New Construction Stripped Your Topsoil. Now What?

When the native topsoil is removed from new construction home sites, it causes
detrimental effects on the establishment and health of new lawns. Topsoil contains
essential nutrients and organic matter that are crucial for the healthy growth of grass
plants. Without this organic-rich layer, the soil will lack the necessary nutrients and
structure to support healthy root development and grass plant growth. As a result, your
lawn may struggle to establish itself, leading to issues such as patchy growth, poor
drainage, and increased susceptibility to pests like weeds and insects.

Have no fear, Canopy Lawn Care is here to help! Starting with your first application,
our proprietary lawn care program works to resolve the loss of topsoil. How, you ask? A
core component of our granular fertilizer is repurposed coffee grounds. As odd as this may
sound, these grounds are vital to the overall health of your soil! Coffee grounds are an
active carbon source, which is important to the soil microbiome, as it serves as a source of
energy and food for soil microorganisms. Microbes use active carbon as a substrate for
their metabolic processes, which in turn supports their growth and activity. This interaction
is vital for maintaining a healthy and balanced soil microbiome, as the activity of soil
microorganisms influences nutrient cycling, organic matter decomposition, and overall soil
fertility. Active carbon also helps to improve soil structure and water retention, further
enhancing the conditions for microbial life in the soil and aiding in the healthy rooting of
your new lawn.

Once you’ve begun our comprehensive lawn care service, every application aims to
improve the soil’s health, which then promotes healthy lawn growth. Our core program
includes two bulk granular applications of the necessary Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and
Potassium. Our granular fertilizer contains low-salt, stabilized nutrients that provide grass
plants with the necessary macronutrients to encourage healthy, consistent growth. It also
contains the beneficial repurposed coffee grounds along with Sulfur, which is another food
source for soil microbiology. These granular applications set the stage for the bulk liquid
applications that occur throughout the growing season. These liquids not only sustain the
lawn, but they are also essential for the continued feeding of the soil microbiology.
Contained in these proprietary liquid fertilizers are materials like oilseed extract, amino
acids, and sea kelp. All these components play a vital role in building a happy and healthy
lawn and soil microbiome.

Homeowner expectations are very important to us. Being on our proprietary lawn
care program is a step in the right direction, and results will come with time. We feel
strongly that this process takes at least three growing seasons. There are additional
services that can be performed on your property that will help expedite this process.

As noted earlier, new home sites are stripped of the beneficial topsoil, and what
remains is clay. As you’re experiencing, clay by itself is a lackluster growing medium. It
lacks soil structure that allows for air and water pore space formation and nutrient-holding
capacity. Think of clay as two sheets of paper, while sand, silt, and organic matter are
varying sizes of BBs and pellets. When combined, these four materials create pore space
and nutrient-holding capacity; the sand, silt, and organic matter sandwich between the flat
sheets of paper. If it’s solely clay, you have sheets of paper stacked on each other and zero
pore space. When this occurs, we say the clay soil is tight. Because we have tight soils in
new home sites, we strongly recommend aerating clay soils for better grass. This process
is needed to not only create new growing points on your warm season lawn but also allows
the physical fracturing of the soil. When core aeration is done, and the clay soil has been
fractured, we want to take this opportunity to bulk apply the repurposed co6ee grounds
that contain the beneficial active carbon, as well as introduce beneficial fungi, bacteria,
and yeast. All these components combined increase the carbon and organic matter and
set in motion the clay to become healthier.