Need help for a run on a sloped yard

[BDutch]

Whatever you do, do NOT add sand to the mix! You’d end up with concrete!

And create a waterfall.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Whatever you do, do NOT add sand to the mix! You’d end up with concrete!

Only if you also add cement to the mix. I've read that before and it is just not right. The best soil for runs has enough sand in it so it drains instead of holds water like clay. You do not have to add sand but adding sand will not turn it into concrete. It may help a clay run from setting up hard as concrete after it gets wet.

Have you ever been to a sandy beach? Those do not turn into concrete when it rains. Why would people set playground equipment in sand if it were going to turn into concrete.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Only if you also add cement to the mix. I've read that before and it is just not right. The best soil for runs has enough sand in it so it drains instead of holds water like clay. You do not have to add sand but adding sand will not turn it into concrete. It may help a clay run from setting up hard as concrete after it gets wet.

Have you ever been to a sandy beach? Those do not turn into concrete when it rains. Why would people set playground equipment in sand if it were going to turn into concrete.

Well, I have to admit that when I lived in Knoxville and was planting azalea beds, I ignorantly and enthusiastically dug sand into the native red clay, and it became very near to concrete.

That’s when I learned to dig hardwood mulch into clay instead of sand to improve the tilth.

Most clay soils are incredibly fertile. It’s just that the individual clay particles are so tiny that they don’t allow for air pockets around the roots, which are critical for plants to bring in oxygen for cellular respiration.

They bring in carbon dioxide through leaves for photosynthesis (energy via sugars), but they need oxygen gas through their roots for cell function.

But I don’t know if that’s relevant if you’re not deliberately mixing sand with clay in a run. I’d still prefer hardwood mulch and other products like pine needles and shredded dead leaves for run bedding. It’s better for any future soil (or compost), and rainwater drains very well through it.

 

[chicken dinner]

Yup, steep hillside can be a challenge, but doable.

Hillside Birds

Works in the rainforest of SE Alaska.

Have fun!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Most clay soils are incredibly fertile. It’s just that the individual clay particles are so tiny that they don’t allow for air pockets around the roots, which are critical for plants to bring in oxygen for cellular respiration.

That's why the best soil for growing almost anything is a mix of sand, clay, and organic material. The sand allows some drainage due tot he difference in size of clay particles ands sand particles.

Well, I have to admit that when I lived in Knoxville and was planting azalea beds, I ignorantly and enthusiastically dug sand into the native red clay, and it became very near to concrete.

That was not due to the sand. That was due to the strength of the charges between the clay particles. When you stir up wet clay those atomic level attractions become really strong. I grew up on a farm a little north of Knoxville that had red clay. If it rained we stayed out of the garden and fields because it would set up rock hard if we disturbed it when wet. Nothing to do with sand, just disturbing the red clay.