by Glory Lennon

Created on: March 04, 2011   Last Updated: March 05, 2011

Landscape problems: working with heavy clay soil

Every landscape problem is equally hard on the gardener and the garden. When it comes to heavy clay soil, working it properly can do wonders for plant growth. Here are a few tricks which will help both the garden and the gardener cope with the landscape problem of working with heavy clay soil.

Loosen soil

The worst thing about clay soil is that it is often very compacted. This could be from too much traffic, either foot traffic, heavy machinery or both. When soil is overly compacted anything attempting to grow in it will have to struggle to get the roots to penetrate the almost rock hard clay. If all the plant’s energy goes to do this underground, it won’t leave them much energy to do any growing above ground.

How to fix this is to loosen the soil within flower beds and anywhere a tree, shrub or flowers are to be planted. Tilling is one way to fluff up the soil. To keep it loose however, you must try not to walk on it. This practice will keep it from further compaction.

Enrich soil

Heavy clay soil is very likely to be lacking in nutrients. To correct this, organic matter should be incorporated into flower beds, vegetable gardens and even the lawn. Leaves, grass clippings, peat moss, saw dust, bark mulch and unfinished compost for just some of the most readily available organic items which could be tilled into the soil to provide a more enriched area for flowers, vegetables, .

Lighten soil

Obviously, to have clay soil is to have heavy soil. How to change this fact is to lighten the soil. Luckily, when enriching the soil with organic matter the soil will automatically become lightened as well. Tilling in various organic materials will lighten the soil by breaking up the clay. The more organic matter incorporated in the clay, the more viable the soil will be for plants to grow and thrive.

Aerate soil

Heavy clay soil has a tendency to become mucky and this condition makes it difficult for plants to grow properly. Aerating heavy clay soil will allow for better drainage. In garden beds which have been tilled, this may not be a very big problem but in the lawn it makes it rather easy for puddles to form during and after significant or even average rainfall. Aerating the lawn can be done with a simple pitch fork if the lawn is relatively small. The gardener can stick a pitch fork in at even intervals and rock the handle back and forth. If this seems to be too much work, aerating machines and devices can be purchased or rented at most good quality hardware and/or garden supply shops.

Dry up soil

Swampy, boggy conditions are rather common when dealing with heavy clay soil. How to fix that is to dry it up. As it turns out, this can be accomplished by, once again, incorporating organic material into the soil. Compost is the best additive for this purpose, but peat moss is also a good choice. Making your own compost will make this endeavor less expensive than having to purchase peat moss which runs rather high costing due to its scarcity in some regions. Constantly applying copious quantities of compost and other organic matter will give the moisture in the clay elsewhere to go, providing the garden with a much drier soil.

 When landscaping with heavy clay soil, the most important thing to remember is to loosen, lighten and enrich it to improve its consistency, drainage and quality. Constantly adding more organic materials on top of garden beds, around trees and shrubs and in vegetable plots in the way of mulches, will eventually make a much more suitable soil in which to grow healthy, thriving plants.

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