How Do You Fix Bad Soil

I always see things on how to work with sandy, silty, or clay soils, practically nothing on peat soils. I moved to an area this last Fall, that had a lot of glacier activity and is a meadow or grass land now. We would like to grow a garden, but we have black peat soil for about 14 feet down.

I used a home soil test and found no nitrogen in the soil. There is some phosphorus and a small amount of potassium. What should we do to our soil to be able to grow a vegetable garden and fruit trees?

Clay soils benefit from organic matter too, because it improves their structure by binding clay particles into crumbs; this allows better air and water movement. By adding coarse sand to heavy soils you can make a permanent improvement in their texture. Spread the sand to a depth of 5–8 cm, then mix well into the topsoil to a depth of 15–20 cm. The best way to improve soil texture is by adding organic material, such as compost or peat moss. Decaying organic matter helps sandy soil by retaining water that would otherwise drain away. And it corrects clay soil by making it looser, so air, water, and roots all can penetrate.

Plus, in all soils it encourages beneficial microbial activity and provides nutritional benefits. When planting trees and shrubs, always dig generous planting holes shallow and wide. The hole should be at least twice the width of the root ball or the container in which the plant is growing and no deeper than the root ball of the tree or shrub to be planted.

Soil loosened below the root ball will settle over time, creating a planting depression that will accumulate excess water. In heavy clay soils, planting trees and shrubs a few inches above the grade of the surrounding soil is preferrable. In extreme cases, mound planting is preferable, as it can help with root development above existing compacted soil. Weeds love bare patches, so if you don't act quickly, they will.

Spring's cool, wet weather is conducive to growing many types of turfgrass. Start by digging up the damaged section, plus 6 inches of surrounding, healthy lawn, cutting about 2 inches deep. Then level the soil and add a small amount of soil amendment, such as a plant-based compost, and starter fertilizer.

If you're using seed, cover it lightly with straw and keep the ground moist until germination. For sod, which is about 10 times more expensive than seed but tends to work better, cut a section to fit, press it into place, and water frequently until it takes root. 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. At the opposite end of the scale from sandy soil are clay soils. These hold water and nutrients very well but don't drain as well as sandy soils, especially if compacted, a common situation for lawns with a clay soil base. So if you have a patch of sorry soil in your yard how do you fix it?

Lawn aerators make small holes in the soil but they actually compact the soil in the individual holes. Grass seed will germinate more readily in holes created by aerators but aerators will not correct compacted soil. Hard soil needs to be disturbed at least 10 to 12 inches deep.

This is best done by manual digging with a shovel or digging fork or by use of a backhoe. Most of the lawn grasses we grow are not native to North Carolina and need a soil pH of 6.0 or higher. Sorry soils will have a pH of 5.0 or much lower and few plants will grow in soils with a low pH. Soils have three basic layers called A, B, and C horizons. The A horizon is the top soil, and it should be loose and easily dug or tilled. When it rains water should flow through good top soil freely.

When the top soil is removed or washes away through erosion, the B horizon is what is left. Here in the Piedmont of North Carolina, the B horizon will be red or orange in color and it will be clay. Red clay is much more difficult to work with than a sandy top soil, and it is easily compacted and can be very difficult for water to penetrate. The C horizon is usually a combination of rock and clay and is what is known as soil parent material. Some soils in the southeast may also have an O horizon, which stands for organic matter. Organic matter is composed of plant debris and decomposing plant parts and is found at the top of the top soil.

It is difficult to maintain an O horizon in the south because organic matter breaks down rapidly in our heat and humidity. It is rare to find an organic layer in cultivated or plowed soil because the cultivation speeds up the decomposition of organic matter. Vegetation holds the soil in place, but also adds organic matter and the roots help open up the soil and provide food for soil improving earthworms. Gypsum is easily applied to the soil surface with a regular lawn spreader.

It's an ideal amendment for improving soil structure and relieving compaction in existing lawns and gardens. Compost is decomposed organic matter, and it is the best thing you use to improve the health of garden soil. Grow cover crops in your garden in the fall after harvesting. Cover crops like cereal rye, annual rye and hairy vetch do well in Missouri conditions. Cover crops help improve soil structure, reduce soil erosion and increase water movement through the soil . In addition to incorporation into the soil, applying organic matter as mulch is beneficial for many flowers, vegetables, trees and shrubs.

Top-dressing of lawns may be done with good topsoil or topsoil–organic material combinations to smooth out irregular areas in the lawn or help decay thatch. It'll be fine in a raised bed garden even if there are eucalyptus nearby because they won't share the same soil. I have not actually heard of a connection between eucalyptus trees and veggies?

Make sure you don't put ordinary garden soil in your raised bed, else you're just raising the level of your garden. If you can afford to buy either topsoil or the cheap compost your local garden centre sells, fill it with that instead. I am slowly filling the new raised beds with grass cuttings and kitchen waste, but am thinking of asking the neighbours for their left-overs too because it will take forever.

When it is finally ready, it should more or less pH neutral which will be great for growing just about anything. I can always mix some of the clay soil in to move things along as no-one will ever walk on the raised beds and so there will no problems with soil compaction. So, how do you change too-clayey soil into just-right sandy loam?

