LawnTeX Magazine Issue 2 Volume 5 | Page 7

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a fungus present and the results were consistent. I received this report and said, “this is not a fungicide, it is not labeled as such and we cannot promote it in that way.” Well, word got out as it always does and I sent some to another a company who experienced a similar result. Then another company used it for growing in turf that was damaged and another for seeding, and so on and so forth. But the main draw became these two items, stress recovery and fungus suppression.

I am still not willing to say that this is an alternative to fungicides, but at some point I am going to have to concede on this issue. We have now seen curative effects on Large Patch, Dollar Spot, Brown Patch, Necrotic, Red Thread to name a few and reports of dramatically reduced fungicide use from larger companies that have a very high expense in the fungicide department. But why is this happening?

I don’t have a real answer still. Speculation is as such, the primary ingredients are unique to our products. The humic that we make in Greensboro is highly active. We shock it to get the highest amount of both biological activity and humic acid that we can. We slow brew the material and filter down over a several week process before it is ready for use. This produces highly active material. The fulvic fraction increases over this time as well. Lighter molecules separate out as time passes and gives us greater concentrations. The kelp portion is not a reconstituted material as is standard in the industry. This is a blended material which we process to exacting standards. It is practically alive and contains a heavily concentrated amount of PGR’s and amino acids that are untouched in the market place. When all of the components come together in a homogeneous blend, the materials begin to synergistically work together to form a highly biologically active compound that is ready to hit the soil.

All of these materials could be doing a few things against the unwelcome fungus such as, capturing excess nitrogen that is volatilizing on the soil surface. Humic captures atmospheric N very quickly. If there is a thatch layer that is trapping heat and moisture, humic substance will pull that N back down and strip the fungus of a food source. The anaerobic conditions often found in those scenarios are quickly flipped around and suddenly there is a reset of natural soil digestion. In addition, the hormones in the product facilitate the ability to drive the plant down further away from danger by getting into deeper soil and triggering an immune response to help fight off leaf infections of fungus. The cell division would increase and outpace the infestation.

Another possible yet unlikely reason is the potassium applied through the product. It has been noted for years that potassium phosphite reduces instances of fungus, and although we do not use phosphite material, the low levels of potassium present may be playing a role. If this were the case though, someone would have seen this effect by applying humic acid liquid to a problem area and getting a positive result, but I have not seen this personally.

The bottom line is that RGS can be added to any fertility service for as little as $9.00 an acre and the lawns will be better off for it.

Magazine / August 2017 7

Why Do I need social media?

The question answers itself with only a small amount of research. Social media has quickly eclipsed the effectiveness of outdated print advertisements. The ability to reach customers at a national level allows expansion possibilities that were previously impossible without massive amounts of capital. With dozens of social media platforms available, spreading your brand throughout will ensure you receive the maximum amount of exposure possible. There are a number of huge changes likely to take place this year. We at Lawn Care Marketing Success have the means and knowledge to utilize all of them.

The improvements to augmented reality will have a huge impact on certain platforms of social media. Filters allowing people to see prospective landscaping or turf work are absolutely conceivable. Over 200 million people use Instagram Stories each month. Considering Instagram is essentially still in its infancy, it’s entirely possible that up to half to its registered users will be doing the same by the end of the year. Over 90 percent of marketers who employ an influencer marketing strategy believe it is successful. Companies like North Face, Hubspot, and Rolex use social media–based influencer

By Clayton Westhoff