Hey all!

I'm a new homeowner and as expected, the developer stripped off all
the good topsoil before starting this subdivision. My yard has a
couple inches of decent topsoil, but below that is nothing but clay.

I've managed to get a lawn seeded and it came in pretty well, but it
is patchy in some spots. I'm assuming this is areas where there is
less good topsoil.

Is there anything I can do to improve the soil and get the grass to
root deeper?

I'm also having a hard time trying to get any kind of tree or bush to
grow without putting in a HUGE hole full of decent soil.

Any help is appreciated!

"Some One" wrote:

Is there anything I can do to improve the soil and get the grass to
root deeper?

I'm also having a hard time trying to get any kind of tree or bush to
grow without putting in a HUGE hole full of decent soil.

Go to http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search?hl=en

and search rec.gardens for articles with the word "clay" and you will
find a complete thread.

or go to
http://groups.google.com/groups?as_q...O-8859-1&as_ug
roup=rec.gardens&as_drrb=q&as_qdr=y&lr=&num=100&hl =en

There were 787 articles this past year alone.

Oregon State University states:
[ http://eesc.orst.edu/agcomwebfile/garden/soil/lime.html ]

"Gypsum can modify a clay soil, but only over a long period of time. The
addition of organic matter is the best way to improve heavy clay soils.

Useful organic materials include compost, sawdust, barkdust, leaf mold,
and peat moss. Barnyard manures are good, but must be free of
symphylans, insect pests that are difficult to get rid of once they
become established in garden soil.

Fresh manure is more likely to be free of symphylans than older, rotted
manures, said McNeilan.

Apply organic matter in a layer of two to four inches or deeper. Mix
this layer with the top six inches of soil."

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA
http://www.users.fast.net/~shenning

Ahhhh! Clay soil... the bane of many a homeowner. I have it as well .

Best thing you can do for your lawn to help improve the soil are several
thin applilications through out the season ( about an inch or so each time)
it will work its way through the turf, gradually improving the lawn's
condition. may take several seasons to work best. you can also apply
gypsum (calcium sulfate) to the lawn. it will also work its way into the
clay and increase the drainage.

not terribly much to be done about trees and shrubs other than just what you
are doing, digging a big ole hole and filling with good soil.

If you intend to build any sort of borders and/ or flowerbeds on the
property, you can use the existing soil and ammend it with equal parts of
sand and compost to 2 parts native soil OR build raised beds.






"Some One" wrote in message
a...
Hey all!

I'm a new homeowner and as expected, the developer stripped off all
the good topsoil before starting this subdivision. My yard has a
couple inches of decent topsoil, but below that is nothing but clay.

I've managed to get a lawn seeded and it came in pretty well, but it
is patchy in some spots. I'm assuming this is areas where there is
less good topsoil.

Is there anything I can do to improve the soil and get the grass to
root deeper?

I'm also having a hard time trying to get any kind of tree or bush to
grow without putting in a HUGE hole full of decent soil.

Any help is appreciated!

I'm a new homeowner and as expected, the developer stripped off all
the good topsoil before starting this subdivision. My yard has a
couple inches of decent topsoil, but below that is nothing but clay.

This is more and more common. When buying a newly built home it's usually
recommended to follow-up on this 'un before it becomes an issue. (Live and
learn, right?)

I've managed to get a lawn seeded and it came in pretty well, but it
is patchy in some spots. I'm assuming this is areas where there is
less good topsoil.

This may or may not be the case -- just dig down in the bare spots a little
bit and you'll know for certain. You may need to do a little soil
replacement in these patches by just digging out the old and replacing it
with new.

Is there anything I can do to improve the soil and get the grass to
root deeper?

If you want an immediate solution then you'll have to dig up the property
and replace the soil or buy a few tons of topsoil to put over top of the
existing, amend it, and re-seed. Not very practical of course. The best
solution though...

Organic material, organic material, organic material! Compost is your
best bet here -- you can buy bags of it and simply spread it throughout your
lawn, use a mulch mower and leave clippings where they lay, set up a spot
for a compost pile and/or bins (leaves, table scraps, etc) and so forth.
This does take a while, but over time it will do the trick very nicely.

I'm also having a hard time trying to get any kind of tree or bush to
grow without putting in a HUGE hole full of decent soil.

