Clay breaker

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bobbyt

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Clay breaker
« on: August 17, 2024, 20:21 »
Tried to find posts on here about this but gave up, so here goes ;).
My clay soil can't be broken up with gypsum according to the test. Organic means are recommended. I'm thinking I'll put fresh horse manure on it now ready for next spring. Here's the dilemma, do I spread and leave it exposed, spread and cover with plastic sheet, leave in a pile exposed and spread when broken down, or in a pile and cover, then spread when broken down. Which do you think is best?
« Last Edit: August 17, 2024, 20:21 by bobbyt »

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Nobbie

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Re: Clay breaker
« Reply #1 on: August 19, 2024, 09:24 »
I’d try spreading it and putting the plastic on top. I had an old weedy raspberry bed that I dug over roughly in the spring and then covered in a layer of grass clippings then covered in plastic. Uncovered it the other day and all the grass was gone and soil was nice and easy to dig over.

The plastic should keep the soil warmer for longer so the worms can keep working and it should accelerate the breakdown of the manure in the next couple of months while it’s still warm.

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rowlandwells

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Re: Clay breaker
« Reply #2 on: August 21, 2024, 17:03 »
we had a real problem a couple of years ago with soil capping no one but no one could give us a answer how we could stop the soil capping especially in the summer months from those so called professional gardeners so after some trials I came up with the idea of horse manure and straw fresh straw not rotted and I plastered the ground with this for 2 years ploughing it in Autumn to overwinter come spring there was no trace of any straw or manure but the ground seemed to be better to work then after the second year doing the same horse manure and fresh straw bingo it worked a treat the soil cultivated lovely

we planted potatoes in that ground and boy did we have a crop of spuds the next year we grew onions and they to where good the only down side was I only did half the plot so I'm now started the same process on the other half of the plot I don't know if this method will help you but the only way would be to try it you've  nothing to loose so why not give it a go 

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Snow

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Re: Clay breaker
« Reply #3 on: August 23, 2024, 08:49 »
Spread it and sow daikon/field radish. Daikon radish is great at breaking up the soil. You can just leave it and it will rot down in the soil. Have a Google about it

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Richard Yates

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Re: Clay breaker
« Reply #4 on: August 24, 2024, 14:07 »
Tried to find posts on here about this but gave up, so here goes ;).
My clay soil can't be broken up with gypsum according to the test. Organic means are recommended. I'm thinking I'll put fresh horse manure on it now ready for next spring. Here's the dilemma, do I spread and leave it exposed, spread and cover with plastic sheet, leave in a pile exposed and spread when broken down, or in a pile and cover, then spread when broken down. Which do you think is best?

What was the test you did?

Check your soil's pH, potentially add lime. Re horse muck, I'd be inclined to dig it in and let it get on with it.
« Last Edit: August 24, 2024, 14:08 by Richard Yates »

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bobbyt

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Re: Clay breaker
« Reply #5 on: August 24, 2024, 16:08 »
#rRichard Yates
The test I did was to see if gypsum would potentially break up the clay by dropping a ball of my soil in a glass jar of water its suppose to break up in water, but it just stayed in a ball, so apparently the gypsum wouldn't do anything, so you have to use organic material. Hence the manure.
Still undecided, but I suppose any method of getting it into the soil would be good. Thinking of leaving in a big pile to rot then mixing in sand and MPC, then spreading. Idea is to kill off any weed seed the horses have gobbled up.   :)

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Richard Yates

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Re: Clay breaker
« Reply #6 on: August 24, 2024, 16:52 »
#rRichard Yates
The test I did was to see if gypsum would potentially break up the clay by dropping a ball of my soil in a glass jar of water its suppose to break up in water, but it just stayed in a ball, so apparently the gypsum wouldn't do anything, so you have to use organic material. Hence the manure.
Still undecided, but I suppose any method of getting it into the soil would be good. Thinking of leaving in a big pile to rot then mixing in sand and MPC, then spreading. Idea is to kill off any weed seed the horses have gobbled up.   :)
I see. Clay has very, very fine particles, 0.0002mm or smaller, and it's quite hard to get it to "dissolve". I'd try getting some small samples from here and there in your soil, to get an average, and put them in a tall thin jar (like the ones that frankfurters come in, for instance) until it's say 1/2 full, then add water, give it a good stir/prod until the lumps go, top it up, shake again, then let it settle undisturbed for a few hours. You'll see a gradient of particle sizes going down the jar, and whether any clay particles still discolour the water, and be able to approximate the constituents. You might well find it useful to add lime or gypsum, if it does not readily break up in water, that implies clay.

Adding sand might not be particularly useful if your soil has a high clay content, the grains of sand get stuck up by the very fine clay (think bricklaying mortar), organic would be better. You could add wood chips, leafy if possible (from garden chipper, tree surgeon who will be glad to get rid of it), or even sawdust/shavings if you can get it "clean", to your fresh horse muck, pile that up and let it mature a while before use. I'd certainly cover the heap, or bag the stuff up and stack the sacks. Check a heap from time to time, wet it if it looks dry. I don't worry about seeds, they hoe off easily enough, and anyway seeds come in from everywhere. Grr! :)


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