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Whether you’re one person with a little garden or a large landscape company, a topsoil screen can make you more efficient. Topsoil screens come in a variety of configurations, from small, individual screens to huge motorized pieces of equipment. Some of the most common uses are the removal of rocks, sticks, and sod to leave usable soil behind. The usefulness of each topsoil screen is dependent on your goals.

A Topsoil Screen for the Home Gardener

If you are simply interested in using a topsoil screen to filter out the sticks, stones, and other junk in your yard dirt, then a small one is probably perfectly adequate for your needs. This type of device usually includes a single screen, and it may fit over a box or even your wheelbarrow. There are even some that have been designed to fit perfectly over any five gallon bucket. You simply shovel the dirt onto the screen and then either tamp it down or shake the screen. The small particles filter through the screen, while the larger debris remains on top so that you can remove it. A series of ever-finer screens can be used if you wish to separate your yard dirt into different categories.

Equipment for Businesses

valuable tool in a variety of businesses. For the professional landscaper, it can save money; as there is less need to truck in topsoil from outside sources. Nurseries and even golf courses have found that use of a topsoil screen also translates into less environmental impact due to the on-site capabilities of the machines.

A commercial-grade topsoil screen is going to be mechanized and will utilize some sort of motor to create the vibrations necessary to send dirt and other organic materials through the filter. In many cases, an operator will have the job of loading dirt onto the machine as well as removing the larger debris that has been filtered out. Some machines, however, have an integrated conveyor that carries the debris away.

Because so much more is expected of a commercial-grade topsoil screen, they are much larger and sturdier than the ones that would be used by the home gardener. Some actually utilize other large equipment to load the dirt and are therefore able to sift several hundred cubic yards in a day. This might include the ability to use a Bobcat or a backhoe. These commercial-grade machines might also come with a towing hitch in order to more easily take the machine from site to site.

More about Topsoil Screens

While it’s common to think about using woven wire for a topsoil screen, there are several other options available. One topsoil screen may utilize piano wire while another uses a punched plate, for example. The material used to build the screen will help determine how fine of a mesh is created. The size of the openings allows for a variety of uses.

Although we’ve only looked at how to use a screen in order to make good topsoil, there are other uses for this type of product. Simple changes to the design mean that you can use a similar device to separate various sized rocks and gravel, to sift compost, and much more. They are even used regularly in the recycling industry. A qualified dealer can help you determine what type of topsoil screen is going to be the best for your needs.

Andy West is a writer for EZ-Screen, which offers many varieties of vibrating screens and topsoil screen equipment. Please visit http://www.ez-screen.com/interior.cfm?pid=ez%201000xl .

More information on Garden Soil

The foundation of any garden, be it organic, container, square foot – whatever, is it’s soil but how many of us actually understand how these soils develop into the different types we have in our garden – mine is almost solid clay.  It is my frequent mutter that you could take a spade of soil and dump it straight onto the Potter’s Wheel!

Soil is created from the primeval actions of the earth in its growth and development.  Formed of rock mixed with vegetable and animal material over eons of time it becomes the friable and crumbly humus we like to have in our gardens. As the rocks moved and collided they were gradually ground down to form the fine particles that we associate with our soil, and so it still goes on.  Many of the particles dissolve in water and are mixed with the decaying biological material to form a slurry that eventually dries out and is deposited as soil.

During the formation of the earth much of the slurry that was created  went through a great deal more before it became the soil we treasure today.  Often the dissolved rock would be compressed and subject to huge temperature changes which reformed it at a molecular level.  The effect of heat, cold and weather caused more crumbling and eventually those rocks would break down as well.  This mechanical action would form relatively large particles of mixed animal, vegetable and mineral matter akin to the sandy soils which are so easy to work and which have such good drainage properties.

Clay Soils, with which I am only too familiar, are formed in a slightly different way.  The rock from which it was formed is attacked by acids in the atmosphere, mainly generated from Carbon Dioxide. This produces a chemical change, rather than the mechanical one which produces gritty, sandy soils.  Vast amounts of water are required to create this kind of chemical change and the resulting mud based soils.  This also has a dramatic effect on the way the soil behaves when it is waterlogged.  Gritty, soils allow the water to flow through but clay flocculates, or flows together, and forms lumpy masses so however much other material you work into it, it will always be clumpy.

