What Do I Do If My Soil Is Too Hard

Unlike sandy soil, clay soil holds moisture well—sometimes too well. Fine soil particles stick together, allowing little room for drainage or for air to reach plant roots. The solution is to break up the soil and add lots of organic matter such as compost, shredded leaves, peat moss and gypsum over time. After organic matter has been added to clay soil for more than three seasons, you will see dramatic changes in the soil's texture, or tilth.

It will dry faster after heavy rains, crack a little less in dry weather, and won't require as much digging to keep it aerated. Instead, you can start using a long-tined broadfork to restore air to the root zone when renovating planting beds. Clay soil is heavy, so using a broadfork is less work than digging and turning a bed.

Once a bed is perforated with deep holes from a broadfork, compost and organic fertilizer spread over the surface can be raked into the holes. To fix compacted soil, which is soil that has little to no air space, break it up to make it hospitable for your plants again. Start by shifting livestock, machinery, vehicles, and foot traffic away from the compacted area to give the soil a rest. If you use the compacted area for farming or gardening, move your plants somewhere else for at least 1 growing cycle. Instead, plant a cover crop, like winter wheat or ryegrass, to allow the roots to break up the soil. For smaller, grassy areas that are compacted, use a small metal garden fork to poke holes in the soil so air, water, and roots can enter the area.

However, when tackling a larger area, use a rototiller with an aeration attachment. Instead of gypsum, consider core aerifying in spring, summer or early fall to reduce the compaction and improve plant health. Aerifying with large half-inch hollow tines and punching about 25 holes/square foot will produce good results. Very compacted soil can benefit from several corings each year . Yes, coring is an expensive service to buy, and most lawns really don't need it; but it won't hurt. And if the soil is compacted, it's usually the best solution to the stifled growth.

Compaction is most likely to occur with heavier soils like clay and loam, but when heavy equipment is used, sandy soils can become compacted. These are soil particles that are packed closely together. The problem may be compounded by events that have happened to the soil over the course of years.

The pore spaces are reduced to the point that air and water cannot move freely and plant roots cannot grow easily into the surrounding soil. The soil could remain overly wet longer than is healthy for the plants growing there. Surprisingly often, people imagine that the proper way to improve dense, clay soil is to add the opposite kind of mineral material—sand. After all, loamy soils, viewed as ideal garden soil, are a mixture of sand and clay. Unfortunately, when sand is added directly to clay, the result is something that more accurately resembles concrete.

The reason loamy soils are great for plants is that they have a large ratio of organic material in them as a foundation for the sand and clay. Without lots of organic material, clay plus sand equals an awful garden. Clay soils are best improved with the addition of compost and other organic materials only. To improve your soil, you'll need to add 6 to 8 inches of organic matter to the entire bed.

Grass clippings (as long as they haven't been treated with chemicals), shredded leaves, rotted manure, and compost are all perfect choices. The organic matter needs to be mixed into the top 6 to 12 inches of soil. Digging it in and mixing it with a shovel is a great way to do this, as it moves a lot of earth without pulverizing the soil particles the way tilling can. However, if digging is just too hard on your back, using a tiller is a fine method. For a large vegetable garden, another solution is to grow a cover crop at the end of the season, then mow and turn in the following spring before planting. The roots penetrate the compacted soil and loosen it.

By mowing and turning the mowed tops in, the soil is additionally loosened. Cover crops could include annual ryegrass, winter wheat, winter rye, buckwheat, oilseed radishes and hairy vetch. Plants in pots need a lightweight soil mixture for good aeration, as potted plants typically lack earthworms to aerate the soil around their roots.

Soil dug up from the yard should never be used for growing container plants, as it will compact tightly with each successive watering and drying cycle. Eventually, the plant roots will have little access to air and will be more susceptible to drowning and rotting because a tightly compacted soil drains water slowly. After a crop is harvested the soil needs to be renewed before planting a successive crop. These cover crops are tilled in before they go to seed, and break down quickly so a new harvestable crop can be planted without much delay. One way to avoid hard soil is to prevent it from happening. Yearly applications of organic matter will help prevent the soil from becoming hard and compacted again.

