Erosion Control

In Environmentally Sensitive Areas

Download the Sustane Erosion Control and Bioremediation Brochure

As world demand for restoration of disturbed soil sites and the development of natural recreational areas increases, architects, planners, and regulatory authorities look for design, inputs, and management practices that will produce the best possible product with the lowest environmental impact. Today we now recognize and understand that the Environment is impacted, either positively or negatively, not only by inputs and management practices at the project location but also at the source of manufacturing of the inputs selected. We all live in One World and it truly is a global community. How we manage our resources and manufacturing technologies in one part of the world, ultimately affects all other neighbors in the global community in one way or another.

Over 20 years ago Suståne was founded first on the basic premise of utilizing and refining renewable agricultural resources that if poorly managed, might otherwise contribute to environmental issues that would require future generations to work harder to clean up. In the 1980’s Suståne and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency established new safeguards and techniques for recycling and redistribution of natural resources in the most environmentally benign way possible. The “Suståne” process became a consciously systematic way to better manage plant materials and agriculture’s rotation in Nature’s carbon cycle. The Suståne composting and manufacturing process avoids the production of serious greenhouse gasses like methane and nitrous oxide; and, utilizing Suståne products serve to augment native, ornamental, and agricultural crops’ capacity to naturally sequester and clean CO2 from our atmosphere.

The resulting green product – the restored mine site, the new Green Roof, the highway right-of-way, the new landscape, the renovated sports pitch, the expanded park, or the newly opened golf course – ultimately grows into a verdant open space for all to enjoy and for generations to come. Over 20 years of applied research on Suståne natural fertilizers at over 100 universities and research facilities around the world have helped better define and understand how a new generation of organic and organic-based fertilizers perform best in the growing zone; serve to minimize any negative impact on our natural environment. It is our job and our responsibility to ensure that what we create and restore today is not only long-lasting, beautiful to observe, and enjoyable for all to experience …but also leaves our environment in a clean, safe, and sustainable place for future generations to come.

• Made from natural renewable agricultural resources, has a low carbon & green house gasses (GHG) footprint.
• Suståne complies with regulatory mandate and exceeds most health & safety standards.
• The Suståne process avoids the generation of more significant green house gasses such as methane and nitrous oxide.
• With Suståne the energy required to transport is reduce 4:1 per kg. vs. wet compost.
• Granulation simplifies handling allowing more accurate application of fertilizer. The product stays where it was applied.

Rapid Plant Establishment:

Suståne fertilizers are long lasting and are weed free to promote native plants, grasses, and forbs establishment. Minimizing soil erosion and weed growth, and the need for repairs and re-seeding and the time required to achieve soil stabilization.

In addition to carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen there are 13 other elements known to be essential for plant photosynthesis to occur. Different plants have different nutritional requirements. Nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) are the three other elements that plants require in the greatest quantity; hence they are identified as the primary nutrients. Secondary elements are often required in larger doses, and tertiary or “trace” elements also referred to, as micronutrients are required in minute or “trace” amounts by plants.

• Safe for people, animals and the environment.
• Organic nitrogen is released slowly to the plant, minimizing loss to the environment.
• The longer N-release reduces energy requirements and labor vs. more applications of water-soluble synthetic fertilizers.
• Suståne stimulates the natural cycling of nutrients and carbon between soil and plant.
• Suståne reduces need for pesticides. Less pesticides reduce maintenance costs.
• Suståne is biologically stable, pathogen free, will not reheat, will not combust, does not attract wild or domestic animals, birds or insects to establishment sites.

The absence of essential nutrients is a growth-limiting factor. Soil micronutrient levels also affect soil microbiology and plant productivity. Supplying secondary and micronutrients is critical to plant health and soil productivity. Supplying small doses of secondary and tertiary nutrients (along with N, P and K) to crops and soils can provide both short and long-term benefits.

Humic Acid (H.A.)

is a component of humus, the end product of decomposition of organic materials. Humus and its constituents, humic acid, fulvic acid, and humin “have the greatest single influence on all physical. chemical, and biological aspects of our spaceship earth.” [from “Humic, Fulvic and Microbial Balance – Organic Soil Conditioning”, William R. Jackson, PhD.] H.A., which is soluble in dilute alkaline solution, and precipitated in a weak acid solution, is made of complex, long chain molecular structures comprised of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur.

