Textraw has a very long life cycle. The key to its longevity is to keep it in place. Care must be taken not to over-mow. If possible, it is best to install one of the many types of borders along the edge of mowing and traffic areas. Borders not only assist in keeping grass out, but make it easy to trim the edge with a weed-eater. When edging in areas without borders, it is important to use an edger. It is not uncommong for crews to use weed eaters turned sideways for this job. Doing so generally will result in Textraw loss. Also, since the guard is then nonfunctional, there is no protection from material being flung up into the operator.
Clippings are best diverted with clipper attachments so they need not be picked up. The alternatives are to use a drop cloth to collect them, or to vacuum them in areas which have been treated with Stay-Put.
After a heavy leaf-fall, the majority of leaves can be blown off with a standard leaf-blower. Reversible blowers with vacuum attachments can also then be used to clean up remaining leaves.
Natural straw quickly becomes brittle and loses its volume. Since Textraw does not become brittle, it can and should be fluffed to restore its volume throughout its life. Any residual organic material in the Textraw will be turned under to decompose, and the color life of the Textraw will be extended as it is turned. Textraw has been tested and is warrantied for 4 years against color fading. The tests are for constant exposure to sunlight. Flip and fluff more than doubles the color life.
Textraw is sterile. If the soil is treated with a pre-emergent, the incidence of weeds is limited to wind and animal-born seeds. They will be greatly reduced. When they do appear, we recommend that they not be pulled, as this may propagate additional weeds. Simply spray with the appropriate herbicide, then lift and replace the surrounding Textraw, allowing the weed to wither and decompose.
Determining an exact cost ratio to pinestraw is difficult because there is as much bale-to-bale variation in pinestraw bale weight as there is in quality. We try to be conservative to average in these estimates.
Two applications per year is the norm for organic pinestraw. Commercial properties often do 3 times. Some do once. On average, second application amount is only 3/4 of the first application, called "top-dressing". Every 18 months, the bulk of the old material should be removed, and a full dressing applied.
Estimated 4-year life-cycle savings are 40-50%. Textraw has a 4 year warranty. Accelerated weatherometer tests show no fading over this period. With proper maintenance, life-cycle will be significantly extended.
In addition to the pure cost benefits, there are indirect cost benefit considerations: