In many gardens and lawns, clay soils pose a difficult challenge in which to grow. Plants and lawns will still grow but it is important to know how to fix clay soil for the garden and lawn to flourish. The structure of clay is often so dense that water does not permeate it. Water puddles. Clay soil drainage is slow. The result is starving out oxygen and water to the plants root system.
The process to fix clay soil can be a slow and arduous. Digging in amendments such as sand, lime or gypsum can provide some temporary relief. In the long run they can be detrimental. Sand is often recommended because the particle size is large and is believed to keep soil particles apart. The fine clay particles work their way around the stand. Clay can become even harder with this extra support.
Fix Clay Soil
Lime is used to fix clay soil. If you have acidic soil such as Georgia Red Clay the lime can help reduce it. This will eventually be lost in areas with high rainfall. But most clay is alkaline and adding lime will make things worse. It can create alkaline tie up. This is when nutrients are trapped in the clay. Lime is used on construction sites such as road beds to make the soil dense and dry. This is exactly the opposite of what we want in our lawns and gardens.
Gypsum is also a popular amendment to fix clay soil. It reacts with sodium present in a lot of clay soils. This sodium breaks clay apart into fine particles. The fine particles make clay dense. Gypsum temporarily holds the sodium. This usually lasts for only a few months. The calcium in gypsum can add to the alkalinity of alkaline soil making it worse.
We always encourage the use of compost. However clay soil usually has poor microbial activity. The compost can take a long time to process to extract nutrients.
ClayMend can help fix clay soil in many areas. It is a liquid that is easy to apply. It can get down in the soil in gardens and lawns. The effects have long term benefits so repeated applications can have added benefits. ClayMend gives back to the soil. It helps improve the environment so microbes can flourish. This helps accelerate breakdown of compost. Nutrients from the compost are stored in the soil. The organic acids help control sodium in the soil. The microbial activity helps permanently lock the sodium to the soil.
ClayMend helps restructure clay
The microbial activity encouraged by ClayMend helps restructure clay. The fine particles that make clay dense join together into aggregates. These larger sand and silt size particles help build the porous structure of the soil. Since the fine particles are used to build the aggregates they are no longer available to surround these larger particles. This soil structure is longer lasting than other amendments.
For your garden and lawn to remain healthy, more compost can be added in the soil or as a top dressing. Mulching when mowing your lawn can also help. Contact our experts today here at HumicGreen and let us help you create the rich organic soil gardeners and homeowners dream about.
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