Soil Acidity is also critical to the well being of your garden.  Many plants are tolerant of high or low acidity, though there are some which are not.  For example if you want your Blue Hydrangeas to stay blue then you need an acidic soil with a low pH value.   The acidity of the soil affects the solubility of nutrients and their availability to the plants, highly acidic soils can have high concentrations of iron and aluminum which will be toxic for a number of plants.  Acidity is caused by rainwater leaching away alkaline minerals, the decay of organic material and the formation of weak organic acids within the soil.  This acidity can be counteracted by using lime bearing soil additives in just the same way that you would add composts and soil conditioners to sandy soils.

The quality of your garden depends on the quality of your soil and how you care for it, so it is wise to be aware of the type and condition of the soil when planning and planting your garden.

Lizzie Westerley has spent many pleasurable years developing her garden and her gardening skills.  You can find more of her insights and information on how to make your garden equally magnificent at http://www.gardencuttings.com More information on Good Garden Soil

Tasteless food is a good measure of the micro-mineral concentration in your soil. ASAP Plant Minerals is the effective way to assure biosynthesis of phytochemical nutrients in crops. Nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus work in synergy with micro-minerals and need them present to grow not just plants, but plants with nutrition. The strong fragrance in flowers and rich taste in food is due to micro-nutrients present during photosynthesis of phytochemicals. Testing leaves is an easy way to see what’s going on underground.

Plants need two distinct groupings of fertilization. The well known type of nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and sulfur applications that are adjusted depending on season. In the spring, the nitrogen and phosphorus with a lower potassium combination is applied to stimulate root and green growth, then as photoperiod shortens after the summer solstice, potassium is high, with nitrogen and phosphorus delivered at a lower concentration to stimulate fruit maturation. The other type is the micro-mineral elements, which are poorly understood and mostly neglected having not as obvious an effect on growth as NPK. Minerals stimulate photosynthesis of phytochemical nutrients inside the chloroplast cells at the microscopic size frame and their effects are less apparent until the crop is harvested and can be tasted. The major difference between the two is that the first type produces the size of food, the second type puts the nutrition into food. ASAP understands these two areas of soil and plant nutritional requirements and can offer some clear thinking on the subject.

It is extremely important that the right amount and kind of the first group fertilizer is applied to fruit trees and grape vines. For example, too much nitrogen (N) can result in oversized, poorly-colored fruit which does not keep well. If growth continues late in the season (because of excessive N), trees fail to harden properly and are more subject to winter injury. Diseases such as fireblight of pear and apple, or canker of peach, can be more serious if N levels are too high. Too little N also causes problems such as poor fruit set, small fruit, pale foliage and stunted growth. N control is the most common and serious nutritional problem in Ontario orchards and vineyards. Excessive levels of N occur more frequently than deficient levels.

Micro-nutrient stripping in the soils in the United States is more common. K deficiency and excess are also frequently encountered. Grapes, for example, often show K deficiency as the crop matures, even though the clay loam soils on which they are grown test high in K. This is more serious in dry years or with heavy crops.

Soil pH should be checked every 2 to 3 years. Micro-nutrients are very sensitive to acid or base conditions and incorrect pH can produce unavailability or toxicity. Excesses or deficiencies of micro-nutrients also can result in serious metabolic functional problems in crops. This is where ASAP Plant Minerals has its greatest effects, micro-minerals are essential for the utilization of the big three and even more important if you are growing food for nutrition. With increased fertilizer costs and environmental concerns, proper fertilizer use becomes even more important.

Excessive potassium can lead to magnesium deficiency. Low magnesium levels particularly in vineyards and apple orchards are becoming more common. Without understanding the intricate link between NPK and micro-minerals Zn, Mn and B deficiencies are created in orchards when micro-minerals are not replenished. When the big three are used year after year; these minerals are simply removed. All disorders, however, can be most readily identified by leaf analysis to evaluate what is missing in the soil by identifying what is found in the leaf tissue. In many cases, growers have found that the cost for each leaf sample has been returned many times over in reduced fertilizer costs and/or in better crops of higher quality fruit.

Leaf Analysis:

The Ontario Leaf Analysis Service for fruit, initiated in 1958, was one of the first to be introduced in North America. An analytical service is now available from accredited private laboratories for apple, peach, pear, plum, cherry, grape, strawberry and blueberry. Growers of these crops have an effective method of predicting fertilizer requirements and of measuring responses to their fertilizer and cultural programs. Each lab has a basic and complete two tier analysis.

