I would say its working well...

 

Just did the "Finger Smoosh" test and the treated plugs have a sandy peanut butter consistency whereas untreated plugs are chunky, hard and not as uniform in color...

 

I would say its working well...

Absolutely agree. Something is definitely going on. Humic is really doing a fantastic job of breaking apart the clay.

I know it's just a quick, unscientific, beer induced test but I've been taking cores on this property for 15 years and the soil in the humic applied area has never looked better.

 

Humic can cause aggregation of clay particles. What that does is increase porosity of soil. That is a known effect that I take advantage of. The lawns I maintain are never core aerated. Not unless it is part of a root zone replacement program. That involves extremely aggressive aeration, collection of all soil plugs, and sanding. Short of doing that, soluble humic products are added to the liquid fertilizer program, providing the effect that people want from core aeration but never get because they are not removing cores and replacing with sand.

 

Humic can cause aggregation of clay particles. What that does is increase porosity of soil. That is a known effect that I take advantage of. The lawns I maintain are never core aerated. Not unless it is part of a root zone replacement program. That involves extremely aggressive aeration, collection of all soil plugs, and sanding. Short of doing that, soluble humic products are added to the liquid fertilizer program, providing the effect that people want from core aeration but never get because they are not removing cores and replacing with sand.

No, no, I completely understand the principle of adding Humic to the soil's diet. I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Up until now, it's just been another "show me the money" situation.

I'm more impressed with how quickly its aggregating the clay. The break test of the subsoil has proved to me that it works.

 

Humic is what I use to fix red dirt.

 

I'm honestly just waiting for the weather to kick the roots into overdrive and dive deep. We've had a pretty mellow spring here in the Mid Atlantic and the Pat Bermuda really doesn't show her glory until we have sustained 90-100 degree days.

The plan was set and implemented, waiting on mother nature.

 

Humic is what I use to fix red dirt.

I didn't have issues with red dirt up in Makakilo. The soils were pretty fertile up there. Loads of pulverized basalt made growing relatively easy. The native clay here in Va is horrible. The part of the Appomattox I live on was a pea gravel quarry back in the 40's and 50's. Pea gravel + Clay= Natures Concrete. You go down 10" in my yard and it's a dig bar and hours upon hours of sweat.

 

So I gently rinsed the dirt away to see the roots, length and structures. Quite the difference...

 

The roots embedded in Humic treated soil would not release the dirt. Obviously there are micro rootlets keeping a grip on things. They were damn near full length of the 4" plug.

Untreated, not so much. 3/4 of the soil released and left maybe 2-2.5" of turf roots.

I'm going to strip all the plugs of soil and see what's left.

 

You must not have been in the upper part then. Above the fire station it is all red clay

 

Nope. I was upper Makakilo on Kikaha Street near Umena. The soil was fantastic. I never added a single amendment. I know a buddy of mine in Makakilo Heights had a lot of red dirt. My place was great up to 24" deep.

That said, is Boston Pizza still on the way up? So good.

 

Anyway, here are the roots...

Humic treated on the left, untreated on the right.

 

Makakilo Heights has crap for soil. Boston's North End Pizza is not there

 

Anyway, here are the roots...

Humic treated on the left, untreated on the right.

These aren't the same grasses....

 

Honestly, the 2 on the right appear longer than they actually laid in the soil. They pulled down nicely but they were semi root bound at the 2" mark, where the clay layer started.

 

While all good, those don't look like same grass, nor do they even seem like they've been cut and cared for in the same way....

Kind of hard to compare with so many variables, but glad you are excited to see changes and for the better.

 

Anyway, here are the roots...

Humic treated on the left, untreated on the right.

These aren't the same grasses....

Right. Humic treated is Bermuda, non treated is TTTF. It's about the soil composition. Root comentary is secondary.

 

While all good, those don't look like same grass, nor do they even seem like they've been cut and cared for in the same way....

Kind of hard to compare with so many variables, but glad you are excited to see changes and for the better.

Agree 100%. They are not the same grass. The whole point of this thread was the physical soil composition and its changes. Grass type doesn't really factor into it.

 

Makakilo Heights has crap for soil. Boston's North End Pizza is not there

:lol:

 

Now you got my curiosity going.
I'll have to pull some samples from my yard and my neighbors yard, I know he has not had humics sprayed in his yard. This will be my second season using humic products.

 

While all good, those don't look like same grass, nor do they even seem like they've been cut and cared for in the same way....

Kind of hard to compare with so many variables, but glad you are excited to see changes and for the better.

Agree 100%. They are not the same grass. The whole point of this thread was the physical soil composition and its changes. Grass type doesn't really factor into it.

Fair enough, adding to show and discuss roots/etc comparing humic wouldn't be part of the conversation. Comparing sand paper to toilet paper at that point.

 

While all good, those don't look like same grass, nor do they even seem like they've been cut and cared for in the same way....

Kind of hard to compare with so many variables, but glad you are excited to see changes and for the better.

Agree 100%. They are not the same grass. The whole point of this thread was the physical soil composition and its changes. Grass type doesn't really factor into it.

Fair enough, adding to show and discuss roots/etc comparing humic wouldn't be part of the conversation. Comparing sand paper to toilet paper at that point.

Again, I agree. I secondarily added root length to show soil compaction and its effects on root depth. Most all desirable turfs require the same depths for proper water and nutrient uptake, regardless of type and cultivar.

 

Do not know of any magic grasses that can grow in soil the texture of grease or pottery clay

 

Do not know of any magic grasses that can grow in soil the texture of grease or pottery clay

Exactly.

Wait, dont they have grass growing on a concrete slab at Home Depot?

:roll: