Soils Alive Inc

They are an all-organic fertilizing company. They spray the yard with organic fertilizers rather than synthetic material. They have come here a few times. They come out and do the job in a timely fashion. Our experience with them has been fine.

Dennis came out and sprayed for fescue in my front lawn. With no charge, he came out the 2nd time when there were a few fescue left. And yesterday, 12/1/09, when he came out for the 2nd time, he said just to follow up with him in spring. And if there were any other of these little plants still alive, he would come out for a third time at no charge. With the $81.00 charge that included tax, he performed 2 routine herbicides. He didn?t charge me for the 2nd and won?t be charging me for the 3rd if needed. They are professional, they are accurate, and they were really great about getting the job done because my fescue is dying, just like I wanted it to.

So far it has been a great experience. We had an awful time with another lawn company over a period of about 2 years. After we started using them, our lawn started to die. They could never tell us what was wrong with the grass, but they assured us that with continued treatments it would come back. It didn't. It got worse. We canceled our account with the other lawn company and hired Soils alive. Soils Alive's founder and owner, Michael Bosco, came to our house personally to look at our lawn situation and give us his opinion. While the other lawn company had never been able to identify what was causing our grass to die, Mr. Bosco said he was 95% sure it was fungus called Take All Root Rot. He said it was disease that could not be cured overnight, but that his company's organic treatments would steadily bring our lawn back over time. That was four months ago. Our lawn has noticeably improved. I feel confident that it will be 100% back to normal health by next year. Soils Alive is an organic lawn service. They use liquid compost and other organic potions to invigorate (or in our case completely restart) the microbial eco-system in the soil, creating a rich growing environment for grass, trees, shrubs. Our soil's eco-system had been decimated by the chemicals the other lawn company used. We saw positive results even after the first treatment. Our soil changed from a hard light-colored clay appearance to a dark black granular appearance within a day or two. Most of the large dead areas of our lawn have filled back in with grass, and the remaining bare areas are getting smaller. We're very happy with Soils Alive.

FANTASTIC! We had used Scott's for years, but with the birth of our child, we really wanted to switch to an organic program. Michael was very prompt and helpful. He had some great tips for us to continue the good health of our lawn and set honest, realistic expectations of what to expect from the treatments. What was so great to understand is that since it is an organic treatment program, I will see more weeds initially, but over time the benefits will pay off. Honestly, I already see it after 3 months! When we have rain or the yard is watered, there are TONS of worms on our walk/driveway and not nearly as many (if any!) on our neighbors' drives.

I sent an e-mail to Soils Alive on a Saturday night and was able, that night, to schedule someone to come out and evaluate our lawn. The evaluator was prompt and extremely knowledgeable. If you are looking for a bargain, this is NOT the company for you. Nevertheless, we were impressed with their customer service and knowledge.

Canceled the contract for failure to timely deliver the services.

No issues at all. I was contacted by Michael Bosco, he explained the process, where the fertilizer comes from, how it's applied, etc. He walked the property with me to ask and answer questions. The 7 treatments for each year came just when expected and I got a call prior to them showing up. When they finished the treatment, they left me a card explaining whether and when I could water the yard next and any other precautions (actually there are almost no precautions since it is all organic fertilizer, most of which they brew themselves!). Soils Alive's customer service is something to be emulated by other companies.

The Soils Alive team does a great job. My lawn never looked more lush and green. They will also spot-treat weeds, brown spots, and other issues. If you call, they are prompt to respond. It is a little pricey, but I have always received good results. And the organic is better for the environment!

We found this company through Angie's List and are thrilled with their service! We were looking for an organic alternative to Scott's (which we had used in the past). Although Soils Alive is more expensive, we have found their treatments to be much more effective in controlling insects and keeping the lawn green. In the past, we had to call Scott's several times for the same problem (like black spot or spider mites) to contain the problem. That was annoying. We would rather pay more up front, save our time and frustration, and get it done right the first time! Also, our technician is a wealth of knowledge regarding our landscape and we rely on him to answer questions for us - it's like having a consultant from a nursery at your disposal!

Excellent/Professional organization.

They are very professional. They monitor your yard and see what you need. They were very on time. They are very responsive and return calls well. They have scheduled times and visit throughout the year.

Contacted Soils Alive in March 2008. We'd been in the house for about a yr and a half and had not done any lawn treatments during that time. When they came out for the assessment, the front yard looked ok, but the back had been reduced mostly to dirt and dead grass due to dog traffic. They've now completed 3 treatments and the back yard has just about completely filled in with grass that has grown from the remnants of what had not yet died before they started (we still have the dog in the yard). Front yard looks great with thick grass and rose bushes look great full of leaves and roses.

