Problem with cracking soil

8 years ago

Even with the torrential rain fall we've had in Texas and the DFW area in particular, certain areas of my lawn still crack after drying out. It's gotten worse now that the rain has pretty much ended and it's gotten hotter. These areas are primarily located near small oak trees. It'd normally be easy to say the areas aren't getting enough sun but they get plenty as the trees are no more than 10-12' tall. Also, the cracked areas extend several feet beyond the areas where shade from the trees extend. I can understand bare spots will dry out very quickly in general but these areas seem excessively dry.

I thought maybe a disease was possible but these areas are pretty much in the same general area every year and obviously don't get keep enough moisture for fungus to grow.

The below photo shows such a crack. I know the potential for this to happen increases in very thin areas, which this is, but is there something I could apply to these areas while waiting for the Bermuda to fill in?

I got a soil test this year and Morpheus was kind enough to put together a schedule, which does seem to be working nicely. Mowing is regular (every 2-3 days) and I am now beginning to water 1" at a time every 5-7 days. These areas are improved over past years but still cracking like crazy.

Is shampoo an option? What else could improve this? Some way to help these areas retain water?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

User
8 years ago
Try the shampoo. And let me go take another look at your soil test...
User
8 years ago
...which I can't find. Can you point me there?
Related Discussions
Soil problem? Anemic looking spinach in the pea soil bags...
Q
Comments (6)
Yeah, all of my planters that have this brand of soil have that kinda thin greenish moss stuff on the surface. We have had a lot of rain, and the soil seems to stay damp pretty well, but the drainage holes seem to be functioning (it never turns into soup, even when it's raining). It is not a mix that I am impressed with. I used miracle gro soil last year, and this was a lot different. It appeared to be heavy on the wood product (almost kinda sawdusty), and when I first wet the soil, it didn't want to drink the water at all--kind of an oil and water effect. I had to stir the water into it, it was weird. Not at all like other potting mixes I have used.
...See More
fixing soil cracks
Q
Comments (10)
i got news for you, if you have the type of clay we have, it will take YEARS of amendmentts to fix it. the BEST way to keep clay soil from cracking in summer is to water often, and deep. my neighbor has the same soil as i do. his lawn does not crack during the summer, mines cracks to hell and back, and i mean that almost literally! last summer i ran a 1 1/2 hose for 20 minutes in one crack and it NEVER showed any signs of water building up. it hit the side and went down and down and down. how much do you think it would take to fill that ONE CRACK, and i have them everywhere and this was not one of the bigger ones. about the only thing i can say that is good about it is that my lawn does not flood during early summer rains like his does, it all just disappears! if you wan tto amend the soil, you need to mix it 50/50 with sand and till it up to the desired depth for top soil. if you wan thte top soil 12" deep, put 6" of sand on top then till it all in together. you have to till it many times to work it out right. then compact it to minimize settling unevenly, then aerate to offset the compaction. then do it all over again in a year or two as the clay will still crack below grade and slowly swallow up the sandy loam you created. i know a family that brings in several truck loads of sand every other year and does this, and usually by late summer any areas that got a low dose of sand are back to clay. finally after about 10 years of doing this most of their yard has turned to topsoil and only requires organic additives now. keep in mind that if you do organic/compost only, that will break down every year almost completely. that is why i say sand is the best additive.
...See More
cracks in soil in raised beds
Q
Comments (6)
Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to purchase some finished compost and see how that works. The cracks are in the beds that are not mulched on top. The beds that I put my homemade compost in and mulched with straw are fine. The compost that I made is sort of course . I like to plant carrots in really fine soil so that they can really grow long. They don't seem to do that in the courser soils. Thanks again,
...See More
Compacted Soil Drying & Cracking -- Best Measures to Save Tree
Q
Comments (9)
I'm not sure we (or at least I) understand what you had done enough to give much advice. You said you had someone "fertilize the tree roots at the base." What's this all about? What did your soil fertility test indicate was lacking, and was the fertilizer selected to meet that shortcoming? Was the fertilizer really only applied to the base of the tree!?! You also said that the company "(blew) out the soil at the base following the pipe work." I really can't figure out what that means either. Do you maybe mean that the company used an air spade (before the plumbing work was done) to excavate around and under the roots in order to install the pipe without cutting large roots? This type of work can be done in a way where there is little likelihood of significant damage to the tree, but I cannot tell by what you said whether your job was done that way or not. I think we need a lot of clarification to get started.
...See More
coreman73
Original Author
8 years ago
Sure, the link with my soil test is at:

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/3041980/logan-labs-test-results-could-use-some-assistance-reading-results
User
8 years ago
Wonderful, thanks!

What I was looking at was the magnesium amounts, which are actually low. High ones would tend to lead to cracking soil.

In this case, the lower OM at 2.6% isn't helping. Higher OM would tend to decrease the tendency to crack.

You do have a denser than average soil with a higher EC, so that's some of it. High amounts of silt will crack far more easily than sand--although sand still can crack!

For now, I'd try the shampoo--and try to add organic matter if possible.
coreman73
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks Morpheus. I'll try the shampoo and see what other organic matter I can continue adding to the soil.
dchall_san_antonio
8 years ago
I had at least some temporary luck with a soaker hose at my niece's house. Hers was so bad the fence poles fell over and might have even fell in. I let the soaker run during my entire visit and after a week the poles stood up by themselves.
coreman73
Original Author
8 years ago
I may try the soaker hose too. As another example, here's a link showing cracked ground around the base of a crepe myrtle in my back yard earlier this year. I helped that out by adding topsoil. It seems to have helped and the tree has grown more this summer so far than the past 3 years. Would adding topsoil be an option for these regular cracked areas in my lawn as well?

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/3063193/crepe-myrtle-with-loose-trunk
User
8 years ago
I don't often recommend addition of topsoil to cracks because the soil, at some points, is not cracked. Which means its mass is sufficient to hold it together (most of the time).

My soil used to crack a lot, but adding OM stopped it. If you wanted to add compost or peat moss to those cracks? Have at. It's great, late-stage stuff that won't interfere overmuch with the soil structure overall.
dchall_san_antonio
8 years ago
The soaker does not need to be flowing hard. I always put it on at a slow trickle out of the faucet and let it run 24/7. I took this picture many years ago to illustrate a slow trickle.

I measured the rate to be 1 cup per minute. That's about 800 gallons per week if you leave it on all the time. Spread that out over 75 feet of soaker hose and it's pretty slow delivery. Combine this with shampoo and a little organic fertilizer and that should really help swell the soil to close the cracks.

Problem with cracking soil

Comments (9)

User

User

Related Discussions

coreman73
Original Author

User

coreman73
Original Author

dchall_san_antonio

coreman73
Original Author

User

dchall_san_antonio

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Problem with cracking soil

Comments (9)

User

User

Related Discussions

coreman73Original Author

User

coreman73Original Author

dchall_san_antonio

coreman73Original Author

User

dchall_san_antonio

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

coreman73
Original Author

coreman73
Original Author

coreman73
Original Author