Landscaping in Compacted Soil

Probably your first line of business would be to develop a plan for what is to be planted in the yard. Different plants and trees require different soils.

Then take this plan to a nursery and talk with them. They will give you good advice on what will work and what will not. After that you'll possibly revise your landscaping plan and get a much better idea of what to do with the surface material (replace it, augment it, live with it).

Take soil sample and have it analyzed from that you can determine what you need to do to the soil. Most the soil as I remember in Florida was sandy. With shells in it, I question whether it was fill. If so it may still have a good amount of salt in it. How old is the lot?

Thanks, I will check out soil analysis, as well well as drawing up a landscape plan.

She has been in the house for 7 years and is the original owner. I understand what you mean about the salt, but do you think it's still very salty after 7 years. The puzzling part of the whole thing, to me, is the hard soil or sand....it's like almost dry cement, when it's wet (after rain) and just a little easier to work with when it's dry.

If it's as hard as you say then most likely any rain was caused to run off. Would have not been much saturation in to the ground to wash the salt out. Don't know if the property is land that was once marsh or swamp land. If it was the fill is most likely what they dug out to make canals to drain it. Lot of fine material there most of it sand and shells. If more shell then sand would be like limestone which shells form. Look up caliche. Have seen it used as a base for a road gets hard as concrete. Which maybe another reason nothing will grow.

Talking to a local well-established nursery is the best way to start. They should have some how-to pamphlets for the local area, some suggestions on plants that will do well, and some products that will help get rid of the weeds (sprays) and to keep the weeds from coming back (a pre-emergent).

In most parts of the country, when planting a tree it is advised to dig the hole to the depth of the root ball and 2 - 3 times the width of the root ball, then fill the hole half-full of planting mix for trees and shrubs, then plant the tree and create a mound so that the top of the root ball is a few inches about the ground. Pre-emergent and a few inches of mulch. Trees need a lot of water for the first couple weeks. You might ask about 'tree gator' watering systems for trees: http://www.megagro.com/treegator.htm.

You might consider renting a small tiller-cultivator if you don't have one. A few minutes of use can save an hour of back-breaking work loosening the old soil and mixing in the new.

I have a problem here I am working on - the guy that originally put the garden in had no idea.

The soil here is highly alkaline - pH above 8,0 and has little organic material in it - very tight. To grow a decent lawn requires watering for about 45 minutes per day - a real waste of water! The underground formation is fractured limestone which drains perfectly so no help there.

I am redoing the entire thing now - 500 m2 of yard plus the garden area. We will have the entire area tilled to about 100mm depth and mix in a 25mm layer of perlite plus another 25mm of organic material.

The guy with the rototiller is coming tomorrow - he is in for a bit of shock as we are on a hillside - 6 different levels - one of which you can walk into from the driveway - the rest are up stairs.

All good recommendations. Since it is not very permeable, do not forget to put in drainage beneath anything else.

You would be better off contacting your local Cornell Extension or a representative of the Soil Conservation Service in your area. Have them come out to the house in question and ask for their advice regarding soil amendment procedures and type. You can conduct a Google search to find the telephone or email addies for either rep in your area. I've employed their advice many times in the past, both in my consulting practice and for my own property. Best thing is that their services are FREE thanks to Uncle Sam's deep pockets!!!

Asking a nursery will be costly IMO since they'll want to sell sell sell everything and anything to you to make a $$$$.

First of all you are in Florida, which is little more than a giant sandbar left over from the Ice Age. That being said, are you planting a garden or ornamentals? What is the water table like? Some plants will do well in the wet while others will be screaming in terror. Sand has little or no nutritional value, so you will need to change the soil conditions at each planting. Dig the hole three times the diameter of the root ball and twice as deep. Put enough loam in the bottom so that the top of the root ball will be slightly above grade level. Use a fork to scratch up the root ball. This is important, be ruthless and mean. It promotes root growth. Place the planting in the center and back fill with more loam in six inch layers, tamping it with your hands (Like you were doing push-ups). Continue filling and tamping until you have a slightly raised mound around the trunk of the plant. Water the plant heavily and continue for three to five days. Don't drown it but weep it wet. This makes the roots grow into the surrounding loam. If the plant is tall use three stakes and ropes to help it withstand the wind while the roots firmly established. As far as the compacted "soil" goes, I have had good luck with sun-baked Georgia clay by throwing a cup of water in it every now and then while digging. Softens it up pretty good.

Take samples to your local agricultural extension service office. They can advise you on soil amendments, and they are impartial.

Till in a bunch of organic matter, then throw in earthworms to keep it loose.

local agricultural extension service office = local Cornell Extension office. Please see my post above.....

Phone number is found in the "Blue Pages" of your telephone book.

It seems that every area has the same type of thing, with different names. Some sort of government/university agricultural assistance office, with branches across the state. In Texas it used to be the A&M extension service.

CaptMoosie is right, the local landscaper has too much vested interest to be impartial.

I heard somewhere that good farmers aren't growing crops, they're growing good soil.

Just about any soil will benefit from the addition of organic mater.

For the benefits of earthworms see the last book published by Charles Darwin, The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms, with Observations on their Habits. It is available online through Project Gutenberg.

Google for Terra Preta, the best soil in the world.

It actually regenerates itself.It was developed hundreds of years ago in the Amazon by native populations to enhance the poor rain forest soil.

Beware, there are imitations that simply use charcoal, but the original soil had low-temperature formed charcoal, which is chemically very different than the high-temp process.

It also sequesters carbon, which is a feature being studied by scientists to determine exactly how it works.