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The contractor shall supply certifications for all landscape development materials as required below. If no certification is required, the contractor shall supply the Department with a statement certifying that all materials conform to these specifications and those of the NC Department of Agriculture or both.
The quality of all fertilizer and all operations in connection with the furnishing of this material shall comply with the requirements of the North Carolina Fertilizer Law and with the rules and regulations, adopted by the North Carolina Board of Agriculture in accordance with the provisions of said law, in effect at the time of sampling. All fertilizer will be subject to sampling and testing by the Engineer, or by an authorized representative of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, or both.
Dry fertilizer shall have been manufactured from cured stock. During handling and storing the fertilizer shall be cared for in such a manner that it will be protected against hardening, caking, or loss of plant food values. Any hardened or caked fertilizer shall be pulverized to its original condition before being used.
Liquid fertilizer shall be stored and cared for after manufacture in a manner that will prevent loss of plant food values, and a homogeneous blend of plant food elements shall be maintained or reblended to the original condition immediately before use.
The quality of all limestone and all operations in connection with the furnishing of this material shall comply with the requirements of the North Carolina Lime Law and with the rules and regulations, adopted by the North Carolina Board of Agriculture in accordance with the provisions of said law, in effect at the time of sampling. All limestone will be subject to sampling and testing by the Engineer, or by an authorized representative of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, or both.
Limestone shall be agricultural grade ground limestone. Either dolomitic or calcitic limestone may be used, except that only dolomitic limestone shall be used in those areas of the State located in or east of Person, Granville, Wake, Harnett, Lee, Moore, Montgomery, Richmond, and Anson Counties.
All limestone shall contain not less than 90 percent calcium carbonate equivalents. Dolomitic limestone shall contain not less than 10 percent of magnesium. Dolomitic limestone shall be so graded that at least 90 percent will pass through a U.S. Standard 20 mesh screen, and at least 35 percent will pass through a U.S. Standard 100 mesh screen. Calcitic limestone shall be so graded that at least 90 percent will pass through a U.S. Standard 20 mesh screen, and at least 25 percent will pass through a U.S. Standard 100 mesh screen. Where the current grading requirements of the North Carolina Board of Agriculture are different from the above, the requirements of the Board of Agriculture shall apply.
During handling and storing, the limestone shall be cared for in such manner that it will be protected against hardening or caking. Any hardened or caked limestone shall be pulverized to its original condition before being used.
The quality of all seed and all operations in connection with the furnishing of this material shall comply with the requirements of the North Carolina Seed Law and with the rules and regulations, adopted by the North Carolina Board of Agriculture in accordance with the provisions of said law, in effect at the time of sampling, and with the quality requirements of the special provisions. All seed will be subject to sampling by the Engineer, or by an authorized representative of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, or both; and will be tested by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture. Supplementary testing for seed germination may be performed by the Engineer.
The quality of all seed will be based on the percentage of pure live seed, which will be computed by multiplying the percentage of purity by the percentage of germination and dividing the result by 100.
Seed shall have been approved by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture before being sown. No seed will be accepted with a date of test more than 8 months prior to the date of sowing, excluding the month in which the test was completed. Such testing, however, will not relieve the Contractor from responsibility for furnishing and sowing seed that meets these specifications at the time of sowing. The Engineer may retest seed for germination after a 5 months storage period; at the beginning of each normal seeding season for the particular kind of seed involved; or at any time that the condition of the seed appears to have deteriorated.
When a low percentage of germination causes the quality of the seed to fall below the minimum pure live seed specified, the Contractor may elect, subject to the approval of the Engineer, to increase the rate of application sufficiently to obtain the minimum pure live seed content specified, provided that such an increase in the rate of application does not cause the quantity of noxious weed seed per acre or square yard, as the case may be, to exceed the quantity that would be allowable at the regular rate of application.
Each of the species or varieties of seed shall be furnished and delivered in separate bags. If seed is to be mixed before sowing, such mixing shall be done in a commercial seed mixing machine or by equally thorough means after sampling and testing have been completed.
During handling and storing, the seed shall be cared for in such a manner that it will be protected from damage by heat, moisture, rodents, or other causes.
1060-5 MULCH FOR EROSION CONTROL.
