Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Gratitude, Opportunity, and Chicken Poop


As summer hangs on, you can certainly feel the change of season. The longer shadows and cooler nights get us thinking about what’s ahead. This never gets old (easy for a former superintendent to say). On the sales end, education events and trade shows are transitioned into getting products in the right places in order to close the season strong. No matter how busy you are in any season, there’s always time to be thankful for the people and the opportunities we have in this profession.
Since we are in a people business, it’s certainly easy to point to the many folks we are thankful for. When I was on the golf course, it was a relief to have many of the same faces back season after season on the grounds crew. As for the newbies, greenhorns, rookies? Well, it was an opportunity to teach golf course maintenance skills as well as life lessons in teamwork and punctuality. It is fun to hear their stories years later coupled with a genuine “thanks” or “working for you that year really helped me in my job now.”
Who was your mentor? Who might you have impacted this season? In the present, it is even easier to think of all the people who help to make your days go smoothly. So, no matter how busy we are, it is always a good time to put thought into action and show those people how much they matter. That action naturally leads to opportunity. Everyone knows new ideas, old grudges, and current business get solved when we get together, engage, and initiate dialogue. And it’s no secret that connection turns into action. One of my favorite fall “actions” was and still is aerification. It signaled an end to a long season on the golf course and an opportunity to create revenue with my landscape company back in the day.
Aerification is also a great opportunity to put Healthy Grow granular fertilizer to the test. The combination of our aerobically composted chicken manure, and the benefits of Holganix, makes fall a perfect time to kick-start the turf and soil for 2017.
On the golf course, HGH 2-4-3 is a great post-aerification treatment at 10 lbs/1000 with topdressing. This all-organic approach gives sand-based and sand-modified tees and greens the right boost of biology at the right time. HGH 8-3-5at 4 lbs/1000 brings a punch of ammonium sulfate and urea, along with the compost, to give some extra N if needed. The 8-3-5 is also a tremendous semi-dormant feed at .75 lbs N/1000.
In the commercial and residential landscape, HGH 10-3-2 is a perfect application right about now. The organic base helps mineralize existing nutrients that are tied up and the extra urea and AMS produce instant and lasting fall color to the turf. Yes, fall color does exist in turf and it is emerald green!
Gratitude and Opportunity: take the time this fall to thank those who helped you get through a tough season and take the opportunity to set yourself up for success in 2017.
Jeff Leuzinger
Sales Manager at Healthy Grow

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