Start by digging the main drainage trench—two to three feet deep in a straight line across your garden. Wet soils and dead patches allow mosses to thrive in the lawn over winter. This is easiest to do during spring and autumn, after the rains. Openings made by aerator allow nutrients, air, and water into the soil, enhancing the grass growth. Kris Heeter from Indiana on December 08, 2011: We have lots of clay here in Indiana too. Then, if I start a new garden, or go to plant something in unimproved soil, I get the surprise of feeling like I am trying to dig in cement. If the soil in your lawn clumps together and your grass is brown and patchy, you likely have clay soil. Digging deep and adding compost or whatever needs to be done often, as the soil and weather takes leaches the goodness you added. It was a LOT of work, but it worked. Spread gypsum on your lawn twice per year, using one standard bag per 1,000 square feet of lawn. Keep poking holes, every 4 inches if poss and then brush in some sharp sand to aid drainage. Heavy, ill-drained soils that are rich in clay do not allow water to drain away. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. Having worked with clay soils for years, I've learned a few simple ways to improve the structure of the soil. If your plants look the same size as when you planted them 4 years ago, then it might well be worth working some organic matter around their roots. It entails spreading up to 8 inches of organic compost on the soil and mixing it up by tilling. How to Improve Lawn Drainage With Clay Soil. The main drainage pipe (middle) drains downward, away from the house, toward the soakaway (SA). An alternative method is to create french drains. In order to … However, if the problem persists, consider installing land drainage pipes to remove excess water permanently. Fill it with water. Consider installing a French drain system or a drywell if your lawn has severe drainage problems or if your lawn still isn't draining well enough. Aerate after the ground thaws, when soil is moist (not soaking) and during the growing season. It has also been shown to help in nutrient uptake, but varies with different plants. Aerators remove plugs of dirt from the lawn and break up the soil, allowing grass roots to spread. I've found that garden compost is best, but soil conditioners such as seaweed, farmyard manure, or bagged manure products like Scott's Organic Dehydrated Manure can also improve the soil quality. All Rights Reserved. Soil that drains too slowly likely has too much clay in it. Adding organic compost is a great way to improve both drainage and your soil’s nutrient levels. French drains are like herringbone drains without the pipes. I can always mix some of the clay soil in to move things along as no-one will ever walk on the raised beds and so there will no problems with soil compaction. This involves digging series of deep trenches across your garden, in areas where you might walk. Top-dressing your lawn with organic materials will gradually enrich your lawn with nutrients and improve drainage at the same time. Improve the texture of your heavy clay garden soil, but make a point of growing flowers and vegetables best suited to the natural pH of your soil. I hope. If using manure, spread to an 8 cm (3") thickness. Really that is the work of it, getting the trenches dug - pipes, gravel etc are cheap and easy to install, then you just replace the top soil and/or turf and you are finished. Whether you choose to buy a ready built raised bed garden, or have one constructed from wood or brick, you can choose to fill it with a compost of your choice, and grow your plants of choice. Five steps to improving clay soils: Make raised beds to assist drainage and to reduce trampling of the soil Consider adopting a ‘no-dig’ regime, especially in raised beds, as these suit clay soils well Some, but not all, clay soils respond to extra calcium, which causes the soil particles to flocculate (clump together). Instead, the trenches are filled with rubble and gravel and replace the topsoil. We would love to show how it’s done. PS: earthworms and kitchen scraps can help clay soil, too. Another way to improve soil drainage is to build up the soil where you are having the drainage issue or create a berm to redirect the water flow. If you can roll a handful of your garden soil into a sticky ball, it is clay. Improve the soil mix. In lawns, humic acid works by breaking up clay and allowing better water penetration. Dolores Monet from East Coast, United States on December 09, 2011: When I dig around in my garden, sometimes I forget how awful it was when we moved in. Clay soil tends to clump up rather than crumble. Clay soil is also nutrient-poor and compacted, preventing your grass from getting the necessary food and oxygen it needs. Make a pass in one direction over your lawn with the aerator, and then make a second pass in a direction perpendicular to the first. They are very easy to use, and you can find out whether your garden soil is acid or alkaline in just a couple of minutes. It … It'll be fine in a raised bed garden even if there are eucalyptus nearby because they won't share the same soil. It helps improve drainage in your lawn clay, provides trace elements, encourages deeper rooting, frees up nutrients and water in the root zone and helps move organic matter deeper into the soil. Terry has written articles and publications for a wide range of markets and subject matters, including Medicine & Health, Eli Financial, Dartnell Publications and Eli Journals. Clay soil needs regular aeration to allow water and oxygen to move freely through it. Therefore, the water takes more time to seep in the clay soil than other types of soils. Amending your soil properly can overcome heavy, compacted clay and get it back on track for healthy lawn and garden growth. What do you think? Compaction will lead to poor drainage and the dreaded clods that gum up tillers and make working clay soil such a pain. Plus, we have the drainage problem in the grassy part of the yard. However, it may take from several months to a few years to completely change the structure of heavily impacted soil. Adding sand will likely make your clay soil harder and clump even more. Adding materials such as organic compost, pine bark, composted leaves and gypsum to heavy clay can improve its structure and help eliminate drainage and compaction problems. If the water drains out more than four inches per hour, the soil is extremely sandy. Dig trenches that will feed into the main trench in a herringbone fashion. If you dig a hole the same size as the plant’s rootball you will create a sump which will fill with water. I know clay soil is considered one of the worst soils to have but there are ways to fix and correct a clay soil. forking organic material into clay soil to improve it. Perlite. If you can afford to buy either topsoil or the cheap compost your local garden centre sells, fill it with that instead. Improper use can do more harm than good. With French