Yard

Question

Our yard is either extremely wet and mushy, or hard and cracked. There is little in between! About the first 6″ are soft, and from then on it is hard as rock. The grass isn’t pretty! What can I do to fix it?

Answer 1

It sounds as if you might have a hardpan layer under the 6" of soil, leading to drainage problems. Sometimes it is possible to drill through hardpan, other times it is possible to add drainage tiles or to improve drainage and plant health by adding more soil on top to raise the level of the ground. These articles will give you some advice:

http://goodlifegarden.ucdavis.edu/blog/2011/08/how-to-improve-your-soil-drainage/
sacmg.ucanr.edu/files/163130.pdf
http://ceventura.ucanr.edu/Gardening/Coastal/Landscape_578/Hardpan/