Posted by Sean Kennedy on Wed, Feb 03, 2010 @ 10:18 AM
When dealing with questions like this one, I prefer to defer answers to the agronomical and horticultural experts. I searched and searched and went Ivy League this time and found some great, basic facts for nearly every mulching situation. Whether you need mulch to replenish nutrients in the soil, help in a vegetable garden or just looking to spruce up your curb appeal read what the Department of Horticulture at Cornell has to say. I feel this is one of the most comprehensive and informative pieces I have come across while learning about mulch and its various functions. If you have found other educational sources you would like to share, please link in your comments. I hope this is as useful to you as is to us at EnviroColor®.
Posted by Sean Kennedy on Thu, Jan 28, 2010 @ 10:21 AM
Having been a part of growing small business for the past year there are many lessons I have learned. Some are obvious, but I feel the need to repeat them anyway. Here at EnviroColor® we strive to provide deliver a product and service that the customer believes in completely. We attempt to exceed the customers "expectations" to keep that customer loyal in a very competitive market place and we try to do these things consistently. OK, so everyone knows this and they are doing the same things, so what has helped us grow in this struggling economy. My one word answer is marketing. Inbound marketing to be specific. By learning to optimize your website (SEO), using social media to get your message out to the masses and following up responsibly with the leads that these techniques generate are essential for all start ups. There are several tools available ranging in price and the metrics and feedback they provide.
Google, where 80+% of internet searches are done has unbelievable tools and are free. Taking the time to learn the how's, what's and why's can make a tremendous impact. And speaking of small company growth, businesses that specify in inbound marketing are popping up all over the place. My favorite is Hubspot. You can go to their site and have them "grade" your website for free. Their platform is easy to use and the amount of advice and tools for you to use are second to none. My only issue is the cost. It seems they must pay their marketing mavens and gurus well based on the cost of their service. I feel it is worth it, but if you plan to use Hubspot make sure to budget your dollars and time appropriately. I came in know absolutely nothing about SEO, social medial, landing pages, keywords, etc. I don't claim to be an expert now, but at least I have a real concept of how the search engines spiders work, writing blog articles that someone might actually read and using Youtube, Facebook and Twitter effectively. SEO is a moving target. It seems what is important for a high ranking today may mean nothing tomorrow. If you are a small business owner and have a website, have Hubspot grade it and learn what you can do to improve. Like I said, my expertise lies in exceeding our customers' expectations by providing products and services they believe in and doing this consistently. I need to focus on pine straw, mulch and grass paint and the advantages they provide. I let the inbound marketing experts help me with the rest. I look forward to your feedback and ideas.
Cheers.
Posted by Sean Kennedy on Wed, Jan 13, 2010 @ 10:34 AM
Doing research for EnviroColor's 4EverGreen I came across this on the HGTV website. This is great advice from Master Gardner Paul James. I added my thoughts in between. I hope to hear your ideas too.
There are usually two reasons for the two-toned lawn, says master gardener Paul James. "One is that many homeowners desperately want a green lawn year-round so they over-seed warm-season Bermuda or zoysia lawns, which go brown during the winter months due to dormancy, with a cool-season grass that stays green throughout the winter months. In nearly all cases, reseeding must be done every year, and unless the seed is spread uniformly, a two-toned lawn is inevitable."
If you reseed on a regular basis and at the right time for your area, you can achieve the uniformity you desire. Bear in mind, though, that with this kind of lawn, you may extend the mowing season by at least few weeks and you'll have to continue watering for perhaps a few months.
This extra water usage and mowing can come at high expense. Some areas under drought restrictions may not be able to water at all.
The other reason for a two-toned lawn has to do with growing conditions, especially in landscapes with lots of mature trees. Throughout the country and in older neighborhoods in particular, parts of the lawn may be in full sun, while parts may be in the shade cast by large trees. This creates a real problem because warm-season grasses like to grow in full sun and don't like to be in the shade, and cool-season grasses love the shade, but they don't really like growing in the blazing sun. As a result, people wind up with two-toned lawn.
In this type of situation, there is no easy solution, says James. "You can open up the canopies of the trees by removing several of the large branches to let more of the light in, you can limb up the trees to achieve essentially the same effect, or you can forget trying to grow grass under the trees all together and opt instead for rugged, shade-tolerant ground cover, or maybe just a bunch of mulch," he says. "And in fact, that's often the best solution, especially since all the water and nutrients are quickly sucked right out of the soil by the dense tree roots, making it next to impossible to grow grass beneath them anyway."
