Question
QUESTION: I have a fairly decent lawn but I notice that the soil seems to be very hard. I do not do any fertilizing mainly because I am pretty lazy but I was wondering if you could help me with this.  I have heard we have "Clay Soil" here (Long Island) and is this the reason that the soil is so hard?  How would you soften it?  What is the easiest thing to do?  It doesn't have to be perfect.  Thank You!  R.

ANSWER: Congratulations on your Clay Soil.

Surprised?

Clay is a WONDERFUL thing to have in your garden soil.

Yes, yes, yes -- people complain all the time about Clay.  It's hard to dig in.  It's slippery when wet.  It's so nonporous you can make soup bowls out of it.  And it's a lot of trouble to correct.

Besides, if it needs correcting, it must be a problem, right?

Urban Myth, my friend.  Clay is FILLED with vitamins and minerals!  Aluminosilicates (Al4Si4O10(OH)8) GALORE!

Since Clay particles are NEGATIVELY charged, they are able to hold POSITIVELY charged ions.  And any soil that can do that is PACKED WITH NUTRIENTS.  Calcium, Magnesum, Potassium, and other plant nutrients are positively charged ions.

Scientists give this special quality a number.  It's called the Cation Exchange Capacity - the "CEC".  The MORE CLAY you have in your soil, the HIGHER your CEC.  The HIGHER your CEC, the BETTER your soil!

Remember - The more Clay a soil has, the bigger the CEC will be.

Now that you know that, you can appreciate your Clay.  It's a selling point when it's time to sell the house - tell the Realtor about the terrific CEC.

Sandy soil may be great for drainage.  But it's the BIGGEST LOSER when it comes to Cation Exchange Capacity.  It CAN'T hold nutrients.  Any fertilizer you put on grass you try to grow in sandy soil, well, it just washes right out as you water it in.

Clay also binds soil particles and holds moisture in ways that Sandy soil can only dream of.  We won't go into that today.  Because we have other things to discuss.

Like what your Clay needs to get up to speed.  Which is: Organic Matter.  That's not as easy as sprinkling your soil with gypsum.  The topsoil on top of it will shield it from anything you put over the two of those layers.  But tilling it in is not going to work, either, even if you did not care about destroying your lawn and starting from scratch.

You need to get Organic Matter down - Peat moss, Humus, Compost, AGED Manure in a ratio of 1:1.  These will correct the spaces between the molecules and fortify your Soil with Nitrogen.

Humus is especially critical here, madam, because it injects microbes back into your soil, where they can complete the Nitrogen cycle and attract beneficial microbes, insects and Earthworms.

Clay is not the biggest problem homeowners face when they try to grow grass in high Clay soil.

Nope.

The biggest problem is that the homeowners watch the TV commercials with happy families running around on a Lawn treated with things called Weed and Feed, Turfbuilder, Grub B Gone, etc.  They think that RoundUp on the Grass is just a responsible homeowner's way of taking GOOD CARE of their
yard.

OK.  Maybe you prefer Waldbaums and Pathmark prices to the Whole Foods markups.  Maybe you simply think that organic gardening is for Granolaheads in California.

Tsk tsk, my friend.

Your Grass CAN'T grow in purified soil.

You NEED the balance of Nature - the Nitrogen cycle - the smooth, effortless, easy way that microbes and molecules work together to create a soft, healthy soil.  

So when you put grub killer (and why would you have grubs, anyway? Natural predators should be taking care of those) in the soil, you kill the microorganisms in your soil.  No more earthworms.  No more birds.  No more Nitrogen.  No tilth.  (You need tilth for healthy roots and healthy soil and moisture management.)

One day you wake up and your soil is no longer healthy.

You don't have to buy lovebeads or weak moccasins.  You just have to do a few sensible, intelligent things, done by sensible, intelligent people all over the country.

Even if your yard is too shady to grow grass, Roslyn, you should still build up your soil.  It's good for Nature.

You'll know you're on the right track when all the birds flock to your lawn for breakfast.  You'll hear them in the morning.  Compost, manure, organic matter -- these are the stuff of Ultimate Soil made of Clay.  And although you are willing to compromise, this will make your soil perfect.

But you really do need to get a soil test before you proceed.  It's a small exercise, and not expensive.  Done that yet?

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello sir, There is a lot of informatino here and I am afraid this is too technical for me. I am still worried about the Clay because it is hard and slippery and does nto seem good at all for the grass.  I read some of your information about earthworms.  How do you know if you have enough earthworms and where would you get them? Also there was a lot of informatino a few years ago about Starbucks coffee grounds but I do not see you putting that down this year.  I go there daily but I do not see any signs up there either. Also I do not know where to get a soil test.  This is somewhat overwhelming for me as the entre house is my responsibility and I cannot afford a landscaper at this time.  Please help.

Answer
Lots of questions here, my friend.  I apologize if this feels a bit overwhelming.  It's all really very simple.  Relax.  This is EASY.

About Earthworms: If you have a couple, and you rev up your soil, you will have millions in a few years. That's a good thing.  Earthworms are FANTASTIC for your soil.  They can only make it better.  We like to keep the Earthworms happy.

Starbucks Coffee Grounds are still a terrific soil amendment.  Don't worry about making the soil acidic.  Especially in your Clay Soil, they will have very little effect on the pH.  And USED Coffee Grounds are only slightly acidic.  Most people don't realize that (including people who write newspaper and magazine columns).  Take a trash container with you at the end of the day and run over to your local Starbucks and ask them for their used Coffee.  Get there before they throw it out.  It's wonderful.

If you give me your location (zipcode) I will send you an address of your local Cooperative Extension.  You can take a soil sample (full instructions are included -- this is an exercise for people who grow and mow their Lawns, not for someone with a Phd). And then you mail it in and they send you back lots of GREAT INFORMATION about what you sent in.  When they get you the analysis, let me know, and we'll go over the results.

Meantime, mow your heart out.  It's fun, it's healthy, and it will get you up close and personal with your own Grass.  rsvp