There have been many times I have potential clients talking about how difficult finding a “worthwhile” vendor for their lawn care and snow removal needs is.

In my 8 years of experience in dealing with residential and commercial lawn care, I have found far too many clients who in the past have had negative experiences with their vendors that could have been prevented with a little bit more consideration into their decision process. In the following paragraphs I hope to better educate you on how to find a vendor for your property that will fit not only your needs, but hopefully, also your budgets.

A.) Find a reputable vendor.

In today’s electronic age it is not hard to find out information about a potential vendor. There are many websites online that operate solely on the idea of helping you find a service provider. Read the reviews and more importantly, look to see if there is a vendor response to them. Of course you can also contact the BBB or the state to find out if there are any past or current issues.

Do not forget to also look into how long they have been in business, have they changed their company name for any reason? If so, pay attention to how many times they have changed their name, over three times in 10 years should be a red flag. And most importantly of all, make sure they hold all of the licensure and insurance requirement mandated for our industry

B.) Get EVERYTHING in writing.

I am surprised at how many clients are willing to work with a vendor on a hand shake or verbal agreement. Make sure there is a detailed agreement drawn up between you and the vendor as to what services will be performed and when.

Also pay attention to the quality of the paperwork they submit to you. I always tell clients that the more detailed that the paperwork is, the more attention to detail the service provider will give. If you are signing a 12 month contract that is a one page document, think for a minute and ask your self “Can everything I want done on my property over the next 12 months really be condensed into a one page document?”

C.) Be specific, very specific.

More often than I find comfortable, I am approached by an client to provide a proposal for service on their property and when I inquire as to their needs and specifications the response I tend to receive is “What ever you think we need” or “I am not sure, just go with what the last guy did”. A few important variables that can change your contract price dramatically are the following:

-         Turf Applications (how many per season)

-         Irrigation (do you want monthly inspections)

-         Shrub and  Hedge Trimming (can range from once a season to monthly)

-         Snow Trigger Depth (at what amount of snow do you want service)

-         Lot salting ( who will decide if you need salt on your property)

All of these things can mean the difference of thousands of dollars a year in your costs. Make sure you have very strong specification set for your vendors.

D.) Who will be on your property?

In many cases during the warm months, your lawn care vendor will be on your property on a weekly basis for mowing. If the vendor you are choosing does not have strict hiring guidelines it could lead to some major issues should something go wrong? Make sure that your vendor’s employees are properly trained for one, if the job requires it; make sure they are licensed through the proper authority at local and state levels.

Another item that is more and more prevalent lately is the use of subcontractors. From my personal experience, I am unwilling to use subcontractors on my job sites because I have found it is hard to control the quality of work to ensure the necessary results. It also means to me that the vendor that uses a subcontractor is nothing more than a middleman. And I am doubtful that the middleman is paying the subcontractor the same price that he is charging you. I will leave it to you to make your own decision, just keep in mind that you have all the right to require your vendor not use subcontractors to service your property.

E.) Communication is the silver bullet!

When ever I hear about a failure on the part of a snow removal and lawn care vendor, it can often be traced back to a collapse in communication between the vendor and the client. I once had a client give me a 2 paged typed list of all of the “issues” they had with their last vendor. When I inquired if they ever brought these up to their prior vendor they told me they saw the vendor when they signed the agreement but after that day never saw him on the property, the client rarely ever received responses to their emails or phone calls, and only ever heard from him when they held payment on their bill.

Make sure that your vendor has an open and available communication program set up for you. This is one item that I myself am very aware our industry has not been the best at. I personally believe that as a lawn care and snow removal vendor, we need to be available to our clients. Ask if there is a 24 hour line for emergencies, inquire as to how often a member of management will be on site, and find out how often they perform quality audit checks. If any of the answers they give are not the amount you think your property requires, ask them to change them. The vendor that will not be on site when you want them to be might not be the vendor you want on your property in the first place.

There are many other little items here and there that make one vendor stand out from another but I only have so much room for this article. Overall, when deciding on a lawn care and snow removal vendor, sometimes your “gut” is one of the best tools to use. If something just does not seem right or sound right, there is a good chance that feeling is something worth putting stock in and you might not want to go further with that vendor.

