7/2/2013

As heat waves and droughts hit the nation, managing moisture is becoming more and more of a challenge for homeowners and landscape managers. We have high temps, low precipitation and watering restrictions to deal with all over the country. How can we make each drop of H₂O last into next week when the dry air is trying to evaporate each molecule, and the dried out ground is so hydrophobic it’s actually repelling water instead of absorbing the meager weekly dousing water restrictions allow?

There are many challenges when talking moisture management, two of which 1) are getting the water to the rootzone and 2) keeping it there over time.

First, how do I get the water to the rootzone?

In times of heat and drought, the rootzone  gets too dry at the surface and instead of absorbing the water it repels it. Use of a product that strips off that hydrophobic coating helps water move from the surface into the rootzone. Harrell’s HyrdoTech® technology contains a hydrophobic coating solubilizer which directly addresses the cause of  soil water repellency. Numerous golf courses have been finding great success using Fleet®, which contains HydroTech® to get water through the hydrophobic surface and into the rootzone.  This success is applicable to both residential and commercial lawn and landscape settings.  Check out this video sent in by Thomas Simpson, Assistant Superintendent at Old Elm Golf Course in Chicago. This area, which has been treated with Fleet, absorbs the water like a sponge! It’s amazing. I don’t know about you, but when it rains (or the sprinklers are on) it pours where I live and the water just pools in my yard. There’s no sponge under my green grass. Imagine if we used Fleet in residential settings.  We could really make use of the water that’s available to us.. Hmmm… food for thought. Also keep in mind, depending on the type of soil in your area, Symphony® might be a better choice for you with the same results, especially if your turf and landscape setting is on a high sand content rootzone.

Second, how do we get the water to stay in the rootzone?

Ok so, we now know we can use Fleet to get the water to the rootzone, but is the rootzone going to hold it for a whole week until our watering day comes around again? Hmmm…. That’s questionable. We need something in the rootzone that will hold the water for an extended period of time. The root can only uptake a small portion of the available water until it’s full, so we need to hold the water in the rootzone over time giving the plant time to drink and then come back for seconds, thirds, fourths. What’s available to hold water in soil over time? In ornamental beds, we know the answer, don’t we? Add some peat! If you’ve ever seen peat moss, you know it’s dry and flaky until you add water. Then (after it gets over being hyrdrophic) it sucks up the water and holds it for a long time. This makes the plant happy and allows it to get water as it needs it over time. But wait…. I don’t know about you, but my lawn is established. I can’t just dig it up to add some peat! But I can use a product that contains components of peat. Harrell’s EarthMAX works just like peat. EarthMAX liquid organic meets USDA standards as 100% organic, which means it uses natural organisms like bacteria, fungi, humic acid and fulvic acid to work like peat. In addition to keeping the soil moist and thereby providing water to the turf overtime, EarthMAX helps with turf health and root development by providing essential elements and with ingredients like carbon, EarthMAX increases stress tolerance in times of drought.

The combination of Fleet and EarthMAX is a beneficial addition to your moisture management arsenal, especially during these hot, dry summer months. Contact your Harrell’s representative for more information on Fleet®, Symphony® and EarthMAX and for more tips and techniques for managing moisture. Your turf will be thankful you did!