On Mon, 31 May 2004 22:22:45 -0400, "The Data Rat"
wrote:

Hmmm...that sounds like my clay, NOXIOUS! Like someone else asked, it is a
mucky smell, not a sewer type smell. That would also explain why it got
worse after I added the peat moss, gypsum and other organic material. What
do you do about this? It is bluish gray, slippery and slimy when wet, dries
hard a brick and cracks when it is dry.

I live in Virginia Beach, VA at the very edge of the swamp. Even though I
am 7 miles from the ocean, there is absolutely no sand, Incidentally, last
year I bought 50 pounds of three different types of earth worms to keep the
soil aerated. I guess they are just more organic fodder for my clay.


Ah HA!!! at the edge of the Swamp!!! yep clay, ground is too wet..
should have spent money putting up a sealed concrete bunker with one
way valves for moisture to go OUT not IN.

You're on swamp ground ..that's been "reclaimed".. sort of. Dry on
top, wet underneath. Sounds like you need some way of "draining" the
soil, but the only way I know of doing that is for them to dig drain
ditches, but if you're at the edge of a swamp the ditches would just
fill up while they were digging them. I don't know if you have any
kind of a sump, doubt you have a basement, but about all you can do is
try to find things that will grow there that will utilize that type of
soil. Willows, Mangroves wouldn't grow without brackish water I
imagine, but .. have you talked to your County Extension agent..
master gardener.. or better.. see if you can talk to the actual agent
if at all possible to see if he/she knows about your area or knows
anyone else that has experience with that area. If the ground is
basically water logged clay there is going to be precious little that
can live in it except bog plants and the stuff that's living over
there in the swamp, might be time to look around there and see if
there are things you like. Get some pitcher plants and sundew! Find
any plants that could grow there, the more you get growing the more
moisture it can wick up out of the soil, the more it'll "sweeten" the
soil.

Good Luck!!

Janice



"David J Bockman" wrote in message
. ..
May I ask, where do you live? It's possible your yard contains 'Marine
Clay', an especially noxious form of clay that can, when saturated, cause
anaerobic decomposition of any organics within the soil structure. This
decomposition without oxygen causes really bad smells as all sorts of
alkyds
and even alcohols are produced.

If you tell us where you live perhaps we can look at soil maps of your
area.

Dave

"The Data Rat" wrote in message
news:wnIuc.8955$Tw.1619@lakeread06...
My yard smells. It is heavy clay and when it rains, it holds moisture
and
turns green with either algae or mold. (I have had 2 loads of top soil
brought in, tilled it and amended it per the dept. of agriculture. It
always started out great, then turns back to clay. Overall, I have
spent
about 3K on the back yard)

Oddly enough, where it smells the worst is in an area that gets full sun
to
bright shade all day. The yard is graded correctly, it slopes down,
away
from the house. I do not have any trees in the yard, but there are
very
tall pine tree's behind the yard.

My question is what can I put on it to neutralize the smell?
I am getting ready to deck the remaining yard in so I don't care if it
kills
the grass, (what little there is). I also have 2 dogs and the smell of
urine stays forever. Baking soda doesn't work and I have actually tried
Febreeze. It's just a rank smell.

Thanks!

Suzi