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Soil Builders
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Mr. Natural® Soil Products |
Mr. Natural brand soil amendments have been under development since 1984. Since then, they have produced a full line of organic products to enrich poor soils including hard clay. In the past, these products have only been available to professional landscapers in the immediate Georgia area. Now they are available to the home gardener at Moore and Moore West. We carry four of these products including: CLM (Complete Landscape Mix), WSM (Woodland Soil Mix), Worm Castings and Permatill®. The ingredients in all of these products are derived from naturally composted materials and organic matter.
Permatill®
Permatill is an inert soil additive made of expanded slate lightweight aggregate. This special slate is mined and then heated in rotary kilns which creates the pore space and structure that gives Permatill its beneficial properties. When worked into the top 6" of the soil, Permatill improves soil drainage, reduces soil compaction, and improves both soil aeration and water holding capabilities. Of course, soil compaction limits the movement of water, air and nutrients through the soil and Permatill prevents this from occurring. Also, Permatill never breaks down in the soil like other additives such as peat moss so one application is sufficient. It can also be used for rock pathways as well as potting mixes for container gardening. This versatile product comes strongly recommended in the trade as a natural way to prevent soil compaction and improve drainage and aeration. Permatill is an ingredient in both CLM and WSM (below).
Worm Castings
Worm "castings" is a genteel name for what comes out of the nether end of an earthworm. What a lot of people don't realize is that worm castings are an essential element of rich, fertile soils. As a soil amendment, worm castings are ideal for all plants, especially those that are acid loving, such as azaleas and rhododendron. These worm castings can be tilled into an area for bed preparation or used as a topdressing for containers, native trees and shrubs, and perennial beds. Worm castings is an ingredient in both CLM and WSM (below).
CLM (Complete Landscape Mix)
CLM is a pre-mixed planting soil specifically designed for growing a wide variety of plants in poor soils. The secret? Slow-release organic materials derived from chicken-manure compost and worm castings, and excellent soil drainage from Permatill and granite sand.
WSM (Woodland Soil Mix)
Having trouble growing azaleas and rhododendrons? The answer to that problem lies in a bag of WSM. This product is specifically designed for acid-loving plants and gives the necessary drainage (thanks to Permatill) these plants need to survive. WSM also contains worm castings to boost the organic content without raising the pH of your soil.
Other Soil Builders
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Hu-More® Plant & Soil Builder
This combination of high-quality humus and composted alfalfa helps build healthy soil full of organic matter. Weed-free, odor-free and non-burning, Hu-More Plant & Soil Builder breaks up tight clay soils |
| and buffers soil pH. It also has a slight fertilizing action (analysis: 2-2-2) and contains the natural stimulant Triacontanol for healthy plant growth. Use as a side dressing after setting out plants or in fall, till into new beds in spring, and mix with indoor potting soil anytime to give it a boost. Don't plant in Hu-More alone, however - it's too rich! Although the maker recommends using it alone as a mulch, we think it works best when mixed into a fine mulch such as shredded pine or soil conditioner. |
Planters II
This is the soil amendment for tight, infertile clay soils. Planters II works to loosen heavy clay, adds important trace minerals that Middle Tennessee soils frequently lack, and attracts earthworms like a magnet. That last feature is key - nothing humans have ever invented can match the soil-building activity of a bunch of busy earthworms. Use Planters II on everything - flower beds, vegetable gardens, trees, shrubs and especially lawns. If you want to wow your neighbors, spread it and our organic Espoma Lawn Food on your lawn and water in with Moore 's Mix. Yowzah!
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Actagro®
If you distilled the humus in 500 lbs of top-quality compost into a concentrate, you'd have Actagro. This liquid humus contains organic acids that aid microbial activity, water penetration, micronutrient uptake, and cation |
| (pronounced cat-eye-on rather than 'cayshun') exchange capacity. All of which means that your plants take up nutrients better, so they grow faster and stronger. Useful for everything from trees to lawns -- ferns just love the stuff. One of the components of Moore's Mix. |
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Vita-Sea®
Liquid seaweed extract, and a true plant tonic. We use gallons of this stuff ourselves, and sell vast quantities to customers who swear by it. Vita-Sea stimulates root growth, improves soil moisture retention and increases the ability to resist |
| stress due to drought, transplanting, disease, heat, insect/chemical damage, pesticide application - just about whatever ails plants. We give new arrivals at the garden center a feed of Vita-Sea with a splash of SuperThrive to help them get over the trip from the grower's. We've seen that same Vita-Sea / SuperThrive mix applied over a dressing of Holly-Tone turn around cases of White Pine Decline. A component of Moore's Mix. |
Carbonizer
If you took that same 500 lb compost pile you got the Actagro out of and distilled the carbon and microbes out of it, you'd get Carbonizer. This product inoculates your soil with carbon and beneficial microbes that enhance decomposition of organic matter and fertilizer. This decomposition is essential to plants, as they can't uptake most fertilizers directly but rely on the product of bacterial action on the fertilizers to feed themselves. Have a big pile of leaves you want to compost quickly? Douse it with Carbonizer and stand back.
Organics Links:
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