Feller Landscape Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Serving the Chicagoland counties of DuPage, Kane and Northern Cook.  Over 25 years of experience!

 

 

Newsletters

 

...Where Imagination and Design Unite...

 

 

 

Part One of Soil

 

 

 

 

What is it good for?

A lot of things!  We need soil.  No matter where we live, we need soil.  Our children want to make mud pies...our ancestors constructed sod houses...golf courses would not exist!

Without soil, how would we grow rutabagas?  Where would all the worms live?  Without soil, our buildings and homes would fall over!

In this Newsletter, we will touch upon the subject of compaction to the soil.

As per the illustration to the left, there is a brief discussion on the layers of the soil.  It is the lowest layer, 'C', that is brought to the surface after construction. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top layer ('O')- Organic Layer.  About an 1" or so thick and takes from 100-600 years to form.  Within this layer, living things carry on with their life activities.

Layer 'A' - Upper Soil Layer.  This is where the majority of the plant roots are.  This layer is about a foot deep.

Layer 'B' - Middle Soil Layer.  This layer has less living things and less of the darker topsoil.  There is less oxygen in this layer, therefore, plants do not do well in this layer.

Layer 'C' - Lowest Layer.  This layer may have an orangish or yellowish color.  This layer, depending on where you live, will have more sand or clay.  This layer has the least amount of living things.

 

 

 

Any kind of construction, shopping centers, housing, roads, warehousing etc., is upsetting to the soil.  Huge machines strip the top layers (the desirable growing soil) and then mix up the remaining layers.  All plant life as well as insect life is removed during construction therefore, no wildlife can exist in this area.

In order for our lawns and planting beds to thrive after construction, we will need to do some work.

Roto-tilling future lawn areas and planting beds with fresh topsoil, organic composted materials and a little sand will help break down the hard clumpy clay.  By mixing in amendments, insect life will move back in.

Every spring, mixing in a little compost in the planting beds, top dressing with mulch along with a regular watering schedule, will help break down the clay.  Once the lawns are established, regular fertilizing with yearly aeration will keep turf healthy and green.