 |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
||
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|||
Soils Alive Blog
$20-Off Irrigation System Check thru May, 2010
Posted by Soils Alive Administrator on Thursday, April 01, 2010
Get your irrigation system in order before the North Texas summer heat. Soils Alive is offering a $20-off an Irrigation System Check now through the end of May, 2010 ($95 regular price). Contact us now to get yours. Soils Alive now provides earth-friendly irrigation system management, too. Soils Alive’s Irrigation Management Program can save you 40% - 60% on your irrigation water usage. Over time, our program can virtually pay for itself, saving you time, money, water and the hassle of maintaining your irrigation system.
Take advantage of this limited time deal for your Irrigation System and ask about our Irrigation Management Program. Simply contact us through this site, call Soils Alive Irrigation Manager, Darren Harris, at 214-683-1453 or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Category: Monthly Entries | Comments (0)
Three Vital Components to a Healthy Lawn
Posted by Michael Bosco on Sunday, July 19, 2009
Think about the importance of each leg on a three-legged stool. I use this comparison to explain the three components to creating a healthy landscape: organic fertilization, cultural practices, and irrigation. They are all equally critical to the success of our landscapes.
Fertilization: The Soils Alive Soil-building Program provides essential organic fertilization.
Cultural Practices (mowing, pruning, and trimming): Mow St. Augustine grass at 3.5 inches and Bermuda at 1-2 inches every 5-7 days.
Irrigation (watering): During Texas summers, water is the most difficult component to get right. Watering too much in the spring brings fungal diseases and excess weed growth. It also wastes money on water, but then the hot, dry conditions of the early summer catch many homeowners by surprise. Adjustments are necessary on a weekly basis as we transition from spring to summer. Unfortunately, many of us do not bother with such adjustments. Over-watering or under-watering causes our lawns and bedding plants to suffer. Insects become a major problem on drought-stressed plants (in particular, chinch bugs in St. Augustine are brought on by dry conditions). Setting the controller in the fall and winter months is just as critical as in the summer; if you do not reduce the amount of water your lawn receives, you will create a terrible brown patch problem in St. Augustine lawns that will remain until the following spring. There is no treatment that can slow brown patch if the lawn is being over-watered. Watering should be done only when the landscape needs it.
How can we program our systems to know when plants need water? The only way to effectively do this is manually. Most of us are not up to this challenge. However, SmartLine Controllers by Weathermatic use an onsite weather station to take more than 1,000 readings a day to calculate the amount of water that will be applied. This technology has been used for years on golf courses and large applications, but now it is available to the homeowner. Soils Alive is excited to offer an incredible deal. To take advantage of this offer, call us today to save time, water, money, and the hassle.
Soils Alive will upgrade your old controller to a SmartLine Controller for free if you sign up for our Irrigation Management Program. Details can be found at http://www.soilsalive.com/irrigationmanagement.
Category: Monthly Entries | Comments (0)
Spring: Green Grass Along With Green Weeds
Posted by Michael Bosco on Thursday, February 05, 2009
Time and again, we at Soils Alive get asked about weeds - Why are weeds so pervasive in the Spring? The answer is threefold:
1. Weeds have very little competition in the Spring when Summer grasses are still dormant and not competing for water or nutrients.
2. Most weeds are annuals, and they put all their energy into one thing - to mature and produce seeds. Most weeds germinate sometime between the months of September and February. When Spring arrives weeds are putting all energy toward growing and putting out seeds before they die. Conversely, most perennial grasses are in it for the long-haul, storing food during the cold weather months so they can make it through the dormant season.
3. The final reason weeds are more pervasive in the Spring is because we notice them more. Typically, grass is still brown or at least coming out of dormancy, while weeds are green and thriving if they exist in a lawn.
Allowed to go unchecked, weeds create too much competition with a lawn's desired grass. For this reason and for the reasons stated above, it is important to control weeds year-round, organically. The best solution, as we often tell customers, is to be on a year-round organic program with Soils Alive.
Category: Monthly Entries | Comments (0)
Liquid Compost: A Nutrient-packed Spring Punch
Posted by Michael Bosco on Friday, January 30, 2009
For those of you on Soils Alive's Soil-building Program, the Soils Alive team is out applying our nutrient-packed Liquid Compost, along with a proprietary blend of beneficial bacteria, humates and trace elements to condition the soil for a healthy Spring green-up.
Why does Soils Alive's Liquid Compost pack such a punch? The answer lies in three key components of our Liquid Compost:
1. Biology: fungi, bacteria and protozoa are absolutely necessary for a healthy soil food web. Our Liquid Compost contains all three. Without the life in the soil, nutrients do not get released from organic matter. When organic matter decomposes, it's the biology that releases the beneficial organic matter.