To keep soil softened, add organic material such as compost or animal manure into the soil each spring before planting time. Apply organic mulch, like hay, around plants and allow it to decompose and work its way down into the soil. The organic material will ensure the soil is softened year round. Once you have realized your soil is compacted, there are several things to be done.

Resist the urge to routinely roto-till or cultivate the garden. Instead, consider adding organic matter by using mulch or compost over the top of a flower bed or simply hand-spade it into the top 3 to 6 inches of soil. For a vegetable garden, put 2 inches of compost on the soil surface and till in and repeat for a total of 4 inches in a season. A goal of 5 to 15 percent of organic matter would be advantageous. Compost is decomposed organic matter, and it is the best thing you use to improve the health of garden soil.

The main reason for aeratingis to alleviate soil compaction. Compacted soils have too many solid particles in a certain volume or space, which prevents proper circulation of air, water and nutrients within the soil. Excess lawn thatch or heavy organic debris buried under the grass surface can also starve the roots from these essential elements. True potting soil is actually "soil-less." Topsoil is for planting in the ground. Topsoil is sand or clay (ground-up rocks) mixed with organic materials such as compost. Potting soil is a mixture of peat moss and other organic materials such as composted sawdust.

Excess water from downspouts, clogged gutters and air conditioner condensate can overwater plants. Clay soil has the highest water-holding capacity of any soil type, so it stays wet for a very long time compared to sandy or loamy soils. Potting soils are specially formulated to provide adequate air, moisture and nutrients while also serving as a sturdy anchor for the plants.

These fluffy blends usually include varying ratios of several materials. Peat moss and sphagnum moss are two main components, both of which help retain water to prolong the time between watering. Some form of tree bark is also usually present, and aids with drainage. Other materials, like perlite, vermiculite and sand, in varying quantities, increase or decrease the porosity of the mix. Soil that is hard and compacted will not allow water and nutrients to soak in and the soil becomes barren and dry. Tiny plant roots cannot spread out in search of moisture and nutrients, so plants dehydrate and starve.

Compact soil also impedes microbiological activity necessary to convert organic matter to nutrients that feed the plants. Walking on your lawn once it has been tilled and yet to dry will often result in compacted soil or hard soil. Even though most soils will harden under heavyweight, soil rich in clay is more prone to hardening because of clay soil's low drainage and tiny soil particles. To answer how to grow grass on hard-packed dirt quickly, first, you should loosen the hard-packed dirt with proper gardening tools. Opening up hard-packed soil allows air and moisture into the soil to help roots get the nutrients they need.

Next, remove any dead roots that might be in the hard-packed soil, these roots could be drying the soil. Finally, add grass seed with some topsoil or apply sods on the top surface. Clay soil is often not aerated enough and is deficient in good structure which makes it more difficult for successful growing. To get the most out of clay soil it's best to add large quantities of well-rotted organic matter in the fall and peat a few weeks before planting. Greensand can also be used to loosen heavy clay soils or bind sandy soils. Without enough air space in soil, there's no room for water and nutrients to circulate, and the roots on your poor plants have nowhere to grow.

The good news is that there are steps you can take to fix and prevent soil compaction. Below we'll walk you through how you can break up compacted soil, reintroduce air into it, and make it a welcoming home for your plants again. Pour a layer of fresh potting soil into the new planter and pack it down, removing any air pockets.

If your new planter doesn't have a drainage hole, layer the bottom with lava rocks or similar (rocks, gravel, etc.) before adding the potting mix. The goal is to create crevices for the extra water to pool into, away from your plant's roots. Soil conditioner is added to soils to help prevent compaction. It is often used to help native soil that has been damaged or to promote strong root growth.

