Here at Emerald Lawns, we care not only for how green and healthy your grass is but also the structure and depth of your soil. Creating an environment that encourages an extensive root system will generate all sorts of benefits for your yard including healthier grass which will fight the persistence of weeds.

In today’s blog post, we’re going to compare Chocolate Loam and our organic topdressing so that you confidently understand the structure of your soil. Our two products will complement each other and improve your soil’s structure and depth!

Our organic compost topdressing will feed your lawn and revitalize the microbes within your soil. However, despite these wonderful components contributed to your soil, the organic compost alone does not add enough soil depth. Think about how hot and dry it is outside during our warm months here in Texas. During that time, your lawn’s root systems may be shallow, and your turf is weakening due to Texas heat. That’s where the Chocolate Loam will step in and help. By adding depth to your soil, Chocolate Loam creates room for roots to grow in rocky, caliche soil.

The real reason why your lawn needs this is due to Texas soil challenges which include:

• Poor quality due to excessive limestone and caliche
• Extreme lack of organic matter
• Young lawns have acute soil deficiencies because builders only apply a thin layer of cheap sandy loam

This process will take your compact, nutrient-lacking Texas lawn and transform it into a luscious green lawn with a deep root system and micro-organism-rich soil.

The following bullet points list the ingredients within our organic compost topdressing:

• Microbes: primary decomposers of organic matter, provide nitrogen which helps developing plants, detoxify harmful chemicals, suppress disease organisms, and produce products that might stimulate plant growth
• Cotton burr: breaks up clay to improve water infiltration and retention and introduce nutrients
• Pine dust: acidifies soil and adjusts pH
• Rice hulls: increases water and nutrient holding capacity and improves soil aggregation, porosity, and infiltration

Each of these ingredients contributes to nutrient-rich soil! This compost mixture introduces biological organisms and organic matter to poor soil.

Chocolate Loam is composed of ingredients that cultivate the depth your soil. Essentially, Chocolate Loam helps to create a larger environment where roots can grow. 

• Sand
• Clay
• Organic matter

You can see in this comparison that the organic compost topdressing has components that mainly enhance the quality of the soil while the Chocolate Loam offers some soil quality enhancement but mainly develops a larger layer for root development.

Our organic compost topdressing is applied during the spring and fall to enrich the soil by delivering an abundance of organic matter and bio-nutrients to jump-start activity in your soil.

Chocolate Loam is applied during the summer and early fall; this application will offer some organic matter to the soil and build upon soil depth.

We’ve talked about how our scorching Texas environment is a challenge for soil structure and depth. But there are MORE benefits that Chocolate Loam has to offer! Let’s review what higher quality and deep soil structure provide:

• Space for roots to deepen
• Increases moisture retention for more efficient watering
• Alleviates hot spots (browning or inconsistent color)
• Adds key minerals to what is lacking in our soils

Now you see the importance and benefit of soil structure and depth! Adding topsoil will prepare your lawn to battle the heat and give your grass a healthier chance.

Depending on your lawn’s needs and the time of year, we’re happy to apply either Chocolate Loam or our organic topdressing to help build your lawn’s foundation and insulate the root systems from the brutal Texas temperatures.

Call 512.990.2199 or connect online at emeraldlawnsaustin.com/contact-us to learn more!

External Sources:

https://www.sare.org/publications/building-soils-for-better-crops/the-living-soil/soil-microorganisms/

https://www.westtexasorganicgardening.com/

https://www.echocommunity.org/en/resources/9f9bcb3a-ed2e-4209-bf90-38a759ff3340