drains, you have to accurately measure the slope of the land to 1:100 because that is the correct level to allow water to drain away. If you have more clay soil in your lawn, the water will stand for around a day after heavy rainfall. The 5 year old eucalyptus trees are now 20 meters high. Aerate your lawn using a punch-core aerator. Dig a hole 12 inches deep and 12 inches in diameter. The idea stems from the fact that if clay is the smallest soil particle leading to poor drainage, and sand is the largest soil particle causing fast drainage, mixing the two will equal out to well-drained soil. Thank you for these useful tips Lizzy. Aeration is a significant factor in preventing waterlogging and keeping your lawn healthy. If using dried seaweed meal, apply 100-200 grams per square meter. IzzyM (author) from UK on December 07, 2011: Apart from the whole clay soil aspect, I like the idea of isolating and growing plants that would normally struggle in this climate, like potatoes. Aerate Clay Soil. Raised bed gardens allow you isolate your plants from the ground soil. The ones listed below flower at different times of the year, so you will have a splash of color in your garden year round! Aerating Clay Soil Wait to aerate your soil until it’s completely wet or dry. Test the soil. Poor drainage can lead to waterlogged ground—not ideal for plant growth. And like you say, your garden is either brick hard so you can't work with it, or it's swimming in water and mud that clings to your shoes or boots when you walk on it. Sarah Terry brings over 10 years of experience writing novels, business-to-business newsletters and a plethora of how-to articles. It's many better for you to hire the machinery and employ someone with a bit of muscle to help you. IzzyM (author) from UK on December 10, 2011: It's horrible stuff to work with, isn't it? This is where raised bed gardens are useful. Remove these with a proprietary moss killer to allow the lawn to thrive; Drainage. Peat moss is an extremely stable organic material, and the effects of one application can impact your soil for over two years. Break up the bottom of the hole with a fork to improve drainage. If done correctly, drilling holes in clay soil can be an important step to improving the drainage of your lawn. Gypsum will help to separate the clay granules, allowing water to drain through the clay soil better. This is a discussion on our five-step strategy for improving clay soil. Build a soakaway—a deep circular hole with sloping sides—at the end of the main pipe. A simple way to find the pH of your soil is with a pH kit. @kris, well done I am glad to hear your soil is improving! You want to have the trench at a downward slope. I got lucky, only two stay looking health but the look same size as I planted them and that was 4 years ago. However. A quick fix is to make drainage holes with a garden fork or similar tool. This will take time and effort but will slowly improve drainage. A soil test determines the fertility of the soil by measuring the amount of nitrogen, … If you employ a company to do it for, beware of workmen trying to charge a fortune - they'll bring in a machine and have it dug out in half a day or something and want to charge you big bucks. Lay piping in each trench and interconnect them. Spread a 2- to 3-inch layer of organic compost or sphagnum peat moss on top of your lawn. There are certain plants that can grow in clay soils. Adding sand will likely make your clay soil harder and clump even more. Do not use sand to blend into clay soil as an amendment. Clay soils tend to be acidic, but not always. However, with the addition of more organic material (and I imported earthworms for the compost heap) they will one day thrive. When sand mixes with clay, it creates a soil structure akin to concrete. Alternatively, spread a mulch of wood chips, sawdust or bark chippings on the soil surface, and they will eventually disappear into the soil naturally. Line the trench with landscape fabric to keep earth out of the gravel to allow water to percolate through easily. You can improve your clay soil and eliminate your lawn-drainage problems by aerating your lawn and incorporating some organic materials. All of the water should drain out within eight hours. Aerate the soil. Herringbone drainage system. Clay soils are sticky in winter, but brick-hard in summer, but with the following tips, you can improve the soil rapidly. Clay soil is particularly susceptible to compaction. Spread gypsum on your lawn twice per year, using one standard bag per 1,000 square feet of lawn. I'm hoping to raise some Ayrshires, in the winter, in a raised bed garden. Angle the pipes so that water will flow into the main pipe. Cover the surface of the trenches with gravel or small stones. The first precaution you will need to take is to baby your clay soil. Peg Cole from Northeast of Dallas, Texas on December 10, 2011: That picture of the garden looks just like mine did. Right, I planted lots of oleander and fruit trees. Dig down about 6 to 12 inches into the clay soil, turning and breaking up the soil. I think I am going to go for raised beds gardening to grow my vegetables now that the trees I planted for increased shade have begun to mature. Of course they say don't grow veg near eucalyptus but if they are in a separate raised bed it might work. Perlite is a volcanic rock that is puffed like popcorn to be very lightweight, and takes up a … Spread a 2- to 3-inch layer of organic compost or sphagnum peat moss on top of your lawn. When planting trees and shrubs in heavy clay soil, plant them a few inches above the ground surface by creating a mound of nutrient-rich, well-draining commercial topsoil on top of the ground. Annual aeration is a vital part of lawn care, especially if you have clay soil. The … Drainage wells are another common underground solution for compacted soil or hard sub-layers that allows the water somewhere to run after rainfall. Amending your soil is an easy process, but isn’t going to happen overnight, or even with a single act. Most plants, except bog plants, do not like having their feet wet because they can quickly rot. It's a continuous process, there is no end, but all the time the soil will improve and more plants will flourish. You will have to uproot your lawn and start on fresh soil for this method to work. I’m going give you ways how to improve drainage clay soil and ways to improve your clay soil period. Use gritty sand to top-dress clay soil or ground that waterlogs badly, as this improves surface drainage, but use bags of bought topsoil or ready … About anything, air, and the effects of one application can impact your soil this. Wet how to improve drainage in clay soil lawn dry to work with digging deep and filled with rubble to the! Same soil it was just a clay soil as an amendment and incorporating some organic materials will gradually enrich lawn! In Auckland, where many areas have clay soils tend to become waterlogged in wet ;... 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