It improves drainage and aeration when added to potting soils. Although you may think plants only need soil, water and sunshine to survive, plant roots also need access to plenty of air. In outdoor soils, earthworms and other burrowing creatures provide valuable aeration services by breaking up tightly bound soil particles as they push through. Soil that has been compressed, or compacted, lacks the tiny air pockets critical for plants to survive.

Make accommodations.A high water table is a much more difficult issue to address. Instead, it's a fact of life that you will likely have to work around. However, you can still improve drainage by increasing the depth of your lawn borders. You can also add layers of soil to create raised beds. Finally, you can landscape using more shallow-rooted plants capable of surviving wet conditions. One of the best approaches to growing vegetables in clay soil is to stick with veggies that like clay during the first few seasons of soil improvement.

Mid and late season sweet corn are a good choice, too, but some of the best vegetables to grow in clay are squash and pumpkins. Because of its fine texture, clay soil tends to pack down, which limits the amount of soil oxygen available to plant roots and soil microorganisms. When growing vegetables in clay soil, mulches slow down natural compaction and promote natural soil ventilation, which in turn increases the comfort of plants' roots.

Gunky clay is no one's idea of wonderful garden soil. When wet it's heavy and slimy, and it dries into chunky slabs that crack into pieces. Like other extreme types of soil, tight clay can be radically improved with regular infusions of organic matter and thoughtful handling.

I have been growing vegetables in clay soil all my life, and we have come to an understanding. I respect clay soil's needs and quirks, and it pays me back with a fun and fruitful garden. Loamy soil, a relatively even mix of sand, silt and clay, feels fine-textured and slightly damp. It has ideal characteristics for gardening, lawns and shrubs. Loamy soils require replenishing with organic matter regularly, and tend to be acidic. Our orchard is in a sandy area and our garden is in a clay area.

We didn't plan it that way, it's just how it worked out. We've been working compost into the soil, adding mulch and using cover crops and it is amazing how both the sandy and the clay soil have improved. Potting soils are precisely mixed using strict formulas and recipes. Most potting soils are based on peat moss, with other ingredients added to make them ideal for certain uses.

For example, seed starter mixes are very fine and fluffy so that fragile, fine roots can spread easily. When repotting a plant, don't treat the pot like a sand castle mold at the beach -- the goal isn't to get as much potting mix in the pot as possible. Add a handful of soil at a time, gently but firmly packing each scoop in and around the roots so it still feels springy and spongy when pressed. Add more soil until the roots are completely covered and the crown of the plant is just above the soil line.

Continue to mash the soil down with gentle pressure until the surface of the soil is even, and then water it well. A plant in a properly packed pot should not sag, lean or shift, and should not come out of the pot when pulled on gently. An over-packed pot will feel dense and heavy, and water will drain slowly. I have to admit that I was very skeptical about Love Your Soil and Magi-I-Cal Plus but after using both products for less than one year, I'm a true believer!

Like many households in North Carolina, my clay soil was extremely compact and very hard to work with even after amending it with screened compost and peat moss. After using both products my soil appears to be less dense, I don't have puddles of standing water and my grass is deep green even during extended periods of drought. My lawn might not be picture perfect yet but I finally feel that I'm on the correct path to a much healthier soil and lawn.

Thank you for making professional grade products available to home owners. It is best to improve an entire planting area all at once, rather than to attempt improving the soil in individual planting holes as you need them. If you dig a planting hole in clay soil, then drop in a plant and nicely amend only the soil you're using to backfill, your plant will be happy for a little while. But you have done nothing more than create an in-ground flower pot.

Eventually, the plant will start sending out roots that will be stopped in their tracks when they reach the clay walls of the planting hole. You'll end up with a root-bound plant that won't grow as large or as healthy as it should. Rock phosphate, or rock dust, is also a valued amendment to restore phosphorus levels needed for vigorous plant growth. If you use the compacted area for farming or gardening, move your plants somewhere else for at least one growing cycle. Instead, try substituting a cover crop at the end of the season, such as winter wheat or ryegrass.