Sustainable Lawncare

“People really want this,” says Cristi Spilker, one of three owners of Lawnganics in Fort Wayne. “We get calls from people saying they’ve been looking for an organic fertilizing company, but haven’t been able to find one until now.”

Pioneering the organic approach to lawn care in northeast Indiana, Lawnganics operates as a division of Vision Scapes, which has a 22-year reputable history of lawn and landscape services.

“We no longer provide fertilizing services through Vision Scapes, but instead, have re-branded our fertilizing department and are now organic,” says Mark Nolot of Lawnganics. “We’ve gone away from using synthetic, sulfur-coated fertilizers to more organic-based fertilizers that break down easier in the environment.”

Nolot says there is no extra cost to customers to go the organic route.

“It’s not any harder for us to do the organic application versus the synthetic one. It’s safer, cleaner and better for the environment and it works the exact same way. We’re just using compounds that are naturally made. Our products stay in the ground longer and there’s less chance of runoff because it grabs onto the soil. Because of that, you get a longer lasting application.”

Lawnganics provides services to both residential and commercial customers. Many well-known institutions in the area have climbed on board with Lawnganics including Indiana Tech and The Summit on Rudisill Boulevard.

“We customize each job depending on the customer’s preferences,” says Spilker. “We also offer three programs to choose from: gold, silver and bronze. That way, customers can decide what they want based on their needs and what they like.”

No lawn is too small or too big for Lawnganics.

“We’ll treat as little as 2,000 square feet up to 150 acres,” says Nolot. “I always tell people to think about organic fertilizers like probiotics for your lawn. It nourishes the soil whereas synthetic fertilizers are treating the plant. Organics concentrate more on the soil and root system, which leads to a thicker lawn.”

“In our gold and silver programs, we provide a summer application that is a direct application to the roots,” says Mark Worrel of Lawnganics. “We can put in some microorganisms that help to open up the soil. And organic fertilizer is a really good product for lake properties because there’s no phosphorus in it.”

Nolot, Spilker and Worrel say organics is definitely a growing trend that started with produce at the grocery store and is now extending with strong popularity to many other products. All three say they are constantly exploring new, organic lawncare products, but are very particular about what they offer to their customers. They will often experiment with new products on their own yards before recommending them to someone.

“I think as a society we’ve become a lot more conscientious about what we’re putting into our bodies and what chemicals we’re surrounding ourselves with,” says Nolot. “At Lawnganics, we’re just trying to follow that trend. We all have pets and love our dogs, so, let’s treat their environment with as few harsh chemicals as possible. We all like to walk around with our kids barefoot in the yard or let babies roll around in the grass. So why not use something that will help green up our lawns and add aesthetic value to our homes and properties. Doing it in an eco-friendly and responsible way is the right direction.” Living

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