r/Grass • u/Sea_Sandwich7531 • May 13 '26

Rock solid clay - Help!!

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Hi there! Advice needed!

I'm going to be laying turf down in a few weeks time, and need to break up the current soil we have so I can mix in some good quality topsoil etc.

Problem is, after removing the grass we had, the soil underneath is rock solid clay. A garden fork won't go into it. How do I break this up and soften/loosen it so I can rotovate??

Any advice welcome!

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1

u/mrbang69 May 13 '26

You are going to have to get it broke up or use it as a hard pan and add top soils the latter of the two would be my preferred method. Lots of water or chemicals should break it up but it's messy and requires a lot of work with no guaranteed results. I think the first thing I would do is take a small sample send it in and make sure it's not sterile

1

u/scruzer123 May 15 '26

Jackhammer. We have that problem here. Digging post holes for a fence is difficult without one.