A fortune? D'ya think?

When they do offer green lawn care in your area, large lawn care chains charge 2-3x as much for it as for their regular service. When I called S****’s a few months ago, one person told me the all natural material they spread on the lawn was “ground up insects, bones and other organic materials.” I refrained from asking “Whose bones?”

On a more recent call, I was told “probably cow manure…but we no longer offer that service in your area.”

Apparently the major challenge with green lawn care is weed killers. All natural fertilizers can be found in abundance but weed killer is a big question mark. Or is it?

I wish someone would start a green lawn care business that uses products like vinegar or other household products to kill weeds. I’m hoping this article will inspire someone to do the research and start the business. I didn’t do an extensive amount of research but here’s what I did find:

I’ve seen suggestions for eco-friendly weed killers using:

1. vinegar only

       Vinegar kills weeds according to The Vinegar Institute:
       http://www.versatilevinegar.org/usesandtips.html

2. vinegar, salt and soap

3. black plastic to smother the weeds – not practical if you’re starting a business and plastic
       should be from recycled materials or perhaps a castoff from painter.

4. BurnOut Weed Killer made from clove oil, vinegar and lemon juice.

And here’s a host of pesticides made from stuff like red pepper and horseradish

http://www.greeniacs.com/GreeniacsGuides/Make-Your-Own-NonToxic-Pesticides.html

You could probably start without a whole lot of fuss by servicing a few of your neighbors and pick up steam from there. You may not know much about your neighbors but in every neighborhood, there are several residents who care enough about the environment to want green lawn care, they just don’t know how to publicize their desire. As a former builder, I learned that people don’t always know how to articulate their needs, but once they’re offered a green alternative, they say “Yes, that’s exactly what I was looking for.”

And of course if you were to start your business because you were inspired by what you read here, I’d go to the ends of the earth to help you promote it

Nervous about starting a green business?

Author, green business expert and PhD Glenn Croston has a book called Starting Green: An Ecopreneur’s Toolkit for Starting a Green Business from Business Plan to Profits, to help you build a strong business foundation.

Coming soon in this ongoing series about the old maxim Doing Well by Doing Good: 

     It’s Easier Than You Think - How to get into the electronics recycling business, 
     Greenhearts to the Rescue pt.2.,
     You Could Probably Make a Fortune pt. 3.