How long

This is my 4th growing season at my house. I have really good soil in some spots and really bad clay in others. Come to find out a lot of the topsoil had been removed from the yard in certain area's. I have been amending the soil in the clay spots with compost and claybreaker when planting new plants. Well my plants are still struggling in certain area's.

I had a daylily among others that just looked really bad. I dug it up yesterday to find that the clay was suffocating the roots. With the wettest may we have had in 55 yrs, this seems to be a real problem for me this year.

All my funds are going into amendments. My hands and back are killing me from digging. Is there an easier way other than redigging every plant that is still in a bad area and reworking the soil once again? I have noticed more worm activity this yr compared to others yrs. How long will it take to get this under control.

I can't wait until the yr when I can just go out an plant a plant without carrying a wheelbarrow and bags of amendments with me.

Well, you can try some lasanga gardening, most of the amendments with that are free. It's basically a type of sheet composting but fine tuned for the area you're working. You use wet black and white newspaper or cardboard to start the process and then add layers of peat moss, or coir, kitchen scraps, bananas, spent coffee grounds, etc. Google for lasanga gardening. It draws in the worms which will go a long way to helping aerate your clay soil and all those lovely worm castings only enrich the soil. Big plus it's a heck of lot easier on your back, LOL. I CAN relate! LOL

there's no easy way when you're stuck with pure clay after topsoils are removed. My dad called it "hardpan." I call it sunbaked brick. It's a constant yearly battle, sorry to say. Have never heard of claybreaker.

We've found it doesn't pay to "spot plant." makes better sense to create beds and work an entire bed all at once. DH breaks clay initially by shovel down as far as he can. They we rototill the clay until it's a fine dust. layer on about 50% course sand, and anything else we have handy in the way of broken down mulch, compost and manure. Rototill that in. Next year I go back and check out soil. If plants do well, we leave it alone. They must get mulch or the clay hardens to rock and rain runs off. Since I plant a lot of irises, I'll redo those beds every four years. But keeping the mulch on (not on TB irises, unfortunately) and renewed once a year has done the trick thus far. plus I topdress major plants with very old composted manure every spring.

Lawn areas, we aeriate, sprinkle with gypsum and lime (our clay is very acidic) and old composted manure, like a "top dressing." Thatch if necessary. All to help keep water and air going to roots. Eventually the grass and care will create a layer of topsoil. Earthworms love the flower beds, and I can't dig without disturbing dozens of them. They are making new topsoil, so I love it when I see them all.

adding the compost and decaying mulches

Doccat I will check into the lasagna method. I've heard of it but have never tried it before. I have used newspaper for other beds before laying down mulch.

Bonjon, sounds like you have exactly what I am dealing with. Thank goodness I am only having problems in cetain areas. It can be such a struggle.

Hubby knew I was upset about my struggling plants in this certain area and on his way home from work pick up some of the bagged Sta-Green garden soil amendment. I had to get something down with these plants immediately before they were gone. Some of the roots were almost gone to rot. I removed most of the clay from each planting hole. Dug down a shovel and a half in depth and made the holes 3 times wider. Added the garden soil for an immediate fix. I am going to work the clay in between the plants during the summer to redo the whole bed which I should have done in the first place. I wish I could run the tiller by myself but it's to big and ackward.

Another question? During the time that it takes me to get the entire bed done I want to top dress but I'm not sure which items should go first. I want to use your ideal of Newspaper, Doccat as well as compost and mulch. Which item should be layered in the other?

Start with wet newspaper or cardboard first, then compost, and continue layering until you get it to the height you want. Then cover with mulch. It will shrink over time, but you can just add more to it as you go. Most of the mulches will decompose over time also.

I used newspaper, peat moss, compost, in my beds.

May I mention that the newspaper is only neccessary if you are covering grass or weeds. If you already have a weed free area you don't need it. Just do your layering.
If you have an area with weeds, remove the dandelion and any perennial weed before laying the paper as they tend to come up through the newspaper and all.

dot, another thing is, it sounds like you might be making the same mistake I made for years. Our local gardening clubs don't recommend a whole lot of clay busting if you're not in a position to do it. They actually recommend any way you can to make raised beds.

For most plants drainage is only real issue. Clay smothers roots by absorbing water, holding water, thereby decreasing air pockets. when you make your holes as you originally did, all you've done is create an in-ground swimming pool for your plant's roots! increasing the hole size and width MAY help. maybe not.

Clay is actually highly nutritive, it just won't let oxygen in, and is low on organics. but huge pines can grow in it just fine as is has the minerals and many micronutrients.

Clubs here actually recommend for rhododendrons sitting the plant rootball on top of the clay and pouring purchased soils around it in a pile if that's all you can do. it's sure cheaper than the doctor bills if you ruin your back or your health. and the plants I've tried it with adore it!

Dott, I wonder if this might be a good case for using the dig-a-hole bokashi method. Emeric over on Bokashi 3 is gardening in Arizona - (I suspect on reclaimed dessert soil) - and he takes his kitchen waste and puts it straight into the ground, sprays with EMA, and then covers with the removed dirt. I am assuming that this is his process of ammending depleted soil.

It won't be done in the year (unless you start bringing home kitchen waste from a commercial outfit!) but it will definately be cheap and effective. Perhaps it is worth foregoing your compost heap for the next couple years and just systematically dig holes, fill with any organic material you can find, wet with EMA, and back fill. I think it worth a trying a bed and seeing how it does.

Worth checking the bokashi 3 thread and talk to Emeric for advice.

alinehuey, the newspaper brings the worms, they love it and the more worms you have the better your soil. And Laurie your right, Bokashi out to help fix a lot of these problems. Great stuff!

It's been a long weekend. I've been turning soil in the veggie beds to get the last of my veggies started. I can't run the darn till by myself and hubby was working on the roof so I couldn't insist.

Doccat, we did the compost and mulch layering around my apple tree a couple of months ago when it first started budding and I must say this is the first year in 3 that is looks wonderful and healthy. Hubby suggested exactly as you did, that maybe it would work on the flower bed I am havig troubles with.

bonjon, I had read the same about basically making swimming pools for the plants when I first started doing this. I was hoping that it would work anyway. It would take a lot of soil to create this bed as a raised bed so that was out of the question. I also wanted to take advantage of the nutrients in the clay but without so much of it. I have replanted all the plants to salvage them and started working on the areas in between. So far I have gotten only 5-6 feet long done. The whole bed will be worked down to a shovel and 1/2's depth . Then I will be covering with compost and mulch.


Laurie, Those Bokashi threads are long. I will read them this evening after work and see what that is about. Hopefully I can encorperate everything into this area and be done with it soon.

It is a very good thing I love gardening and don't mind the exercise. Most people would throw grass seed down and forget it.

dott - May I suggest you work through the bokashi threads from the bottom up - go to Bokashi 3 first, and ask questions: tell them about your soil situation, and ask advice (feel free to say I thought everyone would find your soil problem interesting - I think they will). I think trying to read through all the threads is too much to absorb in the first instance. I find the thread extremely beginner friendly, and EMeric, Garden Mermaid, and Doccat generous and patient as can be on getting people interested. Honestly, they will be only interested, never slighting.

Hope to see you there.

Gypsun is the answer to your problem. Go to the thread about worst draining soil. Gypsum is the answer.

The Bokashi really helps improve the health of your soil. Worms love it and it really makes a difference in the growth habits of my plants. I've noticed my black walnuts which are old trees are starting to "perk up" since we've applied bokashi to the area. Good stuff, I'm very impressed!