Geoponics Blog

Soil moisture management is key to healthy turf and plants. Soil surfactants provide the answer. Whether you need to hold water in dry times or need to move water when it’s too wet, the desired outcome is the same: even distribution of moisture throughout the root zone. Turfgrass maintenance professionals have the Geoponics line of soil surfactants available for any condition to best manage soil moisture.

How do you know which of the soil surfactants, wetting agents or penetrants are right for you? View the Soil Surfactants One Page Guide for selecting the best practice and product for your conditions.

Do you want to MOVE WATER? Soil surfactants for you:

Penterra www.Penterra.net  MOVE water

Penterra is the fastest acting of the soil surfactants on the market with long term added benefits. Penterra helps reduce crusting, loosen hard clay soils and aggregate sandy soil. Penterra allows water and oxygen to better reach plant roots by reducing the surface tension between the water and soil. ORDER NOW!

• Fastest penetrant and wetting agent
• MOVES WATER into the soil
• Reduces localized dry spots (LDS)
• Breaks up hardpan and crusting
• Dries out wet areas
• Reduces soil compaction
• Improves drainage
• Improves porosity
• Economical

HydraHawk www.HydraHawk.com  MOVE water

HydraHawk helps water penetrate compacted or arid soils and aids plant life in the uptake of water and nutrients. HydraHawk is a natural performance-enhancing wetting and protective agent derived from fruit and vegetable extracts. HydraHawk contains unique natural surfactants that help the plants utilize water and survive in extreme heat, drought and soil salinity even in the severe climate conditions. ORDER NOW!

• Increases aerobic soil conditioning
• Fast acting penetrant and wetting agent
• Increases soil drainage
• Breaks surface tension and allows water penetration
• Made from natural vegetable and fruit extracts
• Aggregates soil
• Extremely cost effective

Do you want to RETAIN WATER? Soil Surfactants for you:

Humawet www.Humawet.com  RETAIN water

Humawet assists with loss of water due to winds, run off and drought. It helps build organic matter in sandy soil and retains water in the plant’s root zone. Humawet is the best of the soil surfactants for soil with low organic matter, including new golf greens. Humawet is designed to decrease the surface tension between water, soil and plant while improving the growth and activity of micro-organisms necessary for a healthy soil environment. ORDER NOW!

• Conditions the soil
• Reduces drying out from wind or drought
• Improves drainage and prevents erosion
• Retains water in root zone
• Saves water and reduces plant stress
• Decreases surface tension
• Economical

Profasorb  www.Profasorb.com RETAIN water

Profasorb is designed for fertigation or drip line irrigation to decrease the tension between water, soil and plant while also improving the growth and activity of micro-organisms necessary for a healthy soil environment. It is easy to use and its beneficial secondary effects of localized dry spots (LDS) are noticed rapidly. Not only are you improving the soil, but you are adding a long term effect to the turf to make it healthier and increase its disease and insect tolerance. ORDER NOW!

• Designed for fertigation or drip line irrigation surfactant application
• Helps loosen hard clay soils
• Conditions soil
• Aggregates soil
• Opens soil pores and lets soil breathe
• Reduces compaction
• Improves rooting by loosening soil
• Improves air and water penetration
• Environmentally friendly
• Economical

Japanese moss balls, also called bonsai Kokedama, look great hanging in homes, on a lanai or porch or on trellises and arbors. Making a Kokedama moss ball can be a fun way of getting your hands dirty and it’s easier to make these hanging plants than one might imagine. This Japanese garden method, the kokedama moss ball, is taking Pinterest by storm with the growing popularity of vertical gardens and the wide variety of options for your Kokedama moss ball that allow plants to easily be added to any space, indoor or outdoor, requiring little water if the proper plant species are selected.  The environmental impact is nil, other than getting some green in your space and a little extra oxygen boost from the hanging plant. Ready to take less than an hour to make a Kokedama moss ball?

Here is what you need to make a Kokedama moss ball:

• Soil, potting soil
• Peat Moss
• Perlite, such as Excelerite
• Sheet moss
• String
• Bucket
• Scissors
• Spray bottle
• Plants: Shade loving, drought hardy, slow growing
• Water

A few optimal plant varieties:

Succulents, thick plants that hold water and are very drought hardy since the soil and moss ball will be hanging allowing it to dry out easily. One great variety is the sedeveria.

Anthuriums are great options to add a flowering plant to the mix.

Tillandsia, air plants, can also make a great addition to Kokedama.

Select shade-loving plants if hanging inside or in a covered area.

Slow growing is important as you won’t want to undo the Kokedama moss ball often, if at all.

