How I deal with clay soil

[HonoluluGirl]

I visited a farm in Kaneohe, HI about a year ago, and they showed me how they dealed with clay soil. I gave it a try and it seems to work.

They grew their vegetables in raised rows instead of flat ground. After tilling, they piled the soil into long rows that were about a couple feet tall and a couple feet wide. So it was like a raised bed garden without the walls. That way the soil stayed fluffy because you don't step on it. Also the mounds don't get saturated in water. The pathways between the rows were compacted clay, and you could walk on them easily. I tried this in my small vegetable garden, and it seems to work better for me than planting on flat ground. When it rained, I noticed water puddling around the base of the rows, but the rows themselves were out of the standing water. It's also easier to walk between the rows.

They also told me they mixed the Big R redwood shavings to make their soil less compacted, but I haven't tried that yet.

[imafan26]

I have done wide row planting it does work. Big R is organic and I have used it before, and it dries out quickly and as long as you don't walk in the beds, the organic matter eventually does make the digging easier. You still need to make sure you do not work clay soil when it is wet or it makes clods and ruins the soil texture and it is difficult to fix that. You will have to keep adding organic matter as it does pack down. I have switched from Big R to compost for the organic matter mainly because the Big R likes to float up and is more useful as mulch. Raising the bed also helps in wet Kaneohe.

[jal_ut]

The soil in my garden is heavy in clay. I did garden in a worse lot some years back. Heavy clay. The main thing to remember: Never work clay soils when they are too wet. If you do, you get hard clumps that won't break down all season.
Clay based soils grow good crops. Just be careful how you work them and add plenty of compost.

[bryce d]

I pile in truck loads (I mean like three) of leaves every year into my garden. Everyone sees me doing this but they can't figure out how I have such good soil.