• Nursery Sod
• Custom Blended
Soil
Sustainable landscapes
are in essence a product of the soil in which they exist. The soil has many
responsibilities, as well as being host to plants. The soil is a living,
dynamic resource which supports the growth of plants.
The soil is made up of
mineral elements that provide the physical support and the air spaces that
contain the gases and moisture. Many living organisms inhabit these spaces
and surfaces and are responsible for the growth and productivity of plants.
The micro and macro-organisms inhabiting the soil and the living plants all
depend on one another for their survival.
Healthy Soils
·
Healthy soils have good amounts of air trapped in spaces throughout
the soil.
·
Healthy soils have good reservoir capabilities for water and
nutrients.
·
Healthy soils have a pH level that encourages nutrient availability
and biological activity.
·
Healthy soils have good cohesion and structural arrangements of soil
particles.
·
Healthy soils serve as an environmental filter and buffer in the
immobilization and degradation of environmentally hazardous materials.
·
Healthy soils are sufficiently deep to provide nutrients and
moisture to plants.
Elmsdale Landscaping
blended soils are custom mixed to ensure that you are getting the best
soils possible for your home.
Topsoil
Mixture
3 parts topsoil and 1
part well-rotted manure
Garden
Soil Mixture
6 parts topsoil, 1 part
well-rotted manure, and 3 parts peat moss
• Bark Mulch
• Compost
What is
Compost?
Compost is a product
resulting from the controlled biological decomposition of organic material
that has been sanitized through the generation of heat and stabilized to
the point that it is beneficial to plant growth. Compost bears little
physical resemblance to the raw material from which it originated. Compost
is an organic matter resource that has the unique ability to improve the
chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of soils or growing
media. It contains plant nutrients but is typically not characterized as a
fertilizer.
How is Compost
Produced?
Compost is produced
through the activity of aerobic (oxygen-requiring) microorganisms. The
microbes require oxygen, moisture, and food in order to grow and multiply.
When these resources are maintained at optimal levels, the natural
decomposition process is greatly accelerated. The microbes generate heat,
water vapor, and carbon dioxide as they transform raw materials into a
stable soil conditioner. Active composting is typically characterized by a
high-temperature phase that sanitizes the product and allows a high rate of
decomposition, followed by a lower-temperature phase that allows the
product to stabilize while still decomposing at a lower rate. Federal
regulations exist to ensure that only safe and environmentally beneficial
composts are marketed.
Benefits of Using
Compost
- Improves the soil
structure, porosity, and density, thus creating a better plant root
environment.
- Increases infiltration and
permeability of heavy soils, thus reducing erosion and runoff.
- Improves water holding
capacity, thus reducing water loss and leaching in sandy soils.
- Supplies a variety of macro
and micronutrients.
- May control or suppress
certain soil-borne plant pathogens.
- Supplies significant
quantities of organic matter.
- Improves cation exchange
capacity (CEC) of soils and growing media, thus improving their
ability to hold nutrients for plant use.
- Supplies beneficial
microorganisms to soils and growing media.
- Improves and stabilizes
soil pH.
- Can bind and degrade
specific pollutants.
