It’s mid-August, and that means it’s a great time to start preparing your lawn and garden soil—especially here in Central Virginia, where clay-heavy soil is the norm.
The Challenge of Central Virginia’s Red Clay
Everyone in our region knows about our infamous red soil. You can have the best plants and tools, but if you don’t amend the clay before planting, your garden may never thrive.
But don’t give up on gardening just yet—there’s good news.
Why You Shouldn’t Give Up on Clay Soil
While clay soil can be frustrating, it’s actually fairly fertile. It holds nutrients well, which can benefit your plants. Instead of removing it altogether, your goal should be to amend and improve its structure.
Step One: Focus on Soil Structure
This month, focus on building better soil by improving the structure of your existing clay. That means incorporating organic matter like compost to increase drainage and root penetration, without removing all the clay.
We recommend LEAF-GRO® Compost, a high-quality soil conditioner we carry, to help with this process.
How to Amend Clay Soil When Planting
One of the best ways to improve clay soil is by amending each planting hole. Here’s a quick guide:
- Dig a hole twice the width of the plant’s root ball.
- Mix half the native clay soil with half compost (such as LEAF-GRO).
- Use this blend to backfill the hole around your plant.
Plant High for Better Drainage
A tip we always recommend: plant high. That means letting some of the root ball sit above the soil line. It improves drainage and helps prevent root rot in clay-heavy soil.
“Plant it high, it won’t die!”
Use Permatill to Improve Soil and Deter Voles
For extra drainage and protection, try adding Permatill—a crushed slate product that:
- Improves aeration and reduces compaction
- Enhances drainage
- Helps deter voles (they don’t like the texture!)
A Better Garden Starts with Better Soil
If you’ve been frustrated by your soil in the past, know that you’re not alone—and that it can be improved. A few thoughtful steps now will make a world of difference in your lawn and garden this season. Stop by The Great Big Greenhouse in Richmond for supplies and expert tips to turn red clay into garden gold.
HAPPY GARDENING AND REMEMBER “PLANT A LITTLE HAPPINESS”!!!
Thank you . What do we do for established lawns ? if we are having clay soil ?
Venu,
Good question. One way to improve lawn soil is to add a quality compost or add some pro-mix after you have core aerated the lawn. These little holes in the soil when then be filled up with compost. Thus, the beginning of adding organic matter to the soil. However, if your lawn is well established and you are happy with how it looks then there is not much you need to do for the soil. What you do want to do is start up the lawn care program in September with doing an over seeding and a starter fertilizer. Doug
I will give our landscaper a copy of this information concerning
treating Red Clay Soil. We planted a bunch of Pacific Blue Junipers
last fall and most of them survived this Red Clay Soil problems but we did have some that did not and we think this was the reason.
Your suggestions on treating the problem of our soil will be taken
seriously,
Thanks
Ray K.
Ray,
Glad that you found this blog informative. You should find my blog for next week as equally helpful. Let me know if you have any further questions. Doug
Hi Doug
My tall fescue took a hit from the heat and lack of rain this summer. My front yard has zero shade so I watered as much as I could, but could only do so much. I am core aerating the 2nd week of Sept. Than overseeding and fertilizing. Plus I am sending off my soil for testing this week. You mention adding leafgro after aerating. This means putting an 1/8 of an inch or more down and raking in, correct? We have a pretty large backyard so I’m going to have to recruit some help.
Lisa,
Wow! You are right on schedule!!! I do like to add some compost / soil amendments on the soil after aeration. The holes in the lawn will fill up with this soil amendment. In addition, after putting down the seed and fertilizer I will sometimes recommend lightly throwing some soil amendment on top of the new seed for covering ( in stead of wheat straw). This covering will stay moist thus giving the new seed some extra longer time to be moist which will help with the germination process. Thank you for taking the time to send me your question and comment. Take care, Doug
I usually am not so prepared but I have a few ugly, brown dead patches that really bother me so I’m going to get my fall lawn reno going asap! I guess my nephews will be doing some raking! Thanks for your response!
Doug, I live in a small community where my backyard is about 25’x 25’ and the grass is all crabgrass. In some areas the heat & dogs have destroyed the crabgrass. In addition to aeration & compost, must all crabgrass be pulled or removed 1st? Additionally, i’m responsible for 5’-6’ on either side of my house. One side gets lots of sun & could benefit from fall efforts, but the other side is all shade & slopes downhill making it hard for watering to help. Would appreciate your advice. Plus, does Meadows Gardens do this type of yard work? Thanks, Pam
Pam,
First, we do not do any landscape / lawn work. There are plenty of good companies in our area who do lawn work for a living. As for the crabgrass – you could see what you can remove by using a heavy rake. Just keep in mind that crabgrass is an annual grass and will be dying away. Unfortunately, there is a lot of seed on the ground that will germinate next spring.
It seems that you have two, very different areas to seed this fall. You want to be sure to find a good quality grass seed that likes sun and a good quality grass seed that likes the shade. So, be working on your prep work now – i.e. aerating, raking, etc. Then come mid-September you want to put down the grass seed and a starter fertilizer. Doug
Catching this post a year late. I heard about PermaTill, I am starting my clay “lawn” from scratch. How much PermaTill do I put down and do I add it with the topsoil along with organic material? Trying to figure out how to lay the PermaTill. I saw a video where they used a machine to “press” it into the lawn
Kyle,
Good Morning. It is now September and now is the time to concentrate our effort to rejuvenate our lawns after the stress of this past summer. One advantage that Mother Nature provided us was with all the rainfall in August. This supplied ample moisture to our soil and this makes lawn care much easier than if we were dry. You asked about Perma Til. This is a good product to help with loosening the compacted clay soil. My advice would be to rent a core aerator and double, or even triple, the aeration. Core aeration will pull out a plug of soil. This hole will help allow oxygen to get into the soil. With the aerator you can apply you apply your organic matter and perma til and work that all into the soil as deeply as possible. You don’t want all this “good” organic soil and perma til to just sit on top of the clay because that is where the grass seed roots will remain instead of going down deep during this growing season. I think you are on the right path for doing a great job to rejuvenate your lawn. Once all this soil preparation is completed then you are ready to apply grass seed and a starter fertilizer. We have the warm soil. But, you will need to supply the watering. You should see germination in just a few days. Let me know if you have any further questions. Doug