I have a problematic backyard. It's basically two inches of topsoil
on top of at least two feet of clay. It's also flat as a pancake and
lower than my neighbors' yards. Every spring it turns into a swamp.
I need three or four days of dry weather before I can even attempt to
mow it, which is not much of a problem because nothing grows there
very well except nettles.

I'm planning on getting a big load of topsoil to "dome" it, but I
really need to do something about the clay. They say the best thing
to do with clay soil is to work "organic material" into the clay. The
most readily available organic material ( that I don't produce myself!
) is mulch, basically wood chips. I would much rather go with some
kind of compost. Where does one go to find a truck load of compost?

BTW, I live in SE Michigan, if that helps.

Thanks,
Ven Hawkins

I'm planning on getting a big load of topsoil to "dome" it, but I
really need to do something about the clay. They say the best thing
to do with clay soil is to work "organic material" into the clay. The
most readily available organic material ( that I don't produce myself!
) is mulch, basically wood chips. I would much rather go with some
kind of compost. Where does one go to find a truck load of compost?

In our area, at the landfill. They receive "green waste" seperately,
chip/shred it, compost it, and sell it for something like $15 per truck
load.

steve

How about your local Agway? Many can direct you to someone who has the
stuff in great big piles (or they may have it themselves, especially this
time of year).
For example a nursery/farm a few miles away was where I got my 10 yards of
"stuff" just like you want for about a hundred bucks. It was a blend of
composted cow manure, seafood compost (im in Maine, what else?), loam, and
sawdust(Maine again). The Agway up the road was working on such a pile at
the time with several piles of raw ingredients and a backhoe.
Take a look around farm country, I'm sure you'll find something you can till
into that clay.

good luck and remember to have fun

cj

"actorguy2001" wrote in message
om...
I have a problematic backyard. It's basically two inches of topsoil
on top of at least two feet of clay. It's also flat as a pancake and
lower than my neighbors' yards. Every spring it turns into a swamp.
I need three or four days of dry weather before I can even attempt to
mow it, which is not much of a problem because nothing grows there
very well except nettles.

I'm planning on getting a big load of topsoil to "dome" it, but I
really need to do something about the clay. They say the best thing
to do with clay soil is to work "organic material" into the clay. The
most readily available organic material ( that I don't produce myself!
) is mulch, basically wood chips. I would much rather go with some
kind of compost. Where does one go to find a truck load of compost?

BTW, I live in SE Michigan, if that helps.

Thanks,
Ven Hawkins

"actorguy2001" wrote in message
om...
I have a problematic backyard. It's basically two inches of topsoil
on top of at least two feet of clay. It's also flat as a pancake and
lower than my neighbors' yards. Every spring it turns into a swamp.
I need three or four days of dry weather before I can even attempt to
mow it, which is not much of a problem because nothing grows there
very well except nettles.

I don't know your exact situation, but if you haul in a bunch of fill in
your backyard, you may cause water not to drain from around your foundation,
which would be a bad thing.

Even if your yard is lower than your neighbors' yards, you still should be
able to drain it properly without hauling in massive amounts of fill. My
yard is lower than my neighbor's. However there is a small indention (not
even big enough to be called a ditch) between his yard and mine. This
indention takes the water from his yard and routes it off my property. If
you know how to use basic surveying equipment, you can set up your own
drainage system, or there are people who perform this service
professionally.

When my house was built, the builder hauled in about 1 inch of topsoil and
laid it over the clay in my yard, then slapped down the sod. My lawn is in
perfect condition today. So rather than a clay problem, your problems with
your lawn are most likely the result of the drainage problems you have.

"Steve Wolfe" wrote in message
...
I'm planning on getting a big load of topsoil to "dome" it, but I
really need to do something about the clay. They say the best thing
to do with clay soil is to work "organic material" into the clay. The
most readily available organic material ( that I don't produce myself!
) is mulch, basically wood chips. I would much rather go with some
kind of compost. Where does one go to find a truck load of compost?

In our area, at the landfill. They receive "green waste" seperately,
chip/shred it, compost it, and sell it for something like $15 per truck
load.

Be careful about "compost". You don't want it to contain grass clippings
from a lawn that has been treated with weed killers because it will affect
the garden where you will apply it. Pre-emergent weed killers could cause
your a newly seeded lawn to fail. Also, wood chips consume a lot of
nitrogen in order to decay. But nitrogen is needed for plants to produce
"green".

On Thu, 27 May 2004 15:23:42 GMT, "William W. Plummer"
wrote:


"Steve Wolfe" wrote in message
...
I'm planning on getting a big load of topsoil to "dome" it, but I
really need to do something about the clay. They say the best thing
to do with clay soil is to work "organic material" into the clay. The
most readily available organic material ( that I don't produce myself!
) is mulch, basically wood chips. I would much rather go with some
kind of compost. Where does one go to find a truck load of compost?

In our area, at the landfill. They receive "green waste" seperately,
chip/shred it, compost it, and sell it for something like $15 per truck
load.

Be careful about "compost". You don't want it to contain grass clippings
from a lawn that has been treated with weed killers because it will affect
the garden where you will apply it. Pre-emergent weed killers could cause
your a newly seeded lawn to fail. Also, wood chips consume a lot of
nitrogen in order to decay. But nitrogen is needed for plants to produce
"green".