Organic Matter - An Important Note:

It is the quality of the organic matter present in a soil or in an organic fertilizer that is most important, not the total quantity of organic matter. Raw manures (dehydrated or not) plant materials like straw, leaf mulch or wood fiber, animal meal and plant protein based “organic” fertilizers will oftentimes test higher quantity in total organic matter than does Suståne. Suståne has undergone thorough, aerobic composting, or humification before further processing. Organic matter must first be decomposed before soil microorganisms can release plant nutrients from organic fertilizers. This process requires large quantities of oxygen. The decomposition process creates biological oxygen demand (B.O.D.). In other words, soil microorganisms and plants require – or demand, an ample supply of oxygen to support healthy plant growth. Suståne does not take oxygen from the rhizoshpere. The nutrients and humus are immediately available to soil microorganisms. Su stane does not “tie up” or immobilize soil nitrogen by causing soil microbes to first digest raw organic matter.

Always remember that rule of the jungle is that soil microbes eat first, before the plants are fed. That is their job and it is an important one. The application of raw organic material to soils establishes a competition for oxygen between plant roots and soil microbes – and the microbes always win, often at the expense of supplying nutrients or available oxygen to the plants.

Microbial Diversity:

refers to breadth or range of microorganisms present in an ecosystem. Soil microbiology is so instrumental in many soil and plant functions that its importance to healthy plant establishment, erosion control and bioremediation cannot be veremphasized. Suståne, true aerobic compost contributes so much more than plant nutrition and humus – it sets the stage for expanding microbial diversity in weathered and eroded soils. Microbiologists and ecologists refer to these positive changes as enhancing “species richness diversity” (SRD). SRD is a measurement of diversity that indicates the number of different types of microorganisms present in a sample of soil or compost.

Suståne organic fertilizers provide natural sources of humates and humic substances formed during the Suståne aerobic composting and manufacturing process. Humic acid levels range from 7 – 9% in Suståne 4-6-4 and 8-2-4. One ton of Suståne applied per acre provides approximately 160 lb. humic acid per acre and additional humic substances.

Pre-plant: Suståne organic fertilizers can be applied dry broadcast or shallow soil-incorporated (drilled) prior to planting or during seeding.

With Seed: Tank mixed with water, seed or tackifier and hydro-mulch for hydraulic seeding applications.

Post-plant: Top-dressed with rotary broadcast applicator for post plant fertilization

In soil or compost, high species richness diversity promotes interspecies relationships and inter-population interactions. Species diversity allows more varied and flexible response to environmental changes. More diverse microbial communities can better cope with disturbance and stress than can low diversity soils. Diversity indexes can be used to compare and evaluate different sources of microbial products. Total richness diversity index is useful for comparisons of similar soil or compost samples.

“Suståne compost-based natural fertilizers provide one of the most biologically diverse and microbially beneficial amendments for improving, rebuilding and remediation of erosive soils that are sterile, dead or lacking in good physical structure and biological activity. Suståne is proven to be disease suppressive, improves soil nutrient cycling and stabilization of soil aggregates. And best of all, the product establishes a long-lasting soil-plant-microbial interaction that helps propel the natural cycles of soil building.”

Concentrated Compost - For general soil building. Most economical source of organic nutrients available.

Suståne 3-7-2 - The most economical source of organic phosphorus available.

Suståne 4-6-4 - Granulated professional landscape fertilizer.

Suståne 5-2-4 - The classic Suståne formulation. Used in organic agriculture since 1988.

Suståne 8-2-4 - High organic nitrogen for long-lasting nutrition.

Mycorrhizae - Mycorrhizal fungi are used to treat disturbed soils that have been depleted of beneficial microorganisms.

Suståne 4-6-4 Root Zone Feeder Packs - Provides single-dose application of 4-6-4 in a biodegradable paper filter pack.

Suståne 16-4-8 Root Zone Feeder Pack - Provides a single dose of Suståne and Controlled Release Fertilizer in a biodegradable paper filter pack.