COMPARISON
Comparison Blown Straw vs. HydroStraw® |
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Over the years, blown and tacked straw has become a standard treatment for erosion control in parts of the country and heavily used in the Western United States. While this treatment has been effective for seeding hillsides and controlling erosion, detractors have criticized it, particularly for dust production and resulting air quality challenges. Other shortcomings have included off-target application, the introduction of weed seed from the straw, the expense for smaller jobs, and post rainy season issues related to clean-up, regrading, and recompaction of building pads. Contractors are now facing the possibility of fines in areas where strict air quality regulations are being enforced. In some cases, they are prohibited from blowing straw at all.
With the increased emphasis on air quality, stormwater control, and other environmental impacts, and the always looming threat of civil action, many public and private landowners are confronted with this dilemma: how to design treatments appropriate for both stormwater control and the maintenance of air quality? In response to this situation, HydroStraw® has successfully been introduced and utilized in many areas as an alternative to traditional 3-Step Straw treatments. This product is derived from turfgrass straw and has been lightly processed into a long-fibered, flowable straw mulch that mixes readily into uniform slurry. Combined with a special binding material, this material makes porous yet strong and seed friendly mulch when correctly applied to the soil surface.
In the traditional 3-step process, 4,000 lbs of straw per acre is recognized as the major erosion control material; we likewise suggest that HydroStraw® be applied at a minimum of 4,000 lbs per acre. When seeding, apply 2,000 lbs HydroStraw®, seed, fertilizer and other ingredients in the first application and then apply a second treatment of HydroStraw® only.
The most successful Hydraulic 2-Step application method has been to throttle back the machine and apply the material with a fan nozzle in a sweeping motion. Other methods that softly “lay in” the product have also been favored. HydroStraw® comes packaged in 50 lb bales with a pre-blended binder additional tackifier may be added at the operators discretion based on site conditions. The material breaks up easily and may be mixed with water in ratios of 75 lbs of mulch per 100 gallons of water or more. Using HydroStraw® in a 3,000 gal hydroseeder the applicator may apply up to 4,500 lb per acre in two loads resulting in 100% soil coverage.
Consider using HydroStraw® instead of 3 step straw under the following conditions:
- Jobs where dust is an issue such as next to roads or houses.
- Jobs were access is an issue.
- Jobs less than 5 acres in size that does not justify a straw crew.
- Jobs where uneven terrain make blowing straw just too dangerous.
These and other challenges may be met by the practice of HydroStraw® treatments. |
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