Soil Care – Keeping Your Trees Healthy
A plant can be no healthier than the soil its roots grow in
Have you ever thought about how soil health can affect your plant’s well-being? Proper intake of nutrients from the soil is essential for a tree’s growth.
Good nutrients from the soil are as crucial for the plant’s health as much as sunlight and water. Human practices like lawn mowing, construction, and removing fallen leaves make the soil deficient in minerals and nutrients trees need to convert into food. A lot of people don’t know that the nutrients a tree need varies from each tree. Only a certified arborist like one at Sox and Freema knows about it. If you are wondering how you can improve your tree’s soil health, then don’t worry. Sox and Freeman have been delivering Soil Health Care services for a long time. Our arborists will assess your soil health and provide you with the best solution. Some of the methods used by them to improve soil’s health are:
Fertilization
In our environment, nutrient deficiencies are a threat to trees’ well-being. Most of the time, excess fallen leaves and debris are removed from the property to maintain landscape beauty. These materials produce healthy nutrients for trees. By removing them the nutrients are no longer available to the trees, and their health starts to depreciate.
The trees in your yard then require supplemental nutrients for healthy growth. This is where the experts of Sox and Freeman come in! Our arborists understand the fact that every tree has a specific need for nutrients according to its type and species. New plants require more nutrients than mature ones. We evaluate the soil first through laboratory tests then customize a fertilizer based on your plants’ needs. We deep-root inject or slow-release formulation directly to the feeder roots and below the competing grasses. Our professional arborists make sure to provide you with a solution that keeps your landscape healthy and flourishing.
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Soil Inoculant
Healthy soil can contain billions of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms in one teaspoon.
Soil inoculants are bacteria or fungi added to the soil to carry out specific functions like enhancement of soil characteristics or control of pests and diseases. Some soil inoculants such as Mycorrhizal fungi help in increasing the plant uptake of phosphorus and trace elements, it absorbs more water and moisture from the soil and slowly releases it to the plants.
This is very beneficial especially when the plant receives less water than needed. Rhizobia is also very successful in the improvement of soil health. These are a form of bacteria that take nitrogen from the air and convert it into ammonium nitrogen(NH4+) which is used and beneficial for plants.
Sox and Freeman provide the soil inoculant to the soil for several reasons:
- They are applied to promote plant health.
- Increase nutrients and water uptake.
- Increase stress tolerance in trees.
- Cure specific diseases.
- Soil inoculants are a great alternative to chemical fertilizers and pesticides. As these increase the nutrients uptake of trees without causing any harm to the environment.
Soil Decompaction
Soil Decompaction is essential for favorable tree health.
The soil around trees becomes compacted due to cars, building work, and other human activities, causing the tree roots to starve of oxygen and nutrients.
Soil compaction can cause several problems for the soil and tree such as restricting root growth, reducing water uptake, limiting the movement of oxygen and carbon dioxide, and depreciating the biological components of soil. Sox and Freeman provide soil decompaction service. Our certified arborists create fissures, air pockets, and gaps in the soil using state-of-the-art machinery. This allows more nutrient uptake by the tree, better water movement, and allows movement of bacteria, earthworms arthropods, etc through the soil. These invertebrates are essential for better soil health.
Decompaction is mostly done in two ways:
deep decompaction
A deep decompaction is associated with inserting a lance into the soil in a grid pattern, then high-pressure air is injected to create fissures and fractures in the soil.
shallow decompaction
A shallow decompaction is when the topsoil around the trees, usually about 20 to 30cm of soil is turned over with an air spade tool, this results in breaking the compacted layer of soil and increasing the water and nutrient absorption by the tree.
Soil Amendments
The goal of soil amendments is to provide a better environment for the roots.
In today’s environment, poor soil is a major issue plants have to deal with. But Sox and Freemans certified arborists provide the service of amending the soil so it can create ideal soil conditions for your trees and plants. Soil amendments are materials added to the soil to improve its properties such as water preservation, water infiltration, and nutrient-attaining capacity. With time soil starts losing its nutrients and becomes unfavorable for tree growth. Soil amendments can help you improve your tree health by making the soil healthy. Some examples of soil amendments are tree leaves, grass clippings, wood barks, wood chips wood ash, etc. These amendments are either applied directly or mixed with the topsoil to change soil properties and improve tree growth. These amendments decompose and contribute to soil organic matter. Let Sox and Freeman arborists come and investigate your soil and recommend the best solution for you and your trees.
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