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Many times people ask me what is the difference between Compost and Mulch. In a booklet called "Carolina Composting and Resource Guide " they have a good definition of each I hope will be helpful. Here is their definitions; Compost: recycled organic products in which the feedstock(s) has undergone biological degredation, a process characterized by elevated temperatures in the range of 120 degrees to 160 degrees F. The product no longer resembles the feedstock(s) from which it was produced. Examples; yard waste compost,biosolids compost,manure compost. Mulch: Recycled organic product derived from physical/mechanical processing of the feedstock(s) into a fairly uniform particle size. The product does not undergo significant biological decomposition, does not resemble soil in appearance, and typically still resembles the feedstocks from which it was derived. Examples; wood chips, pine bark mulch, chipped brush. For more information check out the Carolina Recycling Association web site, www.cra-recycle.org.
Topressing requires a good quality compost so don't confuse the two.
Posted by John Bentley - 03.21.06 @ 10:46 AM EST
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| Happy St. Patrick's Day. March is a wonderful month because it is the begining of the topdressing season for many areas of the country. Topdressing is currently happening on home lawns, athletic fields and various turf areas. This is a great time to begin spreading a good quality compost right when the turf is starting to come out of dormancy. The end result will be a nice rich GREEN turf. Just the right color for St. Patrick's Day.
Posted by John Bentley - 03.17.06 @ 01:48 PM EST
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| Many times customers will call us wanting to learn more about composting since this is an up and coming product to apply to home lawns and turf areas in general. Those of you that are really interested in getting involved may want to consider joining the US Compost Council. For more information on joining check out their website for new members at the following web address, http://compostingcouncil.org/membership.cfm. Earth & Turf is a member.
Posted by John Bentley - 03.13.06 @ 09:55 AM EST
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I recently read an article on aeration, topdressing and overseeding that may be helpful to people interested in improving their home lawns.
You can check it out at this address, http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/mg/lawns/aeration.html
Posted by John Bentley - 03.09.06 @ 08:56 AM EST
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| KAFMO, the Keystone Athletic Field Managers Association, just completed another successful conference and trade show in Grantville, Pa. Their was approximately 300 people in attendence. We showed our new LA-60 Linear aerator and had some excellent response. Field managers liked the fact that after topdressing they could make one pass to do aeration and blend the soil amendment back into the aeration grooves. The LA-60 also decompacts the soil and because you are not making more trips over the field you do not recompact it. There was a number of excellent talks put on in regard to maintaining sports fields. Professor Andrew Mcnitt, from Penn State University put on a great presentation and also handed out a very helpful piece entitled "Turfgrass Management Calendar". The calendar provided optimal times to deal with the various aspects of turfgrass management. Especially important to our readers was the information on aeration and topdressing. For aeration the calendar showed the process can be done in the spring from March through May but the best time is in the fall from September to mid October and mid November to the first week of December. Aeration can still take place from mid October through mid November. The optimum time for Topdressing would be from the end of February until late May or mid October until the first of December. Topdressing is also okay from September until mid October. We hope this information is helpful to you.
Posted by John Bentley - 03.01.06 @ 02:42 PM EST
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