To re-cap, make sure to do your research, be specific in your needs, ensure any promises and agreements are in writing, find out whom and how often they will be on your property, and make sure there is an open channel of communication with your vendor. If you follow those five guidelines, everything else should fall into place and you will have a snow and lawn care vendor that is a great addition to your team.

No matter how the next 72 hours play out, we will be getting a plowable snow event larger than most of what we have seen here in the metro this year. This season has been fairly mild when it comes to snow falls, last year on today’s date we had over 65 inches of snow to date we are barely over 15 inches of the white stuff.

It takes a lot to surprise a snow contractor, we have seen and been through a lot of different snow events. But we are always amazed at the level of disregard for the elements we see on the roads every year as we are driving from site to site and seeing tail lights in every ditch along the way.  With that in mind, Green Stuff Outdoor Services would like to give you some vehicle tips on how to handle a large accumulation snow event. Your safety is of importance to us, and some simple vehicle and driving trips can make a huge difference during a snow event.

If you have not already, make sure to prepare your car for winter.

• Check the ignition, brakes, wiring, hoses and fan belts.
• Changing and adjusting the spark plugs.
• Checking the air, fuel and emission filters, and the PCV valve.
• Checking the battery.
• Checking the tires for air, sidewall wear and tread depth.
• Checking antifreeze levels.

Your car should have a tune-up (check the owner’s manual for the recommended interval) to ensure better gas mileage, quicker starts and faster response on pick-up and passing power (which comes in handy when trying to avoid being part of an “incident”).

An emergency situation on the road can arise at any time and you must be prepared. In addition to making sure you have the tune-up, a full tank of gas, and fresh anti-freeze, you should carry the following items in your trunk: Properly inflated spare tire, wheel wrench and tripod-type jack, shovel, jumper cables, bag of salt or cat litter, tool kit.

It is also a safe idea to make sure you have a preparedness kit put together in case you are stuck in your vehicle for an extended period of time. According to the National Safety Council here is a short list of a well stocked vehicle emergency kit:

• Working flashlight and extra batteries
• Reflective triangles and brightly-colored cloth
• Compass
• First aid kit
• Exterior windshield cleaner
• Ice scraper and snow brush
• Wooden stick matches in a waterproof container
• Scissors and string/cord
• Non-perishable, high-energy foods like unsalted canned nuts, dried fruits, and hard candy.
• In addition, if you are driving long distances under cold, snowy, and icy conditions, you should also carry supplies to keep you warm such as heavy woolen mittens, socks, a cap and blankets.

And most importantly of all if you become stranded pay attention to the following tips:

• Do not leave your car unless you know exactly where you are, how far it is to possible help, and are certain you will improve your situation.
• To attract attention, light two flares and place one at each end of the car a safe distance away. Hang a brightly colored cloth from your antenna.
• If you are sure the car’s exhaust pipe is not blocked, run the engine and heater for about 10 minutes every hour or so depending upon the amount of gas in the tank.
• To protect yourself from frostbite and hypothermia use the woolen items and blankets to keep warm.
• Keep at least one window open slightly. Heavy snow and ice can seal a car shut.

We can not emphasize enough the importance of staying with your vehicle. During “white out conditions” it is difficult to see a pedestrian walking on the side of the roads, and if it is a major highway, it is even harder to see you due to speed and the pure fact that our brains are not accustom to seeing pedestrians on highways in the first place. As my father says to me all the time. “Be prepared, and more importantly, be alert. We need more lerts in this world.”

Last year I made the mistake of believing that my better half was okay with us “skipping” Valentine’s Day. I bought no card, no chocolates and no flowers. I thought everything was fine, until I heard her talking with a girlfriend about how sad she was that she was not celebrating Valentine’s Day because I was “being a humbug” about what I consider a “strictly commercial holiday”. I made up for it plenty this year because I was smart enough not to make the same mistakes twice. For some of us though, the proverbial ball will be “dropped” and we will have to suffer the wrath of our loved one’s reminding us for weeks to come about our shortcomings.

