Tips for establishing a new garden in a new development area

Hello,

We have bought a new semi-detached house in the new development area.

The soil here is very clayey, my question is how should one start preparing the soil so that later on one can begin sowing grass and planting plants.

The soil in the garden was dumped by the construction company and has already become heavily compacted by frequent driving over it with machines.
The water does not seep in properly and larger puddles quickly form in the garden.

There are also many stones in the soil.

How should we best proceed?

Loosen the soil first? How could this be done best?

Then sort out the stones?

And finally sand the soil?

Thank you very much for your tips

You could loosen the soil with certain plants, e.g. the lupin. It develops taproots. Later, the plant is simply cleared away, left lying, and thus fertilizes the soil. The only way to deal with stones is to collect them. But they also come up during frost. However, stones are good for clay soil as they ensure infiltration.

I am such a "suffering" homeowner with clay and many stones. Our property used to be forest land.

Digging with a shovel, oh dear oh dear, that builds muscles. For a 40-50m trench where the drainage pipe lies, I took one day. You should definitely take that into account, otherwise you'll have puddles all over the garden and on the lawn, because clay does not let water pass through.

Make sure to do as much as possible with the excavator if one is available.

We have added about 20 cm of topsoil substrate to somewhat avoid the problem.

We also have a 10mx10m garden where we plant vegetables; it feels like the carrots do not grow deep because the clay interferes.
The same goes for the potatoes.
There I will soon add another 20 cm of soil.

Thank you for the messages

our garden is about 10x23m in size

You could loosen it up with certain plants, e.g. lupines. They develop taproots. Later the plant is simply cleared, left lying, and thus fertilizes the soil.

how long should that take?

You could loosen it up with certain plants, e.g. lupines. They develop taproots. Later the plant is simply cleared, left lying, and thus fertilizes the soil.
Collecting is the only way to deal with stones. But they also rise up during frost. However, stones are good in clay because they ensure drainage.

Yes, you have to collect the stones. What tool would help to dig up the soil a bit and bring the stones to the surface?

Make sure to do as much as possible with the excavator if one is available.

Unfortunately, there is none, we have to do it all by muscle power

Our soil is very clay-heavy and everything only seeps slowly and with difficulty

I have also read that you should mix sand into clay-heavy soil and loosen the soil

How would you best and most easily mix in the sand?

If you have time, I would now apply green manure, dig 20-30 cm deep in the fall, spread coarse washed sand (not the fine stuff from the sandbox), and let the frost do its work. Green manure provides a lot of food for soil organisms. Earthworms and co. ensure loose soil. Plant in spring.

I assume you want it faster. Then dig 20-30 cm deep now, work in coarse washed sand and/or gravel and/or manure, break up the large clods of earth, level, and plant. Only remove stones that bother you on the surface. At the moment, digging should work quite well. Once the soil is dry, it is as hard as concrete. Borrow a garden tiller that works deep enough.

Once soil compaction is gone and soil organisms have moved in, puddles will be less or disappear completely. If you have plants that don't like waterlogging, dig the planting hole larger and mix in coarse sand/fine gravel. Clay soil retains moisture much better than sandy soils, with all its advantages and disadvantages.

If you have heavily compacted soil, check if the [Huflattisch] has already spread in your area. Ecologically a valuable plant, it reproduces through offspring and seeds (similar to dandelions). Before digging and tilling, I would pull the roots and remove the seed heads.