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sadly in my experience most people who really care still tend to be the poorer vegan types. not our target market. maybe some of the more affluent Tesla owning consumers are up for it. But in general if the lawn is done the average client couldnt care less about polar bears made homeless by the lawnmower emissions
Hi Harry I know many people have an awareness of such working practices for example they dont like chemicals , slug pellets etc and they like the idea of having a wild flower meadow created if they have the land to attract insects or a pond to attract wildlife .
Some customers are open to suggestions , Its often a case of guiding the customer .
I tend to work in this way naturally by not using chemicals , hand weeding and trying to replace all my petrol machinery with cordless but i dont feel customers regard me as an alternative gardener . To advertise myself as dedicated eco friendly i feel i would need to buy an electric vehicle .
My thinking is we need to be proactive and take the lead promoting Eco and wildlife friendly gardening , first do our homework and research so we have the information to back up our ideas .
You would think the demand for such working practices would evolve naturally with what we are begining to understand and experience with climate change .
Perhaps there are dedicated eco friendly projects you could approach Harry but as Billybop points out i feel frugal budgets might crop up although it could be the opposite organisations might exist which are prepared to invest in specialised eco friendly projects .
One of those opportunities where research and persistance might pay off , surely there has to be a demand on the horizon .
all the best Harry
yes there is a general perception that Eco methods will be less efficient somehow and cost more, which is not necessarily the case, i was berated by one client for turning up with my bosch pro cordless lawnmower which he described as being ''coal powered'', somehow he felt threatened that I would be judging him for the gas guzzler on his drive whereas in fact that is the mower I prefer anyway for a lot of jobs irregardless of its power source. I think if we can demonstrate that environmental methods don't necessarily mean poorer results then clients will embrace them
I'd second all of that..
finding more people asking for low impact options, asking for low or no weed killer, insect friendly planting, less noisy machinery, natural lawn care and shrub feeds. also asking about recycling - not everyone but getting more - reckon it's the future. lockdown has increased interest so good to offer choices 👍
I have been thinking about burning weeds off, where they cannot be easily hoed, to avoid using glyphosate. I know burning parafin or butane is not exactly eco-friendly either. Has anyone found some sort of burner useful?
I came across this the other day. It has the same effect as burning I guess, by cooking the weed down to the root they say. I bet it's worth a few quid though!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5I5hDlsfEjs&t=66s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5I5hDlsfEjs&t=66s
Insurance is your biggest issue as this immediately becomes 'hot works' and need a seperate level of cover.
Hi Neil,
I have used it a fair bit on driveways and paths etc. Anywhere it cant catch fire and burn you ,the garden and more likely the house down.
There is a market for eco/ wildlife gardening but in my experience it has been small. I been offering it and pushing it for ten years now. There has been a steady trickle of people head hunting me because my business name and website both have eco in them.
It has taken me a long time to get to where I am now which is about 80% eco / wildlife work. I picked up some regular work at a Hall because of my eco credentials. Don't expect great things to happen over night and you will have to run it along side the regular work.
Hopefully coronavirus and climate change will get more and more people wanting this service. Good luck if you go for it.
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