Posts Tagged: soil

Creating a Mulch Improved Soil Part 2

Capital Trees Demystifies Mulch Part II

Author:  Anna G. Aquino

Let’s rethink living in a bark mulch world, using mulch only as a tool to encourage thriving ecosystems with abundant plants and animals

The best mulch is often free of charge or the least expensive and has the best weed control, moisture holding capacity, temperature moderation, and nutrient availability.

In Demystifying Mulch Part I we described Capital Trees’ sustainable mulching guidelines,

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Creating a Mulch Improved Soil Pt 1

Author:  Anna G. Aquino

Capital Trees Demystifies Mulch Part I

Mulch is material (such as straw, leaves, or small pieces of wood) added to the soil surface that protects and replenishes this invaluable topsoil. 

Let’s rethink living in a bark mulch world, using mulch only as a tool to encourage thriving ecosystems with abundant plants and animals.

Notice the color, fragrance, and diversity of textures of the mulch layer in healthy woods or fields.

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To Weed or Not to Weed

Author:  Anna G. Aquino

Consider for a moment a world without weeds. We would be traipsing on bare dirt and mud as the ground erodes away underneath our feet. Thankfully weeds immediately colonize even the most inhospitable of soils, they cool the ground, keep soil microorganisms alive, and help prevent soil erosion. Their aggressive root systems, especially those with taproots, can mine minerals and moisture from deep layers of the earth, bringing them up the soil profile and making them accessible to other plants. 

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Improving Soil with Sustainable Methods

Author:  Anna G. Aquino

Soil organic matter is vital to a healthy ecosystem and originates from decomposing remains of organic life. It has the unique ability to increase a sandy soil’s water-holding capacity while assisting a clayey soil to drain.  The subsequent improvement of soil structure reduces  erosion by increasing water infiltration.  Organic matter is the habitat for a vibrant soil food web whose inhabitants decompose it and provide nutrients for plants.  Fertility and nutrients reside in organic matter.

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Understanding the Baseline

Author: Mary Petres

A recent blog post by our Sustainability Champion, Anna Aquino, presented a great explanation of why Capital Trees is committed to developing and practicing sustainable landscape management practices for its projects.  As Ms. Aquino addressed in her blog, the health of the soil determines the health of the planet.  Said another way,

“Be it deep or shallow, red or black, sand or clay,

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Soil Enrichment — The Other World Wide Web

Author: Anna G. Aquino

Soil is the heart of the matter. An understanding of soil informs most of the organic and sustainable tenets. If you want to use sustainable methods, you have to know dirt. Soil is the earth’s digestive system and may well be our most valuable natural resource. Plants are the only organisms with the remarkable ability to capture the sun’s energy and turn it into the food that nearly all life forms depend on for survival,

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Introducing our Sustainable Management Focus

Author:  Anna G. Aquino

I cringe when I think of the many times I have promoted the value of a plant, star magnolia comes to mind, stating that “its leaves in August are pristine, not a bite taken out of them. I suggest we plant it!” It is easier to forgive myself when I read Doug Tallamy, the famous entomologist who many credit with igniting native plants awareness and author of Bringing Nature Home.

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