Hello again, Westside Gardeners.
With all the extreme heat, it’s hard to watch plant material, including trees and turf, suffer.
I believe that with climate change, our summers will only get hotter and our winters possibly colder. In other words, our local climate will be much like a desert.
Let’s not panic and stop using synthetic turf and aggregate stone as ground cover. Using materials like these is only a disadvantage to soil and the root systems of shrubs and turf.
Firstly, synthetic turf and aggregate stone get extremely hot during summer. Temperatures can reach a whopping 165 to 200 degrees. This will also scorch plants and cause root damage by suffocating them.
Secondly, synthetic “plastic” also pollutes the soil and food we eat. The breakdown of these materials’ “petroleum” leaches into our soil, disrupting the soil web chain. All these drawbacks are just as consequential.
Let’s face it: plastic mulch and synthetic turf create an impervious surface that concentrates chemical runoff while overheating fields and landscapes that, as I said, pollute the soil.
As a landscape professional, I advise you to continue using natural materials, which include arbor mulch used to cover bare soil and in and around tree wells.
As I mentioned in a past article, 500 square feet of turf provides enough oxygen for a family of four. Anyone needing landscape suggestions can feel free to contact me.
Mark Koehler of Los Banos is an arborist and master gardener who has degrees in landscape architecture and landscape horticulture from UC Berkeley and Northeastern University. Please send any questions or comments to markgardenguru@gmail.com.
