gardening after heavy rain

Read somewhere, most likely Jerry Baker, not to garden while the soil is wet. In Pittsburgh, Pa we have alot of clay (even though I have amended most of the soil with compost, greensand and gypsum). There are times I just have to get into my garden even if the soil is wet. Curious if others out there wait until the soil dries out or if you just go ahead and garden while the soil is wet?

Here in Northern Ohio no gardening would get done this spring if we waited for the soil to dry out. Maybe that would be optimum, but I don't see it as practical. Take today, for example. It was sunny - go outside and pull weeds. Then it got cloudy - come indoors and eat lunch. Then the sun came out again - go pull more weeds. It has been like this since April !

thanks countrymom for your reply. Sometimes I figure,"hey, I've got tons of stuff to get in and if I wait for the soil to dry out somewhat, my plants will be rootbound.

Mar .. clayey soils tend to create what is known as hardpan which can impede the flow and absorption of water. It usually occurs on overworked soil where because of the poor percolation, mineral salts and deposits tend to pool and stratify and when dry, creates an impermiable layer just under the topsoil. Especially in farmland. When I lived in virginia which has red clay, I found out the hardway that my 1 acre lot beside me, which contained the drainfield for my septic tank was hardpanned, causing backups. The fact that you have amended your soil, I don't think you have anything to worry about.

There are actually some chemicals on the market that will breakup hardpan and is used in agriculture for fields. I discovered it when trying to find an alternative to a 1000 dollar plus bill for relaying my drainfield. I bought the stuff and it worked.

X

Actually there is more to it than hardpan. Clay worked when wet dries into brick like clods. Amending with organic material helps but does not completely solve the problem. Pulling weeds does not hurt, but tillage, (plow, shovels or disc) will result in some nice clods. The rule of thumb is: Grab a handful and squeeze it into a ball, drop it on the ground, if it remains a ceramic ball, it is too wet to work. Hard pan ( sometimes plowpan) is usually caused by traffic, mostly the tractor wheels compacting the soil at the plow line. But any heavy vehicle traveling over clay soil for any period of time will compact it into a roadbed. There is a reason, bricks and pottery are made from clay. That said clay makes great crops IF you do live with it and don't try to abuse it.

Thanks X and Famerdill! I actually do roll the soil into a ball, but I have never dropped it to see if it stays together. I almost feel like pulling up my beds and reamending the soil even more - but I have so many established bushes and perennials. Read somewhere that peatmoss helps clay soil. I always thought that peat retains the water and does not break up the clay. Pretty confused about that! Also read in Jerry Baker that chicken grit is a good amendment to clay soil. This may sound really crazy, but with the bird flu most likely around the corner I do not want to use anything with "bird" attached to it (FYI- my kid has an immune defiency and God forbid when it gets here - his body can't fight off certain things). What do you use to amend already established beds?

Very interesting info, everybody. My soil doesn't have much clay. I ammended it with sand years ago, and now I compost and mulch. That seems to keep the soil crumbly even when it is wet.