Cracking lawn!.... but not in a good way. 😪

Paulbucknall

Any advice on a cracking lawn please. Our lawn has began to crack massively already (April) this year. It happened last year to a deep level but slowly through the summer. 
We have a clay based soil but also a 5m high pear tree in the middle of the lawn and also 4m high 10m long conifers along one side of the garden.
Could it be a combination of all 3? Would like to keep our pear tree but not if it's the culprit.
Last year the cracks got so wide and deep you could lose a leg down there!
Thanks.

Astro

Don't know enough about this kind of thing but I'd think compressed soil could be a factor. We used to have rain run off our tree in another house we lived in, and it used to beat the soil during winter. Come spring grass didn't grow and the soil didn't take in moisture. 

foxwales

Clay will shrink when dry and crack, all of those trees you have will be draining moisture from the surrounding soil.  3 options, take out all the big moisture wicking trees, improve soil by adding tons or organic matter, or put a sprinkler on and water the lawn frequently. 

Posy

It's the clay soil combined with drought and brisk drying wind. It won't be easy to improve without doing the grass over again but regular watering when it began to dry would have prevented it.

JoeX

It’s the lack of air traffic during lockdown.