Germinal Amenity's Richard Brown shares sustainable landscaping strategies for reducing and eliminating the use of granular fertilisers.
The challenge with quick release fertilisers
Quick release fertilisers, while initially effective, pose significant environmental challenges.
They release nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than CO2. Their high solubility causes rapid nutrient release, leading to nitrogen loss through volatilisation or leaching. This inefficiency demands frequent reapplications, escalating costs and environmental impact, ultimately compromising landscape sustainability.
Sustainable alternatives to quick release fertilisers
To mitigate these issues, alternatives such as slow-release and organic fertilisers offer promising solutions.
Slow-release fertilisers dispense nutrients gradually over an extended period, ensuring a steady and sustainable feed. There are three main types:
1. Controlled release fertilisers: These have a biodegradable coating that breaks down over time, regulating the release of nitrogen.
2. Ammonium stabilised fertilisers: Coated with DMPP, these fertilisers slow the rate at which nitrogen becomes available to plants.
3. Chemically formulated slow-release fertilisers: These contain nitrogen types like MU or IBDU, designed to release nutrients slowly.
Benefits
- Steady nutrient release: all types break down gradually, releasing nutrients over 12 to 20 weeks.
- Improved environmental impact: Minimises nutrient leaching, conserving water quality and reducing pollution.
- Efficient applications: Allows for larger applications with less nitrogen loss, saving time and reducing costs.
Organic fertilisers
Organic fertilisers, derived from plant or animal origins and processed into easy-to-apply pellets, provide numerous benefits for sustainable landscape management.
Benefits
- Slow nutrient release: Microbial breakdown ensures steady nutrient release, improving soil structure and plant growth.
- Soil structure improvement: Incorporating organic matter enhances soil structure, creating a more favourable environment for plant growth.
- Cost efficiency: Reduces the frequency of applications, resulting in significant cost savings.
Choosing products like Germinal's GSR Tri-Phase fertiliser further enhances these benefits, lasting up to four times longer than traditional fertilisers and promoting a more sustainable approach to landscape management.
The role of white clover in sustainable landscaping
White clover is a powerful ally in landscaping due to its nitrogen-fixing capabilities.
Developed by Germinal Horizon, DoubleRoot is the world's first cross of white and Caucasian clovers, producing a hybrid clover that combines the growth habits of both. DoubleRoot's innovation lies in its ability to enhance soil structure through above-ground stolons and underground rhizomes, promoting a healthier soil environment and enhancing microbial activity.
This climate-resilient clover enriches the soil with free, clean nitrogen, reducing reliance on chemical fertilisers. Our AberSustain and A18 DoubleRoot mixtures are expertly formulated to deliver climate smart benefits, supporting sustainable landscaping developments.
- Establishing DoubleRoot Mixtures: Sow at 35 g/m² between April and mid-September, supporting initial growth with slow-release fertiliser.
- Oversowing with DoubleRoot: Best performed during warm, moist conditions in August or early September. Prepare the soil for optimal seed contact by scarifying or harrowing, then broadcast and roll at 5 g/m² for uniform coverage, ensuring efficient soil rejuvenation.
If you want to learn more, watch our climate smart landscaping webinar:
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