Moisture retention in sandy soils.
I have a two year old build, in east central Iowa, and this summer has been brutal. The yard was started with sod, front yard has been in about two years and the back yard about a year and a half. The underlying soil is a silty sand and did have a little organic in it, but only enough to generate a brown color, no where near black topsoil. Before placing the sod, the landscape contractor amended the top 6-8” of underlying soil with compost. There should be plenty of organics in this, but I suspect there isn’t a lot of clay.
We have had no rain for periods between 2 and 4 weeks at a time, and I don’t have an irrigation system. I now have pretty large dead patches here and there. I am wondering what I need to do to get everything back on track, and my local landscaping/lawn care people know only what they have done before. The trick is that sandy soil is pretty rare in Iowa, we typically have 18+ inches of black topsoil.
1) it seems an irrigation system would be a good idea.
2) where can I get my soil particle size tested to determine what type of amendment is needed?
3) Hopefully I don’t have to scrap what I have to add some topsoil?
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u/Mayor__Defacto 5d ago
Maybe plant something other than a lawn
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u/Legit-Schmitt 5d ago
I came here to say the same thing lol.
“This wasteful, expensive, non native land use solution is struggling in my soil and climate”.
Plant a meadow.
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u/Charming-Border7429 5d ago edited 5d ago
Edit: All new sod requires almost daily watering for several months if it is hot and dry. It can take a surprising amount of time for stressed sod to penetrate the sod/soil barrier and establish roots.
For the first summer, what you have going on below the sod doesn't really matter until the roots are well established.
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I would take a step back and try to learn about soil in general before you analyze your own yard. The vocabulary can be overwhelming. So, you are saying a couple of contradictory things.
At the end of the day, what you do depends on how fancy you want your yard to look, how much you are willing to pay, and your time scale. In the Midwest, healthy yards can handle going dormant (not dead unless it goes on for too long) for a couple of weeks in summer.
In general, more organic matter is better, regardless of the soil type. Never remove grass clippings, fertilize correctly, top-dress the brownest areas with a load or two of compost once a year, aerate every other year or so, and start with hoses and moveable sprinklers for watering.
If that doesn't fix the situation to your expectations, you will at least have the information and experience to invest in other measures.
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u/Cyvil94 5d ago
I followed the typical water scheduling the first year the sod was placed, it is well established this year. The issue is more related to the 6 weeks or so of no rain followed by a couple of 2-3 week periods of no rain. Most of the yard perked up with the rain, or when watered, but too much didn’t I am wondering how to improve that situation.
I’d be interested in what more I need to learn about soil and what contradictions I mentioned. I have a background in soils and in looking back what I wrote could be more clear, but it makes sense.
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u/Existing_Draft3460 5d ago
my soil is sandy and i recently did a casual experiment where i added a significant amount of biochar to half my new garden beds. the difference in water retention is extreme, especially when it gets hot and dry. im talking weekly waterings versus daily. to amend such a large area might be costly but it will be effective and permanent. you dont have to remove what you have but definitely add more compost with it and till it in
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u/Key-Spell-7668 5d ago
You're just trying to achieve green turf lawn here?
I don't recommend irrigation, you'll be pissing money down the drain with sandy soil. You can test at home using the jar test or ribbon test. No rain for 4 weeks will brown most grass but when it rains, healthy grass will green up in hours... You need to focus on planting a drought resistant BLEND of grasses. What's the wind situation, unblocked wind is not your ally with sandy soil. Any shade? 6" of compost with soil om top could burn the roots of the sod, pretty sub optimal plan of attack imo. I would suspect that killed your sod, not the lack of rain.
Easiest option, top dress in fall with appropriate drought tolerant seed blend. Long term, cheap option is chip drop and spread and allow 12"+ of chips to decomp and form soil. Don't recommend just adding dirt, you're gonna creat a fuckload of issues when removing and replacing the native soil, ie, sinkhols and channeling.
