No Fillers Here

By Brian Lachowsky, Regional Sales Manager

A superintendent was giving me a hard time about not wanting to contaminate his new sand greens with organics. I explained that physically, Nature Safe completely disappears within two weeks. Nature Safe does not contain any filler and would never compromise the integrity of his greens.

To further support my rebuttal, here is what Dr. Lazarovits* had to say about organics and sand greens:

Digested plant derived materials, such as composts, are made up mostly of inert materials that are very difficult to decompose by microorganisms. These are primarily lignin polymers. Lignin polymers are the plant kingdom’s equivalent to asphalt. It is a amorphous complex with very stable chemical bonds that are difficult to break so they stay around for centuries. In fact, soil is nothing more than minerals (clay, sand) and lignin.

Nature Safe products are comprised on proteinaceous materials that break down to amino acids within 3-7 days. There is little or no material left behind once the bacteria and fungi get to them. By providing energy to the organisms, the proteinaceous materials lead to their increased population. The release of any excess nitrogen plus the increase in microorganism activity actually accelerates the breakdown of organic matter such as lignin and cellulose. Contrary to the superintent’s belief, Nature Safe and similar organic products reduce thatch accumulation on green surfaces by accelerating their degradation.

*Dr. Lazarovits, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, has performed extensive research on Nature Safe products.