The best method of determining the kind and amount of fertilizer to apply to fruit trees is by leaf analyses. It effectively measures macro and micro-nutrients and indicates the need for changes in fertilizer programs. Leaf analyses integrates all the factors that might influence nutrient availability and uptake and shows the balance between nutrients. For example magnesium (Mg) deficiency may be the result of a lack of Mg in the soil or from excessive K levels or both of these conditions. Leaf analyses can indicate the balance between K and Mg and show hidden or incipient deficiencies. Adding N, for example, when K is low may result in K deficiency because the increased growth requires more K.

An example of how leaf analyses data might be interpreted:

A Fuji apple leaf sample taken the last 2 weeks of July tests 2.30% N. This is at the low end of the optimum range and suggests a need for slightly more fertilizer N. If the trees had been heavily pruned the previous spring a greater increase in fertilizer N might be applied since pruning would have increased leaf N concentrations. On the other hand, if the trees are to be pruned heavily next spring, the same rate of fertilizer N might be applied this year since growth and N uptake will be stimulated by the pruning. If the trees are on M26 or M9 rootstock, an even greater increase in N rate should be applied since the leaf N is no longer in the optimum range. If the leaf K is 1.4% an increased rate of K fertilizer is needed since this is the bottom of the optimum range and an increase in N fertilizer rate will increase the need for K. The increased K rate may increase the need for Mg if the Mg concentration is below .25%.

Testing fruit and leaf is an easy and safe way to investigate the condition of the minerals in your soil to assure the growing medium of your plants. But applying ASAP Plant Minerals in fall and spring will always provide the stripped micro-nutrients back to your soil for the big three to work.

August Dunning is the head Research Director at http://www.asaporganics.com

Soil Articles

ASAP Plant Minerals is unique, compared to commonly available soil treatments. There is nothing like it on the market today. The formulation of ASAP Plant Minerals organic soil amendment contains all the critical 14 essential minerals plants need to flourish.

Water molecules hydrate the minerals once created by their proprietary process and protect them from degenerating into less bio-available forms. In dry forms, dehydrated minerals recombine into clusters and are far less available for absorption by roots of plants. The action on the minerals by the roots to chemically break them down into sizes that can be absorbed takes life energy and creates an energy deficit experienced by the plant.

Research has revealed a profound difference in the uptake and utilization of ASAP organic soil amendment in flower and crop plants. Their unique form of magnesium is the cause of the double foliage and flower sets, while other minerals move quickly from the soil up into the leaves to the chloroplasts to create phytochemicals to rapidly grow the plant and infuse the fruit with additional nutrients in the pulp and skin.

This is why ASAP is marketed to organic growers. Why offer a way to increase the nutrition in the skin of fruit and vegetables if you have to remove the skins and outer leaves because they are contaminated with petrochemical pesticide. This makes no sense. The consumer gets food that actually feeds them without risking cancers later in life. Disease and genetic aberrations causing cancer is far less confusing than medical science would like you to believe.

There are only three ways to get cancer: radiation, reduced oxygen pressure at the capillaries and environmental toxins. If you don’t work in a radiological environment and don’t smoke then the last way is the only one that you have to worry about. The individual genetic susceptibility to threshold levels of specific toxins is the tipping point into cancers. Everyone has a different set of sensitivities and is part of the evolved human survival mechanism. Detoxification in this chemical-age is critical and foods grown with ASAP may improve your chances especially by eating organically grown foods. Certainly the phytochemicals found in grape skins, blueberries, black raspberries, strawberries, carrots, aloe vera and cranberries have been identified to help and eliminate the antagonistic chemicals that cause the scales to tip. Why coat food with pesticides and introduce the antagonist with the cure?

Why hydration is so important: It has been shown experimentally that metal mineral water complexes can interact with chromosome DNA like magnesium minerals vibrating at specific frequencies in water.

Researchers in one particular experiment found that microwaves of around 3 gigahertz could resonantly drive a longitudinal vibration mode in DNA chains by electrically coupling with minerals residing on the hydrated backbone of the DNA helix. Therefore the operating theory at this time is that the correct metal minerals could transform a damaged configuration back into a normal configuration to maintain proper DNA function.

This is the exciting part of research. It is certain that ASAP soil treatment will increase yield and nutrient values in organically grown crops fed ASAP, it may also prove to provide foods to eat to help prevent cancers.

But beyond all that, the ASAP grown food just simply tastes better.

August Dunning is the head Research Director at http://www.asaporganics.com

Article Source: http://www.organicgardenarticles.com