Don’t Fear The Winter Season

While warmer months bring prosperity to outdoor work, the colder months are generally slower. This article by Total Landscape Care provides a few tips for companies to bring employee's spirits out of their winter slumps. 

Total Landscape Care

Winter can be a tough time for many landscapers. Your entire season could depend on how much snow falls or if rain will wash out a day of productivity.

Winter is seen as a necessary evil for many landscaping businesses.

Between balancing seasonal employees, making sure you land in the black and basing your entire business around the weather is extremely difficult.

During the summer and spring, the grass will always grow and flowers will always need to be planted. However, winter means three, four, five or even six months of uncertainty.

Add Holiday Lighting
Adding extra services to your offerings can be a great way to get your company through some slow times. If the snow is not cooperating, or if you live in an area that doesn’t receive snow, adding a service like holiday lighting can be a great way to add some extra cash. However, don’t take holiday lighting lightly. It’s a hefty service, and you should be sure that you have the manpower and availability to offer extra services.

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Got Leaves? Put 'Em to Work

Getting your garden ready for the spring starts in the fall. This Mother Earth News article teaches you everything you need to know about the uses of leaves and how to winterize your plants.

Mother Earth News

'Tis the season for harvesting leaves, the most abundant free source of organic matter available to most gardeners. Microorganisms in soil and compost transform leaves into bits of organic matter, which helps the soil retain nutrients and moisture. By themselves, leaves contain small amounts of 16 plant nutrients.

You can stockpile leaves in a bin or pen to use later as compost or mulch, but you don't have to wait until leaves decompose to put them to work. With some shredding assistance from your lawn mower, you can give your leaves useful jobs right now.

1. Turn lawn into garden. Prepare sections of lawn you want to develop into garden beds by smothering them with leaves. First scalp the grass by mowing as close to the surface as possible. Then cover the space with several thicknesses of newspaper or cardboard, and cover the base layer with two inches (or more) or compost or manure. Top with 3 to 4 inches of shredded leaves.

2. Winterize hardy vegetables. Use shredded leaves to limit winter injury to kale, leeks, carrots and other hardy vegetables. Surround the planting with a low fence or burlap enclosure and fill it with up to 12 inches of shredded leaves. Mulch garlic and perennial onions with up to 6 inches of shredded leaves mixed with the season's last grass clippings.

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Electric Wheelbarrow: Move More With Less Effort

Power Pusher E-750 electric wheelbarrow

In order to safely maximize profits, you need the right tools. Made in the U.S.A., the Power Pusher E-750 electric wheelbarrow is a commercial-grade solution for safely moving and dumping loads up to 750 pounds with its 5 cubic foot bed capacity. It doesn't only offer drive assistance but also power-assisted dumping at the push of a button.

No workday is too long for the E-750. Its rechargeable battery works all day - up to 5 miles of travel on a single charge, noise free! Because it is battery-powered, the E-750 uses no fuel and runs emission free, making it easy to use in enclosed and indoor spaces without the dangers of exhaust.

Eliminate pulling, pushing and straining while reducing dangerous falls, slips hazards and injuries. Power Pusher's E-750 is ideal for unstable and time-sensitive loads and is ideal for commercial and construction contractors, concrete demolition, base prep and pours, masonry block and brick work, landscaping rock, retaining wall and pavers, sod and soil work, industrial material hauling and factory floor material or scrap building. It offers greater productivity with less manpower, faster and more efficient projects and solutions to your toughest and heaviest challenges.

Click here to watch the E-750 electric wheelbarrow in motion!

The Skills Gap And Why We Need A Modern Rosie

Why aren't there more women in manufacturing careers? This IMPO article talks about how the manufacturing industry could fill in its gaps by hiring and training women in this field.

IMPO

Women make up half of the U.S. population and almost half of the workforce, but only 24% in the manufacturing sector.

The manufacturing field is full of opportunities on the cutting edge of technology and innovation. Manufacturers in the United States perform two-thirds of all private-sector R&D. Manufacturing is the backbone of the American economy—according to the National Association of Manufacturers, the industry supports an estimated 17.4 million jobs and has the highest multiplier effect of any economic sector, adding $1.32 to the economy for every $1 spent.

Manufacturing offers good compensation in salary and benefits, with the average manufacturing worker in the U.S. earning an average of $14,960 more than the average worker in all other industries in 2013. Manufacturing is an extremely diverse field offering careers at practically every socioeconomic level and dealing with practically every product you can imagine.

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