Are you ready for spring? The temperature has been changing for the better the past week or so and the snow is melting fast! We are all really excited to feel that warm sun shining down on our backs!
With all that excitement comes another season of lawn and landscaping for all of us. We have been hard at work this winter and would like to give you an update on the changes and news you need to know about your lawn care company.

• Zoning modifications – We have now changed from an individual technician working in your area to a crew of 2. Last year, we invested in software that allows us to more efficiently organize the work ahead of each one of our techs. We’ve been able to reduce the travel time it takes to complete sections of customers for the day today. Basically, if a tech was far away from the base and they were at the end of their day, they would have to travel all the way back out to where they left off. Now with this years increased improvements, we are hoping that they should start their day at our shop and finish at our shop. Creating efficiencies like this helps us keep on schedule and squeeze savings for all of us. We’re glad we did with the news of rising fuel prices again! Many of you can still expect to see the same technician this year. We have made changes to the routes so that there will be 2 techs. Working in the same area helping each other. On larger properties, it does require a few crew members to help. This change will, for the most part, give you still the same technician each visit. On the off-hand, if you are in the “apex” of the route you may see a new tech from time to time. Please know that the people you see will ONLY consist of these two crew members. If you would like to know exactly who you have for technicians, please send us an email comments@www.gtlawnservice.com or call us at the office, we’re happy to let you know your technicians for this year. Most importantly, if you have any special instructions for them this year or if something has changed, please call us and let us know. Each visit to your property your technicians have a checklist of things to do and new notes and comments are part of that list. So our goal this year with zoning is to increase efficiencies, try to stay in your area for a few days longer and improve service to you. We are confident that this new investment in optimization will make us just that much more competitive.
• Security Envelopes – Per several of our customer’s request we have now added security envelopes for your return remittance. Sometimes people like to pay by check and or cash. We don’t recommend sending cash through the mail but if you must the new security envelopes will help protect your confidential information while in transit.
• Home Shows – We’ll be at the Bangor Home Show April 15 – 17th. Also, again for the second year, we’ll be attending the Manchester Lyons club show April 8 – 10th. We hope to see you at one of the shows, if not both!
• Crabgrass control – Many of you may already know that we provide a Crabgrass control service. This year we are fully bringing it to market to all of our customers. It has been a trial over the past 3 years. Several products have come to the industry allowing us to “spot” treat it when it first shows itself. Usually around July is when we start seeing the first signs of Crabgrass. Some of you may already have this service scheduled and we’ll be back again this year when it’s time. New this year we’ve modified our application equipment to carry this product with each technician. This means those of you who have sunny sides of your lawn and get early germination for whatever reason your tech will be equipped to deal with it immediately. If you are unsure if you have crabgrass or want more information, please contact us. Crabgrass is difficult to control grassy weed and many people misidentify it for something it is not. Other lawn care companies apply a pre-emergent to their entire customer base in an effort to “prevent” Crabgrass from germinating. This has a moderate effect. In our over 25 years of experience, we’ve found that applying pre-emergents is a waste in many ways.

• • If you ever want to do any over-seeding….forget it! When a pre-emergent is applied whether it works as it should or not it still is in the soil and its main goal is to prevent seeds from germinating all season long. If you want to reduce the number of chemicals on your lawn (like we do) then pre-emergents are not the responsible choice! You will just waste your money on seed only to find that it barely germinates due to the control being already in the soil.
  • Pre-emergents must be applied early in the season before most grassy weeds germinate. Because of this, it makes the effectiveness of it less than desirable. Companies that apply it are in an extreme rush to get the product down in time. Additionally, once it is applied the spring rains reduce the effectiveness of it even more. One more thing. If the technician is not experienced than you could have missed areas. This means since crabgrass grows next to “hot” areas like pavement than those areas need special attention. Broadcast spreaders are designed to fade gradually at the edge of their patterns. This is to prevent the “candy striping” appearance that drop spreaders make when fertilizers are applied. However, if the tech is not knowledgeable of this than edges of turf get neglected. This means they don’t get enough fertilizer and if pre-emergents are applied than they don’t get a proper dosage either.
• Web Chat – Looking to ask a quick question and don’t want to bother calling in? Visit our website home page and chat with our office. We’ve added a new chat feature so you can chat directly with the office staff at any time! It’s even set up to message us after hours on a cell phone. So if it’s extremely important and you need to get a hold of someone after hours… Send us a chat request or drop an email to comments@www.gtlawnservice.com. The next morning before our crews leaves you can be assured that your new instructions have been relayed!
• We’re Social – Everybody seems to be doing it these days so why not Us? We now have a Facebook page set up and all of the posts we make on our website will also update on our Facebook page. So if you would please click on the icon here and “like” us it will show all your friends that you like us. If you do that then perhaps we can spread our alerts and news to more people within our “social” atmosphere. FYI: You need to have a Facebook account to like us. Thanks for your support.
• Full-Time Staff – As many of you know, we employ our technicians and office staff all season long. This is a difficult thing to do in Maine being that we are a seasonal company. We rely on profits and efficiency throughout the summer months to propel us through the winter. However, we also feel that one of the most important services we can provide our customers is knowledge and experience! This is the main difference that sets us apart from other companies in our area and we are so proud of that fact. Being that we are a family-owned business, we care about the people around us and try to provide a solid place of employment that our people can rely on and our customers can depend upon. We thank you all so very much for believing in us at Green Thumb Lawn Service and will work every day to make all of your lawn care dreams come true.

If you ever have any questions about anything relating to your lawn or landscape, please visit our website, www.gtlawnservice.com and tell all your friends to subscribe to this lawn alert newsletter. We have many articles this year that we’ll be posting on a regular basis. The goal of this newsletter is to be only an alert system for you as it relates to the health of your lawn. We do not use this service as a marketing tool. So please KEEP YOUR SUBSCRIPTION!!! Also, make sure you add us to your accepted email list.

Thanks again & we’ll see you and your lawn soon!