# Soil Improvement Basics



## jurkewycmi (Jun 3, 2018)

I was wondering what a good soil improvement regimen looks like. I would love to start improving my soil condition.

Humic, fulvic, kelp, molasses, fish fert, sea minerals etc there are so many things we could add, but what are the cornerstones of a solid soil conditioning regimen that everyone should/could use to supplement good soil fertility on top of good cultural practices, fertility and weed control.

I mow taller, follow the 1/3 rule, irrigate properly, fertilize appropriately (in absence of a soil test, next spring, I promise guys), have pre em and post em control products. Now I want to make sure I am doing right by the soil to ensure the lawn has what it needs to succeed.


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## Suburban Jungle Life (Mar 1, 2018)

To start, a soil test is a must. Hard to know if the grass has what it needs if you are guessing. Otherwise, is the grass green and thick? Does water drain well enough during rain? You don't need the perfect soil but good enough to grow grass. Through root cycling, the soil will improve. So, keep the grass happy and your soil will get better.

If you want it instantly better, and you have clay or silt with little organic matter, you would have to probably till in 6" of compost into the top 6" of soil. It will settle so you won't have a flat lawn unfortunately. I have a pile of dirt I use for fill and I mix it 50% with compost. The extra I don't use is in another pile. A few months later, that whole pile is rich black dirt. It's quite amazing. Of course, this won't last since the organic matter will break down so you need to plant something in it so root cycling will occur and maintain the organic matter content and keep that tilth. Adding some sand probably wouldn't be a bad idea either if you wanted.


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