On Sun, 30 Apr 2006 19:09:35 +0000, Duncan Tuna wrote:

Our backyard garden has bad dirt. It's amazing how it can rain, yet 24
hours later, the soil is dry and cracked.

I'm thinking of renting a tiller this spring and improve the soil. What
should I mix in to improve the soil? Peat? Peat moss? Compost?
Something else?

Thanks!

Good day Duncan. To improve your soil's water holding ability you will
need to add some sort of organic matter to the native soil that you
already have. Peat is an alright choice, but it has a low nutritional
value, where as compost will add organic matter and nutrition.

Suggested action:

Measure the square footage of the lawn area in question.

Next figure out how much organic material you will need. To do this you
will need to know that a cubic yard will cover 108 square feet a 3" deep
(10 foot X 10 foot square). You will want to add at least an inch with 3
to 6 inches being the best ammount to have if possible.

Survey the area and see if the amount of new soil will alter the grade too
much around your house, patio, trees, driveway ect.

Rototill the lawn area first, then again after the new soil/compost is
layed. Rake out the lawn area after the tilling then roll the lawn with a
lawn roller. This is an important step that many folks leave out. Re-seed
the area and cover with hay to keep the birds out of it untill it sprouts.
The hay will multch up when you mow.

Good luck.

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