Consumer demand for organic items, whether it be food, healthcare products or even lawn care items, has grown by double-digits nearly every year since the 1990s.
According to a 2015 report by the Organic Trade Association, sales of organic products have increased from $3.6 billion in 1997 to $43.3 billion in 2015.
Jim Schanstra, the owner of Organic Safe Lawns Inc., is well aware of the trend. He says his past experiences working with chemicals and his wife’s battle with cancer have helped shape his current business into one where he and his crew work hard to safely make sure your lawn will stay healthy, green and free of pests, while also making sure your family and pets are protected from harmful chemicals.
“When I started in this business, places like Whole Foods were just starting to creep into peoples’ awareness,” Schanstra says. “Now, we’re seeing significant growth, with people seeking us out.”
The products — fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides — used by Schanstra and Organic Safe Lawns are certified by the Organic Materials Review Institute or OMRI, an independent testing company that certifies organic products. He says the products use a proven technology that was originally designed for fruits and vegetables, although Organic Safe Lawns deals strictly with lawns and ornamental plants.
Schanstra says there are many advantages to going organic. One of those is the most simple — it is simply better for the lawn and plants, and better for the people and pets who touch them. It’s may not be equally effective with regard to weed control, but Schanstra says it is more effective with regard to fertilization.
Using chemical fertilizers and pesticides may lead to greener lawns — due to a higher concentration of nitrogen — but it also can lead to the same typical lawn problems so common here in Florida. Lawn problems like fungus and disease, chinch bugs, webworms and mole crickets are often found in high-nitrogen soils.
“We found that by reducing the nitrogen level (in the products used), we almost eliminate fungus and pests,” Schanstra said. “The cheapest way to get green grass is with high- nitrogen fertilizer.”
Schanstra says he uses an application of chelated iron and manganese to get a deep green color, if Home Owner Associations are strict about the lawn’s shade of green.
Sustainable Growth
Schanstra also says that high-nitrogen fertilizers push top growth and weaken root structure. Over time, the root system can’t sustain the foliage.
“A weakened root structure is like candy to bugs,” Schanstra said. “After using our treatment, you’ll see the bugs moving over into the neighbor’s yard.”
The nitrogen in Schanstra’s fertilizers is derived from chicken urea, a natural source. With synthetic fertilizers, inorganic salts accumulate in the soil, causing it to “bind up.” Schanstra says the soil can get so full of salts that it won’t grow anymore.
“I have tried all the best, with no results,” one customer, John from South Tampa, posted on Organic Safe Lawns’ website. “With large oaks, I thought it was impossible to keep St. Augustine (grass in my yard). Organic Safe Lawns proved they can grow St. Augustine in difficult conditions.”
Chemical-based fertilizers are designed to be absorbed through the leaf (foliar absorption). All of the organic fertilizers that Schanstra uses are absorbed through the roots. And, he adds, they are all water-soluble liquids that are safe for pets, wildlife and humans.
Typical fertilizers are granular and come in two types of encapsulation. The first is water-based, meaning the fertilizer is released by coming into contact with water. The second is a polymer, or plastic encapsulation. Its releasing agent is heat. Erratic Florida weather — too much rain or too much heat — can sometimes cause the release of a month’s worth of fertilizer in a week or even a day. Schanstra says this is what causes run off and those nasty algae blooms in lakes and ponds.
With an organic, liquid fertilizer your plants and grass will absorb what they need, when they need it.
Exposure To Harmful Chemicals
Top-coated lawns treated with synthetic pesticides and herbicides puts people and pets in danger. Why do applicators of pesticides wear rubber boots? Because, Schanstra says, they don’t want to get any of the application on them.
Why would you want you or your pet to track that into your house?
“The dog goes over into the neighbor’s yard to pee, and they’re chewing on their paws when they get back,” Schanstra said. “Kids crawl around and play on the grass and absorb it when they walk in it.”
The chemical herbicide Atrazine is used widely across the U.S. and Florida to prevent pre- and post-emergence of broadleaf weeds. Schanstra says that Atrazine was banned by the European Union in 2003, and has been studied to determine its carcinogenic effects on humans and other mammals. It was found by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Diseases (ATSDR) to have adverse effects on the endocrine system of mammals and likely contribute to some birth defects.
“A lot of lawn companies will blanket your yard with Atrazine,” Schanstra said. “It costs five dollars for a 600-gallon mix. They use it because it’s cheap.”
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, or DDT, was used in the U.S. in agriculture as a pesticide and as a household insecticide in the 1940s and 1950s, only to be banned in 1973. Schanstra suspects that exposure to DDT as a youth had something to do with his wife Julie developing non-Hodgkin’s large cell lymphoma cancer.
Thankfully, Julie’s fight with cancer was won with the help of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. But, it was a constant reminder to Schanstra of the potential effects of chemicals used in the environment.
In 2006, just before a scheduled sales meeting with an organic fertilizer manufacturer, Schanstra says that one of the associates said that he’d read a recent news article that stated, “Florida uses more chemical-based fertilizers and pesticides on residential properties than the rest of the United States combined.”
“This statement hit me like a lightning bolt,” Schanstra said. “It was in that moment that I decided to do something about it. That was the conception of Organic Safe Lawns.”
In January of 2010, Organic Safe Lawns became a corporation.
Schanstra’s three licensed technicians don’t spray weed killer, either. Instead, they rely on a healthy root system to suppress weeds and when needed, they go with the good ol’ fashioned yanking them out.
“We are about the process and the materials,” Schanstra says, “as opposed to harmful chemicals with regard to weed control.”
He notes that it takes time and regular application to have a weed-free, organic lawn in a way that’s safe for people and pets. That’s why Organic Safe Lawns recommends treatments every 30 days. Schanstra says his property has been on the Organic Safe Lawns service for nine years, and that if he gets three weeds in a month, it’s a lot.
“We had Tru-Green before, with absolutely no results, and what a hassle to terminate their contract,” says a client named Lisa. “After just six months, our lawn is thick and healthy and the weeds are gone! No hidden charges. We recommend Organic Safe Lawns.”
It’s also prudent to treat the lawns or ornamental plants around your property, including those that may closely border your neighbors. That’s why Organic Safe Lawns offers a referral program. Every referral made by a current customer will earn that customer one free month of service.
“The concept is to create a safe environment and a chemical-free buffer zone around it,” Schanstra said. “We’ve found that the best way to pick up new business is with existing customers.”
Organic Safe Lawns services Tampa, New Tampa, Wesley Chapel and Land O’ Lakes. For more info call (813) 393-9665, email organicsafelawns@verizon.net or visit OrganicSafeLawns.com. Existing customers can pay their invoices on the website, too! Prospective customers can fill out a contact form on the site to get a free estimate and $10 off their first treatment.
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