Using mulch under these tree canopies provides a great looking, cost effective solution to this dilemma. Make sure you mulch all the way to the trees drip line. And remember from previous articles, no mulch volcanoes!
Plus, we at EnviroColor offer 4EverGreen grass and lawn painting colorant as well as Sierra Red, Black Forest and Cocoa Brown mulch dyes.
Posted by Sean Kennedy on Mon, Jan 04, 2010 @ 02:54 PM
Back in 1978 a new term was coined in Colorado that has a growing impact on the landscape business. As water conservation becomes more prevalent all over the world, EnviroColor® encourages the use of this landscape technique to keep "water wise"
Xeros from the Greek, meaning dry.
Xeriscape landscaping is a growing trend among individuals, organizations and corporations who want to do their part is preserving our environment. Through the use of low water consuming plants and gardening practices that support water conservation, we can extend the life of our precious clean water supplies.
Many pursue xeriscaping primarily as a means to lower their own water consumption. This practice has a "bigger picture" trickle down effect. Even if you are not thinking as much about "going green" or helping the environment, you inevitably contribute to building a sustainable future.
Xeriscape landscaping incorporates seven basic principles which lead to saving water:
- Planning and design
- Soil analysis
- Practical turf areas
- Appropriate plant selection
- Efficient irrigation
- Use of mulches
- Appropriate maintenance
By incorporating these seven principles, you can help preserve our most precious natural resource-water.
Mulching Conserves Moisture
Mulch is a layer of nonliving material covering the soil surface around plants. Mulches can be organic materials such as pine bark, pine needles, compost and wood chips; or inorganic materials, such as lava rock, limestone or permeable plastic, not sheet plastic.
Use mulch wherever possible. Good mulch conserves water by significantly reducing moisture evaporation from the soil. Mulch also reduces weed populations, prevents soil compaction and keeps soil temperatures more moderate.
If it is color you desire in your xeriscape, remember EnviroColor® Georgia Pine, Sierra Red, Cocoa Brown and Black Forest to enhance the color and extend the life of your mulch.
Posted by Sean Kennedy on Wed, Dec 23, 2009 @ 01:21 PM
For Christians all over the world this is a special time of the year as they are celebrating the birth of their Savior. We here at EnviroColor® wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and the obligatory Happy New Year too!
We are excited about what the new year has in store for our brand and for all the individuals who are searching for the perfect solutions to their ground cover needs. As was mentioned last week we are perfecting our 4EverGreen grass colorant. This new product is the perfect item for the lawn fanatic who desires the "perfect" looking yard. As always we are striving to provide the end user the best top spray solutions for mulch, pine straw and now grass.
Sales pitch is over, seriously, we want our subscribers, readers and patrons to have a splendid holiday season. May you cherish the moments made this Christmas.
Merry Christmas from EnviroColor®.
Peace to all!
Posted by Sean Kennedy on Fri, Dec 18, 2009 @ 09:54 AM
New businesses are popping up all over the American southwest as drought conditions and foreclosures continue to hammer the region. This new business is coloring, painting or dying brown grass green. Here in the southeast as temperatures drop our bermuda lawns go dormant and turn brown. Some of choose to over seed with a winter rye. This poses a couple of issues. First, the amount of water needed to ensure germination is substantial and even though the "drought is over in Georgia" I personally feel that each individual needs to be very conscious of their water usage. Secondly, the introduction of a new grass presents a list of problems unto itself. I won't bog down this article with a huge list of disease issues and whatnot, just know that the transition period back to bermuda can be tumultuous. Golf courses, natural grass turf stadiums and cemetaries have been using the "painting" method for a little more than a decade saving on water costs and presenting a great aesthetic to their patrons. This unique product and process is something that we at EnviroColor® have studied this product and process for nearly a year and are ready to help those individuals who desire a green lawn in the dormant season. We produce, supply and apply only the best environmentally friendly top spray colorants for pine straw and mulch, and now for grass too!
Posted by Sean Kennedy on Wed, Dec 09, 2009 @ 12:09 PM
I am spending so much time in the yard on the weekends preparing all my plants for winter I fugured I needed to share my finds with the rest of you. I have collected a great article from author Terry Gray and just anded a quip or two concerning ways to enhance and enrich the natural color of the suggested type of mulch. Enjoy and get your yard ready for the winter season!
It is considered the fact Pine Straw Mulch is a sustainable, renewable resource, it's so simple and lightweight to work with pine needle and looks very attractive especially with a top spray of EnviroColor®. Young seedlings can grow through pine needle, water can filter down through it, the ground can breathe and yet pine straw still holds in moisture. It lasts longer than other similar materials and pine needle won't shift off with the first steady rain.
