do liquid soil products really work?

Question

I have very bad clay soil in an area that is really too small to till with a rototiller. I just got some information about a liquid soil amendment that says it will break down the clay. It uses humic acid I think. it sounds to good to be true and is quite expensive, but if it really works I will sure buy it.

Answer 1

Even so it breaks down the clay particles, did you think what are the side effects it will cause to the surrounding microbials in the soil? or within the soil?

It uses humic acid? wouldn't that decrease the pH of soil? again, this will affect the soil properties. what do you want your ideal pH of soil to be? Ask yourself this.. Never be implusive while you are trying to make amendments to the soil. When one of the properties of soil is changed, a chain of factors will change too. Remember this. I stressed this because it is a very crucial factor in successful cultivation of plants.

I advise you to read the label carefully, ask the retailer about its side effects. If he sound uncertain, don't buy. Speak to the boss instead. If the boss is uncertain too, well, forget it. YOu can search for other stores if you still insist in buying that bottle of miracle. =)

If you are still uncertain, i can suggest you a few ways to solve your clayey soil. You can either plant plants which loves clayey soil type.

Secondly, you can add in more bigger sized soil particles into the clayey soil. This means that, you can add in granite chips, or sand or gravels which will then 'neutralise' the clayey factor in soil. With these, clay will get attached to these bigger sized particles and hang onto them, making tilling easier for you. =)

By doing the above, you can add in compost, some organic matter like cocopeat, peat moss, etc. Not too much as your soil is already clayey, which holds a lot of water. Adding these organic is beneficial to both the soil composition and plant health in the later stage.

By adding these, you increase the porous spaces, making it more friable, increase microbial activity, etc.


For the amount of organic matter, gravels, stones to add into your clayey soil, you can either buy and add them with your instinct or go to the nearest nursery, with the dimension of your clayey soil area and ask the people there. They know a lot. Ask them and they will be willing to share their knowledge with you. =)

Never let any clayey soil [if there is any] go dry. Once they show visible crackings, you can forget about using that patch of soil. It means that its soil properly has been badly damaged.

Lastly, you must be wondering what is consists of soil properties. From what i understand, soil properties are something like:-

-Water moisture
-Amount of pore spaces
-Amount of pores
-Amount of carbon present
-Activity of micro organisms
-Mineral composition
-Fertilizer currently present , ETC.....


I hope what i've provided you are sufficient. Have patience and you will get your soil problem done very soon.


That's all folks.

Answer 2

There is no miracle product from a bottle. You'd be better off using compost (which contains humic acids) as the compost particles get inbetween the microscopic clay particles, thus reducing the clay compaction. You have to dig the compost in, of course. Clay particles are shaped like saucers and you know how tightly saucers can fit together so you need material that will open and separate those clay particles and compost is large and coarse. Sand is not the answer......sand and clay together make a very fine natural cement......not good.

Now if you want to use the humic acid liquids along with the compost, fine. Compost will be faster.......just harder to apply.

Answer 3

Are you trying to condition the soil, or are you trying to feed the lawn? Soil is conditioned by the addition of organic material to improve the soil's texture and moisture holding capabilities. That means the addition of compost, peat moss, or similar materials. Liquid materials cannot add enough organic material to "condition" the soil. They can and do add trace minerals, and either organic or inorganic food for the lawn to use during it's active growth period. If you are looking to condition the soil, I recommend buying enough compost to add a layer approximately 1 to 1 1/2 inch deep over the entire lawn. You can also rent a "plug aerator" to run over your lawn prior to adding the compost. Then when you rake the compost over the lawn, it will fill the area the plugs were removed from to add pockets of organic material to the soil. Do this in the late fall and in the spring, your lawn should take off. If you are talking about a liquid feeding for your lawn, the product name is not important. Look for a product with a balance of N K and P. These are the main nutrients in any plant food. Good lawn foods run with a nitrogen level of approximately 6 times the other two (12-2-2 for example). Fall feeding applications should be made with slow release nitrogen so that you do not get a burst of lush growth just in time for a frost. Organic fertilizers usually are much lower in nitrogen to potassium and potash ratio than listed above. It's nitrogen is almost always slow release.

Answer 4

May work but I find Gypsum is the answer on my block. Cheap, and easy. Spread and dig in - you can easily do it by hand if you only have a small garden. I used this on the worst clay I'd ever seen in someone's garden. Planted out and the plants thrived.

You can do it once a year and it only needs to be done a maximum of 3 times if required.

Answer 5

yes if used correctly