# Advice on hard Sandy silt areas



## Ryan1+2 (Oct 16, 2018)

I did a reno two years ago this September. Everything looks great in the spring and fall but I have a large area that looks terrible once the heat comes. Even giving that area 1"-1.5" a week of water it yellows out stops growing then browns out. That area is very compacted. I was looking at some old photos that I took just prior to the Reno and noticed the color difference in the soil between area struggling and the areas which are doing great. In the photo all areas with the light tan color soil are the ones struggling and the area with a nice dark rich-looking soil I'm doing great. I guess that's no surprise but when I started the reno I knew a lot less than I know now and didn't even belong to this forum. In that area I can only push a pitchfork or screwdriver in 2-3 inches with all my weight behind it. The areas that are thriving I can bury either all the way without hardly any force. When I pull a core and seems like all sand and silt for the most part. Last year I tried some soil loosener spray but wasn't impressed. Recently I used a 1.5" by 20 auger bit and drilled about 50 holes as deep as I could go and filled them with a mix of compost and organic mechanics biochar blend. However, I quickly realized the area is just way too big to be individually drilling holes to aerate and add organic matter. I'm thinking of renting an aerator in the fall but I'm not sure if that would be the best thing to do or not. I'm looking for ideas and advice on the best way to handle this.


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## jhealy748 (Jul 25, 2019)

I have a couple small areas like this too so I'm hoping you find an answer that isn't tear thy area out and start over!


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## Ryan1+2 (Oct 16, 2018)

Would Gypsum be beneficial. Does is really loosen compacted soil? Another product I'm looking at is Mirimichi green carbonizpn/Lesco carbon prog.


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## corneliani (Apr 2, 2019)

Ryan1+2 said:


> Would Gypsum be beneficial. Does is really loosen compacted soil? Another product I'm looking at is Mirimichi green carbonizpn/Lesco carbon prog.


I'm a big fan of the CarbonizPN, i've top dressed my hard clay soil with it and have bought myself time doing so. It helps retain water and nutrients allowing the turf to try to dig into that hard clay soil.. but otherwise any topdressing is simply that, a top dress. It does not permeate the soil profile unless deep core aerating on a regular basis. My issue is on my bermuda turf so I'm able to be more aggressive with aerating but even on the TTTF portion you could do so twice yearly (spring & fall).

Note that the downside of topdressing with such rich and nutrient retaining material such as xSoil or CarbonizPN is that weeds love it just as much as turf  . Expect some heightened weed pressure.

The other option I've pursued (on my entire lawn) is heavy and regular rounds of Humic12 and Air8. This year i've sprayed the high rate of each monthly, starting in the spring. Couldn't tell you if it helped or not but I'd like to think it will, over time.

Last thought would be to use wetting agents to help with the hot spots. I've applied Moisture Manager for the first time this summer and its supposed to keep the moisture from evaporating out of the soil as quickly. Not sure if it works but I'm trying anything I can :lol: As a heads-up on this product.. make sure it gets watered in. If left on the blades too long, at the high rate, it seems to desiccate the grass blades! My expected thunderstorm did not materialize on my 1st app and my unirrigated Bermuda grass was left a little dry afterwards. it took a few more thunderstorms to rehydrate it. :roll:


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## Ryan1+2 (Oct 16, 2018)

It rained like crazy yesterday so I went out and pulled a few scores today. The two on the left are from areas doing good and thriving. The two on the right are from areas that seem compacted and are struggling.


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## KBfromLINY (Jul 26, 2019)

I have been using simple lawn solutions liquid aeration and it appears to be working. Ryan knorr lawn care did a video on it on YouTube, you should check out. He does a before and after and you can see it loosen the soil in just a couple days


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Maybe the next time you do a soil analysis, try to send two sample (one for each area). The color on the one of the right seems to indicate something it very different.


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## Ryan1+2 (Oct 16, 2018)

g-man said:


> Maybe the next time you do a soil analysis, try to send two sample (one for each area). The color on the one of the right seems to indicate something it very different.


Yes, I'm definitely going to get a separate soil analysis. I pulled a couple more core samples today and came across another type of soil. It resembles that tan core but had chunks of really sticky dense white clay. I've never seen white clay before.


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## gasdoc (Jul 24, 2019)

I don't know what the answer is but I have the same exact problem with an identical looking core.

So far this season I've done:

Humic dg - 4lbs/M
Humic 12 + air 8 x 2
Carbon x in spring
Poultry manure / bio solids for summer

I'm debating aerating and doing xsoil or equivalent in the fall.

Definitely get a soil test if you don't already have one.

I was very low in K+ which is apparently common in these types of soil

I'm expecting several years of work before getting a change


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## HoosierLawnGnome (Sep 28, 2017)

I'd do separate soil samples on the two areas, including a soil structure test.

It also could be that you're watering the wrong way for your soil. Drowning the roots will kill the plant, especially easy to do if the soil doesn't drain well. Yellowing grass is an indicator of too much water. With poorly draining soil, have to water more slowly, more frequently. *gasp* Yeah, that's right - break the "rule" - to get what works for you.

Water can also run off those areas, making it hard to absorb it - causing the plant to go dormant. But that's not what I'm hearing given the yellowing you describe - it sounds more like you're giving it too much water and it's sitting there.

If it's hard - like concrete hard - then I'd consider core aeration.

The spray stuff (please don't kill me for this) may help a teensy bit, but knowing what your problem is and altering the watering to work with it are probably going to pay off much sooner than humic acids.

Also, don't forget about organic matter. If they spread crappy subsoil in those problem spots, it is probably high silt / clay, low OM, poor nutrients. OM will help with water retention and nutrients some. Again, I'd prioritize this over humic acid sprays and wetting agents.

So, first step is understand what you're dealing with, where.


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