Addition of Humates to Soil Plans

[andy10917]

For the past four years, I've been working to create a new regimen that addresses some rather significant gaps in the creation of great soil for ATY members' lawns, I've hinted a few times that I was working on an "Improved" BLSC formula (and I still am), but the process of researching and testing the regimen led me down some interesting paths, and later to a conclusion that I could no longer explore interesting angles while soil test results that I was seeing increasingly showed the same problems. In the end, the biggest issue was that there was nothing holding the nutrients in the upper soil and no matter how many nutrients were being added, they went through the soil ("leached") like a glass of water through a strainer. The TEC just didn't have the capacity to hold them. Once upon a time (80-100 years ago), most soils had 5% organic matter and now there is often 1% or 2%. The organic matter added exchange sites that no longer exist.

But only 5%-10% of the ATY members that get soil test interpretations actually execute the part of the plans that say "add lots of OM". And so, the nutrients just keep leaching. How do I know that? Because the numbers don't lie. The TEC and the OM tell us the story. Luckily, this is a scenario that can be improved in many cases with the use of Humates.

But the more I experimented with the components of BLSC, the more I discovered about the many secrets of humates. I call them "secrets" and not "powers" because a lack of standards in testing and sources of the humates has an enormous impact on the end-results. I've tested Humic Acid and Fulvic Acids from all over the world (try someday to import things from Australia to get a lesson in frustration), and the results varied from "useless" to "consistent and powerful". When I found the best products, they had meaningful impacts on:

- raising the overall TEC
- making nutrients more available and keeping them in the root zone
- increasing lateral growth
- improving growth and health in shadier areas
- improving germination percentages
- decreasing the incidence of disease
- increasing density (thickness)
- improvement of clay soils through aggregation
- improvement of the capability of very sandy soils

Please note that this is NOT a fertilizer, nor a replacement for fertilizer. It is a high Carbon supplement. You may notice, however, that fertilizer applications will last longer and therefore you may use less fertilizer over the course of the season.

As I got closer to being ready to add humates to soil plans, I not only tried to find well-researched and consistent quality products, but also paid attention to whether granular or liquid formulas were more cost-effective. I found that granular products were more cost-effective in the long run.

In the end, I found that the best product was "The Andersons Humic DG" - their investment in R&D, consistent quality, customer support, cost-effectiveness and ease of application made it stand out from the competition. I have no relationship with the company, and every member is free to make their own product selection - but I'll only be offering advice and application rates/frequencies on the product that I found best in my research and testing - if you choose another product, you'll have to do your own "translations" to the specifics of your selected product.

Lastly, a bit of a warning: during my testing, I found that at least 30% (conservatively) flat-out are ineffective when applied at the manufacturer's recommended rates. And as always, don't buy into claims that this group of products is "magic" or impacts your lawn/soil instantly.

If you've done a soil test since the beginning of 2019 and want to get it reviewed to see whether the use of humates (Humic Acid and/or Fulvic Acid) might be applicable for you, open a thread in the Soils Forum and request a review. Include your soil test results in the thread.

More on the use of Humates will be coming as the soil testing "busy season" winds down...

[andy10917]

Earlier this week, I got some questions about online shortages of the new addition of "The Andersons Humic DG" product, and I contacted the manufacturer about what was going on. They told me that the product at Amazon should be back in stock in the 11 lb size this weekend, and the 40 lb size back in stock should be back in stock this week.

The 11 lb size is back in stock now at Amazon, as they told me it would be.

[DanielF]

Hi Andy and all,

Not sure if this is the right place to post (new here)...

Amazon has the 40lb bag in stock now. 75.04 free shipping!

[andy10917]

Thanks! That's one less item on my T0-Do List.

[TimmyG]

I sent a neighbor to Valley Green in Wilmington, MA, to get The Andersons Humic DG. He said he paid $50 for the large bag.

Another excellent source online would be A.M. Leonard, also $50. Always the best prices. Their promo codes rotate, and for something like this, I would hold out for free shipping on $99+ (currently promo code CP20PC).

[andy10917]

Agree! On 40-lb bags, trying to get it locally is best, as shipping costs can be substantial. I've had to resort to online purchases recently, and I got a price of $45 for the 40-lb bag - but shipping was $23. Great catch on the promo code for free shipping! I'll use it (and keep it up-to-date) when making recommendations in soil plans.

Again, local sources are always preferred for heavyweight items!

[andy10917]

OK, the Soil Test Busy Season is drawing to a close, and we'll begin posting details about ongoing work and experimental results to a new thread in the Members' Only Forum, beginning later today. This is to inform members of the progress of the work, without opening ourselves up to people that are ATY Lurkers (public non-members) taking partial results and getting themselves into issues related to overapplications, etc.

We encourage following this thread, but please don't take the in-progress learnings and just start running with using random products and methods.

As always, non-members are welcome to join the ATY family. We never share member data, don't bombard you with emails, etc.

[andy10917]

If you're doing a Humic Acid program, it's time to make sure that you have the material ready to go for the most important application of the year - the one just before the real heat of July and August hits. The best time to apply is going to be June 25th to July 4th,

[andy10917]

If you started the Humates program earlier this year, this is now the time to get down the second application. The timing is such that the application will help with drought tolerance and other stressors.

[NutterButter]

So if you're applying enough OM via mulched leaves for instance, along with the BLSC and KH, then the additional Humates wouldn't be necessary?

[andy10917]

It's not that simple - even with intense effort, a 1% rise in OM% per year is tough. 0.5% rises are more common. Regular OM can take a decade to get from 1% (very poor) to 5%+ (excellent). It all depends on where you're at now - we Americans are not overly prone to waiting for a decade for anything. Humates can bridge some of the gap and accelerate things a bit.

[NutterButter]

It's not that simple - even with intense effort, a 1% rise in OM% per year is tough. 0.5% rises are more common. Regular OM can take a decade to get from 1% (very poor) to 5%+ (excellent). It all depends on where you're at now - we Americans are not overly prone to waiting for a decade for anything. Humates can bridge some of the gap and accelerate things a bit.

Good to know and thanks for the info. That certainly makes sense. This is going to be my first year at this level of lawn care and I'll be getting a soil test in a couple of weeks so I'll find out then where I'm at. I saw in the lawn maintenance article that a compost tea application (or compost but if they're both the same the tea sounds a lot less labor intensive) is recommend twice a year. How does that fit into this rotation of humic acid, BLSC and KH? Does it substitute for something or is it just another layer to a comprehensive soil improvement plan?