Landscape Management, February 2011

LAWNCAREPRO LMS OPERATOR OF THE MONTH BY RON HALL Integrated Turf Care takes sustainability seriously The Coral Springs FL based company is a platinum member of the Audubon Lifestyles and a chartered member of the International Sustainability Council Its clear Kenny Perkins CEO is excited about what his company has to offer Work is fun for me again he says I never minded coming to work but now I look forward to doing this every day Im loving being on the forefront of where this industry is going LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET FEBRUARY 2011 36 AT A GLANCE COMPANY Integrated Turf Care ONLINE IntegratedTurfCare com CEO Kenny Perkins HEADQUARTERS Coral Springs FL SERVICE AREA Miami Dade Broward Palm Beach Counties FOUNDED 1986 merged with another company in 2006 to become ITC EMPLOYEES 40 employees peak season SERVICES lawn maintenance fertilization pest control landscaping irrigation soil analysis PERSONAL HIGHLIGHTS HOBBIES Motorcycling Im a speed freak FAMILY Wife Robin sustainability Our companys focus is offering sustainable landscape solutions Obviously you feel the direction youve chosen differentiates your company in your market Absolutely What were offering is industry altering services and products game changers Ive been in this industry since 1986 and I sense a true metamorphosis taking place these last two or three years with the industrys understanding of the importance of enhancing soil biology to reduce chemical and water use Kenny tells us why youre so enthusiastic about organic turf fertilization We now have organic products that perform as good as synthetics That hasnt always been the case I tried organic processes several years ago and I wasted maybe 90000 because the products didnt perform well Were now using a natural organic product a 15 0 0 granular and a 10 0 0 liquid thats produced by a high pressure composting process using food waste Some of the products have lysine which is a single source nitrogen product derived from corn We get it and other turf and ornamental products from Purely Organic a company located in Maine Obviously youre pleased with the results Weve had great success Were applying a granular in the spring and fall and a liquid product in fertigation systems on several different properties during the summer We probably have 80 or 90 acres under fertigation Fertigation thats applying fertilizer in irrigtion water When did you get involved with that We started this past summer I got the idea while I was meeting with a distributor and got involved with a discussion concerning a turf problem at a golf course I had experience injecting rust inhibitors in irrigation systems so it dawned on me that I could inject fertilizers too I investigated the idea and called Michael Chaplinsky and learned about his company Turf Feeding Systems Please share your experience with fertigation so far One of the properties weve improved is the St Marys Medical Center in West Palm Beach Its about 10 acres The hospital is committed to having a sustainable landscape and thats what we offer Ive been working to bring its older irrigation system up to standard We started fertigating with organic fertilizers in midsummer and within four or ve weeks the improvement was dramatic Theyve been very pleased What other bene ts do you feel your organic program offers customers Once we get the properties under control we believe we can reduce the amount of fertilizer we use and still get great results The increased biological activity within the soil will allow us to reduce the amount of nitrogen we apply reduce pesticide use and save water too Thats what sustainability is about right We understand that your rm joined Audubon Lifestyles as a Platinum member What does that mean Were proud to be a part of Audubon Lifestyles Audubon Lifestyles is a non pro t organization based on the principles of WHAT WERE OFFERING IS INDUSTRY ALTERING SERVICES IVE BEEN IN THIS INDUSTRY SINCE 1986 AND I SENSE A TRUE METAMORPHOSIS TAKING PLACE KENNY PERKINS PHOTO COURTESY INTEGRATED TURF CARE