The Grass Doctor

I have a clay waterlogged garden and want a lawn this year. I also have a dog...?

I have moved into a house with a back garden that is mainly grass. It appears to be mostly clay and has become waterlogged and a complete mess (with the dog in and out over it too). I would like to have a lawn if possible this year and I wondered which you think is the best way to cheaply and quickly deal with the clay / lawn problem. I had considered removing top few inches, then sand & lime dug in, sand surface, raked flat & then turfed ??? BTW Do not want to spend more than ness as the house is rented only. Just to make sense of the dog statement - the dog goes in and out of course and an additional problem at the moment is that he is walking this wet soil in and out if we don't stop him. What benefit is Lime in this situation if any?

Public Comments

1. Sand tilled into the soil will help. I would use sand. Sometimes a pipe under the ground with rocks for "tile drainage" is necessary.
2. if you have a good slpe to your ground , dig a trenvh about a foot deep inthe wetest part of the lawn for as far asit takes to get ou of the lawn. get 4 inch flrxible drain pipe it is fairly cheap about 40.00 for a hundred foot roll. lay it in the ditch , then fill over with gravel stone within about 4 inches from topof ground level. this will let the water drain down through the rocks into the pipe and it should dry up your lawn. i forgot to tellyou get the drain pipe with the holes in it also finish filling the trenvh with some topsoil not clay. i do this kind of work on the side and i have put quite a few of these in they work well. hope this is of some help.
3. In a short period of time, not wanting to invest much money I suggest you add equal parts of sand and topsoil to your yard and till it well into the first 12 inches of soil. You can hydroseed, or just broadcast seed and cover with straw or hay. You will need to be vigilant on watering but should take the first year. You can use Kentucky Blue with rye mixed in for a full lawn in short order. I would not suggest drainage piping because you would need to do this in about a 6 foot grid over the entire lawn area to benefit and you are doing nothing to improve the soil.
4. If the clay situation is that bad, you probably will have to devise some sort of drainage, "run off". Additionally, you might t