Not much different than our loved ones getting on our case is the way our lawns remind us of our failures of last season. Some of us did not mow at the right height or water enough, or apply the right combination of fertilizers and weed control. As we see spring coming up on the horizon, we should all be planning on what we are going to do with our lawns this year to avoid the mistakes of last year. An easy way to combat last year’s shortcomings is to remember the 2-3-4 rule. Your turf should get TWO inches of water each week minimum, it should be mowed to be kept of a height of THREE inches, and you should be applying a fertilizer and or weed control product to your lawn a minimum of FOUR times per season.

If you adhere to the 2-3-4 rule you can guarantee that your lawn will be happy, vibrant and healthy all because you took the time, paid attention to it, and showed it a little care.

For more information or questions, please feel free to contact any of the Green Stuff Outdoor Services employees. We would be more than happy to help in improving the relationship you have with your lawn. As we always say, when your property looks good, we both look good.

According to Wikipedia, here is an short explanation of what an ice dam is and how it builds:

An ice dam can occur when snow accumulates on the slanted roof of a house with inadequate insulation. Heat conducted through the insufficient insulation and warm air from the attic bypasses warms the roof and melts the snow on those areas of the roof that are above living spaces, but does not melt the snow on roof overhang. Melt-water flows down the roof, under the blanket of snow, onto the eave and into the gutter, where colder conditions on the overhang cause it to freeze. Eventually, ice accumulates along the eave and in the gutter. Snow that melts later cannot drain properly through the ice on the eave and in the gutter, resulting in leaks to the roof space resulting in damaged ceilings, walls, roof structure and insulation.

Here is a quick diagram to help you visualize the scenario:

Now that is a “short and sweet” explanation of ice dams, but there is nothing sweet about them if you end up with them on your home this season.

There are a couple different ways to prevent and manage ice dams on your roof. The cheapest and easiest way to prevent the build up of ice dams on your roof is to ensure that all of the snow is removed from the edges of your roof. Investing in a quality roof rake should only set you back between $30-60 which is small potatoes compared to the cost of replacing your roof, or dealing with water damage in your home. Most big box retail home improvement centers and hardware stores have them on hand.

Another way to prevent ice dams is a little bit more labor intensive, and much pricier, but can be a huge time saver.  Electric gutter and roof heating cables could be a worthwhile investment ($45 per 100 feet) if there are portions of your roof that are no reachable with a rake or you do not want to bother with raking your roof after each storm. They should be installed in the fall after you have “winterized” your home and will provide season long control of the snow on your roofs.

Now should you not head this warning and down the road you notice ice dams on your roof, take them seriously! Call a professional to come out and “steam” the ice off. It is the safest and fastest way to address the issue. If not properly taken care of, it could lead to thousands of dollars in costly repairs if you end up with water damage in your roof, attic, or walls. There are many reputable companies for ice dam removal here in the twin cities, just make sure to do your research before hand.

As a snow removal contractor, I feel the pain of lack of snow this year and I sympathize with the ski resorts, snowmobile riders, winter sports shops, and those trying to maintain backyard ice rinks. But my heart goes out to the farmers and the nurseries because my friends, we are in a sever snow drought.

Many people only attribute droughts to summer and fall, and those can be very serious when it comes to the agricultural industry. However, a snow drought can be just as, if not more, painful on our farmers and nurseries in this state.

Let me share and exerpt from an article I read on accuweather.com:

The lack of snowcover across portions of the Midwest might spell “big trouble” for winter wheat yield later this year.

“If there is an arctic cold outbreak with below-zero temperatures, that could cause big problems for winter wheat, which is planted in the fall and goes dormant in the winter. Subzero cold could cause stunted growth and reduce the production for this year’s wheat crop,” according to Expert Senior Agricultural Meteorologist Dale Mohler.

AccuWeather.com meteorologists believe that a changer in the weather pattern is on the horizon, and more cold waves might penetrate the U.S.

Snowcover actually acts to insulate winter wheat from arctic cold snaps, keeping the soil temperature closer to freezing rather than subzero.

Mohler said the lack of storms and mild weather are the factors that have left winter wheat vulnerable.

