Case Study | Two Simple Changes: One Thriving Oak

Many of the trees planted in the front yards of homes in newer developments face daunting odds. Good soil has been scraped away, and the remaining dirt is very compacted. Then, a ball-and-burlapped tree is quickly planted by crews rushing to finish the final landscaping for entire streets, often without giving each tree the care it may need.

It’s a triple-whammy:

• The compact, clay-heavy dirt beneath the new turf doesn’t support strong root growth.
• The quickly planted tree needs nothing more urgently than careful planting and good soil to replace the up to 80% of roots lost when it was removed from the nursery and replanted in a new front yard, just to recover what it has lost.
• Herbicides and chemical fertilizers are often applied to lawns, which can unintentionally damage the struggling tree. Herbicides can harm the tree through chemical drift or by being absorbed by the roots. Chemical fertilizers can also degrade soil quality over time, further restricting healthy root growth.

Compost fertilizer (compost tea) was injected below the turf grass in the root zone of the tree. This natural treatment, which is more than just a fertilizer, has helped this struggling oak by enhancing soil quality. Removing chemical inputs also relieved additional stresses.

Restoring health to soil under turf grass is simple with compost fertilizer.

Compost fertilizer recharges soil with the microbes and nutrients needed for healthy soil, and healthy tree roots.

Our goal is to transform dead dirt back to its original state of healthy soil, providing a rich foundation from which your trees can flourish.