erosion. Weed control ALWAYS begins with thick, healthy turfgrass. 99% of the time soil quality is poor and fertilizer is required to provide “life support” to the growing plants.

The existing weeds are the result of previous failures and the cracks are signs of severe drought stress.

Established, healthy turfgrass will go dormant when it gets dry. If its healthy, the lawn will bounce back but if the period of drought is prolonged, there will be injury as the plants dry out too much. Additional traffic and stress accentuate the injury as does repeated mowing and/or mowing too short. If the turfgrass is struggling or is under stress before drought, major problems will arise, same as you have experienced.

These things are not complicated but they cannot be denied or ignored. Its simply how nature works and nature cares little about our schedules, our budgets or anything else other than what needs to be. Corner cutting results in eventual failure at best and the cost is wasted money and time lost. Both significant in my book.

I’ll send an estimate for a program there, like we used to provide, briefly, for the previous owner(s). We have cared for the property on and off over the last 20 years. Everytime we make headway ownership or priorities change and service is stopped. This is frustrating because in every instance there, we have taken the lawn from disaster to noteworthy in short order but once service is stopped the grounds revert to the original status soon after. This proves that without additional, aggressive management practice, what you see currently is what you get. Its also important to understand that certain things like watering will still be required if spending money for fertilization. There is no way around this as turfgrass requires water, same as anything that is alive. We have experienced drought conditions since last fall and a good rule of thumb is, if you can’t remember the last time it rained, you should be watering. If you wait for the lawn to turn brown and/or notice the ground cracking its too late and trying to get the lawn to recover is a chore at best. When these conditions affect a new stand of seed it will not recover.

Sincerely,

Kevin Tompkins

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Thank you!

Kevin,

I just wanted to let you know how impressed I was with the hard work and efficiency your crew displayed last Tuesday when clearing the debris from my back hill and my neighbor’s driveway. Tom and I did what we could but we hit a wall. When I contacted you, you didn’t hesitate and sent guys right away. I really appreciate the quickness of your response. It couldn’t have been easy for them to navigate around town.

I feel very fortunate to have you taking care of my property and me.

Thank you,

Anita

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Oh my! Thank you for such kind words. It reassures my faith in humanity that someone besides a business owner can recognize and appreciate the difficulty of trying to offer service in such times….no power, no gas/fuel, stores closed, gridlock……What I’m not happy about is having to charge people who are already experiencing hardship. I try to factor in all things with invoicing and most times I short myself in the effort of fairness. Thank you so much Anita, your kindness and understanding is so much appreciated.

Much love,

Kevin

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Revised – Estimate

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