[Jimmy Splash]

i think my soil is on a clay bed
because after a downpour the soil is clumpy, soft and compacts easily when i tread on it. also it's really difficult pulling weeds out. they just break at the top of the soil.

is the answer to buy bag loads of compost and sprinkle it all over to make it finer? i can't get hold of manure.

[compostqueen]

Well that rather depends on the size of the area involved. If it's large then it would cost too much

Generally we make our own composts and leafmoulds to use as soil improvers. You can get spent mushroom compost, straw, sharp sand, all of which will lighten heavy clay soils.  Planting a breaking crop of potatoes is usually a good thing. I found that leeks were good clay breakers too, with their invasive roots systems. Celeriac is another

You can get hold of manure, everyone can if they try 

If you've not got a compost bin or leaf bin then I'd get cracking today 

[aelf]

A good test for clay is how quickly the site drains after heavy rain. If puddles sit on the surface for more than a few hours, it is likely that the soil is clayey (or very compacted). Changing that to a well draining soil is a case of working the soil regularly, incorporating organic matter as you go. It may take you many years to get the soil you want 

[Arbutus]

Although organic matter is obviously vital in any soil, and does help to break up small-particle clay soils, unless you have access to industrial quantities of organic material on an on-going basis then you will also need to add something like grit to break open the soil structure permanently and create better drainage.

At RHS garden Rosemoor they spent vast amounts of time and money improving the heavy clay soil purely with very large quantities of organic material. They then planted roses on the new beds. Within 12-24 months many of the plants were failing badly and examination of the soil showed that it had entirely reverted to it's previous state in a very short space of time. They started all over again, this time bringing in large amounts of grit and created a permanent improvement in the soil that now allows a wide array of plants to thrive long-term.

There's a useful pair of articles about this very subject at Ecocharlie:

www.ecocharlie.co.uk/blog/2010/03/improving-your-soil/

www.ecocharlie.co.uk/blog/2010/02/getting-to-know-your-soil/

[tode]

If you've not got enough compost, then a cheap solution is to get a load of dead leaves fropm the Council, and dig those in before the winter.

[JayG]

Most people will tell you that manure or compost will improve all soils, and I agree, but simple logic (can't do complicated!) suggests to me that if good loams are an approximately equal mixture of clay, silt, sand and organic material that the best and most permanent result will come from trying to correct the mineral content of the soil as well as adding organic material.

So for heavy clay it would be adding fine grit and manure/compost, for light and sandy (like mine) it would be adding clay and manure/compost.

(I've been doing a little experiment this year on a small part of my plot by adding some donated "pure" clay. Probably didn't have enough to make a big difference but it seems to have incorporated OK and certainly hasn't done any harm!)

[mumofstig]

I have a clay layer under the first spit of sandy stuff, and in my autumn digging, as well as loosening the hard layer I've been bringing a little of it up to mix with the top layer...........same theory as yours Jay

The old boys who have plots that were pure clay, added grit and course sand to their soil to make it workable and improve the drainage. They manure only one third of their plots, for the potatoes, each year, so it takes 3 years before the whole plot has been manured. Quite economical in time and effort, as well as in manure if you have to pay for it.

Deep digging makes the world of difference to clay though. Especially if you dig deeply in autumn and leave the frosts to break the soil up. the more you work it the better the soil is, because you let air in to the soil, which in turn improves drainage
Hard work, but worth it!

[JayG]

 

Just wish I'd got some clay under my sand, but as you might have guessed it's.........sandstone!
(Found that out when excavating for my pond!) 

[evie2]

Look on the bright side Jay, it least it's not an old mine shaft 

[Jay The Digger]

Most people will tell you that manure or compost will improve all soils, and I agree, but simple logic (can't do complicated!) suggests to me that if good loams are an approximately equal mixture of clay, silt, sand and organic material that the best and most permanent result will come from trying to correct the mineral content of the soil as well as adding organic material.

So for heavy clay it would be adding fine grit and manure/compost, for light and sandy (like mine) it would be adding clay and manure/compost.

(I've been doing a little experiment this year on a small part of my plot by adding some donated "pure" clay. Probably didn't have enough to make a big difference but it seems to have incorporated OK and certainly hasn't done any harm!)

Maybe some sort of soil swap should be set up.  I am on clay and need sandy stuff.  You are on sandy stuff and need clay.  All we need now is a mechanical digger and a big lorry and we are set   

[DD.]

Look on the bright side Jay, it least it's not an old mine shaft 

JayG, JayG..... talk to us.  Where have you gone? 

[JayG]

Look on the bright side Jay, it least it's not an old mine shaft 

JayG, JayG..... talk to us.  Where have you gone? 

Hellooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo