Sustainable Landscapes

Going "Green" Starts with Healthy Soil

Today's emphasis on sustainability  "Going Green" has captured the attention of the building industry, developers, architects, governmental planning/approval agencies, landscape architects and subsequently all of the contractors that will ultimately maintain the projects and finally the lenders financing the new projects.

How much more does it cost?    Will it pay for itself?   How do we create a sustainable solution?   What is "sustainable"?  Can we build/develop/install under currently approved building codes or will there need to be changes/alterations/exemptions?  These are all important questions and eventually these and probably many more will need to be explored and answered.

This article will explore just one of the questions... soil sustainability.  In other articles we will discuss ‘greenscaping',container gardening, roof gardens and other areas of concern to the "sustainable" discussion.

The "top soil", when we speak of it in this article, will be the top eight inches, as this is where the majority of plant growth activityoccurs.  The sub-layers will havesecondary effects regarding leaching, runoff and water holding abilities and must eventually be taken into consideration.

Many factors enter into play when discussing healthy topsoils.  They include the amount of organic material required to constitute healthy soil - the organic percentage can be as little as one percent for soils in arid climates to as much as fifteen percent or more needed in wet cool climates.

Good soils can be composed of many materials and any number of combinations of those materials from loose sand to heavy clays.  The key is the correct combination of particulates and the types of organic material (humus) that is included.  Without the key component - the organic material - no soil can provide quality growing conditions nor will the soil be able to sustain itself. 

Warm wet climates create more problems keeping soils in their proper organic balance than cool dry climates because soil biology in warm wet climates is constantly working to break down organic material; therefore, understanding what types of organic material should be used as amendments and what soil inoculants and other additives and as well as what fertilizers will be needed will be determined by the above discussed circumstances. 

For many years we have been treating soils to massive amounts of fertilizers (N-P-K) plus dangerous pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.  Synthetic chemicals have combined to destroy the natural soil biology and its ability to breakdown organic materials that are required for healthy well balanced soils.  Without this necessary biology the soilfoodweb (http://soils.usda.gov/sqi/concepts/soil_biology/soil_food_web.html)is broken.

Building the organic content in soils is not nearly as straight forward as it sounds as all organic material is not created equal.   Raw manure, an amendment used for centuries, can be very damaging to soils as well as a major polluter of the environment.  Wood chips, when decaying, can steal large amounts of vitally needed nitrogen from the soil.  The one organic material that can be added to any soil (regardless of the soils natural makeup) is "humus". 

Humus is the perfect catalyst to start the proper cycle of disintegration of other added organic material and hasten the breakdown of naturally occurring organic material, such as grass clippings.  This natural decay of organic material will help create a natural balance that can be sustained over time.

In order to attain sustainability, or to approach it; topsoils must have large amounts of live and varied soil biology, a food source for the soil biology to survive until it is established, plus all the necessary nutrients required to keep the soil biology healthy so it can then feed  the landscape.   Active soil biology breaks down raw organic material into humus and as the biology reproduces and subsequently dies it also becomes a part of the humus.

Fully balanced and complete top soils, not only provide great looking plants, but help keep them healthy and disease and pest resistantat the same time.   Proper soil biology fights off harmful pathogens and other diseases and provides a complete palate of necessary nutrients to grow strong healthy plants that can naturally fight problems as they occur.

The plan for healthy soil includes 1) humates, 2) soilbiology, 3) food for the soil biology and 4) all the necessary elements for healthy plant life.   How is it possible to attain all this in a short time and make sure you are getting everything needed?

The solution is 100% organic TurfProUSA products.   TurfPro USA products are derived from a unique natural raw material deposit found in theSoutheastern USA.  A natural depression formed thousands of years ago and it contains an ancient humus deposit made up of @60% marine life and @40% plant life. The raw material contains a complete blend of the components necessaryto build/re-build soils that are out of balance or are lacking the necessary items to start the cycle of sustainability.  TurfPro USA products are not fertilizers but make the components of fertilizer readily available for plants to use more efficiently.

Superior to ordinary blends of organic material, TurfPro USA products are a balanced combination of beneficial organic nutrients, natural soil biology, a full range of humic acids along with necessary trace elements in a form plants can use to quickly and the exact material to energize and vitalize top soils.

Depending on the natural materials that make up the soil to be amended, and the type of organic material being added,  as little as 10 pounds of  TurfPro Naural -Granular per 1,000 square foot of surface area can begin to build/rebuild top soils.  When planting anything from annuals to trees, the addition of TurfProNatural - Fines mixed with the existing soil in the planting hole (see web site for rates of application) will help new plantings realize a better chance to adapt to their new home.  Studies have shown new plantings, when the existing soil is mixed with TurfPro USA products, the first year growth is superior to those where existing soil is used by itself.  It is also recommended using a quality organic fertilizer at half of the labels application rate to provide the N-P-Kto create a proper balanced and sustainable soil.

Until soils are in a complete natural balance, it may benecessary to add nutrients - especially trace elements - to make up for those lost due to previous poor maintenance.  It is recommended using Turf & GardenPro or Turf & GardenPro with Iron (for areas where added iron is needed) in addition to a quality liquid organic fertilizer.   During the first year of building/re-building soilbiology, it is recommended using a 1 to 1 ratio of a TurfProUSA liquid product with a quality liquid organic fertilizer suchas MegaGreen. Thereafter, a 4 part organic fertilizer to one part Turf & GardenPro liquid will generally be sufficient to provide proper nutrients and trace elements.

When using an irrigation system, it is recommended using"fertigation" to provide the most efficient use of fertilizer and water.   The use of EZ-FLO brand non-mechanical injection units has been proven to be cost efficient and extremely effective in the distribution of the TurfProUSA liquids and liquid fertilizers at the proper application rates. This program will begin the road to sustainability while using the least amount of water and fertilizer thus resulting in minimal if any environmental pollution.

Because of the natural condition of the deposit it takes an absolute minimum of fossil fuel to produce any and all of our products so coming to you is a "Green" product that can contribute to your Greening effort.

For further information about TurfProUSA products, visit the web site at: www.turfprousa.com .

For those with pets our Earth Pro Tech productcalled Ark Pro 1 can eliminate odors and break down waste matter in an earth friendly manner.

Sustainable landscapes can be large part of the solution of globalwarming.

All TurfProand Earth ProTech products are 100% organicand are approved for organic growing.