Return to the Soil Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
Turface in a lasagna garden???
| | |
Posted by
dirtguy50 6 SW MO (
My Page) on
Mon, Jun 11, 12 at 13:25
| Wanting to start a lasagna garden in the next week with some extra things I have. It will probably take a month to get it done. Question is, I have about 50 lbs of turface and was wondering if sprinkling that around as I build the layers would be a good additive. Thanks in advance for any advise !!!!! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Turface in a lasagna garden???
| | |
| I say NO. You dont want rocks in your soil. Save it for the pots. You want material that will compost and biodegrade. Apparently alot of people around here have a hard time finding turface. If its turface MVP you should try selling it ...heheh;-) |
RE: Turface in a lasagna garden???
| | |
| Dirtguy, though the Turface will do no harm whatsoever, that small amount won't accomplish much of anything. If you need to add an amendment that provides drainage and porosity, you'd need a great deal of the Turface. I agree that you should put that bag of product to better use in your containers. 50# of Turface doesn't really go very far. |
RE: Turface in a lasagna garden???
| | |
| If you have sandy soil, it could help a bit. |
RE: Turface in a lasagna garden???
| | |
| Thanks everyone. I have good soil but was referring to doing a lasagna garden and had some extra Turface I needed to do something with. It is Turface MVP and readily available here. I don't think of them as "rocks" as they are more like the size of perlite. Trying to throw everything...well, except the perverbiable kitchin sink, I have around into the lasagna bed I have around. lol |
RE: Turface in a lasagna garden???
| | |
| They are not rocks, they are clay pieces that help to hold moisture in sandy soils. I like them. |
RE: Turface in a lasagna garden???
| | |
| Kitchen-sink approach is good, but you don't want to add clay to clay, just like you wouldn't add sand to sandy soil. The idea is to add what is missing so you have a good mix of some clay, some sand, lots of decomposed organic material for tilth and some still decomposing OM on top for fertility. Never been to MO, so will leave that up to your judgment, and that of others who actually know what the soil is like there. |
RE: Turface in a lasagna garden???
| | |
| Well, I'd say go ahead and toss in the Turface. Like I said, that small amount probably won't contribute much in the way of porosity or water holding capacity, or even CEC, but it cannot do any harm. For those who aren't familiar with Turface, it's a high heat treated clay product used to perform many duties...a calcined clay. It prevents compaction, absorbs excess water to release slowly, it provides porosity, increases oxygen content, absorbs dissolved minerals to release slowly (CEC), provides durability and stability. I first became familiar with it while working as a consultant for golf courses, and also started using it in my potting mediums....about 25 years ago! Its primary use is as a component for sports fields...construction of golf greens, baseball fields, football fields, etc. It doesn't turn into mushy clay when wet. |
Post a Follow-Up
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in.
If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Soil Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.
