Fast Draining Soil Amendment (So Cal)
Andrew Simmons
8 years ago
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Palo Verde in SoCal clayish soil
Comments (8)As long as you don't have constant runoff to this low spot, they should do fine. Are you sure you will have enough heat for the true Palo Verde to do well in your area? Have you seen any Cercidium floridum blooming well in La Verne? If this doesn't grow/bloom well in your area, the very similar appearing Parkinsonia aculeata would certainly thrive for you, as it is very tolerant of clay soils and even summer fogs here in Berkeley, California. The true Palo Verde/Cercidum species really like desert heat to grow well, and are not successfully grown here in coastal northen California for lack of heat and too much winter rainfall. Probably not an issue for you near Pasadena, but I would check to see whether they have any at the Los Angeles Botanic Garden or the Huntington, to see if they do well in your area. Also, be aware that they shower leaf litter over a long season, and it is perhaps best to only underplant with things that can absorb the leaf litter without calling attention to it. The leaves tend to get stuck between foliage of Agaves and Aloes or bromeliads planted below them, and if planted over a patio they require near constant sweeping....See MoreSOIL- to amend or not to amend? That is the question!
Comments (7)I have red clay soil and it can be turned into beautiful garden soil with the addition of organic matter. We're in our 16th year here and the soil in the areas we've amended bears little resemblance to the clay we started with. We added organic matter to it as much as we could in the early years, amending each area well before planting. Then we mulched, and we continue to add mulch regularly. As the mulch decomposes, it further enriches the soil. Red clay is full of minerals and plants grow great in it once you've added organic matter to improve its tilth and drainage. Have you ever gone for a walk in a woodland? Ever notice how brown, humusy and rich the soil is there? We have about 10 acres of woodland filled with beautiful native plants of all kinds. The soil is brown, rich, humusy....just gorgeous, rich soil. When we first moved here, I wondered why the soil there was so gorgeous when just a few yards away in the area where we had built the house, we had dense, compacted, hard-as-concrete red clay. I incorrectly assumed the woods grew there because the soil was so great. Then, in our 2nd or 3rd year here, we transplanted a bunch of tiny oak trees out of the woodland and up into the yard area. Guess what we found? There was about 8 or 9" of brown, humusy soil, but once you dug down that deeply, it was the same yucky red clay we had up the hill where we built the house. Those gigantic trees might be growing in humusy rich brown soil, but they started growing in red clay and their roots are deep in that clay. Over the last few decades, as leaves, bark, dead trees, other dead plant material, insects and even wild animals died and decomposed there on the floor of the woodland, they all combined to created that brown, humusy rich soil. So, in an odd way, the red clay---by being rich enough to feed and nourish the trees when they sprouted---in essence created that brown, rich soil. No one dug out all the old yucky red clay dirt and replaced it with brown rich soil.....it happened naturally, in its own way and its own time. To enrich our soil, we added any form of organic matter we could to the soil....compost, chopped/shredded autumn leaves, pine bark fines, composted animal manure....you name if....if it was organic (from nature), we added it. We added lava sand, Texas green sand, soft rock phosphate....you name it....all in the name of improving the soil. As the soil got better, earthworms and all other manner of earth-dwelling creatures thrived in it and further improved it themselves. When we were searching for land here, I deliberately searched for land with clay as opposed to the fast-draining sugar sand common in my area, or even the brown sandy loam found in some parts of our county. Given the choice, I'd choose red clay every time. It is a lot easier to amend it than it would have been to amend the sand, which tends to drain much too quickly in our area which stays much too dry most years. With red clay, so many nutrients are already there. With sugar sand, the nutrients aren't there and you have to add them. All that clay needs in general is organic matter added to it to make it great soil. I've never regretted choosing property with clay soil. We actually have a few pockets of sandy soil, and I have more trouble with them. Among other things, voles tunnel through the sand and eat everything they encounter. I'd be a raving lunatic by now if we had only sandy soil and not clay because the voles would have eaten virtually everything I've ever planted. Don't fear your red clay soil. It likely is highly fertile and only needs to have organic matter added to it to make it both retain water properly and drain well. Once that aspect of clay soil is fixed, it is perfect. Dawn...See MoreTedious Soil Amendment(s)
