Could use advice on clay soil please!

[ninny]

I would love to grow pruple carrots but my soil is more brickish then dirt. Any tips on growing root crops in brick soil?

 

[moolie]

If you amend your heavy clay soil with lots of compost (not manure, root crops don't grow well if you've recently manured--they grow lots of hairy side-roots) you should do just fine--we have very heavy alkaline clay soil here and we get bumper crops of carrots in our raised beds filled with compost. Not sure what you mean by "brick-like" though? Do you mean really hard to dig?

 

[heatherlynnky]

If you had time, we dealt with our using leaves and grass clippings. We tilled and raked and hoed stuff in. We had neighbors giving us their leaves and grass clippings even. We had hard red clay. It took a couple years before it was garden worthy though. I think my mom even added worms but I cannot be positive. I believe I read you are renting. I would do raised beds. Find what you can cheap to make the raised beds and go at it like that.

 

[Mickey328]

Our soil is also red clay and when it's dry it's like concrete. Lots and LOTS of amendment...it's a continuous thing. We do best in raised beds. They're easy and can be quite cheap to build and you can fill them with good soil brought in for the purpose. We use ours for root crops and put the others around in all the nooks and crannies. We also compost everything and get that on the yard as well. Green manure is also great...many are nitrogen fixers as well.

 

[~gd]

I know what you mean by brick clay! Where I live claims to be the brick capital of the USA. Heck the city wouldnt exist except for its soils; to the north the top six feet are various shades of clay with solid red clay below that to the south is snow white sand. Mix them together and fire them properly and you get fire brick or hard surface waterproof paving bricks like used to be used for roads. Tried for 7 years to convert that clay to garden soil, Tons of organic material, compost etc just disappeared. Added sand just made things worse. Gypsum helped the clay to absorb water so it was a soupier mud. I gave up and bought top soil and had it spread as BERMS {like raised beds without a frame to hold the soil in place] the berms worked but I still couldnt get root crops to grow well. Had the soil tested and it was lacking Boron [a micro=micro nutrient} I got a box of borax and sprinkled it around and now I have prize winning root crops!

 

[k15n1]

Addition of coarse "organic" material is the key. Or move. But tilling in partially decomposed leaves is probably cheaper than moving.

Most of the fertile soils in the world are heavy, so don't dispair. Maybe you can put all of your root crops in a raised bed where you really focus on amending the soil with compost. Oh, and don't forget to add minerals as needed. Figure out what you need by sending in a soil sample to the local extension office.

 

[ninny]

I think I will give raised beds a try. How deep should they be for carrots and potatoes?

 

[sleuth]

I think I will give raised beds a try. How deep should they be for carrots and potatoes?

For root crops like carrots, potatoes, onions, etc., I've heard you want 12" deep. I've never done it, though, so my advice is probably worth what you're paying for it.

 

[moolie]

We grow wonderful carrots in 8" raised beds filled with compost:

These are all at least as long as my hand, some are a bit longer. We always grow Nantes variety carrots for good keeping qualities and sweetness, they also don't tend to break when pulled up.

 

[Wannabefree]

I agree with the raised bed idea on the short term level. If you know you will be there a while though, there's no time like the present to get to ammending that clay. Understanding the soil is key, clay is actually good soil, just terrible structure. Clay soils are some of the most fertile, if you can work it. we ammend ours with everything imaginable, and mulch, to turn over into the soil the following fall. We have used leaves and straw on ours the last few years. Now we're adding horse manure, to turn in before planting since it is high in organic material. A horses digestive system doesn't break things down completely, making it a great fertilizer AND soil builder. We will be mulching with pine needles, balanced out by spreading wood ash so we don't screw up the PH too badly this year, and everything will be turned over in the Fall. I expect we will have a terrific garden spot by next year, and a good one this year. Ours was straight up red clay 3 years ago, now, it is more of a greyish black with a red tinge. It takes a lot of work, but it will be worth it in the long run when we get to the point of just soil maintenance every year. I still grow my carrots in raised beds, with dreams of being able to put them in the actual garden in the next couple years