Clay Soil

Hi all,

I have been digging over my borders and raised beds as they was full of weeds by the last owners. The weeds are nearly all removed including the roots but now the main thing i noticed was large lumps of soil which feel and look like dried clay on top and also when digging over there was also some clay.

The main question is do i just keep trying to break it up or rake over and remove and would i be best to dig in some multipurpose compost as i was thinking of getting some of the B&Q Verve Multipurpose Compost 125L which is £5.98

Looking to plant flowers from seeds soon

Chris

 

@PeterS has done an excellent thread showing what can be achieved on clay. Got to get the kids off to bed now but I'll see if I can find it in a while.

 

if i removed all the clay in my garden i would not have any soil at all!! lol. according to everything I have read you have to dig in loads of compost or horse manure or suchlike. As i never had any compost i bought a huge compost bin a few weeks ago and thanks to friends, family and scrounging its half full. I wish my soil would go to a 'fine tilth' like on the tv but it will never be like that so I am making the best of it.

 

Here we go.

http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/threads/improving-clay.21951/

 

You can also dig in a busted up bale of straw, which is cheap enough from many farm shops. I dug in a load of half decomposed bracket into one section of my garden. Still haven't done much with that section yet (a year on since doing it), but started digging it recently and its lovely soil now.

 

Add layers of crumpled cardboard to the kitchen waste in the bin, bulks it up and improves the carbon/nitrogen ratio

 

WOW all that hard work that PeterS put into his front garden to make the soil better.

So would i get away with just buying some of B&Q Verve Multipurpose Compost 125L which is £5.98 and mixing it into the soil / clay without anything else. I see that some people dig in newspaper and horse manure as well. Is this necessary or would just doing the above with the B&Q compost work.

With doing all this soil prep can i plant seeds or flowers this year or would i be best to wait.

I have 2 raised beds which are around 1m x 1m and 2 borders around the grass which are around 5m long and 2feet wide so not massive area's.

Chris

 

One trick is to plant annuals that have been raised in pots. That way, you'll be putting little pockets of good compost right where the plant needs it. The plants will of course send roots out into the surrounding clay, and at the end of the year when they all die off, they've already added organic matter into the rooting zone.

Another trick is to grow stuff that's happy in clay anyway. At this point I have to mention nasturtium. Its brilliant, grows in just about anything, and adds loads of structure to the soil. I could go on, but the regulars will probably shoot me if I do yet another essay on the wonders of nasturtium

Of course all this is kind of on the assumption that its so much clay that its not much good for anything. Clay soil in itself is not a bad thing. It holds lots of nutrients and doesn't dry out too quickly. It becomes a problem when its pretty much nothing but clay, in which case in wet weather it becomes a muddy mess and in dry weather it turns as hard as rock. If yours isn't like this, then I wouldn't think it necessary to take any kind of drastic action.

 

OK.

Thanks for the Tips. I was thinking of sowing in pots in the house or outside to start with as i have no greenhouse or anything.

Its not all full of clay it just seems alot of large lumps of it has come to the top of the soil after digging over with a fork. I had no issues digging it over and there was only the odd bit which was full of it but i can run a fork or rake though the soil easy.

I will try and not ask anymore questions as might just be me being to worried

Chris

 

Ask away. From what you describe, I think your garden soil is fine. It is probably more clay underneath because a previous owner might have been mulching it every autumn.

 

Just going to dig it over again and break down anymore lumps and mix a bit of compost in and see how it go's

Good to have nice members on here with all the advice and help

 

Get yourself some sharp sand from B&Q. Get it from the building section as it's cheaper than buying the Verve stuff from the gardening bit.

Dig that in to improve drainage and add plenty of compost too Alternatively you could add some horticultural grit.

I have clay soil too but have improved it over a few years with the addition of plenty of compost and a lesser amount of sharp sand.

Clay soil is nutrient rich. For any lumps I remove, I let them dry out and then crumble them and mix back in (don't know if that's what you are supposed to do but it's what I do).

Here's a video showing you how to do it (although he's using gypsum).

 

Chris I'll second what Merle said above . I am on clay , which actually drains very well for some reason . Remember clay is not bad in a garden , it is a rich source of nutrients . I would add a mix of compost , top soil and sharp sand ( make sure it is Sharp Sand not builders sand ) If you get about 8" + on the clay this should be fine. Not sure how much you have to do , but if it is a large area consider a bulk delivery of top soil and sharp sand in them big builders plastic bags.

 

I would try breaking up the lumps shortly after some rain. You need to time it right - long enough that it is no longer sticky, from the rain, but soon enough that it doesn't set rock-hard again. Should be possible to make a fine tilth that way.

But either way, long term you need to work lots of organic matter into the soil. Its a long term game I'm afraid. As @shiney said, adding bagged compost is expensive, and I doubt it will make much difference (unless you add loads). Growing in pots and planting out will help, but it can mean that the plant's roots stay within the "pocket" of nice soil they started off in, and as such they won't do as well as if they grow out into a nice quality soil.