# Builder Landscaping - Advice Appreciated



## wking (Jun 7, 2019)

My wife and I are closing on our new home in Holly Springs, NC next week. From being on the forum for some time, I know that I need to get a soil test done early on (red clay) to determine where I lack nutrients for the 419, but I am a little concerned about the landscaping as this clay holds a ton of water.

Has anyone re-done landscape beds the builders put in immediately? I was thinking of bringing in a few yards of a 50/50 mix of topsoil and compost in an attempt to amend the soil some and to also raise the height of the bed (currently grass to mulch, no edge or anything). Thoughts on this?

Any advice is appreciated.


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## corneliani (Apr 2, 2019)

I too prefer the landscape area to be higher than the turf, so raising it makes perfect sense from that perspective. As for the plants themselves, be they shrubs or perennials, they really only need to have good soil permeable soil approx 2-3x their original width. Depending on how big your beds are you may be wasting a lot of good material (and $$) by using nutrient-rich soil just to build up a bed. If it's a smaller area then it may be all the same, but even then I'd use the 50/50 mix specifically around the root ball and use whatever clay you dig out to spread on top.

BTW, most landscape contractors will dig the bare minimum planting hole during installation. I know bc I hire them and if I'm not on them they're in & out. Their warranty is only for 6 months which is about when issues become obvious. So if your concern is for the health of the plants, esp them not being water logged, then make sure the holes are as wide & deep as possible. Also I'd recommend a landscape mix (soil + organic matter mix) as opposed to compost in that situation as it allows for better drainage than a compost would. Compost can retain water. Best of luck!

EDIT: as for the turf soils, I would highly recommend a soil test as soon as possible in order to throw down some lime - if you know you're on scraped clay subsoil you are just about guaranteed to have a low pH but a soil test will confirm. Be prepared to throw down 50# of dolomitic lime / 1000 asap so it can make its way into the soil profile over winter. Wait for spring if you will go with fast-acting calcitic lime instead as it'll work well with your fertilizer apps.


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## wking (Jun 7, 2019)

Awesome! Thank you for the insight. I will do a soil test ASAP. The Bermuda was put in dormant, hoping for a mild winter as it isn't rooting at all.


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## adgattoni (Oct 3, 2017)

wking said:


> Awesome! Thank you for the insight. I will do a soil test ASAP. The Bermuda was put in dormant, hoping for a mild winter as it isn't rooting at all.


It won't root until it wakes up next year, but it will be fine. I moved into a new construction about a year ago. The builder's landscaper left about 3 pallets of sod in the lot across the street that the builder wanted gone. He said he'd left messages and the landscaper hadn't come to get them so I could have them if I moved them. They probably sat there a month or more on the pallet before I moved and installed them, and everything rooted just fine this Spring.

Another benefit of dormant sod: I was able to move a ton of sod around to make landscape beds around the house before it rooted. Significantly extended the amount of sod I had in the back yard (standard sod to the back corners deal). I have some pics of this in my lawn journal.


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## wking (Jun 7, 2019)

adgattoni said:


> wking said:
> 
> 
> > Awesome! Thank you for the insight. I will do a soil test ASAP. The Bermuda was put in dormant, hoping for a mild winter as it isn't rooting at all.
> ...


That is a true statement. I am going to get to work on redoing the beds as soon as I can. They builder cheeped out so much on the landscaping of the house (knew going in they would). I really want to make them a bit larger on the sides and back of the house and build them up from the level of the sod. Thankfully my wife's family is made up of farmers and they have some tools to move some dirt into the beds.


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## corneliani (Apr 2, 2019)

Regarding the soil testing... places like SiteOne can submit your soil samples for you for about the same price as you'd get mailing it in. I offer this info because to mail it in you need their specific supplies, etc... but if you go with SiteOne you can just take them your dirt in a bag and they'll package it & mail it out for you (my local one uses Spectrum Analytic, $20 for the Level 1 test).

The downside to using SiteOne is that I don't think you have online access to the results .. they come on a paper printout.


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## adgattoni (Oct 3, 2017)

corneliani said:


> Regarding the soil testing... places like SiteOne can submit your soil samples for you for about the same price as you'd get mailing it in. I offer this info because to mail it in you need their specific supplies, etc... but if you go with SiteOne you can just take them your dirt in a bag and they'll package it & mail it out for you (my local one uses Spectrum Analytic, $20 for the Level 1 test).
> 
> The downside to using SiteOne is that I don't think you have online access to the results .. they come on a paper printout.


Waypoint Analytical in Clayton accepts soil in a ziplock bag. I paid $16.50 for an S3M test and probably $10 to ship (can't remember).


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