Clay Soil and How to Improve It
Anyway, so we (and by "we," I mean my husband. I've been no help at all. Ahem.) finished digging up the sod and now are faced with some of the ugliest soil I've ever laid eyes on. Very clayey, and almost brick-like when it dries. One could turn away from this challenge, decide that grass isn't really such a waste of space after all, and save themselves a bit of work.
But it is possible to improve clay soil, and, truthfully, it's worth doing. One of the benefits of clay soil is that it has high fertility and a high mineral content. It's great stuff to plant in, if only the plants are able to push their roots through the stuff. It comes down to a bit of patience, lots of organic matter, and a bit (okay, a lot, if it's a large garden) of physical labor. So we'll be spending the next couple of days adding organic matter and digging it in. At times, we will wonder why we bothered starting this project now, with so much else that demands our attention. But when we harvest that first perfect ear of corn or bite into watermelon grown in our very own garden, there won't be any doubt that it was well worth it.
Comments
Working with clay soils is so much fun. Where we live is on top a knoll, so we have anywhere from 3″ to 12″ of clay on top of rock. We have a 22′ by 20′ garden that has had a minimum of 8 bags of composted manure, 8 bags of topsoil and 4 bags of sand added each year for 9 years. I till it down about 7″ with a Troybilt each spring and again in the fall. There is a little improvement, but not much. Am starting my own compost pile this year in hopes to be able to add even more loosening agents into the ground. I did find a few worms last year for the first and a few more this year, so I know that I’m finally starting to make a difference. But boy, is it ever slow.