QUESTION: “I am very interested to get more information on soil conditioners that can help with soil that is compacted from new construction and also contains a large amount of clay. The soil in our planting beds and also under our lawn is heavily compacted about 6 inches below the surface. The developers did not put down sufficient top soil before placing the sod so we've been fighting a constant battle to aerate our soil to promote root growth for plants and grass. “We do have the soil aerated once a year (do you recommend more often?) and my husband has also been sprinkling a top soil/grass seed mix over the lawn once a year. The lawn has improved, but there is still a lot of thatch (we now bag instead of mulch because the thatch never breaks down, even in our full sunlight lawn). We rented a dethatcher last spring and it seemed like it pulled up almost our entire lawn! It came back and did look better, but it was so much work and now the problem seems to be starting again.” – Stacey M. Eid ANSWER: Soil conditioners can help to soften the soil in some areas so that it will percolate better. I recommend them for small areas. For an entire lawn such as yours, you may want to take further action to resolve the problem and build up the soil to make it healthier. We have had a lot success with Green Tek Eco products. They now offer Organic Solutions 123. This includes one gallon of Green Tek Total, one quart of Green Tek Soil Conditioner, and one pound of Green Tek Calcium. Green Tek Total is a soil inoculant to help build a healthier soil, the Green Tek Soil Conditioner will loosen and aerate the soil, and the Green Tek Calcium adds minerals important for growing plants. You can find this 3-part treatment by Googling “Organic Solutions 123” or contact me for shopping information. If you go this route, I would recommend also aerating four times or more a year and also removing the thatch buildup. I found a very useful article from the University of Illinois on lawn thatch and how to deal with it. Go to http://urbanext.illinois.edu/lawnchallenge/lesson5.html or click on a link when you find this column at my Web site, www.landsteward.org To be frank, further action would include tilling lots and lots of organic matter into your lawn (going down 6 inches at least) followed by regular aerating and dethatching. This would have you basically starting a new lawn from scratch and can be frustrating! QUESTION: “You recently wrote a column reviewing some gardening books. Can you think of any books that might get my first and second grader grandchildren interested in gardening?” – Michael ANSWER: Your timing is perfect. I have just received a review copy of “Strega Nona’s Harvest” written and beautifully illustrated by Tomie dePaola. It’s a fun and colorful book that kids will love to read along with Grandpa. It’s a humorous tale where Strega Nona tries to teach Big Anthony about gardening, but when he does not follow her directions and tries to use Strega Nona’s “growing spell,” his small garden turns into an unruly jungle. Fortunately, she’s there to help put things right. “Strega Nona’s Harvest” would make a very appropriate gift to read together at Thanksgiving while digesting the turkey and pumpkin pie. It’s published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons as part of the Penguin Young Readers Group. Speaking of gift books, here’s one that is certainly too “heavy” (in both senses of the word) for young readers but would be prized by more mature gardeners. Simply called “Bulb” by Anna Pavord, it provides a personal guide to 600 bulbous plants. Arranged alphabetically from Acis to Zigadenus, this hefty and handsome volume is beautifully illustrated by photographer Andrew Lawson. “Bulb” is published by Mitchell Beazley. “Bulb” could make a very welcome Holiday gift for the dedicated garden enthusiast on your list… and the Holidays are only a couple of months away! The Plant Man is here to help. Send your questions about trees, shrubs and landscaping to steve@landsteward.org and for resources and additional information, including archived columns, visit www.landsteward.org.
