SOIL3 FIELD DAY
PERRY, GA
EVENT: Soil3 Side-By-Side Testing
LOCATION: GWES Agricultural Research and Development Facility
DATE: April 14, 2022
PARTICIPANTS: GWES Perry Office, Super Sod, and GDOT
On April 14th, GWES hosted the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) at our Agricultural Research and Development Facility to review side by side testing of an alternative best management practice, Soil3. Linear projects too often suffer the impacts of poor soils. Whether in the Piedmont or Coastal Plains, some soils in the South lack beneficial nutrients to sustain grasses and other ground cover. Society has accepted the use of conventional fertilizers for the purpose of establishing ground cover quickly. Temporary grasses use up available nutrients from fertilizers, but permanent grasses typically rely on nutrients in the soil. Hundreds of years of cultivation and timber harvesting have left some soils in the South in poor condition with little to no beneficial nutrients that can sustain long term root and plant health. Working with Super Sod, a Patten Seed Company, GWES has been evaluating the use of Soil3 as a soil amendment to condition poor soils with beneficial bacteria and nutrients for long last impacts associated with sustainability and root health. GDOT visited the R&D Facility to better understand the benefits of amending nutrients in poor soils as well as see first-hand how Soil3’s benefits compare to conventional fertilizers on sustainable grass cover.
