How to Improve Lawn Clay Soil Drainage
As much as you might like to do so, picking your soil before buying a house or building a new home is all but impossible. If your home is part of a suburb, chances are the ground was stripped of topsoil and packed down hard during the construction process and a few inches of good soil were placed over the top to "help" your new sod grow. It's no wonder you are told to water the grass heavily during your first several years living there. Improving the quality and drainage of any soil, even clay, is possible, even though it may require several years of hard work. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Examine the Clay
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Determine what kind of clay soil you have so that you know what you will need to add to improve it. Soil is made up of sand, loam and clay in varying proportions. To determine how much of each your soil has, fill a large jar with water and add a large chunk of the clay. Shake until it is dissolved and let it sit for a few days. The sand, which is heaviest, will sink to the bottom, followed by the loam and then the clay. If the clay portion is the largest, then you have clay soil. If the proportions are equal, then chances are you could plant numerous plants that would do just fine.
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Add a little water to some of your soil and roll it into a ball. Then squeeze it into a ribbon and see how long it gets before it breaks. The longer it is--more than 2 inches--the more clay-like your soil is. Clay loam produces a ribbon that is 1 to 2 inches, and a ribbon less than 1 inch shows your soil is silt.
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Have a soil examination done. Most states offer soil tests through a state lab or a university extension program. Spending the time and money on this will tell you more than just whether your soil has a lot or a little clay. For your plants to grow, you may need to add lime or other additives. This knowledge will only come with experience, and a soil examination can help you start learning about your particular landscape.
Condition the Soil
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Break up the clay of your planned garden beds as much and as deeply as possible. Try to get down to the area where the deepest of your plants will be placed, about 10 inches.
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Shovel 1 inch of compost and any other additives that your soil needs over the top of the beds and mix it in with the rototiller. Continue doing this repeatedly until you have about 3 to 4 inches of a clay-and-compost mix and a raised bed on the ground.
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Plant your plants, and pay attention to how the beds react over the next few seasons. Although the soil has already broken down quite a bit, after adding so much compost you will notice that the raised beds slowly disappear as the organic matter in the soil breaks down even more. Keep the beds planted year round, using a cover crop when you have no other plans for plantings in a given season. When you are ready to plant again, cut off the crops and allow them to decompose in place and add to the soil.
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Break up the soil again the following year when the raised level of the beds has disappeared. Compare the color of the clay in your garden beds to the rest of the area. It will be darker because of the added compost you put in the ground the previous year. Add another 3 to 4 inches of compost and additives, 1 inch at a time, to get back your raised bed and replant. Following this routine each year will slowly improve the soil condition over time, with the added benefit of improving drainage and airflow around your plants.
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Tips & Warnings
You should be able to find a place to test your soil in your local phone book or online. If no local lab is available, you should be able to mail your sample to a lab elsewhere in your state. The lab will give you instructions on, and sometime supplies for, collecting a soil sample for testing.
Do not work the soil when it is too wet; if you do you might find it hard to get rid of clumps of clay. To see whether the soil is too wet, roll a bit of soil into a ball and push it apart with your fingers. If it crumbles into pieces, the ground is dry enough for you to work it.
