QUINCY — With all the rain we have received this spring, you may have noticed some areas in your lawn or fields where water ponds. The rate at which water moves through the soil profile is influenced ...

Clay soil is found in many American gardens, but it isn't a hospitable home for all plants. If you're preparing your garden for summer, or want to grow flowers or vegetables, you might struggle. There ...

It's difficult enough to garden in heavy clay soil, but when that soil is on a slope, you face a double whammy of gardening challenges. Slopes are both hard to mow and hard to water. Worse, slopes are ...

Question: I would like to improve the heavy clay soil in my vegetable garden. A friend suggested that I till in several inches of sand to improve the drainage. Is that a good way to improve clay soil?

There are many different types of garden soil, and they all have their pros and cons. One of the more challenging soil types to work with is clay. While clay soil contains many nutrients plants need ...

When it comes to improving clay soil, sand is not the answer. “What do contractors make when they mix clay and sand? Concrete,” said Sacramento soil expert Steven Zien of Living Resources Co. “Adding ...

I was one of only two kids in my Singapore state school to join the gardening club. Yes, I was deeply uncool from a very early age. After lessons each day, we had to move around great sacks of sand ...

FARGO — I must extend an apology. As a boy gardening at our home in Lisbon, N.D., and on my grandparent’s farm between Alice and Fingal, I naively thought all soil was probably similar to ours, which ...

Nearly 75 years ago, USDA soil scientist Charles E. Kellogg wrote: “Essentially, all life depends upon the soil.” Expressing a similar sentiment, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said: “The nation that ...

If you live on a property with clay soil, then you know how hard it is to grow a lush lawn. The compact structure of this soil type makes it difficult for roots to grow and robs grass of the oxygen, ...

My childhood home sat atop a bluff overlooking the Mill Creek Valley near Quincy. The view over bucolic farm fields and pastures likely was the kicker for why my parents purchased the property. It is ...

As many of you may already know, our soil in Southeast Texas, or more specifically in Jefferson and Orange County, is not optimum for most plants and can be difficult to cultivate. Clay soil is a ...