# Soil Conditioner Mixtures



## monty

I purchased Sodium Lauryl Sulfate to make a Soil conditioner as well as Kelp powder and humic acid to help increase OM.

What mix rates are people using for these two mixtures? How are you applying to the lawn?


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## ABC123

Sls powder or liquid?


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## monty

ABC123 said:


> Sls powder or liquid?


SLS powder


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## social port

Hi monty,

I use a hose-end sprayer, and it works really well--but I use a baby shampoo/dawn mix with water. I have never used the powder form or supplemented with kelp, humid acid, yucca, etc, so I can't advise for rates.
For baby shampoo, the general recommendation is about 3oz/k, but there is considerable leeway.

You may really enjoy mixing this stuff yourself. If not, I've looked into Aerify plus and Nitron A-35 as alternatives. They seem reasonable and convenient to use, if somewhat pricier than a homebrew.

You might want to check out Grass Daddy's youtube videos on this subject. I'm not sure that he specifies mixing rates in the videos, but the videos will be a great introduction if you haven't done this before (I'm making some well-intentioned assumptions here).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0SmPEeH27Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztKl1LLiSLE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shpChsHTq5Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-ze0KvNPho

Also, be sure to wear a mask when mixing the SLS. I've read that it is a serious irritant.


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## g-man

^ i would not use Dawn anymore. It has antibacterial that could kill the good and bad bacteria in your soil. Baby shampoo from the dollar store will work.


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## SGrabs33

g-man said:


> ^ i would not use Dawn anymore. It has antibacterial that could kill the good and bad bacteria in your soil. Baby shampoo from the dollar store will work.


Can anyone confirm if this would work. I picked it up from the dollar store yesterday.


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## g-man

Disclaimer: chemistry is not my background.

I don't see anything alarming in there. It has ammonium chloride, which is used as a fertilizer. Chloride is not ideal (similar to using mop vs sop) but at the rate you are using it won't be a problem. Your lawn will smell very nice for a few days.


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## SGrabs33

g-man said:


> Disclaimer: chemistry is not my background.
> 
> I don't see anything alarming in there. It has ammonium chloride, which is used as a fertilizer. Chloride is not ideal (similar to using mop vs sop) but at the rate you are using it won't be a problem. Your lawn will smell very nice for a few days.


I will not sue you  thanks!


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## GrassDaddy

so the description has the original ATY recipe. I linked to source but then they deleted it

as for dawn there are some that are antibacterial and some that arent. but dollar store stuff is cheaper anyways


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## monty

GrassDaddy said:


> so the description has the original ATY recipe. I linked to source but then they deleted it


So I see 1 oz per gallon yucca and 4 oz per gallon SLS. Now how many oz of that mixture per 1000 sf?

Have you mixed up the Kelp and humic acid before?


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## GrassDaddy

I use the hose end sprayer and start spraying, I dont really measure it by the K.

I did mix the humic and kelp one time but I dont know if I video or wrote anything down.

with this stuff there isn't an exact application rate like the fertilizers


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## monty

Applied soil conditioner and OM builder for the first time today. I mixed SLS at 6oz in a gallon of water as concentrate. Then I mixed 2 oz Kelp powder and 4 oz humic acid in a gallon of water as concentrate.

Then I mixed 4oz SLS concentrate and 2 oz Kelp/humic (both per 1000sf) in hose end spray and applied!

My soil is not compact as is, but other than a screw driver test, any other results I should notice over the next several weeks?


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## GrassDaddy

If you have hydrophobic soil you should see it soak water in instead of bead up on top. You might also notice brown spots green up.


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## Sinclair

Beading = Hydrophobic 
Soaking in / effective wetting = hydrophilic

I'm not sure these terms apply accurately to soil.

The "hydrophobic" properties exhibited by soil are on a macroscopic level usually resultant from compaction, which is a mechanical problem that can be solved by mechanical means i.e. aeration.

I feel like these shampoo methods are trying to solve a mechanical problem via chemical means.

This is not to discredit soap/shampoo as a surfactant for foliar applications of herbicide, iron, etc.


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## BXMurphy

Sinclair said:


> Beading = Hydrophobic
> Soaking in / effective wetting = hydrophilic
> I feel like these shampoo methods are trying to solve a mechanical problem via chemical means.


I would agree, Sinclair. If you can aerate at will, that would probably be the way to go. Also, adding organic matter ups the game.

From what I'm reading, the shampoo lubricates the soil at the particle level. "Flocculate" is a term I read about.

I'd love to see someone do a test on shampoo vs. aeration. That would be neat.

I have 7-8 weekly apps under my belt. No ill effects. The soil seems to be less bumpy when I walk on it. Before, I would worry about twisting an ankle. The bumps may have been due to clumping grass? Who knows...

I'm new and only starting to be observant about the lawn but so far, I'm liking what I'm seeing. The test will be the hot summer months.


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## GrassDaddy

The problem I see with aeration, the holes fill back in rapidly. So unless you do it often the benefits dwindle after you do it. Similarly the soap method you have to repeat, but the cost for soap vs cost for renting an aerator makes it an easy choice. And the more you do the soap the farther between apps it seems to need.


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## social port

GrassDaddy said:


> The problem I see with aeration, the holes fill back in rapidly. So unless you do it often the benefits dwindle after you do it. Similarly the soap method you have to repeat, but the cost for soap vs cost for renting an aerator makes it an easy choice. And the more you do the soap the farther between apps it seems to need.


Plus, the soap smells a heck of a lot better.


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## GrassDaddy

Especially if you do the bubble gum soap =P


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## BXMurphy

I have watered my houseplants exclusively with this soil conditioner solution over the winter. I think I am on the high side for SLES.

It looks like slower growth and smaller leaves for at least two of my plants. Two other plants seem to like it.

I will swap out the SLES with yucca for the lubrication effect when the SLES runs out.


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