# Humic Acid vs. Revive



## hawk_941 (May 6, 2019)

Hello.

New user and neophyte here. I currently use Revive and Milorganite (both 5x/yr) on my Kentucky Bluegrass lawn in the San Francisco area. I have been reading about humic acid and am wondering if I might be better off using it instead of Revive?

I tore out my old lawn about 1.5 years ago, taking about 5" out and laying down a 50/50 mix from my local nursery. I ran into erosion issues (I am on a slight incline) because I did not adequately protect against them, leading to bald spots near some edges. I am working hard at weed control with Prodiamine, Quinclorac, and Triclopyr to prevent and kill crabgrass, oxalis, and poa annua.

I do experience some rust issues, even after adjusting my watering time from evenings to mornings. I have not yet gone for a soil test.

Any thoughts about humic acid vs. Revive would be appreciated. And if you prefer humic acid, do you have a particular product you would recommend?

Thank you!


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## bmw (Aug 29, 2018)

Revive is good to prevent some erosion and encourage water movement/root growth. I've used it on my sloped front yard and notice immediate results in how the water soaks deep into the lawn rather than just stay on the top inch or so due to the wetting agents. I also like Revive in that it has 1% iron for a nice green response.

As far as Humics go, Nature's Lawn makes a great product called Nature's Magic. It's 58% humic acid and 42% seaweed (kelp), which is great for the soil and root growth. Their website is great at explaining all of the benefits. They also do a straight up Humic.

There is also Anderson's Humic DG granular you can get on Amazon, which when wet disperses into thousands of micro-particles for full incorporation into the soil.


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## hawk_941 (May 6, 2019)

Thanks for the info, bmw. Is there a reason to use both Revive and a Humic product?


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## bmw (Aug 29, 2018)

yes, I use both. Revive is more of a quick fix for water penetration into the root zone for compacted soil. Humic is great for chelating nutrients that are locked up, it's basically an enhancer for nutrient uptake and also is great for the soil long term if you consistently apply. I try to do monthly applications of each.


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## Suburban Jungle Life (Mar 1, 2018)

I would highly recommend that soil test. Ph and fert before humates. I view humates as icing but the cake should be good first. Without a soil test, how do you know what's there and if there and any deficiencies?

Kbg spreads so maybe using a proplugger to help cover larger areas and aid spreading. If you struggle with runoff ruining areas, I would sod the tough spots. You could pull sod from an easier to repair spot and then plug the area you pulled the sod. Kbg spreads but it's not bermuda...


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