Kurt V. Ullman wrote:
....
This is all in full or near full sun. The ground is heavy in clay, but I
have aerated it every year since we bought the place 29 years ago. There
are still some areas where the ground is like cement.

after 29yrs?

there's a few things that make clay tough to
have in a lawn, but you can often work around
them.

when you core that area put down some extra
organic materials (compost is best) and rake it
a bit to get it into the holes before the clay
plugs break down and return there instead.

mow higher and don't remove the clippings.

don't mow the area when it is too wet as
that compacts the soil (especially for clays).

encourage or add worm species that will improve
drainage (but they do need the organic material
from mowing left behind). if your area is not
environmentally sensitive and you can bring in
night crawlers they will improve your drainage
but they need to be transplanted with a little
work. they don't start new burrows easily so
you have to dig up several areas and then put
them under several inches of soil so they have
a chance to start their burrows (when you see a
night crawler away from its burrow after it rains
that usually means it's in trouble). worms are
bacterial factories and help break down dead
organic materials (which helps reduce problems
fungal diseases).

as for fungicides and such, often a pointless
expense as the fungi spread easily on the wind
and rains.


songbird