Giving Life Back to Your Soil
Iowa soils have been significantly altered by tillage for farming and grading practices associated with urban development. Years of tillage and soil erosion has caused the loss of more than half of Iowa’s topsoil. The organic matter content has been reduced from a healthy, sponge-like 10% to less than 2%. Often remaining topsoil is completely removed during development for urban growth. Little to no organic matter remains and the graded soils are compacted, leaving a near-impassible barrier to grass root growth.
Compacted soils with no organic matter cause nearly all the water to run off during rainfall. When this happens, storm-water runoff flows untreated to storm sewers, and washes associated pollutants directly into nearby streams, rivers, lakes and wetlands. A compacted, nutrient-poor soil with low organic matter content also requires more time and money to stay green!
However, there are ways to fight soil erosion, and we are proud to offer Soil Quality Restoration (SQR), one of the highest recommended solutions — a completely organic three-step process that enriches the soil and reintroduces vital organic matter and micro-organisms to your soil. The cities of Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Coralville and North Liberty subsidize SQR costs up to 100% — contact your community for more information!
Step 1 – Deep Tine Aeration:
Aeration helps to improve soil quality by facilitating the movement of organic matter into the soil profile. Perhaps you already get your lawn aerated on a regular basis, which is an excellent practice! Aeration reduces compaction and breaks the thatch layer, which can result in increased availability of nutrients in the root zone, so you can enjoy a healthy turf under your feet and lower long-term maintenance costs.
A typical aeration pulls cores that are about three inches long from your turf. However, for Soil Quality Restoration we use a deep tine aerator designed for athletic field maintenance and high quality residential lawn restorations, which pulls 4-inch cores. That extra inch makes all the difference! Our deep tine aeration machines will reduce the compaction of your soil and leaves room for us to add organic compost material.
Step 2 – Addition of organic compost material and seed:
Soils rich in organic matter support an entire ecosystem of microorganisms that contribute to the soil health. After your lawn has been aerated, we will return to add a topdressing of organic compost mixed with high-quality grass seed to create a favorable soil profile for your lawn. Compost improves lawn and landscape health by increasing porosity and organic matter content, breaking down nutrients and making them available to plants, improving plant hardiness and vigor, and retaining more water in the landscape, while the seed we use is common for turfgrass in the area and will mix well with any existing lawn.
Step Three – Next Steps:
After we have made our final Soil Quality Restoration visit and your lawn is growing at a healthy rate, remember to leave the grass clippings on your lawn to increase the organic matter content. Grass clippings do not contribute to thatch in yards with active soil microbes and healthy soils. Remember to follow the watering instructions included with your estimate for Soil Quality Restoration to maximize newly-applied seed germination! If you’d like to take a look at our watering instructions, visit our Watering Instruction Page.
Call Quality Care today, or request a quote online, and we can make your lawn the envy of the neighborhood!
For more information on Soil Quality Restoration: Soil Quality, Better Lawns Made Easy
We welcome the opportunity to answer any questions you have about Soil Quality Restoration and your lawn!
[Revised 8/2016 – original post 11/2014]