Simply phenomenal. Michael and company have been servicing our lawn and landscape for the past four years. They are fair, consistent, detail-oriented, friendly and they get results. We are signed up for their annual soil-building program (and have been from the beginning) which includes treatments throughout the year, including a proprietary organic treatment they have developed called liquid compost. Denis services our lawn, and he is always friendly and available to answer questions. While we recently replanted St. Augustine sod, and had portions of our lawn periscoped, Denis went out of his way to make sure any weed issues were under control and consult with us on proper watering of our new sod. Finally, we always know when Denis has been there so we can keep track of the treatments - Soils Alive always leaves behind great written materials and suggestions when they visit. Regarding Soils Alive's treatments, make sure you understand what you're getting into when you go organic. Soils Alive WILL get results as they promise, but they do it without the 'quick fix' chemicals to which so many of us have become accustomed. As Michael explained it to me once, the focus is on getting the soil healthy so that it can feed and sustain a healthy lawn. That's what will take care of the weeds, long-term. So, instead of expecting a quick fix through a one-off treatment, my recommendation is to give the soil-building program a try. If you want organics to work for you, Soils Alive sets the standard. The adage follows here - you get what you pay for.

I signed up for regular service, when I noticed my lawn had started thinning out. I didn't get much improvement, but I stayed with the service, because when I called with my concerns, they cited the drought/watering restrictions as the problem. At the end of three years, I had mostly dirt in the backyard and a very thin front yard. When I called with these concerns, I had a technician come out to tell me I would never be able to get grass to grow in the back (too shady / first I'd heard of this problem), and that I should overseed the front with more shade-tolerant grass. I had to make numerous phone calls to straighten out the overseeding--they quoted me a price for front and back vs. front only. They didn't leave watering instructions when they did the overseeding. They returned to fill in spots they'd missed, but did not phone to tell me they would be doing this and left no notice that they'd been on the property at all.

I couldn't be more pleased with the results. Due to the 2 year drought and some neglect on my part, our yard had huge bare patches and was beginning to become very weedy. I have used organics for at least 10 years with great success. So I knew it would probably take quite a while before I saw results. I was pleasantly surprised because my yard steadily improved since the first treatment. The grass has filled in nicely therefore, choking out the weeds and clover that was beginning to take over. I would highly recommend Soils Alive.

Michael came out and spoke with us one morning and explained what he does. We liked that he does organic fertilizing. When he saw our lawn, it felt like we were in counseling. He asked us what happened, and we were embarrassed, that we had neglected it. He was very gracious and gave us hope for our lawn. One warning though, your results won't be immediate. The first season we saw moderate improvement. The second season we are seeing wonderful results. Our yard looks wonderful. And this was before all the rain, as well. I also called Chemlawn just for the comparison and they were more like $1200. So the price I'm paying per year is very good, if you're willing to be patient with your lawn and are OK with an imperfection here or there.

The work they do is great. We have used them three times so far. When they come I am able to ask the worker questions and he is friendly and answers all of them for me. They send me an e mail before they come and I am very happy with the quality of their work.

I'm very happy with the progress we're making with the state of the lawn, and I've never seen so many blooms as this late summer and fall. The young man, Chris, has been very responsive to any bug problems that I point out, and he also identified the lawn problem as cinch bugs, and successfully treated both. I will continue with this service.

It is with regret that I feel the need to report that the customer service at Soils Alive is deteriorating. As a three year customer of Soils Alive I was quite satisfied. The problem arose when my regular service person was not able to regularly service my yard. A new person was assigned to my area. I understand that with growth comes changes however I observed the new person not fully treating my yard. I inquired to Michael about this and was assured that it would not happen again. Unfortunately more problems developed and excuses by the service person ensued. After consulting with a neighbor, who I recommended Soils Alive, commented on the poor level of service he was receiving. Both my neighbor and I have subsequently cancelled our service because Michael had to make a business decision in favor of his employee. While I applaud him for supporting his employee, two correlating poor service reports should make a difference. I urge using caution when considering Soils Alive.

I guess that we are the only people who have had a less-than-great experience with this company. Mr. Bosco is a very pleasant person, but I think he might be too busy to really stay on top of things. The final straw was the third treatment, which was a dry fertilizer and I found A LOT of it inside my pool and on the outside windowsills of the house. I have huge flowerbeds around my pool- I still am unsure as to how this could have gotten in. I wish I had been home to watch the application. I wrote Mr. Bosco and told him that we were canceling and received no response. Finally, after three weeks, I had to call to ask for a refund and two weeks later he did refund the balance remaining on the contract. I don't think it was worth the cost or the headaches that it created for us.

Great company. They responded promptly to provide a detailed estimate. The work was completed promptly with good instructions on lawn care. Very professional, and very friendly people.

Michael really knows his stuff. Gave advice about our trees as well as how to get the lawn back in shape. Highly recommended!

Very pleasant experience. The owner really knows what he's talking about. He spent a long time with us talking about our yard. I'm looking forward to a long relationship with this company. They're entirely organic, which is a huge plus for us as well. He even recommended what kind of trees he thought we should plant and is going to help those grow as well. I feel like I have a yard partner to help me for a long time.

MICHAEL PERFORMED THE LAWN AERATION AS REQUESTED. ONLY MINOR ISSUE WAS LONGER THAN NORMAL RESPONSE ON CONDITION OF GRASS/LAWN, WHICH FINALLY OCCURRED A FEW WEEKS LATER.

MICHAEL BOSCO WAS VERY HELPFUL. HE TOOK CARE OF THE PROBLEMS QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY. EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE.