Growing grass in red clay soil
18 years ago
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- 18 years ago
- 18 years ago
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Growing new grass in shady area with high clay content soil
Comments (4)A picture would be worth a thousand words here. Bringing in soil might be good if you suspect the original soil has been washed away for some reason. Some trees will react to hard soil by sending their roots out at the surface. Then as the tree ages, the roots become larger and expose themselves above the surface. If that is what has happened, then adding soil on top of the natural grade will cause you drainage problems and could cost you extensively if water pours into your basement (worst case). Adding soil should be done with considerable forethought as to the consequences. Another thought on adding soil is to keep it lower than the root bark on the trees. Tree roots flare out from the base of the trunk. If you bury the root flare completely, then you are burying tree bark. Tree bark will often rot when it is below the soil level. It is best if you leave some root flare above the soil level to be sure you are not burying tree bark. Tilling is a bad idea for many reasons. One of the obvious ones is that you have roots everywhere. You can't till tree roots. A much less obvious reason is that tilling destroys soil structure by fluffing it up. Once it is fluffy it has to settle again. That process takes 3 years. When it finally settles it will settle unevenly leaving your surface bumpy. Grass seed should never be mixed in with surface soil. It always goes on top of the surface. Many people recommend "scratching" it into the surface but that is not necessary. Nor is covering it with straw. All you need to do is loosen the soil at the surface (1/16 inch deep) before you apply the seed, then apply the seed, and finally roll the seed down with a water filled roller (rented). Seed should remain at the surface. If you insist on straw, as goren said, be careful not to use hay. Hay is forage for animals and has seed in it. Straw is the left over after the seed is threshed out. New seed must be watered 3x per day at breakfast, lunch, and dinner for about 10 minutes. The idea is to provide enough consistent moisture for the seed to swell and open (germinate). Unfortunately these are the exact conditions that crabgrass seed needs. For this reason grass seeding is most successfully done in the fall after crabgrass has stopped germinating. Also grass sprouted now will have weak roots that cannot stand up to the summer heat and dry weather. That might not be that much of an issue in your area. Don't assume you have clay. Fill a mayonnaise jar half full of dirt. Then fill the jar completely with water and a drop of soap. Swish it around and let it settle. You will see rocks and sand settling immediately to the bottom of the jar. In an hour all the silt will have settled. At that time if you have clay, the water will be cloudy. Let it sit another day and see if the water clears up. If it clears then you do not have clay. Clay will cloud the water for days and days. There are several conditions of minerals that cause soil to seem to be clay when in fact there is no clay at all. Don't be too surprised by this. Adding gypsum without doing this test and a soil chemistry test can be a mistake. I disagree with goren on mowing height. The only grasses that need to be mowed lower than 3 inches are bermuda, centipede, bentgrass, and some zoysias. Kentucky bluegrass (which you can't grow in shade) should be no lower than 3 inches. Fescues and all the other grass types should be mowed back to 4 inches. Usually this is a mower's highest setting. Grass grown in the shade needs to be longer simply so it can photosynthesize. Can you post pictures showing the tree roots and one from a distance showing the trees with the canopy?...See Moreclay soil want to plant grass
Comments (14)If you went crazy for the full 3" depth - about 18 yards... which is a good size dump truck full... An alternative (If you have a pick up truck) is to just bring in a couple loads of fine ground mulch or compost and spread it on top of the soil as budget/time allows... just sling it evenly across the whole thing... The absolute minimum you really need enough to cover it with 1/4" -- but that's probably only 2 yards worth... It will go a long way towards getting it softened up and bringing life back... While you are at it -- get a soil analysis done by the UGA extension office... You will probably find that the reason nothing grows well is that your soil is Mineral Deficient -- not that it is solid clay.... The next thing you can do at home is that is a soil structure test (The test with your dirt in a mayonnaise jar full of water...) You will find that a *Little* clay goes a really long way towards making what everybody calls "Georgia Red Clay" soils... and that for the most part, the USDA actually considers our soils to be "Loam" and "Sandy loam" and "Sandy clay loam" -- which are mostly a mixture of Sand + Silt + a little clay... NOT mostly clay with a little sand and silt as you would guess by looking at how it packs up your shoes... The good news about this is that our soils can be very fertile if we can get the Organic Material and minerals back into them... The bad news is that they are Ancient and Heavily Eroded (Leached out)... and so they won't grow anything right if until we do... Thanks John...See MoreGrass seeds for red clay soil
Comments (3)Thanks for the replies. Heelsfan- The tree is old and sort of large. Not the huge kind. The area I am looking to work with is about 500 sq feet. The area is shaded most of the time. quirkyquercus- We will try your suggestion. We will start working with the soil in the autumn then lay on sod if we find tall fescue sod around here. If not, what can we do? Thanks again!...See MoreGeorgia Red Clay Soil...What should we do?
Comments (13)we live in Alabama and have the same clay soil. Hate it!!! That's why Bermuda grass is so popular here. It's practically impossible to kill and it takes off in no time. I used to live a little north of Atlanta and the majority of yards (unless very shady) had Bermuda or some similar grass as well. It just does well on this type soil with the least amount of headache. I would love to have a fescue or blue grass yard, but have been told by multiple landscapers that it is constant maintenance to keep it looking good especially in our very hot summers.....takes a lot more water than Bermuda. So even though it's not in your budget, I think it would be best to bite the bullet and do sod....have your soil conditioned first, and go with a warm climate grass. Good luck!...See More- 18 years ago
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