# AIR-8 vs RGS vs Humic 12



## Belgianbillie

Hey,

This might have been asked before. What is the difference between these products. CGI says use Humic 12 to improve your clay soil, but then on the website of GCF they are touting using RGS and AER8 for this. All these products state that they contain Humic Acid and that they will improve soil conditions, roots, etc... it just seems like they are all the same?


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## Suburban Jungle Life

Belgianbillie said:


> Hey,
> 
> This might have been asked before. What is the difference between these products. CGI says use Humic 12 to improve your clay soil, but then on the website of GCF they are touting using RGS and AER8 for this. All these products state that they contain Humic Acid and that they will improve soil conditions, roots, etc... it just seems like they are all the same?


Humic 12 has a higher concentration of humic acid but their other products all come with humic acid anyway. I would prefer to get their compaction cure with is rgs and air8. Especially if you have clay soil or a slow draining soil. RGS is good to use when you spread fertilizer. It contains humates and kelp which helps with plant growth. Air8 breaks up the soil so water will penetrate easier through it. Good for clay or compacted soils. All their products contain humates but their other ingredients are different.


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## social port

@Belgianbillie I agree that it is difficult to tell how some of these products are unique when they seem to promote similar effects and even share basic ingredients.
I followed a line of thought a while back that several of the N-Ext products exerted their effects primarily through humic acid. I was wrong, at least with respect to AIR-8. Humic is a common igredient, but there are apparently differences across products. 
And I agree with SJL: If you want to address drainage issues, RGS and AIR-8 are the way to go. Would one of these be sufficient on its own? I really wish I could answer this. I do wish there was better literature around this issue.

Here's the link for the AIR-8 thread I mentioned above.
https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=3246&p=85701&hilit=n+ext+air+8+question#p85701


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## Suburban Jungle Life

social port said:


> @Belgianbillie I agree that it is difficult to tell how some of these products are unique when they seem to promote similar effects and even share basic ingredients.
> I followed a line of thought a while back that several of the N-Ext products exerted their effects primarily through humic acid. I was wrong, at least with respect to AIR-8. Humic is a common igredient, but there are apparently differences across products.
> And I agree with SJL: If you want to address drainage issues, RGS and AIR-8 are the way to go. Would one of these be sufficient on its own? I really wish I could answer this. I do wish there was better literature around this issue.
> 
> Here's the link for the AIR-8 thread I mentioned above.
> https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=3246&p=85701&hilit=n+ext+air+8+question#p85701


I suspect air8 to be the one to use if you are looking to increase drainage in clay or compacted soils. I also imagine it's effects to taper off so periodic application will probably be needed. At least twice a year, maybe a third if things are that bad. RGS is just a great product to use when fertilizing as it has many benefits when coupled with fert.

If you have a large property and only want the aeration, then air8. Otherwise, I would get the combo.


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## social port

Suburban Jungle Life said:


> I suspect air8 to be the one to use if you are looking to increase drainage in clay or compacted soils


That is what I would think as well.
It begs the question of why AIR-8 and RGS are sold as a compaction cure, especially if RGS isn't addressing compaction, drainage etc directly.
But I've noticed that members such as Colonel K0rn are using both RGS and AIR-8 and getting great results.

I used AIR-8 and RGS several weeks apart. I didn't notice much change in the looseness of my soil until I put down an app of RGS. That's from my casual observations, though. I'm not methodically tracking it.


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## NewLawnJon

I would say that if you want humates to go with a product like the Anderson's Humic DG since it is all about pounds on the ground vs the Humic 12.

The Air8 seems to help open the pores of the ground a bit for better water intrusion capabilities, and the RGS seems to help stimulate root growth to fill those openings. At least that is what I am gathering from the video's I have seen where John explains the products.


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## iFisch3224

My go to app right now is RGS and Air8 as well.

My second commonly used app is Humic 12 and Microgreene.


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