As a lawn care business owner, I visit anywhere from 80 to 100+ properties each week. You soon get to see where issues are and what causes them. New build property lawns are often laid on rubble, or heavy clay. Sometimes both!
So, how do you go about improving clay soil lawns?
The easy way is to start adding soil conditioners and so forth and making gradual improvements, but if you are looking for something more drastic and faster, you might be interested in this particular lawn care tip if your turf lays on clay.
I read about a technique that seemed to work.. really well.. over in America, so wanted to share this little tip with you that can help you deal with heavy clay in your new build lawn pretty quick, where drainage becomes a major issue and grass suffers.
In this video, I have shared footage from another channel called "No Filter reviews". The video I shared footage from can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfR3Zi7PUyo - This video shows exactly what I am suggesting you try on your own lawn.
****** BEWARE..... you run the risk of drilling down into service pipes and utilities, so I am putting in this disclaimer that I am not responsible for any pipework (or any other utility or service) which you could inadvertently drill into and cause a major issue). You should try to locate these, and if worried, avoid that area or reduce how deep you drill. ********
If you find that your auger bit/hand drill combo can't handle the heavy clay (as it will be tough going) you will need to upgrade the equipment, possibly by looking to buy or hire a dedicated post hole borer that can take thin auger bits around 1 inch wide each.
Method:
1: Once you are sure the ground is safe to drill, first cut off the turf and put to one side
2: Drill down, coming up to allow the clay to come up and out. Aim to drill down through any clay levels to soil underneath
3: Fill the hole with a mixture of soil, compost and organic matter such as leaves/potato peels etc.
