This World Soil Day (December 5th), leading topsoil and growing media supplier, Boughton is calling on landscapers, specifiers and garden designers to take time to consider the benefits of natural soils.
Image Credit: Boughton
Boughton – a firm advocate for single-source natural ‘as dug’ topsoil – is keen to use this significant day to highlight the impact using natural topsoil and sourcing products sustainably can have on both your landscaping projects and the environment.
Improving Soil Health
As World Soil Day focuses on soil health and awareness in order to maintain diverse ecosystems, Boughton wants to remind the industry about the significant benefits of using a natural soil.
Not only do these soils have good body and great moisture retention qualities – ideal for modern landscaping projects, given predictions of water shortages in the future – but Boughton soils also have a low pH, high organic content and boast both existing and developing organism biomass. The latter is a huge plus for planting schemes, considering the vital role microbial activity plays in the development and growth of flora within a soil.
In fact, some natural topsoils have been establishing themselves for thousands of years, allowing their nutrient balance time to level out and cycle on a natural rhythm. This means they can provide host plants with accessible nutrients quickly, once installed.
Providing Soils to Award-Winning Projects
There are a number of enormous advantages to using sustainably sourced natural soils, which is why Boughton has supplied its products to several high-profile construction and landscaping projects, including the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station, which was awarded the title of ‘Grand Award Winner’ at the recent BALI National Landscape Awards. The team behind the gardens, Willerby, also received the Principal Award win within the ‘Regeneration Scheme - Over £500k’ category for the second phase of the roof garden.
Within these gardens, Boughton’s IN1 substrate was selected to support the scheme due to its ability to support larger plants and to be installed at depths from 100 – 500cm, thanks to its sandy texture. Additionally, Boughton’s IN1 substrate offers significant moisture retention qualities, making it the perfect choice when so many plants are vying for attention within this three-hectare site. IN1 from Boughton continues to meet and exceed all G.R.O guidelines.
Elsewhere Boughton’s Lightweight Substrate was used to provide growing media where weight loading for the green roof needed to be lighter than traditional green roof schemes, whilst Rootzone completed the offering. Supplied as a ready-mixed solution, Rootzone provided better planting conditions throughout the scheme.
The Right Soil for Your Project
Boughton supplies a range of natural topsoils to suit a wide variety of applications and projects. All of its ‘as dug’ certified topsoil can be supplied with an independent soil analysis, having been tested by independent MCERTS laboratories. The supply chain for Boughton’s soils is also fully transparent, with complete traceability.