I know adding compost and things like sharp sand and grit can help massively with clay soils to make it, well, less clayey (?!) and with better drainage. Is there something else that works, a soil conditioner or some magic dust of some kind that I could sprinkle on and dig in. I have a huge area that I would like to make less clay and just can't afford bag after bag of the above. Any thing out there? Many thanks.
you could spread lime over part or all of it grow potatoes on it this year ,dig over in the autumn then spread lime on it over winter a combination of weathering and liming over winter will do the job. Or you could consider double digging.
peterpiper
Thanks peterpiper... if lime helps clay soil, is clay an indication of acidity? Some of it has been dug and dug, with a rotavator and is still very clay. If I put it on in the autumn, does that mean that plants that don't want alkaline soil will be ok with it the following planting year? And what sort of amounts do I use for this purpose? Sorry for all the questions. Cheers.
Hello again CC, some useful posts relating to clay soil at http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/joomla/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,57/topic,15878.msg162833#msg162833 - concensus seems to grit/sand are of less value for conditioning clay soil than organic matter. Do you have a local brewery that would give you spent hops - I think spent hops are a cure-all, and FREE if you find them and need a lot. Most just go for waste :'(. Good luck :)
hi clay,
I have the same problem/good soil.
As I have been lucky in the past and not had heavy soil, my new plot is a new experience.
Digging and growing is the best way to condition the soil.
Adding a barrow ful every 1-2m2 in the autumn and then digging it in the spring helps as well.
when it is turn for potatoes to fill the bed in your crop rotation, double dig the bed in the autumn adding well rotted manure. I use a scaffold plank and move backwards when digging so I don't tread in the soil I have just worked. I use it when planting as well.
I reckon in 4-5 years, 1 crop rotation, most of the soil will be friable and easier to work.
I am lucky that the local council delivery bark/wood chippings. Apart from covering paths between beds, this when composted makes an excellent soil conditioner. I will strip my paths every 4 yrs and add to a compost bin and keep adding grass clippings, as this helps with the break down of the bark/wood. Then add it as a mulch and dig in after harvesting the crop.
Apart from mulching in the dry hot weather, which stops the surface capping, there is no need to worry, clay retains moisture and nutrients far better than sandy loamy soils.
Sharp sand as a start.
Lime only the area for brassicas.
Double dig if you can.
Get as much compost as you can & get it in!!!
Clay soil is very productive - look after it!
Common_Clay I too have really acid soil but when I said on the BBC website that I was going to dig in lime I was advised against it as supposidly it is harder to correct an alkilne soil than it is to correct an acid one.
I was told that I have perfect soil for blueberries, and to try a bit of everything and whatever failed to grow in pots or growbags instead .
So Im going with the soil and everything else is giong into containers.
Horse manure is supposed to be the best s**t you can use if you can get it, or I will post you some if you want????????lmao ;D ;D ;D
Thanks very much everyone... as I have been reading this evening I was discovering the benefits of clay, like you said, being good for holding nutrients and moisture. If only the council left huge deposits of compost like they do woodchip... dream on, lol. (who knows though, with all our council brown bins we have to use, it might become a lot cheaper in the future, ever hopeful.) :)
The best thing you could use is straw laden horse manure and also homemade compost. The straw must be well rotted. It breacks up the clods of clay and helps to put air into the soil so that also helps with the soil structure. The manure helps with humus in the soil. Humus is a jelly like substance which retains moisture and nutrients and helps again with the structure and bio life of the soil. The next thing you could use is homemade compost with all of your kitchen scraps. This will help making a fine tilth whish will allow you to sow seeds direct into the ground. Also on that matter why not when you sow seeds make a very shallow trench and put in some potting compost and sow your seeds direct into the compost. This will help them to germanate and give them a stronger start in life.
The_Snail
Quote from: Common_Clay on February 23, 2006, 19:10:44
Thanks peterpiper... if lime helps clay soil, is clay an indication of acidity? Some of it has been dug and dug, with a rotavator and is still very clay. If I put it on in the autumn, does that mean that plants that don't want alkaline soil will be ok with it the following planting year?
Clay soil isn't necessarily acidic, so I wouldn't assume that you have acid soil. A very simple indicator of what kind of soil you have is what weeds you get.
Adding lime to soil is sometimes done to raise the pH. For clay soils, though, lime is added for the purpose of flocculation (!) - essentially it causes the very small clay particles to aggregate together into larger particles. This improves the soil structure by leaving more pore space for air and water.
Sometimes gypsum is used to do this, instead, as it doesn't change the soil pH in the way that lime does.
Gypsum, eh?
Have just had the loft sorted and there are 4 bags of lime plaster and pieces of plasterboard sitting in rubble bags outside my house...
Would it be sensible or at least not catastrophic to dig two spades deep in to my waterlogged clay and spread out all what's in the rubble bags and then backfill with the soil?
I don't think that would make any difference to your soil; it has to be in small particles distributed through the soil to make any difference. It does dissolve in water (which is where you want it) but only to a very small degree; the smaler the particles, the better it will go into solution.