Gardening in clay

[frustratedearthmother]

So theoretically it takes a while of composting before much will grow?

Not really - I heard on one of the gardening shows that clay soil is usually full of nutrients - it's just hard to work with. Heavy mulch will keep it moist and from baking into concrete when it doesn't rain. And, if you can find a clean source of mulch it will break down in the soil and help loosen it. I've got one spot in the garden that after a dozen years I don't even have to take a tiller to. The soil is loose enough to break up with a garden fork. I hope, hope, hope that I can get it to produce this year. It sat fallow last year so maybe, just maybe, any "badness" disappeared.

 

[Hinotori]

We have plenty of clay mixed in with the rock in the glacial till that is our soil here. Turns into cement in summer. Lots of organic matter every year. The first year I tilled under grass and removed the largest rocks and added in some compost and things did fine. Every year has been better. I do have a few raised beds as we get very wet here for most of the year and that lets me start some crops earlier than the mud.

 

[lcertuche]

In our clay soil it was more of a matter of brick like dirt. Adding lots of organic matter will bring the earthworms and they will do the hard work of loosening up the dirt. I like the trench method idea a lot. If you don't have enough leaves, hay, etc. but then it would mean more physical work for you. Digging trenches ain't easy, lol.

 

[Mini Horses]

Not easy but, till deep in those areas, remove "some" & till in organic matter......next time, deeper in adjacent, add organic matter, etc. Mulch heavy on top to help prevent the worst of the brick like dirt.

A lot depends on where & when you move. If Fall, you can plow a lot in & top it heavy then, to rot for Spring & repeat. If you are able to move really soon -- you have probably won the lottery & have no issues with selling, buying or gardening. A house found now could still be a few months out if you need to sell yours first. So, move near a forest to collect leaves!

Hope you find somewhere that they have kept a garden and a lot will have been done for you.....carrying your own fertilizer will sure help with expense and availability..... And pre packaged.

 

[flowerbug]

mostly clay here with some sand.

i don't like raised beds, but we have some because we have flash flooding. i much prefer not having them. all those edges are more work and expense or time than i like to mess with. as i get time i combine gardens to get rid of those edges and make more flexibility in planting. much easier as i am improving things.

i'm now at the point in one area where i need more fill brought in if i want to get rid of any more pathways.

the raised beds helped this season with all the rains we had.

worms and organic material will be your main answers, some sand added to that turns it into prime garden soil.

make some deeper holes in the gardens and put the worms and some organic materials in there so the worms have a refuge space from the heat and cold. eventually your whole garden will be worked down deep enough you shouldn't need such spaces, but through time...