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Aerate the clay soil in the garden

wildlife, gardening, environment, Rural living, Pets and Vets
Nimrod103
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Re: Aerate the clay soil in the garden

#394260

Postby Nimrod103 » March 10th, 2021, 12:51 pm

88V8 wrote:
sg31 wrote:Using a moss treatment (iron sulphate) on lawns also deters worms.

Which of course is bad.

Lawns... the most time-consuming square-footage in the whole garden. Reseeding, spiking rolling weeding topdressing cutting edging .... and the chemicals, when we've largely given up applying chemicals to our ornamentals, fruit, veg.

Our lawns here... come on, be honest, our grass, are full of moss. The topsoil is free-draining but over clay which is not.

Two autumns ago I went over the back lawn with a powered scarifier, then treated it all with an iron sulphate solution in measured quantities.
The lawn is a very irregular shape, so I measured each area, pegged it out, evenly applied the correct quantity with a watering can... took two days.

Now, the moss is as bad as ever.

Usually, the objection to moss is that it dries out in summer, browns off and looks unsightly. Not here it doesn't, it's never that dry.
So I've decided to embrace the moss.

Anyone want a scarifier?

V8


I have much the same problem. But moss does not only like damp ground with poor drainage. It particularly likes shade, and I'm afraid so many modern gardens are shaded by high fences, big hedges and trees. If we could only return to a time when neighbours didn't want to be entirely cut off from each other, and the sun could penetrate into our small plots.

sg31
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Re: Aerate the clay soil in the garden

#394341

Postby sg31 » March 10th, 2021, 5:21 pm

Nimrod103 wrote:
I have much the same problem. But moss does not only like damp ground with poor drainage. It particularly likes shade, and I'm afraid so many modern gardens are shaded by high fences, big hedges and trees. If we could only return to a time when neighbours didn't want to be entirely cut off from each other, and the sun could penetrate into our small plots.


I would build a perimeter wall with battlements and machine gun towers to keep one of my neighbours out.

My garden is heavy clay and I had a severe moss problem. I've scarified it in sections, (it's just under an acre of grass), treated with iron sulphate and largely been successful ....so far. One section still to do about the size of a suburban garden.

The moss has come back strongly in one section about 20' x 30'. I was going to treat it a few times over winter but life got in the way. I'll get round to it soon.

The farm next door has the same soil and looks moss free so I asked the farmer for his advice. He said keeping the ph level right was important. Apparently grass doesn't like alkaline soil but tolerates it much better than moss so it's just about hitting that sweet spot.

My soil is acid so I did add some lime last year but couldn't get hold of enough due to covid. I've got some more but the total quantity I need is a lot, buying it in 20kg bags is too expensive. The farmer buys in loose lorry loads, I'm hoping he will take pity on me and let me buy from him at cost. :D

If not I'll buy a few bags at a time and keep doing so until the moss goes away. A mixture of moss and occasional iron sulphate treatments should do the trick.

dspp
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Re: Aerate the clay soil in the garden

#394381

Postby dspp » March 10th, 2021, 6:54 pm

JohnB wrote:Using spiked overshoes helps the aeration in the top 2 inches which should make the grass more vigorous and suppress the moss. Its quite satisfying clomping round and round the lawn in them.


Is there a way of strapping these to the dog ? Solve two problems in one go .........

regards, dspp

Charlottesquare
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Re: Aerate the clay soil in the garden

#395326

Postby Charlottesquare » March 13th, 2021, 10:17 pm

Nimrod103 wrote:
88V8 wrote:
sg31 wrote:Using a moss treatment (iron sulphate) on lawns also deters worms.

Which of course is bad.

Lawns... the most time-consuming square-footage in the whole garden. Reseeding, spiking rolling weeding topdressing cutting edging .... and the chemicals, when we've largely given up applying chemicals to our ornamentals, fruit, veg.

Our lawns here... come on, be honest, our grass, are full of moss. The topsoil is free-draining but over clay which is not.

Two autumns ago I went over the back lawn with a powered scarifier, then treated it all with an iron sulphate solution in measured quantities.
The lawn is a very irregular shape, so I measured each area, pegged it out, evenly applied the correct quantity with a watering can... took two days.

Now, the moss is as bad as ever.

Usually, the objection to moss is that it dries out in summer, browns off and looks unsightly. Not here it doesn't, it's never that dry.
So I've decided to embrace the moss.

Anyone want a scarifier?

V8


I have much the same problem. But moss does not only like damp ground with poor drainage. It particularly likes shade, and I'm afraid so many modern gardens are shaded by high fences, big hedges and trees. If we could only return to a time when neighbours didn't want to be entirely cut off from each other, and the sun could penetrate into our small plots.


Easier said than done, we live in a tree conservation area (Victoria Park, Edinburgh), this means to lop and prune any tree over 8 inch diameter at chest height needs permission from our planning department, in the old days I just wrote to the local tree warden , told him the extent of work I intended to do and he wrote back saying go ahead, now I have to submit a ground plan (to scale) with all supporting pictures etc so as I cannot be bothered with the faff I have not bothered pruning now for just over ten years (our pear tree has a trunk of circa 20inches at chest height and I suspect has been in the ground a very, very long time)

TimeBomb
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Joined: July 4th, 2023, 11:05 am

Re: Aerate the clay soil in the garden

#626341

Postby TimeBomb » November 9th, 2023, 11:01 am

When it comes to backfilling the cores, a combination of topsoil, compost, and sand is a smart choice.

TimeBomb
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Joined: July 4th, 2023, 11:05 am

Re: Aerate the clay soil in the garden

#626342

Postby TimeBomb » November 9th, 2023, 11:03 am

And NapoleonD, even though it's been a couple of years since your post, I hope your garden has seen some positive changes. Aeration is a smart way to tackle compacted clay soil. Backfilling the cores with a mixture of topsoil, compost, and sand is a great choice to improve soil quality.

If you tried planting creeping thyme, it would have added a unique and visually appealing touch to your garden. As for keeping dogs, toddlers, and teenagers off the seeded area, I hope you found practical solutions like temporary fencing or garden netting.

Gardening is an ongoing journey, and I hope your efforts have paid off, creating a more vibrant and enjoyable outdoor space for you and your family.

Dicky99
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Re: Aerate the clay soil in the garden

#626355

Postby Dicky99 » November 9th, 2023, 11:53 am

For a lawn founded on clay the most viable form of soakaway is good thick layer of well draining gritty topsoil with a healthy thick growth of grass on top of that. That will absorb and hold as much water as a pit type soakaway in all but extreme conditions. Once the grass and topsoil becomes degraded and compacted and the clay is just below the surface the regular puddling will prevent the grass from coming back.
I saw one of these garden rescue progs recently, might have been Alan Titchmarsh. They laid a reinforced lawn by laying cellular mats, barrowing and spreading new topsoil to fill the cells and laying new turf on top. The beneficiary was a fire fighter and wanted a lawn suitable for doing regular exercise on.
Sounds like that might be a good solution for you too.


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