Homepage > Hendrikus’ EssentialSoil™ > Attributes
Advantages of EssentialSoil™
Because EssentialSoil™ is engineered, use-specific blends formulated for performance, they have many advantages over regular topsoil.
In situations needing erosion or structural soils, the proven attributes of EssentialSoil™ can mean the difference between success and failure on a project.
In planting beds, veggie gardens and lawns, EssentialSoil™ allows ample room for air and water, while maintaining a dense nutrient base and structure.
- A living soil, rich with beneficial microbial activity
- Supports rapid, healthy and self-sustaining plant & root growth
- Can be customized to meet specific site and vegetation needs
- Can be applied to slopes in deep layers
- Reduces sediment by 99%-100%
- Reduces runoff by up to 60%
- Binds heavy metals, bio-degrades hydro-carbon pollutants
- Can be applied on slopes up to 70 degrees or more
- Designed for pneumatic installation
- Easily tele-conveyed into place
- Reduces height or eliminates retaining structures
- Reduces need or eliminates storm and drain systems
- Bonds to hillsides without netting withstanding weather until vegetation is established
- Balances water retention and permeability
- Greater infiltration into the soil
- Greater evapo-transpiration from healthier plants
- Soil structure workable in extreme wet conditions, does not compact or turn to mud
- Oxygen diffuses easily and rapidly into the soil to prevent and remediate anaerobic conditions
- Beneficial to waterways, shorelines, fish and wildlife
Disadvantages of other materials
Planting Methods
- Require more up-front maintenance for success of plant material
- Increase labor costs to install plant materials
- Lack quality soils and produce weak or sickly plant, which:
- creates necessity for plant mortality budgeting
- creates unattractive aesthetics
- necessitates noxious weed control
- undermines reputation
Netting
- Application usually requires a great deal of grade preparation
- Compaction by heavy equipment hardens soil surface
- Time/labor intensive
- Some synthetic netting does not bio-degrade
- Some synthetics contain toxins harmful to the environment
- Application causes a permanent hazard to wildlife
- Wildlife can cause significant damage to the application
- Can bind or cut into roots creating structural flaws and disease in plants
- Usually offers only a small decrease in water velocity and runoff
Tackifiers and Sealers
- Seal the surface shut, cutting off oxygen for plants and microorganisms
- Application is not a sustainable resource
- Products can be toxic to the environment
Hydroseeding
- Not always effective on hard-pan surfaces
- May take multiple applications
- Does not prevent erosion or sedimentation until fully established
- Synthetic fertilizers used by many hydroseeders damage soil microorganisms, the process that develops sustainable plant establishment
Structures
- Costly and time consuming
- Lasts only as long as the material from which they are built, and will eventually decompose and necessitate rebuilding of another structure
- Sometimes require complex drainage and maintenance
