If you want a great lawn, you need to understand what your seeds or sod are growing into. Healthy roots want three things: oxygen (space/air to breath), moisture, and nutrients.
Generally, there are two types of soil: Clay and Sandy. Each of these substrates has its own set of challenges.
Sandy Soil Seeps Out Moisture
If your property is sandy, moisture and nutrients will simply seep right through your soil leaving your grass thirsty and without any nutrients to thrive on. Drought tolerant weeds, like thistle, may also crop up into these spaces, and soil erosion is common. Sandy soil is the enemy of healthy lawns. In order to stay healthy, the grass needs nutrient-rich soil that holds moisture and provides space for their roots to grow into.
Without any assistance, your grass will languish leaving an area that needs to be constantly watered and plants that are continually stressed.
Solution: If you have sandy soil, add in amendments like manure, compost, and rich loam that will infuse the area with nutrients and encourage moisture to remain in the soil.
Clay Compresses Growth
If you find it hard to dig into your ground, you most likely have clay soil. Clay soil rolls into a ball easily, it can feel lumpy and sticky when wet and tends to crack when dry. Although this soil tends to be high in nutrients, it is so dense that the roots of your lawn will have a difficult time reaching them.
The challenge with clay is that its structure is so rigid that it won’t permit grass roots to grow. The soil needs to be broken down so that nutrients and plant growth can enter these spaces.
Solution: To enhance the structure of clay soil, Earth elements recommend using a 30/70 blend which consists of 30% sand and 70% organics/peat. This combination will help to break down the barrier in clay soil and encourage longer root growth.
Provide a Healthy Base with Top Dressing
If you already have an existing lawn, you don’t want to rip up all that turf. This is where top dressing comes in-adding a nutrient-dense layer to your soil to help encourage healthy growth for the spring and into the summer. Top dressing is a thin layer, ¼ to ½ inch of organic matter that is gently raked into the soil.
Are you still feeling stumped? Don’t worry, our team at Earth Elements are here to support you. We are more than happy to come out to your property, test your soil, and determine exactly what it needs to create a healthy foundation for your grass to grow into.
