How to repair cracked soil?

gohkt, Feb 13, 5:10pm
Hi, my lawn started to have deep crack lines. How should I repair it? Should I concern about it? Thanks!
zak410, Feb 13, 5:18pm
I fill them with sand.
lythande1, Feb 13, 5:28pm
Water. it's dried out.
mechnificent, Feb 13, 5:35pm
Some sort of epoxy product ?
annies3, Feb 13, 5:38pm
Must be very dry in your area, when there is enough rain the soil will expand back to its original volume and the cracks will go.
monsieurl, Feb 13, 5:48pm
Sawdust or barley husks well watered will hold the moisture and eventually fix the lawn.
gohkt, Feb 14, 1:07pm
Yes, the lawn is as hard as rock. The slope does not help either. Will fill up the cracks with sand and sawdust. Let's see if water helps. It definitely needs heap of water!
wasgonna, Feb 14, 3:00pm
All the sand will do is improve the drainage which is one way to cure boggy ground, that is the opposite to what you want. Water is what is lacking. Have you not seen dried mud?
gohkt, Feb 14, 3:39pm
Thought drainage will lead water deep down into the ground to soften the soil? or leads the water down the slope? Yes, dried mud.
georgep31, Feb 14, 5:01pm
Sounds like you have clay soil - gypsum, and heaps of organic matter, it took me at least a year to see improvement
velenski, Feb 14, 7:09pm
mud.
rbd, Feb 14, 10:46pm
Ring your insurance company. I'm sure they deal with cracked lawns all the time and will send someone out pronto to weld it up before it splits more and breaks the house in half.
kenw1, Feb 14, 11:08pm
Are you paying for the water, because it will costs heaps.
mm12345, Feb 14, 11:17pm
Pack the cracks with dry bentonite clay powder. You can get it at rural supply firms.
gohkt, Feb 14, 11:42pm
House breaks in half? So serious? What else can be done to prevent crack soil?
lemming2, Feb 15, 12:13am
No .That's a joke.
Like others have said, it's a common issue with clay soils and dry summers. Don't worry about it, the cracks will close up when the rain begins in Autumn. Unless the cracks are big enough to lose your children or pets down, it's just a Summer thing.
kenw1, Feb 15, 4:00pm
This is what I would do.

1) Fill the cracks with lime, the soil is probably short of it anyway.

2) Do not cut the grass like a #1 haircut, leave it longer 25/40mm is good. When you cut the grass use a mulcher mower lever the clippings on.

When it rains again, one day, the above will attract and increase the soil worm population this will improve your soil moisture holding capacity and then next summer it will hang on a bit longer.

Many people cut their grass far too short, then take away all the clippings as well.
sanders4, Feb 16, 1:15am
zak410 knows the best treatment as that is what I have done with mine in the past and no cracks now in a very dry summer.kenw1 also offers good advice in not shaving grass to soil level as a longer grass holds moisture and also prevents weed seeds from growing.
gohkt, Feb 26, 6:11pm
Thanks all for the advice.
Sanders4, what type of sand is more preferred? Thanks.
oh_hunnihunni, Feb 27, 12:47am
All joking aside, soil that dries out too far can become hydrophobic and need real help to be able to absorb and retain moisture. In the end, long slow irrigation usually works - via the autumn and winter rains, but if the drought continues you can lose the lawn completely and be forced to rebuild adding a lot of organic material to boost that moisture holding capacity. Sand may fill in the cracks, but in the end it contributes to more rapid drainage, which is not really what you want in that drought struck top layer.
In my opinion, of course.
aj.2., Feb 27, 1:02am
DO NOT do this, Bentonite when it gets wet swells up ( seven times) it's it size when wet.
Also it will seal the crack and not let water down in that part of the lawn.
It is also very slippery when it does get wet.
dave309, May 17, 4:20pm
This is what we got done to cracks in our backyard after the earthquakes. The cracks then were about 50mm wide and up to two feet deep Edit to say the bentonite was pumped in as in a wet sully