Won't the 'composting' action kill off the effectivness of 'weed
killers' Even without the composting action, the weed killers I use
seem to only work for a few months.

just asking,

tom




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wrote in message
...
On Thu, 27 May 2004 15:23:42 GMT, "William W. Plummer"
wrote:


"Steve Wolfe" wrote in message
...
I'm planning on getting a big load of topsoil to "dome" it, but I
really need to do something about the clay. They say the best thing
to do with clay soil is to work "organic material" into the clay.
The
most readily available organic material ( that I don't produce
myself!
) is mulch, basically wood chips. I would much rather go with some
kind of compost. Where does one go to find a truck load of compost?

In our area, at the landfill. They receive "green waste" seperately,
chip/shred it, compost it, and sell it for something like $15 per truck
load.

Be careful about "compost". You don't want it to contain grass
clippings
from a lawn that has been treated with weed killers because it will
affect
the garden where you will apply it. Pre-emergent weed killers could
cause
your a newly seeded lawn to fail. Also, wood chips consume a lot of
nitrogen in order to decay. But nitrogen is needed for plants to produce
"green".



Won't the 'composting' action kill off the effectivness of 'weed
killers' Even without the composting action, the weed killers I use
seem to only work for a few months.

I don't know, Tom, but I have been cautioned about it. You might ask an
expert like Paul Parent. Here's the composting section of his web site:
http://www.paulparent.com/seed/composting.html He takes calls on the radio
on Sunday mornings from 6AM to 10AM and appears at various garden centers in
New England on the afternoons.

On Thu, 27 May 2004 18:52:45 GMT, "William W. Plummer"
wrote:


wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 27 May 2004 15:23:42 GMT, "William W. Plummer"
wrote:


"Steve Wolfe" wrote in message
...
I'm planning on getting a big load of topsoil to "dome" it, but I
really need to do something about the clay. They say the best thing
to do with clay soil is to work "organic material" into the clay.
The
most readily available organic material ( that I don't produce
myself!
) is mulch, basically wood chips. I would much rather go with some
kind of compost. Where does one go to find a truck load of compost?

In our area, at the landfill. They receive "green waste" seperately,
chip/shred it, compost it, and sell it for something like $15 per truck
load.

Be careful about "compost". You don't want it to contain grass
clippings
from a lawn that has been treated with weed killers because it will
affect
the garden where you will apply it. Pre-emergent weed killers could
cause
your a newly seeded lawn to fail. Also, wood chips consume a lot of
nitrogen in order to decay. But nitrogen is needed for plants to produce
"green".



Won't the 'composting' action kill off the effectivness of 'weed
killers' Even without the composting action, the weed killers I use
seem to only work for a few months.

I don't know, Tom, but I have been cautioned about it. You might ask an
expert like Paul Parent. Here's the composting section of his web site:
http://www.paulparent.com/seed/composting.html He takes calls on the radio
on Sunday mornings from 6AM to 10AM and appears at various garden centers in
New England on the afternoons.



Cool site. I like the list of do compost and don't compost. Kinda
"Stupid Easy"

later,

tom




**************** http://www.Intertainia.com ***********************************
Our Latest site: http://www.MedicalJobList.com - Hospital Jobs Classifieds.
************************************************** *****************************

snip

BTW, I live in SE Michigan, if that helps.

Thanks,
Ven Hawkins

Where in MI. I get my compost by the truckload from Tuttles farm in
green oak township (South Lyon).

On Wed, 26 May 2004 06:50:12 -0700, actorguy2001 wrote:

I have a problematic backyard. It's basically two inches of topsoil on
top of at least two feet of clay. It's also flat as a pancake and lower
than my neighbors' yards. Every spring it turns into a swamp. I need
three or four days of dry weather before I can even attempt to mow it,
which is not much of a problem because nothing grows there very well
except nettles.

I'm planning on getting a big load of topsoil to "dome" it, but I really
need to do something about the clay. They say the best thing to do with
clay soil is to work "organic material" into the clay. The most readily
available organic material ( that I don't produce myself! ) is mulch,
basically wood chips. I would much rather go with some kind of compost.
Where does one go to find a truck load of compost?

BTW, I live in SE Michigan, if that helps.

Thanks,
Ven Hawkins

Good day Ven. This is a tough situation to be in. Here in the pnw, we
have lots of drainage issues with all the rain that we recieve. It seems
that you have two possible problems here, your neighbors roof water and
drains are/ could be pointed at your property and the soil base is poor
with hard pan. When the rain perks through the ground and hits the hard
pan, it then starts to move down the grade. It sounds like your at the
bottom of that grade.

Imho (in my humble opinion), adding dirt/compost will not solve your
issues and could quite easily make matters worse. The new dirt could wick
up the extra water and the whole area could become very soft muck.

Suggested solutions:
If there is an area that you could possible drain the excess water to
via a french drain or a hard pipe,this would be your best option.

The second best option (imho) would be to put a dry well in the lowest/
wettest place in the lawn. A dry well is basically a hole filled rock,
topped with weed fabric,topsoil and lawn. A well that is 5x5x5 filled with
1 1/2 minus crushed rock will hold huge ammount of water. This could be
way too big of a well for you, but you get the idea. A 3x3x3 maybe
enough.. but thats just a guess. After the well fills up, the water will
slowly perk into the subsoil. If the soil is nothing but hard clay for 3
or 4 feet, then installing a dry well with a sump pump in it maybe your
only choice. Pumping the water to a ditch or sewer drain (look to see if
it legal first!!)

Hope you can fix your swamp soon.........

(Dave) wrote in message . com...
snip

BTW, I live in SE Michigan, if that helps.

Thanks,
Ven Hawkins

Where in MI. I get my compost by the truckload from Tuttles farm in
green oak township (South Lyon).

I live in Novi, so that sounds perfect. When you say "by the
truckload", does that mean they deliver? What kind of compost is it?
Thanks for the tip!

Ven Hawkins