By Ken McEntee Following a weather-challenged 2018, mulch manufacturers in the Southern U.S. say 2019 has gotten off to a strong start. With better cooperation from the weather, most producers contacted by Soil & Mulch Producer News said they expect improved markets and increased production this year. “Orders are coming in good and early,” said Robert LaGasse, executive director of …
By P.J. Heller Substituting various amounts of biochar for peat moss in greenhouse and nursery growing applications – including the total elimination of peat from the potting substrate and replacing it with biochar – resulted in similar plant growth, according to a recent study. “Biochar is a promising substitute for peat . . .” researchers reported. The study, conducted at …
By Gail Barnes Soil is more than brown dirt. It is a living breathing system, and like any living system can become unhealthy and susceptible to pests and disease. That’s where beneficial bacteria – or good bugs known as probiotics – come in. They restore balance in the soil, and in doing so, can enhance plant and soil health. We …
By Ken McEntee In theory, expanding a mulch producing operation into compost production sounds like an ideal way to add an additional revenue stream. Unfortunately, say some people in the mulch business, the complications of permitting and the expense of purchasing composting equipment often can make compost production more trouble than it’s worth. Others, however, say that restricting feedstock to …
By P.J. Heller Massive amounts of wood waste generated by Hurricane Irma in Florida — from trees and branches to damaged or destroyed homes, buildings and other structures — is continuing to make its way to landfills and waste-to-energy plants throughout the Sunshine State months after the storm ravaged much of southwest Florida. Only a small amount of the felled …
By P.J. Heller When the Eastman Kodak Company introduced Kodachrome film in 1935, it changed the way the people worldwide looked at films and images, from a black-and-white view to a palette of vivid colors. A similar eye-popping experience occurred in 1954 with the introduction of color television. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the outdoors began taking on …
By Bob LaGasse, MSC Executive Director For years, local fire marshals have been promoting the urban myth of spontaneous combustion of mulch in home gardens and landscape applications. In 2016 we saw a significant increase in the number of reports of local mulch fires, particularly in landscapes around businesses where the cause was attributed to improper disposal of smoking materials, …
By Robert LaGasse, MSC Executive Director The National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) of the U.S. Department of Commerce is headquartered in Gaithersburg, MD, and helps coordinate industry and regulatory issues —including weights & measures — in interstate commerce. NIST handbooks provide guidelines for uniform standards and testing utilized by most state and local governments as well as private …
By Veronica Harrison Rep. Scott Tipton (R-CO) reintroduced the Water Rights Protection Act (WRPA) at a hearing of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans on May 18, 2017. The bill passed the House of Representatives in the 113th and 114th Congresses with bipartisan support, but it never received a vote in the Senate. WRPA would uphold …
By Kathy Hoekstra The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Department of the Army, and Army Corps of Engineers proposed a rule to rescind the controversial 2015 Waters of the United States rule. The Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule is closer to being removed from the Federal Register after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of the Army, and …
