Hello Michelle,

Welcome to the forum! I would guess that why no one has responded to your post is that they like myself have never heard of this liquid aerator. Actually I don't know what desperate landscapes is either but do you know the science behind this aerator? That would be a good way to figure out if it is really going to work.

There is a saying that if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. Ways I have used to soften up the soil are the old fasioned ways. For areas without existing plantings digging up by shovel or by rototiller the dirt and incorporating organic matter and coarse sand or gravel into it. For lawn areas we've used a kind of poker thing that attaches to the hose and blows water under the ground which sinks down and leaves air pockets. Of course you can also rent a plugger.

I also just recently learned that repeatedly walking on prepared dirt, especially when wet can compact it too.

Happy Gardening, Maria

Thanks Maria. We currently aerate the 'old fashioned way' but our soil is so clay-y that any thing that can make it easier is looked into. Deperate Landscapes is a show on, I think, HGTV. This is the product

Here is a link that might be useful: Lazy Man's Aerator

Hi Michelle,

Looked up your link and it looks interesting. I think you should go for it. Maybe try out a small quantity at first and see if you notice a difference. It's fun experimenting with new stuff and seeing how it works (or doesn't work!). Do let us know of your results as our poor soils here in Nevada especially for those of us in the southern part of the state need all the help they can get.

Maria

I'd guess that this stuff is some kind of humate/humic acid. It wouldn't hurt, but it also won't help as much as you would like, unless you purchase and use it in 55-gal. drum quantities. If you want to go that route, there's an organic gardening place in Grass Valley that carries it-Peaceful Valley Farm Supply (groworganic.com). In the interim, I'd throw gypsum all over your soil and water it in. It helps, and it's cheap. Another thing I found worked well was alfalfa meal or pellets (they sell the pellets as rabbit food--get a 50 lb. bag from a feed store).

Gypsum and alfalfa both have some minuses, so err on the light side. But then, short of tilling in 2 or 3 feet of uncompacted organic material (straw, green manure, leaf mold, etc.) every year for 3 years straight, there isn't a good fix for our soil. I have the same clay/rock mess.

Perhaps Dry Creek Gardens in Reno can recommend a good product. They would know if anyone does.

I'd suggest driving to Grass Valley for things like that because it's a nice day-trip drive, an interesting place to visit AND the shipping would end up costing you almost as much as the gas.