Company Overview
Current Operations & Install Conditions
Primary Install Types
HOA common area plantings, new construction residential landscapes, commercial property replants, St. Augustine sod installation
Annual Install Volume
Approximately 2,200 plants/year across 40+ properties; 60–70% into new construction or post-construction sites (<3 years old)
Current Install Standard
Standard hole-and-backfill with native soil. Optional: compost amendment on higher-budget jobs (not consistent). Synthetic starter fertilizer (Osmocote Plus) applied at planting on most residential installs. No inoculant program. No biology tracking. Callbacks handled as needed — no formal tracking by property or plant type.
Known Problem Pattern
60–90 day failure window is the primary callback trigger. Plants look healthy at install; failures cluster around the 8–10 week mark. Most common failure types: bougainvillea, ixora, and St. Augustine plugs in new construction soils. Shrubs installed in HOA common areas with active synthetic fertilizer programs show higher survival than new construction sites — consistent with biology-suppression hypothesis.
Sentinel Sites
Three Representative Properties
Site 1 — New Construction
Willoughby Cove — Lot 14
8-month-old construction site, Hobe Sound. Builder-standard prep: scraped to compacted fill, synthetic turf installed, landscaping added at 6 months. Representative of your highest-risk install conditions.
Site 2 — Established HOA
Mariner Cay Common Area
6-year-old maintained HOA property. Synthetic fertilizer program (quarterly) + annual fungicide rotation. Moderate biology — better than construction sites but suppressed by inputs. Representative of maintained-but-stressed conditions.
Site 3 — Commercial Replant
Publix Plaza — SE Entrance
2-year post-replant after original install failures. Commercial traffic compaction + irrigation over-saturation. Biology attempting to recover from failure-and-replant cycle. Representative of your most complex conditions.
Biology Baseline
Sentinel Site Comparison
Samples taken at 4" depth from rooting zone at each sentinel site. 3 samples per site, averaged.
| Metric | S1 — New Construction | S2 — HOA Established | S3 — Commercial Replant | Target (Install Zone) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Bacteria | 8 µg/g Critical | 42 µg/g Low | 22 µg/g Critical | 150–400 µg/g |
| Total Fungi | Absent Absent | Trace — 2.1 µg/g Low | Absent Absent | 50–100 µg/g |
| F:B Ratio | 0.04:1 | 0.18:1 | 0.08:1 | 0.5–1:1 (mixed ornamentals) |
| Protozoa | Absent | Sparse flagellates | Sparse flagellates | Active cycling populations |
| Compaction (PSI at 4") | 380 PSI | 190 PSI | 260 PSI | <150 PSI |
| Organic Matter % | 0.4% | 1.8% | 0.9% | 3–5% target |
Site 1 assessment: At 0.04:1 F:B and near-zero bacteria, S1 is biologically dead fill. Any plant installed here without biology input at time of install is on its own — nursery media is the only biology it has, and that lasts 30–45 days. This is your primary callback source, and the one where a 3-minute install step has the most immediate ROI.
Install Protocol
6-Step Biology Protocol — Per Plant
This protocol is written for field use — simple enough for any crew member to execute consistently, specific enough to actually work. Time per plant: 2–3 minutes. Materials cost: $3.50–5.00 per plant (varies by size).
1
Pre-Plant Drench
Fill planting hole with 1 qt TCC Aerated Liquid Extract diluted 1:4. Allow to absorb before placing plant. This inoculates the soil at root contact before the plant goes in — the most important step.
2
Mycorrhizal Backfill
Mix mycorrhizal inoculant powder into the backfill soil at a ratio of 1 tsp per 5 lbs of backfill. Use AMF for most ornamentals and native shrubs; ectomycorrhizal inoculant for oaks and pines (separate bagged supply per species group). Apply in direct contact with root zone — not diluted into the full hole.
3
Biochar in Hole
Place 1 cup (approximately 3 oz) TCC Charged Biochar at the base of the planting hole before setting the plant. Biochar is inoculated with live biology — this creates a permanent microbial habitat that persists indefinitely. As fungal networks establish, biochar becomes the anchor point for the root zone biology.
4
Establishment Drench
After backfilling and setting the plant, apply 1 qt TCC Liquid Extract (diluted 1:4) directly to the base. This second application ensures live biology is present at the root contact zone from the first irrigation. Use within 4 hours of brewing — extract is not shelf-stable by design.
