Will this plan work to deal with clay soil and lawn?
Splandy
Posts: 161
Recently realised I have clay soil, though I don't think it would be described as heavy clay. The grass is sodden for days after rain, even in summer and with it being south facing. There is a little border halfway down which I haven't replaced with lawn yet and it was siting in a pool of water over the weekend even though the rain wasn't heavy. I am attempting to make my lawned area larger to put children's play equipment on.
My plan for the existing lawn is to aerate with a hollow tine aerator and sweep in horticultural sand after removing moss. Is it ok to do this now?
The area I plan to create new lawn and a border in was overgrown with weeds and rubble. I'm in the process of clearing the ground but it is filled with rubble and lots of broken glass. I am struggling to dig this out because my feet keep getting stuck! And whenever I dig to get more rubble out, I can't see it because the hole is filled with water. My mom has suggested that I remove some of the clay soil, then dig in grit/sand/compost to the lower part of the soil and then replace the stuff we removed with topsoil before laying turf. Would this work? Obviously my options are more limited with the lawn which already exists.
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I've been digging for a few weeks now and am becoming frustrated. The area I'm digging over was a little sectioned off bit in the corner (Waist high with weeds last year), then a very broken and junk filled greenhouse and a shed half placed on a pile of rubble and half on the patio so it was curved. The previous owners were real 'bodgers'. The area I'm finding all of this stuff in is where they put the greenhouse. They changed the levels to put it in and seem to have dug in rubbish underneath the slabs for the greenhouse. It is so disheartening to still be finding such huge pieces of glass when ive been removing it for so long. It's buried deep in the ground and slowing me down because every time I dig I have to stop and remove the glass. All I want is somewhere safe for the children to play! This was the largest piece I found today:
Is it ok to aerate the lawn at this time of year? How much clay shoul I remove to make way for topsoil? And should I use sharp sand or grit?
Thanks!
I really don't want to put in land drains if I can help it. I'm doing this all by myself so far and don't think I can face it! Also not sure where it would drain to. The garden is sloped and I think i'd end up redirecting it into the garden below. I don't think the clay is TOO bad. Doesn't seem as extreme as some of what I've seen online. Or perhaps that is me being optimistic. I am able to dig into it. It definitely doesn't drain well though.
Last edited: 06 March 2017 19:35:30
I am luckily quite good with boring outdoor jobs. My mind keeps itself occupied ? I am so far ignoring the tiny bits of glass and broken pots and hoping that they'll be far down enough to not cause a problem. I'd never get any digging done if I were to take out all the tiny shards. I found a few more house bricks and half slabs today, along with a metal pole, plastic bags, lots of glass and what looks like broken white plastic garden chairs. I discovered a large thin sheet of some sort of rusted metal but haven't managed to remove it yet. Whenever I've found a slab and removed it, I've found a gap underneath with a puddle in it. That suggests clay soil doesn't it?
Why shouldn't I remove the clay soil and replace with tospoil? And does it matter whether I use sand or grit? Hoping to go and buy some tomorrow morning. Is it too early for me to aerate the existing lawn now? I couldn't resist doing a little bit today - creating those uniform holes was addictive.
Do not lose heart! Keep digging, removing rubble and doing what has been suggested.
One consolation is that clay soil is very productive once you have tamed it. I inherited a clay garden in the Thames Valley. By adding bags of sharp grit, once it was cleared, I grew lovely flowers and veg.
I once dug out a complete bicycle from what was supposed to be lawn!
Aerating will be essential if you want your future lawn to be a play area as the children's activities will compact the surface.
Good luck, it will be so satisfying when you have finished your project.
Quick advice needed. We think we have just unearthed a dead animal. It wasn't buried very deep. There is a foul smell coming from a thick see through plastic bag with something wrapped in a blanket inside it. My husband nearly threw up at the smell. What should I do?! Have googled but found no answers.
Wow! You poor souls. I assume you think it is an animal because of the size. You could try contacting your local council for advice. I assume they would charge to remove it for you but that may be the lesser evil than trying to move it yourselves.
Another option would be to bury it somewhere else in the garden but with your rubble etc. problem maybe too difficult, especially as it is so decomposed.
All sorted. Called the council and they collected it within ten minutes. It has put me off though. I worry that there may be more. My husband found so much more rubble down there today but as soon as we found the bag all work stopped. Highlights included a saw and what we suspect was one of those brick built barbecues. Was a bit of a waste of a day in the end and we broke our shovel. As the council man collected the bag, liquid tipped out of it. I have no idea whether it was just water collected from the ground or whatever was decomposing in the bag, but it's put me off messing with that soil anymore!