In fall mulching with pine straw has an significant function since temperatures in the late fall to winter months can change radically. The ground heaves as it freezes and thaws, forcing the root systems of many fragile plants up from the soil and exposing them to the elements. Nearly all plants are much healthier when they have a bed of pine needle mulch spread over their roots.
When mulching with pine straw you should wait until the ground is frozen or just about frozen before you add the pine needle. Any sooner cover will boost mold and mildew to form on the surface. Generally, a 2- to 3-inch bed of pine needle mulch situated over the root zone of a plant will provide a noticeable difference in the plant's health. Established plants will show less stress and better growth. Just be sure to pull pine straw mulch an inch or two aside from the stems of shrubs or from the trunks of trees. If pine needle mulch is placed up against trunks or stems, it can contain too much water and encourage decay on the bark.
Many people make the error of using less reliable fall mulch such as hay in their garden. Hay is not a good alternative to pine straw since hay often carries seeds that will sooner or later sprout and cause weed problems in your garden in the spring. Pine straw comes from several different species of pine trees that drop their pine needles by nature throughout the year. Since it is produced naturally, pine straw sometimes is referred to as the "guilt-free" mulch. Each species' of pine tree will have its own unique characteristics, such as pine needle length, wax content and pine needle flexibility. The Loblolly species of pine straw, for instance, has a pine needle length ranging from about six to nine inches, making it simple to use and shape. Also, the needle sizing is optimal for allowing the soil to breathe well while allowing first-class water infiltration.
Ideally, garden mulch for the winter is added in the fall to protect against sudden and extreme temperature dips before plants have had a chance to fully harden. A few inches of pine straw mulch can provide a cushion of as much as 10 degrees above ambient air temperatures which is just enough to keep roots growing. And certainly, a top layer of pine needle mulch offers decorative appeal and for more enriched natural pine needle color, use EnviroColor®, to make the garden looked cared for at a time when the yard can look a little underwhelming.
Posted by Sean Kennedy on Wed, Dec 02, 2009 @ 10:16 AM
A couple of weeks ago I forwarded some advice on fall mulching, now with the occurance of the first major frost in the Metro Atlanta area I figured I had better find out what to do for my roses come cold weather. This is the best advice I found.......
OLATHE, Kan. - Many gardeners find the concept hard to accept: You shouldn't protect most perennial plants from each year's late-season decline into freezing weather.
"With few exceptions, plants need to go through the transition on their own, so they enter winter dormancy on time. You only apply winter mulch after that, because its sole purpose is to hold in the soil's cold. That way, it can buffer any air temperature changes that come later on, during winter's freeze-thaw cycles," said Dennis Patton, horticulturist with Kansas State University Research and Extension.
In general, plants become fully dormant after two to three hard freezes in the mid to low twenties, he said.
Winter mulch protection is particularly important for any limited- or shallow-rooted plants, Patton said. In Kansas, they include such "semi-hardy" plants as mums and strawberries, as well as all trees, shrubs, perennials and bulbs that have been in the landscape for less than a year.
Winter mulch is vital to the survival of grafted roses, too, he added, which typically mean all hybrid teas.
"Winter's repeated pattern of freezing and thawing kills more plants in the Midwest than sub-zero temperatures do," Patton warned. "In unmulched landscapes, the shifts can heave some plants from the ground, exposing roots to air. Plus, they can expose plant grafts and crowns - the places where stems and roots meet -- to hard, killing freezes."
In late winter or early spring, the mulch's role can gain even more importance, he said. The insulating cover can hold in soil's cold so that unseasonably warm weather doesn't cue plants to break dormancy.
"If these periods are long enough for unmulched perennials to lose some winter hardiness, the plants are open for major, even fatal damage when the weather turns cold again," Patton said.
Because winter mulch also can moderate soil moisture loss, however, it can benefit any landscape plant. Freeze-thaw cycles tend to dry out the soil, creating plant stress, the horticulturist said. Mulching also protects the soil from the compaction and erosion that winter rains and snowmelt can cause.
For perennial gardens, Patton recommends a 2- to 3-inch-deep layer of a light, airy mulch material, such as straw, shredded leaves or pine needles. (One bail of straw can cover about 100 square feet 3 inches deep.) Deeper layers can suffocate plants over winter.
Plants with woody stems or trunks will need an inch or two of "air space" between mulch and wood - "as if their trunk is inside the hole of a mulch doughnut," he said. "As they decompose, mulch ‘volcanoes' that touch the main stem can cause the same damage as placing a woody plant too deep in the ground."
