[ThePragmatist]

Hi,

The bottom half of my plot is very heavy going. It is very slow and demoralising to work as it takes such a long time to dig over. It is clay soil, but the primary problem is one of drainage. For most of the year it has probably been too heavy to work. Even in July I was getting wet sucking sounds when I tried to lever out weeds with a fork. Wonderful year for slugs though.

I have done what I can to improve the drainage by digging a ditch and a soak away.

I am wondering whether digging sand into the soil would help improve matters or whether I should just keep adding compost. I want to add more organic material to build up the soil and gradually raise the beds up higher but I wasn't sure whether adding sand would also be a good move.

Cheers,
Craig

[LeeR]

I had heavy clay soil to start with.  Over the years I've had the plot I've added a lot of compost, manure, sand and grit.  They will all help.  Just don't add manure where you intended to grow root crops next year.  I guess sand will get washed away quickly, but like I said they all help and lots of it.

[Aunt Sally]

Yes, you must get lots of organic matter into the soil.

Lime or gypsum will help to break up clay by making the particles flocculate (stick together).

[ilan]

forget using sand to make any real difference you will need tons of it just get plenty of compost/ manure into it . In reality if you mix equal parts sand and clay together you will have to stuff they make clay ovens out of 

[BabbyAnn]

forget using sand to make any real difference you will need tons of it just get plenty of compost/ manure into it . In reality if you mix equal parts sand and clay together you will have to stuff they make clay ovens out of 

I have had good results adding a mix of sharp sand and compost/manure - compost/manure alone has a temporary effect and with heavy clay, quickly rots down and becomes part of the heavy silt again.  I also found I couldn't produce enough compost for what I need and it was too expensive to keep buying compost in.  I think the combination and lots of digging to work the soil/break up any clods turns clay soil into a lovely mix.

[JayG]

This Wiki article explains the composition of loam, the soil type most of us would like to have but the majority of us havent actually got!  

Even a soil with the right mineral balance to be called a loam needs humus to give it the right structure and properties - soils at either end of the sand-clay spectrum can be improved by adding humus but that alone does not permanently turn either of them into a loam, which is why heavy clay soils need sand added to the mix (and also why I'm always on the look out for nice big lumps of sticky clay to dry out and break up to add to my sand-pit of a veg patch!)  

[compostqueen]

You could build a raised bed(s) in the worst of the soggy bits 

[Optimistic Gardener]

I found a JCB and a six wheeled lorry to cart it all away was the best solution...but then again I was building an extension to the house at the same time!

 

[lordthanatos]

I would go with the raised bed idea. for now anyway. I had a patch off heavy soil and I raised it up. then I got a builders bag and collected enough leaves to fill it, left it to Mulch over the year and worked the whole lot in, took hard work but really helped,plus the worms helped break down everything.

I also tried this

instead off having a compost bin, have a compost patch on an area you want to improve and cover it once its about two foot tall, once its broken down I dug in in, no heavy lifting compost around as its in place

I did see a video off some old allotment guy who grew weeds on purpose because they had a deep root which helped break up the soil took a few growing seasons but worked really well without breaking him back

[angelavdavis]

I also tried this

instead off having a compost bin, have a compost patch on an area you want to improve and cover it once its about two foot tall, once its broken down I dug in in, no heavy lifting compost around as its in place

I have also done this to good effect in a clay soil in a garden I had where I simply had no room for a compost heap.  I used to dig a large trench (bit like a bean trench) and then covered it up again and planted straight in it.  It helped with drainage no end.

[Amilo]

I have found that sand is not as effective as sharp grit or better still granite dust up to 6mm. true you still need compost but as far a drainage go's clay and compost is not much better the just clay for drainage.

[clairebeau]

Oh my!  I can't believe I'm about to give advice....Hee hee!!!  I no longer feel such a newbie thanks to these guys 

Anyhow, my site is clay soil too, and I'm at the bottom of the hill so it's VERY soggy! As
Compostqueen suggests you could build raised beds, like I have.  You can build up good soil in just these bits then.  I rang around a few places and managed to get a trailer load of really well rotted horse manure that had shavings rather than straw in it. I know I'm lucky when I tell you that this manure was about 15/20 years old!!  I'll be going back to my secret stash of muck very soon  so that I can keep on building up the level of decent soil in these beds.

You lose quite a bit of planting space using raised beds but at least areas can be sorted for planting. I'm just trying to sort out the blasted paths now as they're still really bad.

Some of the others may need to confirm that my advice is OK but I just thought it was worth letting you know how soon I have managed to get my plot into action even though the soil was tricky.

Hope that helps. x

[jmc1949]

Sorry to hijack this thread but like Craig I have some very heavy clay to deal with. Yesterday, dug an area 6x4 to a spade depth, then yesterday evening a torrential rainshower came down. Went back today to find the area I'd dug full to the top with water. So like Craig I need to do something as this area will eventually be about 18 ft x 4ft long and will have my currents and gooseberry bushes in.

I'm getting to the point now, realising I need to add sharp sand/compost/manure etc to improve the area how deep would I have to dig and improve so the roots of the bushes don't drown.

[BabbyAnn]

Sorry to hijack this thread but like Craig I have some very heavy clay to deal with. Yesterday, dug an area 6x4 to a spade depth, then yesterday evening a torrential rainshower came down. Went back today to find the area I'd dug full to the top with water. So like Craig I need to do something as this area will eventually be about 18 ft x 4ft long and will have my currents and gooseberry bushes in.

I'm getting to the point now, realising I need to add sharp sand/compost/manure etc to improve the area how deep would I have to dig and improve so the roots of the bushes don't drown.

Just digging an area helps to break up compacted soil and usually improves drainage - as you have already done that, I have concerns that digging down deeper is not going to be the answer but perhaps go for building up by having raised beds instead so that the roots of bushes will not be sitting in water.

[ThePragmatist]

Thanks guys! I have a healthy weed population so as the various things I have planted get lifted I intend to add lots of organic material from my compost heap. It also makes more room for more weeds. I also have a friend with a horse so I think I will also be using that to my advantage.

I am doing a test to look at the soil composition that I found on the internet. You get a jam jar, fill it half way up with soil and add water. Put the top on and shake it all up together to mix everything, then let it settle. It should settle into 3 layers, sand, silt and clay. Sand first, bit particles, then silt, medium particles, then clay with the smallest particles. Unsurprisingly I have a lot of clay and very little sand.

Adding more material to the beds will hopefully let me raise them up a bit more and help them drain more easily.

Anyway, thanks for all the kind words and advice!