The DeSantis Landscapes team has a passion for sustainable landscape innovation and some of us also have a passion for brewing. We combined those interests and created our own special proprietary blend of compost tea that we call: DeSanTEA, the symbiotic relationship brew!
What is compost tea and how can it help your landscape thrive? Essentially, DeSanTEA is a special brew of beneficial micro-organisms that dramatically improves plant root density while also benefiting from the plant. That’s definitely symbiosis! Healthy roots lead to healthy plants that are more resistant to disease and can get more nutrients out of the soil which reduces the amount of pesticides and fertilizer that has to be used. It also ensures that plants are more tolerant to heat and require less water over time. We recommend an annual application on turf and ornamental plants to all of our residential and commercial clients in order to cultivate the best results possible.
WHAT IS THE SOIL FOOD WEB? Although it’s not the first thing we think of in the landscape, soils are an important consideration of plant health. Healthy soils are alive and If nurtured properly can help produce beautiful, healthy landscapes with fewer inputs such as conventional fertilizers and pesticides.
In a nutshell, it’s a series of healthy relationships taking place underground: Plants secrete some of the sugars, proteins, and other compounds they make during photosynthesis through their roots. These substances attract beneficial soil organisms to the root zone where they perform many jobs for the plants. As these microbes thrive on the food source, larger organisms such as nematodes and protozoa feed on the microbes. How does this flurry of biological activity benefit plants? There are many reasons how outlined below:
1. SOILS THAT ARE ALIVE CREATE SOIL STRUCTURE: Movement of various organisms through the soil profile create structure by binding soil particles together and creating passageways for nutrients, air, water, and roots.
2. SOIL LIFE CREATES NUTRIENTS: Microbes consume plant carbohydrates released from plant roots, nematodes & protozoa eat the microbes, Arthropods consume organic matter from plants creating a feeding frenzy resulting in a wealth of nutrients made available to plants by the process of digestion. This means more nutrients supplied to plant material, naturally requiring less inputs over time.
3. HEALTHY SOIL FOOD WEB CONTROLS DISEASE: When the soil food web is healthy and thriving, the diversity of soil microbes creates an ultra-competitive environment where pathogenic organisms are kept in check and have less opportunity to become a disease.
4. BENEFICIAL MICROBES SNATCH NUTRIENTS OUT OF THIN AIR: That’s right! Mycorrhizal fungi and other beneficial microbes can fix atmospheric nitrogen in the soil profile where it’s available for plant absorption
DeSanTEA is an engineered brew of beneficial bacterial, fungi, nematodes, and protozoa. We use starter populations of these beneficial organisms and brew them in-house with a special blend of bio-stimulants. We then apply this mix to your turf and landscape beds delivering a healthy-dose of hungry microbes to your landscape. If you want to take your landscape management to the next level, fill out our consultation request form on the right of the screen so we can contact you and find out what your needs are.
This amazing article was brought to you by Bryan Gyllen (the science) & Joey Harrison (the fluff)