2. Organic matter: The organic matter in our Liquid Compost includes humic and fulvic acid which are the basic building blocks of humus and the most valuable portion of a fertile soil. In the Liquid Compost creation process, Soils Alive extracts the humus from the larger organic matter through a hydraulic extraction process.
3. Nutrients: in this case, concentrated nutrients which are condensed through the extraction process. Good organic nutrients have the benefit of improving soil porosity and creating denser and deeper root systems for your plants when they are absorbed. One more benefit: deep, dense root systems lead to water savings.
Category: Monthly Entries | Comments (0)
The Perfect Storm for Spring Weeds
Posted by Michael Bosco on Thursday, May 15, 2008
2008 was the without a doubt the worst weed year Soils Alive has experienced. It all started with a very dry winter, which lead to little to no germination of our usual crop of weeds that starts early and ends early. Normal condition for North Texas brings us good rains in the late fall and early winter which will germinate most winter weeds from September to December. Since we did not receive sufficient rain to sprout them they were laying and waiting for the deluge we received in February. This brought on a late weed germination that we have not seen before.
Another factor that 'normally' helps minimize weeds in the late spring is the grass greening-up, and competing with them as well as being mowed on a regular basis. We had an extremely cool spring therefore the grass did not come out of dormancy, and begin to grow as expected because of the exceptionally cool soil temperatures. We estimate that the grass is about 3 weeks to 4 weeks behind its 'normal' schedule. This created a wonderful situation for the weeds that germinated only a few months before. The weeds had little competition from the grass for water, light and nutrients because of their slow start. And since the grass was not growing most mowing was delayed, allowing weeds to grow uninhibited.
We can speed up the grass green-up process by mowing/mulching down most of the thatch material from last year, which will allow the soil to receive more heat. By increasing soil temperature we get quicker spring green-up of our summer grasses, and increased competition for the winter weeds. By mowing low, and often in the early spring it physically reduces competition, and gives the advantage back to the desirable grasses. Also by starting off mowing low in the early spring it forces the grass to grow horizontally for a thicker, denser turf rather than a tall and thin.
Category: Monthly Entries | Comments (0)
March: Back to life
Posted by Michael Bosco on Saturday, March 01, 2008
The month of March brings plants springing back to life. Gardeners begin setting out tender plants after the 15th of March which is considered our last potential freezing day.
We will begin apply our Round 2 application in March, which is a dry organic fertilizer, and Liquid Compost. Our two step application is very important to feed the soil that will in turn provide plant nutrients for healthy spring growth. It is critical here in north Texas to get off to a good start, because we have four months to create happy plants before the summer stresses of heat and lack of rain start.
Environmental stresses are reduced with an organic program by establishing a healthy soil biology that are 100% devoted to being your plants' care takers, 24 hours a day 7 days a week, because the plant in turn provides them sugars created during photosynthesis, and supplied to them through the root system. It is this very powerful balance that allows nature to do so well in native prairies and forest with out our help. By recreating that system that is destroyed by construction, chemicals, over watering and other man made disturbances we can reduce our watering, and allow the soil to care for the plant the way it has been done for millions of years.
Category: Monthly Entries | Comments (0)
February Applications and Your Lawn
Posted by Michael Bosco on Monday, February 04, 2008
February has historically been our third coldest month, which is the time we will have winter kill on plants that are exposed to the elements particularly when dry. The best defense against freeze damage is watering before the temperature drops. Water provides thermal protection for root systems, and dry plants will succumb to freeze damage much more readily than a healthy well watered plant. Watering once every 10 days is very important during dry conditions. January was the 10 driest on record with most areas of the metroplex only getting 30% of our normal rainfall.
January through the end of February Soils Alive will apply Liquid Compost, Humate and a micronutrient mix to condition the soil, allowing for a deeper and more robust root system. This is not a fertilizer application, this is a proactive approach to soil health which will translate into a happier healthier plant as spring begins.
As always if you have a friend, neighbor or family member who is interested in making a healthy change to organics, we will credit you an application up to the cost one application for their yard, so be sure they tells us who referred them. If we have not given you credit for a referral please do contact us and let us know.
Category: Monthly Entries | Comments (0)
About this blog
Welcome! Soils Alive's blog was conceived as a method for Soils Alive to provide the latest and most up-to-date information for those who are curious or are seeking answers to common Organic Lawn Care issues.
Within this blog you will find anecdotes, issues and answers from Soils Alive's founder, Michael Bosco. Please comment on any entry or ask an organic lawn & landscape care related question.
