# Biochar vs Primera One Field Conditioner



## 15711 (Jul 17, 2021)

I have some dense clay in Kansas City and am looking to start some yard renovations. I'm thinking I will dethatch, aerate, and deep core aerate to try and break everything up to get rid of the clay compaction. I have Tall Fescue sod that was installed October 2020. New house so that is the main reason for all the compaction.

I'm wondering what would be best to help my soil. I'm planning on removing all the core plugs and all the clay soil from drilling roughly 1ft deep holes with the auger bit that you can attaching to a drill. I'm thinking about raking in compost to all these areas to help with the microbial activity in my soil. Would it be worth adding biochar to these areas while I have everything opened up? Or would the field conditioner work the same but at a lot cheaper price, so I could apply quite a bit more while everything is open. I think it's like $10 for a 40lb bag. Or if mixing one of these with compost would help the overall structure.

Thank you for any help that I can get! I'm pretty new at this and am trying to be the most efficient when I tackle this in the fall.


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## balladinsurgency (Nov 23, 2019)

I think you have the right idea. When in doubt, I pick the cheapest/easiest option. For me that's bulk compost and I'm experimenting w/ biochar too. I have different soil (sandy loam) so I just spread the mix on top and water in.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Compost, chicken manure and some sand will be the way to go.

Consider some cultural practices too like how you water. Right now, when you water, don't just throw down 2 hours of water for example. Instead, get your sprinkler to run 15 minutes with a 5 minute cool off, then follow up with 30 minutes and a 10 minute cool off and continue like that until you get to your necessary amount. Doing it this way, got the water to absorb and settle down into the soil rather than rolling right off the clay/hard surface. And to be honest, be realistic as possible. I've been hitting my lawn for 2.5 years with shampoo, humic acid, etc. and this year was the best for compaction; and as a side note I've only aerated in the Fall.


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