Question
our yard soil in our house purchased about 2 yrs ago is high in clay content.  what can i do this spring to fix it before i reseed?  i want to be ready with a plan.  

Answer
First Don, Congratulations on your superior wisdom for selecting a house with Clay Soil.

The secret's out about Clay.  We should ALL be that lucky to have High-Clay-Content in our Backyard.  This is the stuff of dreams.

Yes, I know, this is not something you hear often.  Most People can't complain enough about the Clay at home.  Because Most People think Clay Soil is Problem Soil.

But did you know that Clay is basically made up of Vitamins and Minerals?  Hydrous Silicate Compounds which are masters at magnetically pulling molecules of Calcium, Magnesum, Potassium and other plant nutrients.  Botanists call this a soil's "Cation Exchange Capacity" - its "CEC".  The more Clay in your soil, the Bigger your CEC.

If you are unfortunately stuck with Sandy Soil, you are beginning with a Low CEC.

So, Don, 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 around your house.

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.

So thank the Lord for your Clay.

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.

First:  Your Clay needs 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, Bill, 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 grass 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 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, Don.

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.)

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, Don, 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.

There's a lot to digest here.  Sorry 'bout that.  If you need clarification, please let me know and I'll get into the Chemistry.  Hard to follow? Yes.

Will it work?

Totally.

Keep in touch.