Mulch for erosion control shall consist of grain straw or other acceptable material, and shall have been approved by the Engineer before being used. All mulch shall be reasonably free from mature seedbearing stalks, roots, or bulblets of Johnson Grass, Nutgrass, Sandbur, Wild Garlic, Wild Onion, Bermuda Grass, Crotalaria, and Witchweed, and free from an excessive amount of restricted noxious weeds as defined by the North Carolina Board of Agriculture at the time of use of the mulch, and also there shall be compliance with all applicable State and Federal domestic plant quarantines. Straw mulch that is matted or lumpy shall be loosened and separated before being used.
Material for holding mulch in place shall be asphalt or other approved binding material.
Sprigs shall consist of freshly dug live stolons, runners, or root stocks of permanent grasses, a minimum of 2 inches in length, and shall be first class representatives of the required species or varieties specified in the special provisions. The areas from which sprigs are to be obtained shall be free from Johnson Grass, Nutgrass, Sandbur, Wild Garlic, Wild Onion, Crotalaria, and Witchweed, and free from an excessive amount of restricted noxious weeds as defined by the North Carolina Board of Agriculture at the time of digging the sprigs, and also there shall be compliance with all applicable State and Federal domestic plant quarantines. The areas shall have been mowed and raked, burned off, or otherwise prepared in a manner acceptable to the engineer before digging of sprigs begins.
Sod shall consist of a live, dense, well rooted growth of permanent grasses, free from Johnson Grass, Nutgrass, Sandbur, Wild Garlic, Wild Onion, Crotalaria, and Witchweed, and free from an excessive amount of restricted noxious weeds as defined by the North Carolina Board of Agriculture at the time of cutting the sod, and also there shall be compliance with all applicable State and Federal domestic plant quarantines. The area from which sod is to be obtained shall have been mowed to a height of not more than 2 inches, and shall be raked free of grass clippings and debris and otherwise prepared in a manner satisfactory to the Engineer before cutting of sod begins.
Sod shall be cut into rectangular sections of sizes convenient for handling without breaking or loss of soil. It shall be cut with a sod cutter or other acceptable means to a depth that will retain in the sod practically all of the dense root system of the grass.
During wet weather the sod shall be allowed to dry sufficiently before lifting to prevent tearing during handling and placing, and during extremely dry weather it shall be watered before lifting if such watering is necessary to insure its vitality and to prevent loss of soil during handling.
1060-8 MATTING FOR EROSION CONTROL.
(A) General:
Matting for erosion control shall be or excelsior matting. The Contractor shall furnish a Type 3 Certification in accordance with Article 1063 certifying that the excelsior matting meets the requirements of this article. Other acceptable material manufactured especially for erosion control may be used when approved by the Engineer in writing before being used. Matting for erosion control shall not be dyed, bleached, or otherwise treated in a manner that will result in toxicity to vegetation.
(B) Excelsior Matting:
Excelsior matting shall consist of a machine produced mat of curled wood excelsior a minimum of 47 inches in width. The mat shall weigh 0.975 pounds per square yard with a tolerance of plus or minus 10 percent. At least 80 percent of the individual excelsior fibers shall be 6 inches or more in length. The excelsior fibers shall be evenly distributed over the entire area of the blanket. One side of the excelsior matting shall be covered with an extruded plastic mesh. The mesh size for the plastic mesh shall be a maximum of 1" x 1" .
(C) Wire Staples:
Staples shall be machine made of No. 11 gage new steel wire formed into a "U" shape. The size when formed shall be not less than 6 inches in length with a throat of not less than 1 inch in width.
Water used in the planting or care of vegetation shall meet the requirements of Class C fresh waters as defined in 15 NAC 2B.0200.
1060-10 PLANT MATERIALS - NURSERY GROWN.
(A) General:
All plants shall be as called for by the contract.
Container growth plants may be used in lieu of balled and burlapped plants or bare rooted plants provided written approval for such use has been obtained from Engineer.
Grading of plants, size of root balls, and type and minimum dimensions of containers shall conform to the specifications contained in the edition of American Standard for Nursery Stock that is in effect on the date of advertisement. Plants shall not be cut back from larger sizes to meet the sizes called for in the contract.
Botanical names referred to in the contract are taken from "Hortus Third", the Bailey Hortorium (1976 MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc.) All plants delivered shall be true to name. Each plant, or group of the same species, variety, and size of plant, shall be legibly tagged with the name and size of the plant.
