Garden enthusiasts are all too familiar with the trials of clay soil – it’s a notorious challenge for planting and can leave your green space more swamp than sanctuary. But fear not, an ecologist has unearthed a nifty trick to give your garden a new lease of life.
Clay soil might be chock-full of nutrients for plants, but its dense nature makes it a tough nut to crack when it comes to digging and cultivation, and it’s slow to heat up come summertime, causing plant growth to lag behind, according to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).
This type of soil is largely composed of fine mineral particles, which results in a slick, sticky texture that’s not exactly a friend to good drainage.
But there’s hope yet, thanks to ecologist and botanist Becky Searle, who’s taken to TikTok to dish out her top tips for perking up problematic soil.
Posting under the handle @sowmuchmore, the green-thumbed whizz revealed: “Over the next few months, I’m going to be doing something of an experiment into a no dig lawn in my garden.”
She elaborates on the plight of her own backyard, saying: “My garden has a serious problem in that the lawn is built on heavy clay soil with very little topsoil.
“Even though there are drainage systems underneath the lawn, when it rains the water just stands on the surface and it creates a really boggy, slippery, sticky area where no plants can grow. This isn’t very pleasant for any of us.”
The clip showed Becky working hard in her garden, spreading rich earth with dedication as she said: “So here I am, spreading one and a half dumpy bags of council green waste over my lawn to add some organic matter.”
The savvy gardener shared that this technique entices the soil’s critters upwards to munch on the organic buffet.
Becky further explained: “As it comes to the surface and goes back down again having eaten, it’ll open up pores in the soil and this will help aerate the soil and it’ll help to improve the drainage.”
The Royal Horticultural Society has given a thumbs up to this method, asserting that compost not only betters the soil makeup but also enhances its oxygen levels, biodiversity, and contributes to resolving sticky clay soil issues.
Summing up her horticultural activity, Becky asserted this wasn’t so much a test but more an exercise in proven practice, saying she’s “confident” in seeing positive results yet again based on previous successes.
Better Homes and Garden advises garden enthusiasts to begin by loosening the soil with a tiller, then laying about two inches of compost. This should be integrated into the topsoil layer.
It’s recommended that the whole enriching procedure is done a total of three times for maximum effectiveness. Regularly embracing organic matter, as highlighted by a gardening site, elevates the structure, fertility, and health of the ground.
Becky’s fans swarmed the comments under her video with eager thoughts, including one inspired watcher who penned: “I am very interested how this turns out. I have a lawn with poor drainage, just turns boggy with heavy rain.”
Another user advised: “I would recommend adding some sand, the sand breaks up the clay soil. You need to add it in spring and autumn for a few years.”
Becky hit back saying: “Sand can be awful on clay, it turns it into concrete. I’ve got quite a lot of experience using this method on lots of types of soil.”
Weeks later, another user curiously enquired: “Has the grass poked through yet? Thinking of doing mine but have dogs so wonder how long I’d have to wait before leaving them back on.” To which Becky excitedly responded: “Yes! Almost have a full lawn now.”
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.
