How do I repair a garden with hard clay soil???

Question

I've just moved into a new house, but the garden is a very hard clay soil that lets hardly any water drain away. Please let me know what I should do. Do I dig all the grass up and re-compost or what?

Answer 1

Yes dig it up. Add sand and compost.

Other answer says no sand, but you do need sand and no it will not make concrete, you need cement to make concrete. If you only add compost, it will break down after a time and you will be back to where you started. If you are going to go through all that work you don't want to end up with the same problem 2 years down the road. Balanced soil is a combo of all three. Gypsum will also help breakup hard clay soils.

Answer 2

First I would lay out exactly where you want your garden to be. Then yes did out the grass. Then I would build a border around the garden, this can be done with plastic landscaping material, bricks wood etc.I would make this at least 2 1/2 ft. tall. You didn't say what type of garden so am guessing flower.Put down plastic bags over the bare clay, you can use landscaping material that is made for this purpose it is better but not as cheap!Now fill the garden with soil, can purchase this from a hardware or grocery store would be the cheapest. Also if you live near a landfill they sell compose in the spring at a very good price, I pay $15. a yard. Now mix this altogether. You will have to add compose and fertilizer yearly but you will get great results. I know all this because I have the same type of land and if you do not put down the plastic, trust me , the clay will come through all your hard work. tried in the vegetable garden for years before I figured out what to do.This method will work great for vegetable garden too but the only thing is if you plan to grow root plants such as carrots the garden has to be deeper, but will work for top growing plants lettuce, tomatoes etc........Good Luck P.S. they only thing with newspaper it routs the first year and alas up comes the clay again.

Answer 3

We have a similar problem - the soil tends to be more like clay in our yard. When we put in a new bush or tree, or start a flower bed, I try to work in something to break up the clay. I've used dried spagnum or peat moss before with good results. You should be able to buy a bag at any decent nursery for a few dollars. For example, when digging a hole for a bush or tree, I dig it at least 3 times as wide as the root ball, and maybe half again as deep. The dirt I remove goes to the side of the hole. Then I break it up with a shovel, and put it back in the hole with roughly an equal amount of spagnum moss, and mix it with the shovel. It doesn't have to be blended perfectly, but enough so it's not clods of soil sitting in pockets of moss. Make the hole plenty big, though - you don't want the root ball sitting in a small tub of clay, or any water will just collect around the roots and essentially drown the tree. Then follow the recommended watering/fertilizing schedule, and you should do fine. This improves the drainage in the soil, and it also gives the bed some organic matter to feed the plants for at least a few years. It also makes the soil softer, so that new roots can penetrate better. So far in the 12 years we've been at this place, I've put 6 new trees, maybe a dozen bushes in this way. I've also used this when I've moved 2-3 bushes and one big lilac, and only lost 2 trees and one bush. And one of the trees was chewed down to a nub by the deer in the winter, so that doesn't really count, does it?

Answer 4

You can amend the soil by adding gypsum (lightens the soil) and peat for organic matter also some sand. Then tiller the lot thoroughly. May need to repeat next year.

Another way is diggless gardening. This has been done successfully in my garden. I learned about it at my garden club. It really works well.

Plan the area you want to plant in, whack the grass as short as possible, cover with newspaper (6 sheets or so per spot, overlapping) wet it so it won't fly off. Order new soil to place on top, 18 inches.

You will have a nicely raised bed, no digging, good soil with good drainage.

Answer 5

Get with the county extension office for a soil test kit. This kit will be sent away and a determination will be made what your soil needs. Till the soil as deep as you can till in lime at the rate the soil test suggested. Then till in a mixture of good topsoil, sand and peatmoss. Ideally you want to till to 4 inches in depth. Then plant what you want grass or veggies etc, Clay soil is very fine adding sand peatmoss and a better topsoil will fill in some of these tightly packed areas and allow your plant roots to grow deep.

Answer 6

I saw this on HGTV, on "Gardening By the Yard". Paul says to put all your raked leaves in the fall on top of your garden bed, you can also throw in vegetable and fruit scraps and egg shells. Cover the entire garden with plastic over the winter. Uncover , in March , after the Spring thaw. Work it into the soil, or till it in. Do this every year, and besides putting rich nutrients into your garden, you'll soon have beautiful rich soil. We have been doing this for the past 3 years. Just remember not to throw any material onto the garden that is diseased, like moldy, or black spot, etc. Throw all your plant clippings in there too. Good luck!

Answer 7

Don't use clay soil because Clay soil holds back all the water around the plant so it’s over watered. Use regular soil because, Yes the water will also sink in like sand, but the plant will already get the nutrients. That's the impotant part!

Answer 8

are you in a hurry...........budget...............?
want a great lawn in 5 years.............or a mega cost.....two week special......
first...how level is the ground...........can it be sloped away from the house...gently........are there storm drains that could handle the water flow if there is poor drainiage.............if you coulld level the property...would hauling in truch loads of top soil be the answer?..i say this because....you may have to bring in a bobcat and dig a foot of sub soil out............then bring in a mix of gravel/sand and...some of the soil you hauled out...............then top it with top soil...................................if you have time and lots of good grass now...and everythings ok....just hard compacted ground.remember it's a new house..{ I THINK}..so a lot of contractors equipment could have packed the area.............a deep cultivator may be all thats needed.............................I have an alluvial clay base here..that after a period of years looses its edges.....like a snow flake that looses it's edges it gets rounder.packs tighter and does not support growth........landscapers make a fortune....hauling this stuff out and resodding every 10 years.........i hauleds in 4 huge truck loads of sand and spread it 5 to six inches all over.....cultivated it....floated and made a fast pass with a plate tamper ..compacted it...............then for the next few weeks waterd my sand...desert lookn back yard........the neighbors enjoy'd the show..even offering cactus's..it cost 4 hundred $.for machine rentals...all the sand and trucking and..............all the old grass grew up through the desert.....so try what you would like..but drainage away from the house...and to flood a back alley or a neighbors place is a no no
.i could not handle all these things at one house...so we dug a big drainage pon/pool.......that collects all the drain water...and houses a fountain.........if you do that...plant some evergreens near...though they need to be screened from the drain..[CONES AND NEEDLES}...they keep the mosquitoes out..and from hatchn...........have fun...............

Answer 9

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You need to mix in lots of peat moss. This will loosen up the soil and provide for better drainage. You can find it at any chain store like Lowes or Wally World. You might also check with your local garden center to find out the most suitable native plants.

Answer 10

there is this little garden product calle Gypsom and you work it into the soil and it helps to make the clay loose you can find it in many garden stores.