Well, not much else you can do here -- soil replacement is the way to get
these in and growing healthy now plus the addition of organic material to
the plot in general so when the roots spread they'll find a good nutrient
base.

Aside from grass and trees, you can also use raised beds as a landscaping
technique. Limestone beds are currently very well favored among quite a few
folks, and even concrete and wood will work nicely if you find a design you
favor. The nice thing about raised beds is that YOU control their soil
content completely. If you have a vegetable garden, this is the only way to
go.

A simple raised bed design uses nothing more than three 2"x8"x8' boards and
some deck screws. You cut one board in half to make the ends then screw the
4 pieces together. Put it in a sunny spot and fill it with soil & compost.
Instant perfect vegetable gardening.

James

Thanks for all the info folks!

It's pretty much what I figured... The more growth I can get going,
the faster the soil will improve. Compost, etc. will help. I didn't
know about they gypsum though, so I'll investigate that some more.


"Some One" wrote in message
a...
Hey all!

I'm a new homeowner and as expected, the developer stripped off all
the good topsoil before starting this subdivision. My yard has a
couple inches of decent topsoil, but below that is nothing but clay.

I've managed to get a lawn seeded and it came in pretty well, but it
is patchy in some spots. I'm assuming this is areas where there is
less good topsoil.

Is there anything I can do to improve the soil and get the grass to
root deeper?

I'm also having a hard time trying to get any kind of tree or bush
to
grow without putting in a HUGE hole full of decent soil.

Topsoil is rarely deeper than an inch or so and grass is not that fussy. If
you cut your grass high, use a mulching mower, and maybe top dress with
mulch when it gets hot (just a light dusting), then time will take care of
your problem as the grass spreads and worms work the clippings and compost
into your soil. Clay is an important part of soil. Unless the soil is so
clay heavy that you are not getting drainage you should not be concerned
that your underlying soil type is clay. Organic matter is the best thing
you can add to improve your soil no matter what the soil type.

"Some One" wrote in message
a...
Hey all!

I'm a new homeowner and as expected, the developer stripped off all
the good topsoil before starting this subdivision. My yard has a
couple inches of decent topsoil, but below that is nothing but clay.

I've managed to get a lawn seeded and it came in pretty well, but it
is patchy in some spots. I'm assuming this is areas where there is
less good topsoil.

Is there anything I can do to improve the soil and get the grass to
root deeper?

I'm also having a hard time trying to get any kind of tree or bush to
grow without putting in a HUGE hole full of decent soil.

Any help is appreciated!

I dont understand why clay is such a big issue amongst gardeners. I relaly
believe that its only a problem because so many people expect it to be a
problem. Pretty much anyone who lives in a home built after the 50's has had
thier topsoil stripped away. I have the same situation in my yard. I do not
use any amendments at all when planting. I dig the hole, stick the plant in,
and thats it. I also dont fertilize my plants, ever. Yet they do incredibly
well. This is because CLAY HOLDS NUTRIENTS! People try and try to get rid of
thier clay, the one thing in thier soil that holds nutrients and water.
Instead, they dump in a bunch of sand that holds neither! The goal here is not
to remove the clay, it is to get the clay particles to arrange themselves in a
manner that allows for good drainage. Digging a huge hole, removing all the
soil, and then filling it with topsoil is not the answer. This creates a
situation where water cannot move into the topsoil from the surrounding clay
soil. It also cannot move from the topsoil in the hole outward into the
surrounding soil. This causes one of 2 things: either your plant dries out
because water cant get into the hole, or it drowns in the hole because water
cant escape. And a final not for the anti-clay-ites: what do you supposed all
those balled and burlapped trees you buy are grown in??

Toad

(Marley1372) wrote:

I dont understand why clay is such a big issue amongst gardeners.

That is because many people like to raise plants that require a moist
well-drained soil. Clay is seldom moist. It is usually wet or dry. It
is seldom well drained. Clay blocks water flow. That is why they build
dams and adobe bricks out of clay. On the other hand humous or clay
with humous is usually easy to make moist and well-drained. Fertility
is another matter completely.

One way to have raise plants that do not do well in clay is to used a
raised bed. The bed is constructed above the clay to a depth suitable
for the roots of the plants in the bed.

--
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