Most of the other crops of the Midwest should not be damaged by the lack of snowcover. However, many crops in this region rely on moisture from melting snow during the spring. If there is a snow deficit in the winter followed by a dry spring, that would be bad news for other crops as well.

Meghan Evans – Meteorologist Accuweather.com

Here is to hoping we some how find 30+ some odd inches of snow in the next 10 weeks.

* Snow fall data pulled from University of Minnesota Climatology Group Website

This time of year, many individuals responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of a property are starting the process to find an exterior maintenance contractor for the upcoming lawn care season. The start of that process is creating a list of qualified contractors, and requesting a bid from them. It is right there, in the bid request, that it seems to start becoming an arduous task for many. A large portion of frustration for these individuals is often that the competing bids have differing service levels, application amounts, and so on.

As an example, we had received a bid request via our website last fall for an association in the south west suburbs of the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area. The only thing the website inquiry stated was that this HOA was requesting a bid from us for a 12 month service agreement. I contacted the individual who submitted the request and inquired about the specifications for their specific property. Here is how that conversation went:

My Self: Thank you for the bid request, we would be happy to put some numbers together for you, do you have a second for me to ask some quick questions?

Board Member: Yes.

My Self: Do you have a copy of your association’s specifications I can build a  proposal off of?

Board Memeber: What do you mean?

My Self: Do you have a document that you are giving to all of the contractor candidates that details the level of service you want on your property?

Board Member: Oh…No… we just want the lawn mowed, and the snow removed.

My Self: Okay, do you want to include shrub trimming and spring and winter clean ups?

Board Member: Yeah, that sounds good.

My Self: What about fertilizing the turf and treating for weeds, how often do you have that done?

Board Member: How often should we get it done?

My Self: It is really up to each association, it depends on how much concern there is regarding color and weeds in your turf.

Board Member: Okay… well… just put down however many you think we will need.

My Self: Okay… well regarding the snow removal, what trigger depth would you like?

Board Member: What? I don’t get it.

My Self: At what snow fall amount do you want us to come out and clear the property?

Board Member: I don’t know, whenever it snows I guess.

This went on for around another 10 minutes with the board member continuing to tell me “just bid for what you think we need” or “I don’t know, what do you think?”.

After going through the same process with a couple other contractors all asking the same questions and receiving the same answers of “I don’t know” and “Do what you think is best”. The association ended up receiving proposals from 5 different companies ranging in service levels from a 3″ snow trigger to a 1/2″ snow trigger, 2 fertilizer applications to 7 fertilizer applications, no pruning to monthly pruning during the season. To top it off, because the service levels were all over the place, so was the pricing. The five bids they received ranged from $10k or 12 months to $35K for 12 months. The association board was dumbfounded and did not know how to go forward.

I am not sure exactly what the end results were, as Green Stuff Outdoor Services was not awarded the contract. But I can guarantee you that if that association does not change the way they bid their contracts, every year will get more and more difficult for them to decide which bid to go with.

If this is an issue that you worry about within your organization, contact me at Green Stuff Outdoor Services and I would be more than happy to assist you in creating a set of specifications for your property. There is no cost to you, and no obligation to even have Green Stuff included in your next bid process. We just want to help make the bidding process easier for you. Contact me today at either ridgley@greenstufflawn.com or 763.553.7711 and ask for Ryan Ridgley.

As I sat down this weekend trying to figure out what to write about for this week’s blog post I had a small episode of “writer’s block”. I did not want to add to the plethora of “Brown Christmas” headlines that seem to be clogging up the local blogs. I did however want to make sure that we at Green Stuff Outdoor Services were still providing information that is relevant and useful to our readers. Then the idea hit me, ICE!

Many times during mild winters like the one we are having, people seem to assume that lack of snow coincides with lack of ice. I would strongly caution against that belief. Though we have not had much snow this season in the Minneapolis and St. Paul metropolitan area, we have still had the temperatures and opportunities for ice buildup in some areas. One reason for that is though we seem to be “warm” in the afternoons and evenings, during the nights our temps are dropping far enough to create a decent environment for ice to build up.