How to plant a Kokedama moss ball:

• Mix about 50 percent soil, 25 percent perlite and 25 percent peat moss in a bucket and then begin adding water slowly so the soil can be firmly packed
• Pack the soil until it’s a sturdy ball about the size of your hand. Excelerite, organic and OMRI Organic Materials Review Institute listed chelated montomorillonite clay, is not necessary, but we did notice it has a cohesive property that makes it easier. It’s also great for plant health. A Kokedama moss ball can be created without Excelerite, you just find in one of the next steps that you need to wrap the moss around the ball faster to help it stay together. This is the only one of the materials easiest to find for purchase online, such as on Amazon. All other materials are easily found at Home Depot or a local garden supply center.
• Here’s the fun part: You know the ball is properly packed when you toss it lightly into the air and catch it and it stays compact, like a snowball.
• Then, split the ball in half just by breaking it gently with your hands.
• Put the roots of the plants you’ve selected between the two halves of the soil ball. Short root systems and selection of just two plants is generally easiest.
• Then, put the soil ball back together, perhaps adding more soil to reform the ball.
• Cut your sheet moss to size to fit your soil ball.
• Spray the moss with water so it adheres to the soil ball.
• Wrap the moss ball with string to further help keep the moss tied around the ball and make a knot toward the top, leaving some string to hang the ball, generally plant side up.

Voila, in less than an hour, you have a kokedama moss ball. Each time you will get faster at it and can have more fun with it.

Want more?

Besides on Pinterest, you can see Kokedama in botanical gardens, including at Naples Botanical Garden, where the idea for this Kokedama moss blog originated thanks to the Naples Garden Club and their Idea Garden located within the Naples Botanical Gardens.

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Shop Geoponics now for earth friendly, organic garden, lawn, pond, professional turf and landscape products. Geoponics makes growing easy, successful and good for the planet.

Who has the greenest lawns in California during this long drought? Two groups: Lawmakers who are breaking the laws watering their lawns in the middle of the night and those using Endurant organic turf colorant!

Greenest lawns the wrong way: Breaking the law

Investigative TV reporters at NBC see California legislatures have immaculate green lawns while others go brown due to drought and water restrictions. How are they doing it? By breaking the law in the middle of the night, watering their lawns, curbs and sidewalks. Yikes. And it’s adding up to millions of gallons of water! Even the legislators didn’t deny their actions.

Greenest lawns the right way: Painting with Endurant

The real leaders are painting their grass with Endurant organic lawn paint to save water and get the greenest lawns in the most environmentally friendly way possible. BUY NOW. Show the lawmakers how to lead!  Check out www.lawncolorant.com

Use the turf colorant used by turf professionals and golf course superintendents for years! Endurant

Being one of the few people to have one of the greenest lawns does not have to be shameful. It just needs to be done right! It’s easy painting with Endurant organic turf colorant. You just need a simple garden sprayer, Endurant turf colorant and water– but A LOT LESS water than those lawmakers are using!!! See how and buy now at www.lawncolorant.com.

Fall conjures images of bright red, orange, and yellow leaves—especially images of Vermont maple leaves. Fall takes on a different look for golf courses in the southwestern U.S., particularly those golf courses that do not overseed bermudagrass greens. Fall color means time for Endurant turf colorant in many areas of the world.

October is the time to begin applying colorants to non-overseeded bermudagrass greens. Many superintendents are already beginning their turf painting where cooler weather is coming early this year.

Temperatures just two to four degrees cooler have a relatively dramatic effect on soil temperature, bermudagrass growth and the grass’s natural green hue. See why here.

USGA Agronomist of the Southwest Region, Brian Whitlark has it right: “Green is king.”

Golfers want to see a course that they are proud to invite guests to come see, said Whitlark.

Whether in the Southwest, Southeast or anywhere in the world, turf colorants allow golf course superintendents to give the look and playability golfers and club members expect.

Tips for the Southwest and other desert environment areas for coloring non-overseeded ultradwarf bermudagrass putting greens:

• Begin using colorants when growth slows yet the turf remains green.
• Minimize colorant loss due to clipping removal by mixing in a growth regulator.
• Plan to spray on a seven to 10-day schedule.
• A walking spray boom works well for blending edges and minimizing streaking, but a boom sprayer may also be used for very fast applications. Learn how to apply colorants here.
• If time allows, spray in two directions to minimize or avoid streaking.
• Experiment with different rates and products to determine what will work best for your facility. There are many shades of green, application rates, concentration levels, and application styles to choose from when painting turf. Here are several options in colorants.
• Spray turf colorants at high enough rates and frequent enough intervals to achieve results that golfers will be proud to play on.
• Even if you may save money on non-overseeded greens when compared to overseeding, don’t let that be the plan. Instead, look to benefit members and golf visitors with a consistent putting surface through the entire year by choosing colorant.

An Arizona golf course superintendent has been using Endurant turf colorant for years on his ultradwarf bermudagrass. His method is particular to his golf course, but here’s how he does it:

Endurant turf colorant is applied every 10 to 14 days using 1.5 gallons per acre. The spray volume is doubled to accommodate bidirectional application. He sprays the turf in two directions for a uniform application on the grass. A low rate of nitrogen is included in the tank.

Looking to learn more about the benefits of painting your turf? Here is some great information from the USGA.

Instant Overseed

Off Season Winter Wonderland