[ShilpaMann]

I have a yard that has quite a bit of clay in the soil. I am not sure how to determine how much is clay, but my perc test showed about 70 min/inch for my 3' deep hole, which I believe is "pretty bad". Digging down, the roots for my grass are ROUGHLY 6" deep, if that matters.

I am hoping to install a French drain system in my yard to deal with surface water (I cannot grade my land to make water go anywhere else), and since I am carving things up for the French drains anyways, plus my existing lawn isn't very nice in the first place, I figure I might want to try and improve my soil composition.

Issue is, I don't know what to do, or even what I should be shooting for. Should I be trying to have 6in of "nice" soil? 1ft? Should I remove the top 6in and outright replace it with superior soil? Should I just top-dress? My backyard is a bit of a bowl, which I plan to fill-in essentially, but its not like I can add 6" of soil across the entire surface.

I believe I might be able to get decent results by killing everything in my yard, bringing in a lot of new soil, then rototilling it all together, but I am not sure if that's the preferred method. Googling got me a LOT of results, and it doesn't seem as though there is a step-by-step decision process for who does what. Given soil types differ greatly, I am suspect of following a generic guideline.

 

[viva_oldtrafford]

My first question to you would be, what are your expectations? Growing grass at 1.5" is quite easy and doesn't require a lot of work when it comes to soil texture/structure. However, if your goal is to have something in the .5" territory, altering the profile may be necessary. Watch this video to get a better idea of what you're working with.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWZwbVJCNec

 

[Rockinar]

I would not mess with it. Take care of the lawn and the worms and microbes will. Take care of the rest.

Also, where is Windsor? Is that Windsor England, Windsor Canada or Windsor Kentucky?

 

[Colonel K0rn]

I would advise you to work with what you've got, and to not till up your soil. Contrary to what many newcomers might think about renovations, tilling your soil should not be the first order of business. Look into getting a soil test done to see what's going on with your soil, and then correcting the deficiencies that are present.

Check out Pete Denny of GCI Turf. He's got an amazing lawn that was built over 6 years of amendments to red North Carolina clay. That stuff is horrible to work with. @wardconnor has clay, which is horrible to work with. But what both of these men have done is amend their soils. They know what's going on with their dirt. Get your dirt right, then growing grass is easy. Heck, you can check my renovation thread, and my current lawn journal to see what steps I've taken to #getmydirtright.

That would be step 1. Step 2, where exactly are you located at?

 

[ShilpaMann]

My first question to you would be, what are your expectations? Growing grass at 1.5" is quite easy and doesn't require a lot of work when it comes to soil texture/structure. However, if your goal is to have something in the .5" territory, altering the profile may be necessary. Watch this video to get a better idea of what you're working with.

I am looking to have something "lush" in the 1.5" territory. I appear to have "silty clay", by this standard.

I would not mess with it. Take care of the lawn and the worms and microbes will. Take care of the rest.

Also, where is Windsor? Is that Windsor England, Windsor Canada or Windsor Kentucky?

I've updated my profile to be more accurate: Windsor, Ontario, Canada

I would advise you to work with what you've got, and to not till up your soil. Contrary to what many newcomers might think about renovations, tilling your soil should not be the first order of business. Look into getting a soil test done to see what's going on with your soil, and then correcting the deficiencies that are present.

Check out Pete Denny of GCI Turf. He's got an amazing lawn that was built over 6 years of amendments to red North Carolina clay. That stuff is horrible to work with. @wardconnor has clay, which is horrible to work with. But what both of these men have done is amend their soils. They know what's going on with their dirt. Get your dirt right, then growing grass is easy. Heck, you can check my renovation thread, and my current lawn journal to see what steps I've taken to #getmydirtright.

That would be step 1. Step 2, where exactly are you located at?

Thanks for the input. I don't seem to be able to find someone local to analyse my soil, but I'll keep looking.

I realise lawns aren't necessarily a quick process, but my lawn is so small, I figured resetting might be the best order of business. Seems as though I might be able to make this work "as is", so that's actually awesome. I am going to install the French-drain system regardless, but I am putting it 18" down, so it shouldn't impede much anyways.

Thanks everyone!

 

[kur1j]

@ShilpaMann There isn't really a step by step because just about every lawn is different. I'm not sure what is available in Canada for soil testing but your local ag school might offer soil testing. It is pretty common to have to mail some soil in and get your results from someone. Might try these?http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/resource/soillabs.htm

A few things that would help people is pictures and the type of grass you want to keep (if you have grass that you want to keep). Get pictures of the overall issues, weeds, drainage, thin/bare/ no grass at all, other general issues you have and where you want to head. Just hanging out in the Cool Season forum might also help as you can garner some inspiration from what others have done. Everyone is super helpful around here so asking lots of questions is the best way to go .