During the month of August I traveled to several landscape trade shows where I exhibited the Green Sense line of products. Of course while I was at my booth several people approached me bragging about their newly developed products that were going to revolutionize the industry.

One of the next New Millionaires boasted about his product that contained sulfuric acid and compost tea. This product would help loosen the soil within a few days. “Of course, the applicator must be very careful not to get any of this product on to his clothing or skin since it can burn through it.”

There were other people who came by to ask me about our discontinued sells of 20 and 10 percent vinegar.

As most of you know we paid a fine in 2003 for making claims on our website that 20 and 10 percent vinegar could be used as a non-selective herbicide, meaning that it would kill just about anything that it was sprayed or poured on.

The EPA realized the dangers associated with such high concentrations of Acetic acid. High concentration of acetic acid 11% or greater can burn the skin and cause serious to severe eye injury, including blindness. This alone seemed to give sufficient cause for disallowing the use to the general public, but it is mainly disallowed for environmental purposes. Yes, if you find 10 or 20% vinegar you can use it to take rust off of metal or to clean engines, but remember to use plenty of water to thoroughly rinse off all the vinegar.

However, acts as a contact herbicide, injuring and killing plants by first destroying the cell membranes, which causes the rapid desiccation of the plant tissues. Higher concentrations of acetic acid may also change the ph of the soil making it difficult for native plants to survive in the area. If this involves a large kill area resulting in soil erosion we could face much greater concerns then unsightly weeds. “This was the main reason for my fine from the EPA,” I explained over and over again.

I also explained that after the fine I heard of other companies that were also writing checks to the EPA for the same reason as I did. Some, including myself, did testing with the allowable 8 % Vinegar. I found that the higher concentrations destroyed the cell membranes so quickly that it did not harm the root systems and sometime the weed re-emerged in just a few days. With the 8% Vinegar we sprayed some of the weeds twice, but they did not reemerge. The reason for the total kill may have been that the foliage of the plant did not burn as fast as the vinegars that had higher concentrations of Acetic acid, enabling translocation of the product to the root system, killing the entire plant.

Part of my travels also took me to Pilot Point where I met with Dr. Bob Ames, Senior Staff Scientist at Advanced Microbial Solutions. Dr. Bob Ames received his Bachelor and Masters degree from Oregon State University and his PhD from Colorado State University. His work has included studies of soil microbial interaction, plant nutrient intake and biological disease control.

Dr. Ames is a true doctor of dirt and plant pathology. I thought that he would be the right person to ask a few questions about organic products recommended by different groups of people, who of course claim to have the best products on the market. In my constant quest for new products to be incorporated into the Green Sense line of products I went to AMS for help.

Dr. Ames explains that the microbes in the soil perform several tasks that will help reduce soil compaction and improve soil structure while increasing water-holding capacity and will improve the availability of nutrients to plants. Once that the task are performed by the microbes plants health should improve. Healthy plants will grow faster, turf grasses will fill in thicker.

The use of turf products should compliment the biostimulants and microbial products used on specific properties.

So, I asked Dr. Ames a few questions:

Question: “What do you think of a product that contains compost tea and sulfuric acid, so much so that if not applied carefully, even after blending, that it can burn through cotton clothing and cause skin rash or even skin burn?”
Answer: If it is strong enough to burn through clothes then who would dare make it available to the retail public. If it is strong enough to burn through clothes then it is surely strong enough to kill the small microbes, worms and other soil dwelling creatures. It would defeat the purpose of organic applications.

Question: Many people come in to our store asking for molasses to be used on the lawn. I keep saying that for the same price Green Sense Fertilizers contain molasses and seven other ingredients. Which product would you buy for your lawn?
Answer: Slower growing organisms would not benefit from molasses alone. Roots produce simple sugars to feed all microbes. A more complex feed would be better to allow them to utilize a larger variety of nutrients. Sugars do not last long, products that contain more varied ingredients would be more beneficial. I would not put out molasses alone.

Question: How important is it to reapply microbes after a brutal summer drought as the one we just came through?
Answer: Some microbes will die, while others will hibernate in a protective shell to prevent water loss. When conditions improve the microbes begin rebuilding their populations.

Question: How important is soil structure?
Answer: Soil structure is very important. Good soil structure consists of particles of various sizes and small pores allowing movement of air water and roots within the soil. Soil microorganisms bind soil and organic matter particles to create soil structure. As the soil improves it allows more moisture retention.

Question: Who should use the Microbial treatment?
Answer: Every lawn owner, every golf course and park superintendent and every farmer should apply beneficial microbes to their properties. As soil structures improve roots can grow deeper finding water where they could not penetrate before, minimizing the effects of a prolonged drought.

After our long conversation I realized that I had taken in more then my brain could handle. I was grateful for the long drive back to Dallas. As I would remember bits and pieces of our conversation I would pull over to write down “reminders”. Even then I have had to call Dr. Ames to ask for more details about our talk. He has been pleasant and willing to take my calls, something that most people who know that I am calling are willing to do.

At Rohde’s we have been applying and recommending Green Sense Lawn & Garden Microbial treatment for ten years. In some cases we are able to go out with our penetrometer. This device allows us to measure compaction of soil. The more compact the soil the more difficult it is for water and air to penetrate. The more difficult it is for roots to grow.

The penetrometer lets us observe several things surface soil compaction and depth of compaction or how deep one must go before finding looser subsoil. If compaction is above 300 psi (pressure per square inch) it is almost impossible for roots to grown unless they find natural cracks.

At several of the properties that we maintain I tested the psi on half of the property, leaving the other half as a test plot. I then dug up a small section of turf to verify root depth. In most cases Bermuda grass had reached a depth of ¾ inches and St. Augustine ½ inch.

After applying the microbes in soils where we have found 300 + psi we asked our customers to increase watering the lawn to one additional frequency per week, for a total of two inches of water, rather then one inch. After 4 weeks I would go back out to the customers lawn and test the psi. It was not unusual to find reading of 200 psi.

Approximately two months later or when I was in the neighborhood again I sometimes dug up a small section of the sod to check root depth. I did this at two homes that had St. Augustine grass and found an increase of ¼ inch.

I was most impressed with the Bermuda grass. I did test digs on five properties and found that the roots now extended to a depth of two inches.

Another benefit was the lack of brown patch on the lawns that were treated as opposed to the test plots that were not treated. I noticed that three of the properties had brown patch on the areas that were not treated. I placed two flags at the edge of each area infected with brown patch to check on them later.

I did go back and retreat the test plots and waited four weeks before going back out to test the results. One of the lawns that had brown patch had a decrease in the area; the other two had the same area of disease. The roots had grown to a depth of 11/2 inches. I do not know why the roots had not grown as deep as the opposite sides of the lawns, however it could be that I treated the original plots in the spring when temperatures were not as hot or maybe more moisture had been available to the soil.