Clay soil

I have this one corner spot beside my deck that has hard dry clay soil. What can I do to make it a good flower bed?

I would amend it with lots of compost and manure. I have also found that soil conditioner or hardwood fines (really finely ground hardwod mulch) helps to make the soil easier to work with immediately. You could also create a lasagna bed in this area, and top it with mulch.

I had a lump of clay for my old yard (new housing development). I absolutely agree with the compost addition. I rototilled mine in, however going with the lasagna style would certainly work if you have the patience :) Compost will improve the drainage and soil texture but I would still plant things that will do well in clay. A lot of these plants have roots that will help to break the soil up and improve it. It is possible to turn a clay pile into a thriving garden, don't worry!

Compost and well-rotted manure are definitely good additions to improve the soil quickly, and you can buy bags of them too - but if you have longish grass clippings, coffee grounds, broken tea bags, pots with soil in them (but not plants), egg shells, decayed leaves, chopped up weeds - all of those can be used as well, and they are free - don't overdo it with the coffee grounds. Some gardeners have trouble with leaves if they are not fully rotted - I haven't had this problem, but it probably depends on the type of leaf. And if you are using weeds, DON'T use the roots - probably small bits won't hurt, but better to let them rot.
Generally when I start a new garden I use compost and manure, coffee grounds, eggshells, and any extra dirt, digging it into the soil along with chopped up bits of whatever was growing there (dandelions, thistles, plantain excepted) - then after the garden's first year I only use compost as a top dressing - I try to add compost yearly, but it is quite dependant on my available time. Establishing it right in the first place saves a lot of time.

compost is fine but to break up clay you need sand also, my last place was heavy clay and I amended it with one third sand one third manure and one third compost it worked great and till it in in the early spring or late fall so the clay is moist in the summer when it hard like concrete it is to hard to anything with it

Oh can I relate...when I first moved here I had a terrible time getting plants to grow...then the previous owner casually dropped the bomb that...."he may have buried a load of bricks about....." rather than have them hauled away I guess....then the second bomb..."worked so well when I had them put in the sump pump I buried that old drainage pipe and soil there too".

Is your clay down deep...dig a test hole in several spots in the area and see what you have....also from the pic ....is this a water runoff area? if so...don't bother with the mulch, compost in that direct area cause it will just wash away...use your rocks or plant "stepables" in the water flow trench and focus your attention on the other areas.

Divide and conquer....last bit...is the animal pen in use...how often is there traffic to and fro the pen...maybe leave a path there..

The advice on building up organic matter is good.

A mineral solution to the problem is to add Gypsum to the clay. Mix it in with the organic matter.

LOL QuoiMerrie! Bricks! What a handyman he must have been.

There is no "pen" that's just a old dog house I need to move. I guess that would be a start .

in the picture its very shady what time of day is that

if its mostly shade you can just add good soil to build it up and plant some hostas and mulch they love the moist shade to dry shade

Yep...clang..found 2 more bricks the other day (3 years later) when we put in a quince bush....

But seriously I do agree with everything here...keep adding adding adding and the soil will come around. Once you've tested the soil...I would say if you have even 2/3rd clay...maybe consider going up. Build up a bed maybe. You can produce a good coarse compost in as little as a half season to start amending that soil. Grass clippings..needles from the holiday boughs, trees,,,leaves, the occasional salad tops...it all helps break that up.

all that food stuff will bring in worms which will help

Good call QuoiMerrie, raised beds are always a great option.

This message was edited Jul 21, 2009 6:58 PM

you could use rocks with filter cloth behind them to hold the soil and then to make it even better when you are done planting put in about three inches of mulch to keep from drying out and make it look pretty

When I first moved here, the bf bought worms at Walmart. I also put my kitchen clippings, coffee grounds, egg shells, etc. there. He had dug up and turned over the space for the "future garden" . I buried the clippings so they wouldn't look sloppy. The soil is alive and much better now. I think the earthworms made a big difference. They have multiplied like crazy, they must be happy, I am careful when digging, I feel bad when I catch one with the shovel. (Unlike Japanese Beetles, I delight in drowning them in Dawn soap and water.)

Some people plant flax (I think, could be something else like alfalfa or oats). Then they till it under before it goes to seed. I read it somewhere on the list, maybe the rose forums? Anyway, they claimed it loosened the soil and added nutrients.

On the clem forum, they were talking about clay soil. someone mentioned clay+sand=cement. Makes sense. People there add fine gravel instead to improve drainage. I have so many rocks here of all sizes that I can't imagine buying more for my garden. I feel better about leaving the small rocks in the garden "for drainage." I life in the mountains, lots of slate rocks and tree roots.

I had a couple "dead spots" in my garden where the heavy soil wouldn't drain. (I know there is a trouble anywhere I dig and there are no earthworms.) The largest "dead spot" is probably over a big rock over 3' deep. Guess what, the rock is staying there, I am not moving it. I added some cedar mulch to the heavy soil in that spot. It seemed to help. I have sunflowers and cosmos planted there, they don't seem to mind the conditions. I had a couple of other similar spots. i placed walking pavers/stones there to access the surrounding plants.

I can't believe someone buried bricks. Why not make a driveway or sidewalk with them and improve your property value? Or build something like a bbq? Or at least put a sign on the pile of bricks, "free, help yourself."

the bricks are probably from construction they do that all the time most are cut sections and are not good for much, and sand does break down clay it doesnt make cement since it doesnt allow the clay to solidify and allows better drainage but it is in combination with peat moss, and compost it takes all of them to make the soild great and if you have gotten the worms in there that is a great thing keep adding them clippings and kitchen stuff that is the same as adding the compost, if you keep turning over the soil next spring it should be good to plant just make sure you plant stuff that is right for the sun conditions of the location, and add three inches of mulch and it will do fine

Sand can make mud if you use the wrong kind. You can't use sand box sand. There are some people who still say you shouldn't use it no matter which type. I haven't tried it to say.

I think GardenQuilts is thinking of a cover crop. There are a few types you can grow but usually you shouldn't let them go to seed. Be careful it isn't something that would do TOO well in your area. The roots can break up the soil.
In the end it still involves digging stuff in or rototilling.
You could also use 5 way (or at least that's what it was called where I got it), a blend of soil and compost, etc. It's cheaper than pure compost if your doing a larger area. That's what I started with, then added compost every spring on top.

if you have lots of worms horse poop just dumped and spread is good the worms will bring it into the soil and you dont have to do any of the work lol

I used regular sand plain old run of the mill sand and it worked great but its only part of what has to be added, sand by itself will not do much but added with the compost and peat moss will do alot, and then the mulch will keep it from drying out to much and it will be a great place to plant

I lived with heavy clay as soil for 17 years and my garden won all kinds of aways so I must have done something right lol

My soil has a lot of clay in it. It's not a solid block of clay, but you can definitely squeeze it into clumps that don't break apart, and there are visible streaks of red and yellow clay as you dig deeper. I got a few bags of topsoil, a few bags of loam, and a few handfuls of gypsum, and mixed it all in with a hand cultivator. Then I mulched the beds with wood chips. They'll break down over fall and winter and I'll mix them into the soil this spring and re-mulch. As long as the soil drains and the earthworms are plentiful (and boy are they plentiful), I don't meddle too much. I just don't try to grow plants that really need a thin, gritty soil. That said, I've had gotten a good variety of plants growing, including lavender and Russian sage which usually prefer drier conditions. I'd say start with simple measures and see how you do before moving on to more serious soil amendments.