At a high-end housing development in Melbourne, Australia, an unsightly near-vertical retaining wall was transformed into a vegetated Living Wall using Profile’s ProGanics® BSM™ and Flexterra® HP-FGM®. Soil testing showed acidic, low-organic soils and minimal soil volume, so DuraVeg specified hydraulically applied ProGanics® Biotic Soil Media™ (BSM™) with Liquid Lime, 12-5-14 fertilizer and a low-maintenance seed mix of couch, clover and fescue. BWD Hydroseeding applied the ProGanics BSM slurry followed by Flexterra® High Performance-Flexible Growth Medium® (HP-FGM®) to secure seed and soil under extreme weather, limited rainfall and sunlight. Grasses successfully established in two weeks, creating a lush Living Wall within months.
Key Points
- High-end housing development needed to vegetate an unsightly, near-vertical retaining wall with gabion baskets under extreme weather, limited rainfall and sunlight, minimal soil volume and poor soil quality with pH < 5 and organic matter content < 2%.
- Soil testing led DuraVeg to prescribe ProGanics® Biotic Soil Media™ (BSM™), a hydraulically applied Engineered Soil Media™ (ESM™) that provides organic matter and soil-building components, along with Liquid Lime to raise pH and a 12-5-14 fertilizer.
- BWD Hydroseeding hydraulically applied ProGanics BSM, seed and fertilizer in one slurry at 4,480 kg/ha (4,000 lb/ac), followed by Flexterra® HP-FGM® at 4,370 kg/ha (3,900 lb/ac) to hold the seed and soil in place and provide near-perfect erosion control and faster vegetative establishment.
- Liquid Lime at 90 L/ha (9.7 gal/ac), 12-5-14 fertilizer at 180 kg/ha (160 lb/ac), and a seed mix of couch, clover and fescue produced grasses that successfully established in two weeks, with established vegetation by April 2017 and sustained vegetation by September 2017.
