Soil, Sand and SOD

There are three basic types of soil: clay, sand and loam.

Loam is a combination of clay, silt, sand and organic matter, and is the best and easiest soil to work with. It has the most diverse combination of materials, giving it the richest soil. Clay, which holds water too long, and sand, which doesn’t hold water long enough, can impose limitations on how your yard can be landscaped. Because loam has both, it balances the soil out so it holds the proper amount of water, and the silt and organic matter don’t hurt either. Clay and sand can be improved by adding the missing organic matter, which includes everything from yard clippings to barnyard materials such as straw and manure (once it has been composted, of course) . The richer your soil is, the darker it will be.

To start new lawns, many people wonder which is better: laying sod or sowing grass seed. While seeding is cheaper and offers a wider variety of grass types, many people are won over to laying sod by two convincing arguments: laying sod is fast and produces high-quality new lawns. In fact, laying sod is so fast, it’s fair to say it gives you an “instant lawn.”