My family and I are soon to move into a new house with a new sod yard.
I'm all excited about my small little patch of yard. I live in
Central Kentucky (Zone 7?) which is a very heavy clay soil. I plan on
getting a soil sample taken and tested so I can better treat my yard
with the right fertilizer. One tip I read to improve clay soil was to
rototill organic material (compost) into the soil to improve water
absorption and reduce runoff. Runoff is a big concern, as I have some
mildly steep slopes on the yard. I will also have a wet-weather
stream running through the back of the lot since I'm at the bottom of
the hill on my cul-de-sac. My problem is that I won't be able to get
to the lawn to improve until after the builder has planted the sod.
How else can I improve the soil without digging up the yard?

Thanks in advance.

Mark Darbyshire

"Mark Darbyshire" wrote in message
om...
My family and I are soon to move into a new house with a new sod yard.
I'm all excited about my small little patch of yard. I live in
Central Kentucky (Zone 7?) which is a very heavy clay soil. I plan on
getting a soil sample taken and tested so I can better treat my yard
with the right fertilizer. One tip I read to improve clay soil was to
rototill organic material (compost) into the soil to improve water
absorption and reduce runoff. Runoff is a big concern, as I have some
mildly steep slopes on the yard. I will also have a wet-weather
stream running through the back of the lot since I'm at the bottom of
the hill on my cul-de-sac. My problem is that I won't be able to get
to the lawn to improve until after the builder has planted the sod.
How else can I improve the soil without digging up the yard?

Obviously it will be much harder if near impossible. If possible, pay the
builder to truck in some nice screened loam (topsoil) and have it spread
before the sod goes on. Even better is a 50-50 mix of loam and compost, but
that costs more and may be overkill for a lawn. Works great for perennial
and annual gardens. Don't expect a builder to do any rototilling though.

-al sung
Rapid Realm Technology, Inc.
Hopkinton, MA (Zone 6a)

Having been a builder in a previous life, you could also ask if they'll
give you the sod allowance in cash, then you can put it in whenever you
want. Also, ask if you can arrange with their sod subcontractor to do
the job at a later date. That requires the builder and the sub to
arrange for payment in advance, so may be a little tricker. Depends on
how large-scale the builder is... the large the company, the less room
there is to make deals and changes.

Alan Sung wrote:
"Mark Darbyshire" wrote in message
om...

My family and I are soon to move into a new house with a new sod yard.
I'm all excited about my small little patch of yard. I live in
Central Kentucky (Zone 7?) which is a very heavy clay soil. I plan on
getting a soil sample taken and tested so I can better treat my yard
with the right fertilizer. One tip I read to improve clay soil was to
rototill organic material (compost) into the soil to improve water
absorption and reduce runoff. Runoff is a big concern, as I have some
mildly steep slopes on the yard. I will also have a wet-weather
stream running through the back of the lot since I'm at the bottom of
the hill on my cul-de-sac. My problem is that I won't be able to get
to the lawn to improve until after the builder has planted the sod.
How else can I improve the soil without digging up the yard?


Obviously it will be much harder if near impossible. If possible, pay the
builder to truck in some nice screened loam (topsoil) and have it spread
before the sod goes on. Even better is a 50-50 mix of loam and compost, but
that costs more and may be overkill for a lawn. Works great for perennial
and annual gardens. Don't expect a builder to do any rototilling though.

-al sung
Rapid Realm Technology, Inc.
Hopkinton, MA (Zone 6a)