Garden help pls?

Question

What can i mix with heavy clay soil to make it more easily worked? I have loads of bare patches on my lawn and need to re-seed but the ground is like concrete.

Answer 1

Hello!
I could bore you ten pages long about everything you could do with a clay soil. It's a bugger to work with, but it's also one of the most nutritious soils you can get.
Forget about spreading top-soil over it - you will only remedy the matter for a short time.
Work hard in the garden for 2 weeks and you'll reap the benefits; Incorporate gravel, and a well rotted manure/compost, into the soil to provide air and humus.
You need to stop the cycle of compaction in summer and flooding in winter. Go for a mixed grass seed rather than a fine lawn seed as well. Good luck, x

Answer 2

Have it aerated first...then while the oles are still open add some dolimitic lime. Lime helps to loosen clay soil, but it is slow acting. It only moves an inch or so in the ground in a year...so if you put it down while the holes are opened, ti helps to get it where it needs to be. (Sneaky horticulture trick!)

Next...don't bag your clippings except the first cut every spring.

Oh...and if you hire someone to aerate for you, water the lawn really good the day before. About an hour...or if you live on a slope, 15 minutes on, 15 off, till you have an hours worth total.

And...after this has been done, wait a week or so...or at least till you have watered (or its rained) then plant your seed.

OH....Do NOT...I repeat - Do NOT add sand to it. Sand and clay makes brick! Nor is gravel the solution. Aeration, lime, organic material is the solution. I hav even added organic or topsoil immediately after aeration.

Hope this helps.

and just so you know...I'm from the cla capital of the south - Alabama, horticulture is my background. :)

Answer 3

Heavy clay is a tough one. When possible, I've replaced the soil with topsoil. However, where that is not possible, I've added sand, peat moss, and manure to the soil. I "eyeball" the amounts, but its something like this:

For each square yard of ground area; three shovel fulls of sand, two shovel fulls of peat moss, 4 shovel fulls of manure. Turn the soil several times, mixing and breaking up the clumps of clay. Sometimes, if I can't replace the clay soil but I can amend the soil, I also will add SOME top soil to the above mixture. Probably about 5 shovel fulls.
Good luck.

Answer 4

The recommended 'Cure' for clay soil is gypsum, and organic matter dug in. Gypsum only needs to be used up to three times and permanently stays in the soil, creating space for air and water penetration. Do not use lime unless you want to change the soil PH. Gypsum is neutral. It will take some time but clay soil is usually rich if you can unlock it.

Answer 5

You need to rotorvate your lawn area, rake out all the rough stuff until you get it level then spread some topsoil on. Firm the soil down by treading all over it, rake it over to get a good level and then seed it. Keep it watered and when the grass has well grown cut it on a high setting until it is established.

Answer 6

Living in essex? its like concrete here too. mix in manure and any natural material, I use the wood shavings and waste and hay fom my guinea pigs, mix in sharp sand to aid drainage and compost, once you dig it through and the plants are in do not let it dry out, water it regularly. for the lawn sow seed just after raining add sharp sand over lawn and compost spread over it in the spring, good luck

Answer 7

Oh boy, can I sympathise with you! my garden is a bog in winter and a barren desert in summer.

I just let my boys and their friends play football on it, when they are grown and gone then I'll do something about it, sorry, not much help, but hey, here's a kindred spirit !!

Answer 8

You can mix some sand in, this would help