One area that we seem to forget about is low traffic intersections. Depending on the traffic control measures, these areas can be an area that a accumulation of “Black Ice” could accumulate. Specifically, stoplights seem to be the areas of most concerns. In the early mornings our exhaust from our vehicles is rich in condensation. That condensation will fall in the form of water from the tail pipes of our vehicles and fall to the low temperature asphalt of concrete road below us. Almost immediately upon contacting the road’s surface that condensation freezes and creates a small patch of what some refer to as “Black Ice”.

The same principles apply to your driveways. If you are one of many metro area residents who let your vehicle run before you leave the house in the morning, that condensation from you vehicle is falling to your driveway below and creating a small patch of ice. That ice can pose a possible danger for slip and fall hazards especially to small children and the elderly. Make sure that even though you might not see any snow, that you are still aware of the possibilities of ice on the surfaces under your feet.

And lastly, many of us will be having family and friends over to our homes in the coming days to celebrate the holiday season. We at Green Stuff Outdoor Services would like to caution you against driving or parking any vehicles on your turf and landscaping. Though the ground might be frozen, there is no snow pack acting as a protective barrier to your grass. Driving a vehicle on it, even one as light as a SmartCar or the new Fiats, can cause permanent and severe damage as the tires will no doubt tear and mangle the above ground surfaces to the blades and your thatch.

The entire staff here at Green Stuff Outdoor Services is grateful for your business this past year and we send wishes to you and yours for a very Merry Christmas. May your new year be filled with Joy, Health and Prosperity!

Although most winter injury does not appear until early spring, in some cases and if conditions are favorable, plant damage can happen mid winter.  Conditions that may lead to winter injury include extreme cold, drying winds, bright sunlight, a sudden rise and drop in temperature, and more importantly, loss of snow pack. With the current weather our area has been having, we can check a majority of those off the list.

Two major issues we need to be aware of due to the current weather patterns are winter desiccation and sun scald. I have pulled a excerpt from an industry website to help explain them both:

Winter desiccation is a common type of winter injury that occurs when the amount of water lost by a plant exceeds the amount picked up by the roots. Warm, sunny days increase the amount of water loss. If the soil is frozen or is low in moisture due to a previous drought, roots are unable to pick up enough water to meet the demand of the plant.  On deciduous plants the tips of branches are dry and brittle and I the spring no leaf emerging occurs.  On evergreens browning of needles occurs. 

Sunscald commonly occurs in the late winter to early spring. The warm afternoon sun warms the bark up enough to de-harden the cells that were hardened off for the winter months. The rapid drop in the evening temperature kills these cells that are now susceptible to problems because they have been de-hardened. Long dead strips of bark peel off and expose sapwood.*

I would also like to point out that your turf is highly susceptible to damage right now. In our region, our turf grasses are genetically conditioned to withstand our harsh Minnesota winters by being “insulated” by the snow pack. With out that snow, damage to your turf is very possible. I would suggest to be cautious when walking on it, try not to drive any vehicles on it, and be sure to give it a good fertilizer in spring to help it recover from any damage it might have incurred this winter.

* excerpt from greencastonline.com

The following is a list of “staples” for snow removal on your property. I formulated these numbers off of a “standard” residential driveway with city sidewalks. I broke down the numbers for both shoveling and for snow blowing. The annual costs are as follows:

As I cannot speak for other snow removal contractors in the Minneapolis St. Paul area, I can only tell you how Green Stuff Outdoor Services prices our snow removal. For a “standard residential property”, as described in the prior paragraph, Our snow removal prices start at around $35.00 for the 2011-2012 snow season. The financial savings of using Green Stuff Outdoor Services as opposed to snow blowing are obvious. But, if you are a homeowner who wants to save some money and keep shoveling each time it snows, just think about how much your time is worth to you. Is it worth $3.71 for you to not have shovel on a Sunday morning before you leave for church? Is it worth $3.71 for you to wake up an hour and a half early on a weekday to clear your driveway before you go to work? $3.71 per snowfall is a small price to pay for a little comfort. Call Green Stuff Outdoor Services today and for the first time in a long time, enjoy the falling snow, because when your property looks good, we both look good.