Comments (21)I use bermuda grass and then whatever is growing in the pastures...which is virtually everything. I wouldn't use bermuda grass if it had formed seedheads. That batch would go into the compost pile so the heat of composting could sterilize the seeds. To prevent anything in the grass clippings OR the soil from sprouting and growing up through the mulch, lay down newspaper or cardboard and then pile on the mulch. If there is any wind, wet down the cardboard or newspaper as you lay it down so it won't blow away before you pile on the mulch. The newspaper or cardboard serves as a barrier. Weed seed beneath it cannot sprout because of the darkness and if it sprouts, it generally cannot penetrate the paper or cardboard. Weed seed on top of the cardboard or paper may sprout, but any plants that sprout in the mulch can't grow down through it and it is easy to pull them out of the mulch when you notice they've sprouted. As a bonus, earthworms adore newspaper and cardboard so having them on the ground attracts them to your soil and since they improve the soil, that's a plus. A couple of tips: 1) Never use any grass clippings from lawn treated with herbicides, including weed and feed fertilizers; 2) If the grass is holding a lot of moisture after it is cut, I leave it in the garden cart or wagon for a day or two and let it dry and then I spread them on the beds; 3) If you have cut tallish bermuda in humid, hot conditions (especially in late spring/early summer) and think chiggers might be lurking in there, spray yourself with an insect repellent before you spread the grass clippings. Then, after you're done, scrub yourself thoroughly to remove any that may be climbing around on you. I have chigger issues about once a year after spreading grass clippings DH has cut and it usually happens in late May or early June. 4) Be very picky about your grass clippings. If neighbors see and understand what you're doing and offer you theirs, make sure their lawns haven't been chemically-treated. 5) If you have an issue with snails, slugs, pill bugs or sow bugs be sure you leave a little open space (at least 1/4") between the mulch and plant stems so you can spot those little buggies and sluggies and kill them dead. (I just sprinkle Slug-Go Plus in that little open area so they can find something to eat. It is just a bonus that the 'something' they find to eat kills them.) Dawn...See MoreIf you don't amend the soil then how do you fix it if it drains fast?
Comments (28)I can definitely say that I am in the average category for one part and in the slow category for the other part of the lawn. I'm in the middle of performing another one with three separate holes. After 30 minutes the top two holes at the highest point of the lawn have dropped three and 4 inches respectively and will definitely drain within two hours. The hole at the way bottom of the lawn where all the water runoff is has only dropped about a half of an inch. No grass grows at this downward slope portion. I did the shake the jar test last night and am waiting for the Clay to settle to determine the composition of the soil. The confusion stems from statements like these: "Properly draining soil drains at a rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour. If the soil drains at any other rate, modifications to the soil are needed." http://homeguides.sfgate.com/increase-soil-drainage-24306.html "If the water takes from three to 12 hours to drain, then the drainage is adequate for most landscape plants (about 1 inch per hour). If it takes more than 12 hours, then the drainage is poor." -http://essmextension.tamu.edu/treecarekit/index.php/before-the-storm/tree-identification-and-selection/identification-of-and-corrective-action-for-poorly-drained-soils-in-the-landscape/ In well-drained soil the water level will go down at a rate of about 1 inch an hour. A faster rate, such as in sandy soil, may signal potentially dry site conditions; http://agebb.missouri.edu/agforest/archives/v10n2/gh14.htm...See MoreAndrew Simmons
8 years agoAndrew Simmons
8 years agokimmq
8 years agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 years agorgreen48
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoAndrew Simmons
8 years agotoxcrusadr
8 years agoAndrew Simmons
8 years agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 years agoAndrew Simmons
8 years agoAndrew Simmons
8 years agoAndrew Simmons
8 years agorgreen48
8 years agotoxcrusadr
8 years agoAndrew Simmons
8 years agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 years agoAndrew Simmons
8 years agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agorgreen48
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoAndrew Simmons
8 years agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 years agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 years agoAndrew Simmons
8 years agokimmq
8 years agotoxcrusadr
8 years ago
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