All plants shall be first-class representatives of their species or varieties. The root system shall be vigorous and well-developed. The branch systems shall be of normal development, and free from disfiguring knots, sun scald injuries, abrasions of the bark, dead or dry wood, broken terminal growth, or other objectionable disfigurements. Trees shall have reasonably straight stems, and shall be well branched and symmetrical in accordance with their natural habits of growth.
All plants shall be free from plant diseases and insect pests. All shipments of plants shall comply with all nursery inspection and plant quarantine regulations of the states of origin and destination, as well as with Federal regulations governing interstate movement of nursery stock. Any nursery stock used on highway landscape projects shall be accompanied by a valid copy of a certificate of inspection, which has been granted by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, Entomology Division.
When nursery stock from other states is used on projects in North Carolina, this stock shall be accompanied by a tag or certificate stating, in effect, that the nursery stock has been inspected and certified by an authorized official of the state of origin as apparently free from injurious plant pests.
All plant materials shall be subject to inspection at any time by the Engineer. Any such inspection before or during planting operations, however, shall not be construed as final acceptance of the plants involved.
(B) Balled and Burlapped Plants:
Plants to be balled and burlapped (B&B) shall be dug so as to retain as many fibrous roots as possible, and shall come from soil which will form a firm ball. The soil in the ball shall be the original and undisturbed soil in which the plant has been grown. The plant shall be dug, wrapped, transported, and handled in such a manner that the soil in the ball will not become frozen, or loosened so as to cause stripping of the small feeding roots or movements of the soil away from contact with such roots.
(C) Container Grown Plants:
Container grown plants shall be healthy, vigorous, well-rooted, and shall have become established in the container in which they are delivered. These plants shall have been in the container long enough for the fibrous roots to have developed so that the root mass will retain its shape and hold together when removed from the container. The container shall be sufficiently rigid to firmly hold the soil protecting the root mass during transporting, handling, and planting, and the soil shall not be allowed to become frozen.
(D) Bare Root Plants:
Bare root plants shall have a heavy fibrous root system which has been developed by proper cultural treatment. They shall be dug, packaged, transported, and handled in a manner that will prevent injury to or drying out of the trunks, branches, or roots, or freezing of the roots.
(E) Plant Substitution:
No change in the specifications (species, variety, size, caliper, furnish, etc.) will be made without written approval of the Engineer. All requests by the Contractor for substitutions shall be presented in writing and shall include a listing of the sources which have been contacted in an attempt to secure specified plant material. Requests for substitutions shall include the botanical name, common name, size, caliper, and furnish description of the proposed substitute. No increase in compensation will be made to the Contractor as a result of the use of approved substitute plants. The Department reserves the right to locate specified plant material for the project when it has knowledge that specified material is available from sources other than those which the Contractor has contacted and listed in his requests for substitution.
Mulch for planting shall be as specified in the special provisions, shown on the plans, or approved by the Engineer. Mulch for planting shall not contain substances injurious to plants or which will inhibit normal development and growth of plants.
1060-12 WRAPPING FOR TREE TRUNKS.
Wrapping for tree trunks shall consist of burlap or a waterproof crinkled kraft paper which has been prepared especially for tree wrapping, or other materials especially designed for tree wrapping. Tree wrapping shall have been approved by the Engineer before being used.
1060-12 MATERIALS FOR STAKING OR GUYING.
(A) Stakes:
Stakes shall be of cypress, cedar, oak, locust, or other acceptable wood free from defects that would impair the strength of the stake. Stakes shall be a minimum of 2" X 2" (nominal) inches square. The size and length of stakes shall be as shown on the plans.
(B) Wire:
Wire shall be new soft No. 14 gage steel wire, or as shown on the plans.
(C) Hose:
Hose to be used with wire shall have a minimum inside diameter of 1/2 inch. All hose shall be garden type hose composed of rubber and fabric, or as shown on the plans.
The herbicide to be used for a particular application shall be as specified in the special provisions.
All herbicides shall be properly labeled and registered with
the United States Department of Agriculture and the North Carolina
Department of Agriculture. A container shall contain only the
herbicide which meets the analysis guaranteed on the label. All
herbicides shall be kept in such original labeled containers until
used.