Similarly, the fix for sandy soil isn't to add clay. The fix for both these problems is the same - adding organic matter. Like the Leafgro I dig in while planting, and the organic mulch that breaks down over time and becomes part of the soil. Organic matter is truly the Miracle Cure for what ails the soil.

Clay's potential as one of the best soil types for plant growth lies in its unique properties. Managed well, clay soil typically requires less irrigation and less fertilizer, and leads to healthier plants all around. For starters, fall mulching gives you the upper hand on spring weeds.

Pull weeds that do emerge in the spring early and quickly, when they are small and easy to manage. If not noxious–that is, not spreading vigorously by root or stem–I suggest laying them right back on the soil surface and covering them with from 2 to 4 inches of organic mulch. Covering garden beds right from the start gives you the jump on garden weeds, while feeding the soil with organic material at the same time.

Before planting every year, ensure sufficient nitrogen by counting all the sources you've added. Organic fertilizers, such as blood, seed, or feather meal, are sources of concentrated nitrogen. Fall or spring legume cover crops transfer nitrogen from the atmosphere to the soil. Manures or green grass clippings, incorporated as amendments, provide nitrogen as well.

Compost, on the other hand, does not supply enough garden nitrogen. While compost is great for improving overall soil health, additional nitrogen sources are needed when using compost as an amendment. Any organic material that you throw onto, or dig into, a clay soil is beneficial.

This relates to how the different soil particles are arranged, the aggregates they form and the spaces between them. Well-structured soil will also have plenty of air spaces to provide oxygen, allow water to penetrate and facilitate drainage. Poorly structured soils are often hard and compacted, don't accept water easily, have few air spaces and are subject to erosion. In simple terms they're bad news for you and your lawn and need to be improved. Next, gently squeeze the ball to lengthen it into a strip or 'ribbon' and see how long you can make it before it starts to break up. The more clay it contains, the longer the ribbon will get and the more plastic it will feel to the touch.

Soil ribbons can range in length from about 5mm – 75mm, with sandy soils being shortest, loamy soils in the middle and clay soils the longest. While soils that contain a lot of clay or sand may need work to improve them, loamy soils are generally ideal. These contain a mixture of sand, silt, organic matter and clay, providing the right balance of nutrients, oxygen, water and drainage which are just what your lawn needs. Chop over-wintered cover crops directly into spring soils a few weeks before planting.

During the growing season, sow a quick-growing cover crop, such as buckwheat, to fill the gap between spring and fall crops. When it's time to plant, pull the buckwheat cover and use it as a mulch for fall garden beds. To improve soil structure and drainage, increase the soil organic matter level with compost, organic mulches, living plants, and cover crops . More information can be found on this pageOrganic Matter and Soil Amendments. About half of a healthy soil is made up of mineral particles like sand, silt and clay plus organic matter.

That is the room for air and water movement around the mineral particles. Pore space is required in order to have a healthy environment for plant roots and beneficial microorganisms and earthworms to break down plant residue into organic matter. In a garden bed, the best way to introduce organic material without digging , is to apply layers on top and let nature do the work for you. Simply pile your garden bed high with organic material – it can be wood chips, shredded paper, straw, chopped leaves, lawn clippings – whatever you can lay your hands on.

It might be slow, but the wait will give you time to get to know your land before you plant. Your soil test or extension agent can help you determine the right amount of organic matter for your soil. In following years, build on your efforts by adding 1 to 3 inches of organic mulch as a topdressing each year.1 As it decomposes, it continues to gradually improve clay soil. If a soil test reveals that your lawn is primarily clay, add new elements that will promote water absorption.

Use a till or landscaping rake to loosen and remove at least 6 inches of topsoil from the affected area. After removing that, rake the bed of your hole again to loosen the underlying soil so it mixes well with the 6-inch (15-cm) layer of organic materials that you're about to add. Then rake in a mix of compost, dead leaves, wood chips, tree bark, and horticultural sand. Amending the soil used to backfill planting holes provides questionable benefits. If any soil amendment is done in the planting hole, provide for a gradual transition of soil types .

If the backfill soil is drastically different from the existing soil, roots will not readily penetrate the soil around the planting hole. Significant textural differences in soil can also affect soil water movement. If the container growing mix is high in peat and the surrounding soil is clay, water will tend to move out of the root ball.

Excessively wet root zones may result when the tree's or shrub's root ball is high in clay content and the backfill soil contains a high level of organic matter. A slightly faster option is to cover the soil with material that is full of soil microbes, as these will speed up the process. This includes compost, worm castings, and manure – and less of the dense, harder materials such as wood chips, which take longer to decompose. Make sure to cover this 'active' compost etc with a layer of straw mulch to avoid it drying out as this will kill the useful microbes, which don't like hot sun. Deep watering once a week will also keep things moving.

After about a month you'll notice a difference and, if you keep feeding your soil every spring and autumn, it will soon be full of life and all your plants will thrive. I've been composting for over 20 years and the worm population is incredible. After cleaning my garden in the fall, I mulch with shredded leaves. In the spring I add a layer of compost which I mix with the mulch and top layer of soil before planting seeds and transplants.