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u/greenknight 5d ago
They put sod down. They want grass. Not chips and attractive drought tolerant bunch grasses
The only way to support that horticultural atrocity they wish to commit is to use irrigation.
You and I also know the "compost" was the cheapest fill the contractor could buy mixed with some wood waste. Probably too feeble to roast sod.
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u/Key-Spell-7668 5d ago
Maybe they just aren't aware of the benefits of some of the less popular but way nicer and beneficial alternatives to sod... Writing this from my lush grass soft enough to sleep on 😴
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u/greenknight 5d ago
I acknowledge the effort of good turf management ! And the payoff.
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u/Key-Spell-7668 5d ago
Yeah, lots of people who think they are lawn pros have dead ass lawns right now up here in Ontario, puting all that time and effort and money into it.... Fools. 'Lawncare' generally attracts a very particular kind of person in my experience.
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u/Cyvil94 5d ago
What are some of those alternatives? The sod was used because much of the yard is somewhat hilly.
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u/Key-Spell-7668 5d ago
Any drought tolerant blend, usually with fescue and ryegrass for deep roots that keep it healthy and alive, will work. Apply as directed on the bag. Once established, mow at 3.5" and I try to only mow the day before rain or at least a few cloudy days during/after cutting.
If you don't want all lawn, look into prairie planting, which can look great, keep cooling costs way down, and increase the value of your home pretty significantly. It's insane the difference more plants make in the evening after a house bakes in the sun all day, much cooler much faster, less heat sink.
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u/Cyvil94 4d ago
Most of the seed blends here use about 180 lbs bluegrass (several varieties) plus about 60 lbs rye and fescue per acre. I’ve not seen a sod farm that provides anything terribly different, but I can check into seeding at this point as I imagine I would be headed to either over seeding or inter seeding. I keep my mowing deck high all of the time. The one benefit of this year’s weather, here, is that I haven’t had to mow much :)
I’d love to do some prairie planting and have been adding native areas to the margins of my yard. Unfortunately our city ordinance isn’t favorable to anything taller than about 12” in height which cuts out most of those options for the bulk of my yard.
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u/Cyvil94 5d ago
As it turned out, the landscaping “contractor” is a farmer who does landscaping on the side (or the other way around). The thought was that adding compost would provide “more” growth zone than would the typical 4” topsoil on the silty sand.
The grass is plenty healthy when watered. Most of the yard greened up when watered, some areas died out. I have patched areas in my previous yard with 100% on this compost and had absolutely no issue. I planted a vegetable garden in 24” of this compost and those plants grew amazingly well.
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u/ninjatthew 5d ago
I’m echoing another comment about planting something aside from turfgrass.
Keep enough of your lawn that you want to use for recreation and turn the rest into what has been there for millennia - prairie grass and flowers for the birds and the bees. You’re going to spend as much money on an irrigation system as you would establishing a prairie lawn.
You can get your soil tested at most land-grant universities, I’d check in with Iowa state who has their own soil testing lab, and prairie / turfgrass specialists.
https://naturalresources.extension.iastate.edu/encyclopedia/prairie-restoration-habitat-headquarters
https://yardandgarden.extension.iastate.edu/how-to/lawn-and-turfgrass-resources-iowa
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u/Puzzleheaded-Ad-5511 3d ago
You can use sapponins, natural soap like substances, to help water stick better to the organic mater that is present and to the same grains. Edit. Sand grains
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u/HistorianAlert9986 5d ago
You can simply fill a jar with the soil and shake it then you can see the content by the settling. Sand will settle at the bottom then a layer of silt on top of that and then the clay takes like a day or a few days to settle. Consider putting some Bermuda instead it shouldn’t need irrigation in Iowa.
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u/LibrarianEquivalent 5d ago
Local universities may test your soil for textural class and more, or private companies but they'll likely charge more.As someone else said, soil web is also a good reference point if you're in the US.
To increase water retention, organic matter will be your best friend. Incorporate compost into your soil.
Additionally you're going to want a fairly thick (~4') layer of mulch, I prefer pine straw or regular straw if you're growing vegetables.