The foundation of the SoilKeepers system is healthy soil. Healthy soil is alive with insects, worms, fungi, and many different kinds of bacteria, that support the growth of plants and the replenishment of groundwater.
SoilKeepers can only provide science-based services with information about your soil. This is why for most of our clients, with authorization to provide services, we start services with a soil organic matter (SOM) test. We may also test your soil fungi/bacteria ratio. With information from these test(s) in hand, we create a vegetation improvement plan that lays out a seasonal approach to greater landscape health.
The modern home building process usually results in removing living soil and replacing it with a thin layer of dead topsoil covered with sod. To keep plants growing in this environment, lots of extra water, fertilizers, and herbicides are needed to maintain moisture, nutrient acquisition, and weed control.
Maintenance of thick grass in this type of environment is expensive for both the homeowner and for nature. For the homeowner, the need for more water frequently means irrigation. Unfortunately, many irrigation systems waste water by imprecise metering or by spray streams running into the street, collectively ending up in the storm system, wasting the homeowner’s money, depleting local water supplies, and hurting streamlife. The effect of excess fertilizer is also well documented, again with more impact on the homeowner’s finances, along with serious negative effects on nearby rivers.
The solution is healthy soil. SoilKeepers uses centuries old processes that build life into dirt. The birth of these living systems reduces maintenance costs over the long term and helps to heal some of our negative impacts on nature and ultimately on all of us.
Call us now to see what we can do for your soils!
Liquid Probiotic, Amino Acid, and Nutrients Fertilizer
SoilKeepers custom mixes solid amendments (compost-topsoil blends) with liquid amendments (minerals-compost tea- kelp) based on test results to achieve a goal for 6-8% soil organic matter, with a balanced -fungi-bacteria soil ecosystem. This level of organic matter is needed as fuel in the form of humus for the soil organisms to feed the plant roots the ~ 150 lbs. nitrogen per acre needed for the grass plant to thrive.
Compost Topdressing
Much of the soil in Central Virginia has low percent organic matter and sub-optimal populations of beneficial soil organisms. Compost applied to the ground surface at 1/2 inch or less per application can, over just a few seasons seasons, heal these degraded soils by restoring humus. Organic matter found in humus can last many decades or longer, providing a constant source of fuel to the soil organisms to feed the plant roots.
SoilKeepers is the only company in Central Virginia that specializes in compost topdressing and utilizes application machines to precisely meter the compost. Also, it is important to note that even naturally occurring amendments can have synthetic compounds in them. For example, compost can have herbicide residues. So, we carefully source our amendments.
