Preparing Sloping Front Yard for Turf

jorog90 on 06/09/2021 - 16:45

My front yard is very heavy clay a slopes approx 1.2 meters from top to bottom over about 8m.
At the bottom I have a French drain with ag pipe and surface water drain.
I am planning to get 20cm of clay/soil scraped out, 15cm of good 80/20 brought in, then lay turf on top.
I've seen a lot of articles online that say you should also turn over/cultivate heavy clay soils to assist with drainage.

But on a slope, with a French drain and surface water drain at the bottom, does drainage into the clay base really matter?
To me it seems like not cultivating could be a better idea because it would allow all the water to run down the hard clay surface and in to the french drain?

Does any one have any thoughts or recommmendations on this?

Thank you very much!

Home & Garden

Comments

  • ihbh on 06/09/2021 - 17:11
    +3

    Mix a lot of gypsum into the clay.

    • jorog90 on 06/09/2021 - 17:22

      Do I need to cultivate though? and why? I thought you had to cultivate for drainage, but I have a french drain at the bottom of the hill so why do I need to improve cultivate the whole lawn?

  • Catullus on 06/09/2021 - 18:52

    Hire a 4 inch digger, cut slots across the fall about 300 deep, every 2 meters ,put concertina pipe 50-75 and cover with 50mm coarse sand before you backfill. Top whole area with 50mm of chook manure if you can get it, or 50mm of sand mixed with dynamic lifter or similar. Turf whole area or strip turf 1 in 4 to save money, and time, top dress sand etc similar after 3months to level the bumps.

  • chriskq on 06/09/2021 - 21:37

    whats at the base of the slope I.E. if the low point is on the house side and not at the rear boundary or front boundary then mixing gypsum into clay sub surface should be done i think. Otherwise taking 15cm off and replacing with top soil mix should suffice with the french drain. Not point going over board.

  • frostface on 07/09/2021 - 08:26
    +1

    I don’t think you need to do much else due to the slope you have. The water will soak up in the clay soil but will pool at the lowest point, as long as your French drain is doing the job I think the cultivation is pointless. Cultivation is worthwhile on a flat lawn, but not sure it will do much on a slope.

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