5
Worm Castings Broadcast
Broadcast 1 handful (approximately 2 oz) TCC Worm Castings in a 12" radius around plant base. Rake lightly into surface mulch or soil. Castings provide immediate protozoa populations that begin cycling nutrients from bacterial biomass — accelerating the nutrient release the plant needs in the establishment window.
6
Photo Documentation
Timestamped photo from the same position at each install — captures the plant, the immediate surroundings, and enough context to identify the site. Taken before leaving the property. This becomes the baseline for 30 / 90 / 365-day survival comparisons. Label photos by property and date in the shared tracking folder Jake sets up at program start.
Tracking
Survival Rate Framework
How this works: You track plant survival at three checkpoints — 30 days, 90 days, and 365 days post-install. Jake reviews the data quarterly and compares your biology-protocol installs against your pre-program baseline (17% failure at 90 days). Once you have two seasons of data, the ROI is calculable and presentable to any client or prospect who asks for evidence.
| Checkpoint | What You Track | Pre-Program Baseline | Target with Protocol | When Failure Occurs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Days | Visual health: color, wilting, root stability | ~3% failure by 30 days | <2% | Transplant shock or irrigation failure — not biology |
| 90 Days | Survival count + root depth check (pull test) | ~17% cumulative failure | <5% | The critical window — biology-related failures peak here |
| 365 Days | Full property count; survival rate vs. install log | ~22% cumulative | <7% | Secondary failures from summer heat stress, disease |
Month 1 — Protocol Launch
First Biology Installs + Baseline Photos
Crew trained on 6-step protocol. First biology-enhanced installs documented. Jake walks S1 and S2 sentinel sites with foreman — reviews what the biology data means for each site condition and how the protocol addresses it.
Month 2 — 30-Day Check
Visual Assessment + Photo Comparison
30-day photo comparison across first batch of biology-protocol installs. Visual health documented. No biology expectations yet — 30-day assessment is for transplant shock only. Crew debrief on protocol consistency.
Month 4 — 90-Day Analysis
Critical Window — Survival Count + Root Depth
This is the data point that matters most. Survival count on first biology-protocol properties vs. pre-program baseline properties at the same stage. Root depth pull test at 5 plants per property. Jake re-analyzes S1 sentinel site — biology should show measurable improvement from baseline.
Month 6 — Quarterly Sentinel Re-Analysis
Biology Measurement Across All 3 Sentinel Sites
Jake runs full SFW analysis on all three sentinel sites. Written report showing biology changes from baseline — this is your first quantitative data on biology building across your portfolio. Used to adjust protocol and to demonstrate the trend to any client who asks.
Month 13 — Annual Review
365-Day Survival Data + ROI Calculation
Full 365-day survival comparison: biology-protocol properties vs. pre-program baseline. Written ROI summary delivered — callbacks avoided, fertilizer savings, biology premium revenue. The story you've earned.
ROI Projection
What This Program Pays Back
Coastal Horizon — Projected First-Year Program Economics
Metric
Before Program
With Biology Protocol
Annual install volume
2,200 plants
2,200 plants
90-day failure rate
17%
~4%
Plants failing at 90 days
374 plants
~88 plants
Callback cost per plant (avg)
$180
$180
Total annual callback cost
$67,320
~$15,840
Biology protocol material cost
—
~$9,900 ($4.50/plant)
Biology enhancement revenue ($35/plant)
—
$77,000 (if billed)
$51K
Projected callback savings in year one
$9.9K
Biology protocol material cost (all 2,200 plants)
5:1
ROI ratio — savings vs. program cost before any premium billing
Premium billing note: The $77,000 biology enhancement revenue figure assumes 100% of installs are billed a $35/plant biology premium — which won't happen immediately. Expect 30–50% of clients to accept it in year one once you have the data to back it up. Conservative estimate: $23,000–38,000 in premium revenue added to the $51,000 callback savings.
End Goals
What a Fully Established Program Delivers
| Metric | Pre-Program | Year 1 Target | Year 2+ Steady State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90-day plant failure rate | 17% | <5% | <4% |
| Sentinel S1 biology (F:B) | 0.04:1 | 0.15–0.25:1 | 0.4–0.6:1 |
| Sentinel S1 organic matter | 0.4% | 0.8–1% | 2%+ |
| Crew protocol adoption | None | 100% of new installs | Standard SOP — embedded in onboarding |
| Biology premium billing | $0 | 30–50% of clients accepting | Standard line item on all proposals |
| Survival data available for marketing | None | 90-day data from first season | 365-day data from year 1 + 2-year trend |