“It probably started when I had children,” says Shay Lunseth, owner of LUNSETH Lawn Care Professionals with her husband Eric. Shay continues, “I started making baby food for my first born from organic fruits and vegetables.” Sustainability has always been important to Shay and she cites becoming a mother as the moment that opened her eyes even more to the chemicals that exist around us. “It just dawned on me. I just don’t like any of this, and don’t want it in my world” said Shay. That realization pushed LUNSETH Lawn Care Professionals into the world of organic treatments and they haven’t looked back since.
Eric Lunseth started LUNSETH Lawn Care Professionals in 2007 after a decade of experience in the lawn care industry. Originally, it was a commercial mowing and landscaping operation but then quickly expanded. Shay and Eric began experimenting and “created an organic program on our own lawn that was doing well.” And from that first successful program the organic lawn care side of LUNSETH sprouted. Upon the birth of their second child in 2010, Shay left her full time job to work on creating an entirely new division at LUNSETH, focusing solely on organic lawn care. “I feel like I convinced Eric that it would be a good idea,” said Shay, laughing about that transition, “It was a very scary prospect.”
Shay decided to educate herself about organic lawn care so that she could, “speak about it intelligently.” In 2013 Shay began a Masters of Professional Studies at the University of Minnesota focusing on horticulture and more specifically organic turf management. This deeper knowledge of their process and available products was a focus because “it’s common to see products marketed as organic when they aren’t,” says Shay, “so when creating an organic lawn care program that understanding is key. Not only to maintain the promise of a fully organic lawn care program, but to ensure that it works.”
Organic Lawns by LUNSETH serves over 1600 customers. Their standard seasonal program consists of four trips to each home completing seven services within those trips. “Working this program for 3-years can get you a 90-95% reduction in weeds and a healthy lawn that can better work on its own to be resilient to drought, disease and weed pressure,” says Shay. “We often think of fertilizer as feeding the grass plant but it really comes down to the microorganisms in the soil. Organic turf management is really soil management. Healthy soil makes grass much more resistant to stressful conditions as well as being better for local pollinators.”
When it comes to organic lawn care, much of what Shay and Eric do is educating and managing expectations. Organic Lawns by LUNSETH has made a point of sharing information: “I don’t want to keep things a secret. We try to be an open book. Anybody is welcome to call and ask questions. They don’t have to be a customer for us to spend time with them and share information with them.” says Shay. LUNSETH strives to educate and work with homeowners on when and how to water as well as the best mowing practices. Shay says the process is always collaborative: “The homeowner does need to do their part. It’s a partnership.”
That level of communication is especially important when it comes to weeds and what a lawn is and should be. “Our customers understand that having 5-10% of weeds in their lawn is good diversity and often can be good for our pollinators. Dandelions, clover and creeping charlie all provide food for our pollinators. There are customers that will never switch over from chemicals and synthetic products for that reason,” says Shay. “It’s important that everyone is on the same page so that the program can work best. I don’t want to hard sell anybody. We want someone who has been looking for this service and they already know their why.”
Though organic lawn care is still a niche market, it is becoming more mainstream from both a local and statewide level. Programs like the 2019 ‘Lawns to Legumes’ provide grants and payments to pollinator-friendly residential lawns across Minnesota. Shay also mentions the growing movement across neighborhoods and homeowners’ associations to ban chemical fertilizers to create healthier environments for the community. All these efforts strive to change preconceived notions about what a lawn is, should be, and look like. Organic programs, no matter where they originate, “are the future of lawn care,” says Shay, “and it just makes sense to have a business that mirrors helping instead of harming.”
Organic Lawns by LUNSETH works on both residential and commercial properties providing organic lawn care services. More info at www.lunseth.org or (612) 913-4899.