Wetting agent

A NIS or Non Ionic Surfactant is used as a additive to herbicides and fungicides to help them "stick" to the plant better and are not designed to wet the soil. I would not recommend broadcast spraying it on your lawn. The Hydretain is better and will probably get the job done but it is nowhere near as good as some others out there in the market. Panterra is NOT what you want to use anyway as it is designed to MOVE water not HOLD water if that is what you are trying to do.

Here is a good thread to read to get up to speed on Wetting Agents

I think I’m trying to pull water into the soil. When I water it just runs off like a sheet of plastic. I tried penterra last year and can’t say I noticed any difference. I was also looking at a product called fourplay. It has hydretrain plus a few other things in it

I've been using Hydretain successfully (at twice the label rate) to fight drought stress and reduce watering, but I don't know how well it would pull water into the soil. The surfactants in Hydretain seem to be mostly designed to move the humectant into the rootzone so that it can form a film over the roots.

Well I ordered the underhill pellet applicator and some tournament ready. Hopefully I don’t have issues with flow and gpm. Only 1/2” copper going to the hose. Basement is unfinished so I may just replace with 3/4”

Good luck! I’m not really sure what the solution will be, but I hope you report back with your observations.

KMcClure said:

Well I ordered the underhill pellet applicator and some tournament ready. Hopefully I don’t have issues with flow and gpm. Only 1/2” copper going to the hose. Basement is unfinished so I may just replace with 3/4”

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I have the Pellet Pro gun and use it just for LDS(Localized Dry Spots) in the Summer time and the pellets do a great job at reviving the dry spots. I do have quite more water flow out of my hose since it's connected to my 1" irrigation main line.

I'd recommend using Underhill Medalist for the whole lawn and then supplement the drier areas with the pellet pro gun. If you spend $150 at R&R you get free shipping.

Most commercial wetting agents will cure the hydrophobic surface conditions you are experiencing. I have also noticed that it takes much more water to re-wet the soil after it has dried out considerably than if I had just kept it wet but that is fine line to walk sometimes when it's crazy hot outside.

I have quite a bit of localized dry spots. I was planning on using the tournament ready on the whole yard. It looks good from my research

Yes, you can use it on the whole lawn but it just may take some time to apply it to the whole lawn. Me personally, I have found that the pellets work better as a supplement to monthly applications of the liquid, it's a good 1-2 punch to fight off dry and hydrophobic soil.