Grafted roses are the exception to the doughnut rule, Patton warned. The best protection for their crown and graft is a mound of garden soil, gathered from elsewhere in the landscape. The soil cone should be about 6 inches deep. A top layer of straw or leaves will help prevent erosion.
"You should periodically inspect roses and other low-branching shrubs until spring growth begins and you remove winter's mulch," he said. "You may have to institute other protective measures if varmints are using the mulch as cover or climbing on top of snow-covered mulch to gnaw on branches."
Thanks to Kansas State and Dennis Patton. Happy Holidays everyone and I hope your roses appreciate the extra care. Looking forward to your comments.
Posted by Sean Kennedy on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 @ 08:47 AM
Normally I use this space to promote the benefits of our product and services or provide tips for mulching, planting, water conservation and other environmentally sustainable projects. Today I just want to give a "shout out" to everyone involved in making our global community the best it can be.
In the US the Holiday season is here and the social media is ripe with "Black Friday Boycotts" "SEO" techniques to get your paged ranked #1, "MLM" concepts for you to get rich and just about anything imaginable depending on who or what you follow. I guess the irony here is that next week I will be up to the old tricks of the trade of trying to keep my subscribers informed and improving my Google ranking, but today I just want to thank the folks that made this all possible.
Before anyone, I want to thank our armed forces. Their sacrifice to protect our way of life so I can do what I do is remembered on a daily basis, but rarely do I thank them. For you, I give thanks!
My wife, family and friends always come first. They support me every way imaginable and I am fortuante for such a great support system. Having this pillar to lean on makes coping with the unknown bearable. For you, I give thanks.
The team I work with, who ultimately fall in the friends category, and could be considered family since we all spend so much time together, are tremendous group who share in providing excellence. Anthony and Antonio are always ready to assist with my projects as I try to provide any and all support they need in the field. Our President and CEO, Bob Russo, has empowered us all to make decisions and move his vision forward to create growth, quality and provide our patrons with every tool necessary for thier landscape projects. For you, I give thanks.
The associates of Pike Family Nurseries should get a great big thanks too. I am very fortunate to have their knowledge and ideas to bring our product to the masses. They have provided so many great ideas on ensuring the EnviroColor® brand is one that stands for integrity and sustainability. We are proud that Pike is our launching pad into the retail arena and are looking forward to being in all of there stores in 2010! For you I give thanks.
Finally, all the customers who have taken the leap and tried EnviroColor®, I give many thanks. Especially those of you who take the time to send me photographs and tell me your success stories. Keep them coming! For you I give thanks.
Without any of the above mentioned individuals this blog and all the others wouldn't have the same meaning. Thanks again. When I gorge myself and sit down to watch my Green Bay Packers beat the Detroit Lions tomorrow I will be thinking of and thanking you all.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Posted by Sean Kennedy on Wed, Nov 18, 2009 @ 10:26 AM
Fall is the time everyone recommends mulching your garden beds. Garden calendars, magazine articles, websites, and blogs (like this one) all tout the benefits of mulching and the advantages of doing it in the fall.
Mulching in fall -
- adds organic matter to the soil to lighten and enrich it
- prevents erosion by winter rains
- helps keep roots from freezing
- warms soil for earlier spring planting
- prevents weed seedlings from getting started
So, you're sold. Mulching is good. But, what do you use - exactly? There are quite a number of bags in the nursery or garden center to choose from.
A mulch can be any type of organic material - bark dust, bark nuggets, shredded bark, compost, compost/bark blends, pine needles, fallen leaves, straw, and so on. There isn't really one "right" choice.
Fallen leaves are best chopped up before being used either in the garden or in the compost pile. Straw may not break down fully over the winter season, but it is a great garden cover and can be tilled into the soil come spring.
If you desire color for your landscaped beds EnviroColor is an inexpensive and safe way to top spray the color you desire. We know color is a choice or opinion and is not for every gardener. We are proud that our product meets the Mulch and Soil Council (MSC) Colorants Sub-Committee meet the requirements.
EnviroColor recently went the so called "six-pack" test for toxicology. The test is commonly used to check the toxicity of things like pesticides and insecticides and is used to ensure that products are labeled properly to guide consumers use of potentially toxic products. Six test are performed, checking the material on:
- Acute oral toxicity
- Acute dermal toxicity
- Acute inhalation toxicity
- Eye irritation
- Dermal irritation
- Skin irritation
Depending on the toxicity discovered in each test, different labeling must be on the packages containing the product.