Lawn Substrates

Lawns are used for a wide variety of purposes and sometimes have to withstand the most adverse conditions. By using substrates, you create the best conditions for permanent greenery for every application.

Especially in the private sphere, the lawn is often the central place where people spend time in the garden, where children play or parties. The grass is also the figurehead of the garden. Many owners put a lot of effort into the care of the grass. The soil's condition is a decisive factor in determining whether the garden is beautiful and attractive. iNTERBiMS offers different substrates, adapted to a particular purpose.

Our substrate mixtures offer optimal conditions:

• interroof-Rasen 0-5 loose, lawn substrate with grain size 0-5 mm
• interroof-Rasen 0-5 blowable, turf substrate in grain size 0-5 mm, blowable with silo truck
• interground-Rasen 0-8, lawn substrate in the grain size 0-5 mm
• interroof-Rasen 0-8/11, lawn substrate with grain size 0-8/11 mm

Gravel Lawn

• gravel lawn 0-16, grain size 0-16
• gravel lawn 0-32, grain size 0-32

In general, lawn soil must always be hard-wearing. The soil must be permeable to water, rich in nutrients, and such that the roots of the lawn are sufficiently supplied with water and nutrients. Besides, the soil composition must be laid out concerning the planned use of the green. If the soil does not suit the application, the lawn will not thrive.

iNTERBiMS GmbH produces mineral / organic substrates for optimal result. Thanks to the open-pored structure, high treading and storage stability, high frost resistance, and the balanced ratio between water permeability and storage capacity, individual substrate requirements are met par excellence.

The following properties characterize INTERBIMS turf substrates:

• on a natural volcanic basis like pumice and lava
• good water storage capacity
• structurally stable
• load-bearing
• resistant to dislocation
• improved nutrient supply
• optimized root development
• more sterile than soil
• can be processed in all weathers
• optimal quality 

iNTERBiMS offers individual substrates and their delivery to the construction site in all common delivery forms:

Other forms of delivery are on request.

All products are subject to quality control (external and internal monitoring) following the German FLL guidelines.

The FLL "Green Roof Guidelines - Guidelines for the Planning, Construction, and Maintenance of Green Roofs" were developed from the "Principles for Green Roofing" published in 1982 and have been revised several times since 1990. They are recognized as a benchmark set of guidelines in Germany.

Our purely mineral substrates consist of pumice, zeolites, and partly additionally of lava. They store the water in the pores in the grain. The maximum water storage capacity (WK max) is between 25 and 40 vol.%. Our plant substrate starts with a grain size of 3 mm and thus always guarantees an optimum air void volume. Thus our plant substrates achieve a high water storage capacity with an optimal air void volume at the same time.

Zeolites are generally described as rocks containing zeolite, which consist mainly of minerals from the zeolite group. They belong to the framework silicates. Their outstanding properties are due to their mineralogical structure, which can be divided into three components in a simplified way:

1. the three-dimensional, negatively charged crystal lattice of silicon and aluminium oxide with a pronounced pore System
2. cations for charge balancing
3. the water inside the cavities

The unique properties of zeolites include their high and reversible cation exchange capacity (CEC). A channel system enables the uptake and release of cations. The cations can be replaced, for example, by ammonium or heavy metal cations. A pronounced selectivity for different cations characterizes the minerals of the zeolite group. The binding to certain heavy metals, e.g., lead, is particularly strong.

In contrast, the binding to naturally existing cations (sodium, calcium) is weak. Cations such as potassium and ammonium occupy an intermediate position. The adsorption of heavy metal or ammonium ions is always associated with exchanging the existing ions. When fertilizing, nutrients such as ammonium or potassium are enriched in the soil solution. This high nutrient content usually cannot be wholly absorbed by the plants immediately. A part of the nutrients is adsorbed in the zeolites' crystal lattice. If the nutrient concentration in the soil solution decreases, the zeolites rerelease the nutrients so that the plants can absorb them. Zeolites do not change their physical properties through ion exchange. We use zeolites from the clinoptilolite group.

Zeolites provide for a regulation of the pH-value. The pH value is a measure of the concentration of H3O+ ions and describes the soil's acidity. H3O+ ions are mainly produced by:

• formation of carbonic and organic acids through oxidation of biomass and root respiration
• release of H+ ions by the root during nutrient uptake (cations)
• the input of physiologically acidic fertilizer

While the processes responsible for forming H3O+ ions also apply to substrates, possible buffer reactions depend on the substrate composition. In this context, zeolites act as follows:

• release of nutrients to the plant via the soil solution
• uptake of H+ ions via cation exchange, i.e., buffering
• immobilization of Al3+ ions due to the distinct selectivity and excellent storage capacity for this pollutant

The higher the storage capacity for nutrients in a substrate, the less susceptible the planting is to improper fertilization. If the nutrient supply is high, excess amounts can be absorbed by the substrate, such as Vulkaponic®. In the case of an undersupply, the substrate can supply additional nutrients. The zeolites reversibly store large quantities of nutrients. The KAK (cation exchange capacity) of the clinoptilolites used is > 100 meq/100g. It enables the storage of nutrients as well as their release to the plant according to its needs.

The supply of nutrients can be achieved in two different ways:

• with commercially available liquid fertilizers
• with coated slow-release fertilizers

The commercially available liquid fertilizers have some disadvantages. They are time-consuming to use and very quickly lead to problems due to incorrect dosages, as practice shows. When using liquid fertilizers, it would be correct, because of the different degrees of hardness of drinking water (hardness 1-4), to fertilize only with rainwater or softened water.

Coated" fertilizers, release the nutrients slowly. They have coatings that allow them to diffuse slowly through them. The flow of the fertilizer depends on temperature and humidity. Both criteria are optimal for indoor greening.

The zeolites also have a considerable advantage here. They store the excess fertilizer of this slow-flowing source of nutrients, which the plants cannot absorb at the moment, and rerelease it when they need it more. Overfertilization is not possible quickly.