Is Lightweight Concrete All Wet?
Lightweight concrete is occasionally
thought to be the primary culprit
in moisture-related failures...Learn more!
Lightweight Aggregate as a Soil Amendment
TruGro® is a lightweight aggregate produced from raw shale. Fired in a rotary kiln at over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit and then rapidly cooled, it transforms into a porous, lightweight, chemically inert and hard material useful for many applications. Expanded shale is approximately half the weight of sand and gravel, which makes it easy to handle. It’s one of the best soil amendments because it will not decompose, float, or introduce foreign pathogens into your soils. It’s roughly the size of pea gravel and because of its porous nature, it has the ability to retain water and nutrients for use in the root zone. TruGro expanded shale is a valuable ingredient in rooftop garden mixes, landscape bedding mediums, potting soils, bonsai planting mixes, hydroponics, bio-filtration mediums and rain gardens.
One of the best uses for TruGro is in amending clay soils. The expanded shale adds additional air and pore space to the small, tight nature of the clay which improves soil porosity, nutrient uptake and drainage. It’s used to amend lawn areas, sports fields, parks, golf courses, compacted turf below the canopy of trees. When used in soil with a well-aged organic, it makes a wonderful growing medium for raised landscape bed areas. And unlike other soil amendments, you only have to add it once.
TruGro is also used extensively in landscape. It’s the perfect fill material where weight is an issue such as elevated plazas, rooftop gardens and unstable soils. It’s used to create developable land along waterways, repair eroded slopes, and in underground utility installations. TruGro can also be used in storm water design for infiltration trenches, bio-filtration, and beneath porous paving.
Please call 1-877-647-3383 to speak with a TruGro specialist.
Additional Resources
TruGro Brochure: Got Clay? Well I got the cure!
Featured Projects
Expanded Shale Use at the Dallas Arboretum
Bioretention at the Atascocita Center
Soil Admendments at the Tradition Prestonwood
Amending Soil at the University of North Texas Business Leadership Building
