audrey wrote:

1. What's the difference between compost and manure? I mean not what
they are made of, I basically know what they are made of ;-) but what
benefits do they provide? Does each provide a different benefit so
that I need both?

Manure may be fresh or composted. Compost may have manuer in it, or not.

Composting is essentially letting something sit and rot, allowing it to
turn into a soil-like material. Organic material will all eventually
compost. The art of composting is to make this happen quickly, and not
attract flies.

You don't want to put fresh manure on anything.... unless you want to
kill it. The manuer you use should be composted. Composted manuer almost
always includes other organic material; straw, for example. Commercial
brands contain more filler than what you'd probably get from the farmer
down the road.

2. Some posts say it's better to use compost/manure rather than
fertilizer as the former provides a natural source of nutrients thus
better for the plants, but compost/manure are decomposed waste, don't
they make your garden smell?

Fertilizing is the act of adding nutrients to the soil. Using compost,
whether it be composted manuer or compost entirely made from vegitation,
adds nutrients, but not to the level of a granulated fertilizer. A
granulated fertilizer will do nothing for your soil structure, while
compost will.

3. Some posts say that peat moss/sand/dirt don't provide any nutrients
and a waste of money, and some say they provide aeration and a must
for clay soil, and some say that compost/manure also provide aeration
for the soil? Which is true?

Compost is almost always a good thing. I don't want to just say
"always", because I'm sure someone can come up with an exception. Let's
just say for your purposes, it would be good.

"Dirt" is a meaningless term.

Sand and peat moss can help in certain situations. At the very least
they'll make the soil structure less homogenous. Peat may temporarily
help lower the Ph, and help hold mosture. Sand can help the soil drain
faster. You may find, however, that to get a noticable effect, you're
going to have to use a huge amount of either, and the cost may not be
worth the benefit.


4. Some posts say that good soil preparation takes several months to
several years, does it mean I have to wait that long to plant anything
successfully? We just moved into a new house this past winter, due to
the unusually harsh winter this year, we couldn't do anything before
now. We still have some patches of snow that haven't melt, and it's
mid March If I prep the soil as soon as the snow melts, how long
(or rather how short) should wait before I start planting? I'm kind
of anxious as our yard looks particularly bare.

Think of it this way: It's like loosing weight. You can usually
(depending on your health) find a way to loose weight quickly, but it
may not stay off unless you also develop lifestyle changes, too. The
lifestyle changes are very important, but if you just go that route, you
won't have immediate results.

5. From this long list of different soil amending types (compost,
manure, fertilizer, peat moss, sand, and dirt), what are the essential
but also economical types that I need? And from that essential list,
what ratio of each of the types should I mix in with my clay soil?

Compost, peat moss, and to some extend, sand can be soil amendments.
Manure may be an ingredient in compost. Compost will have some
fertilizing effects, but fertilizer usually refers to a product that
adds nutrients but does not amend the soil. Dirt means nothing.

You may need to accomplish more than one thing. First, you probably need
better soil structure. Compost is going to be the big helper here.
Whether you use manure or not is a matter of choice. Your choices of
adding compost come down to three basic choices:
1. Spread it on top, and let the earthworms carry it down over the
years,
2. Get out a shovel, and till it in by hand.
3. Use a tiller to turn over the soil, and work it in.

Be careful not to over-till. The soil should not be so dry that it's too
hard, nor so wet that it turns to mud balls when you till, and you
probably should not till more than twice a year (spring and fall, not
twice in the spring).

That's going to make the soil more loamy. You'll get better drainage,
and you'll have an easier time digging holes for things you're planting.
Seldom is there a down-side to this.

But there's another issue: Does your soil have the nutrients needed by
what you're going to plant. Compost will add some nutrients, but if
you're starting with a neglected patch of earth, you may need to use
fertilizer to add nutrients. What fertilizer you'll need can only be
determined after a soil test. Your test should be taken no sooner than
two weeks after you till in some compost.

(Also be aware that if your "compost" hasn't fully composted yet, it may
temporarily tie-up some of the nitrogen to complete the composting.
That's part of why you should wait a couple weeks, but if you saw lots
of chunks of recognizable material in your "compost", it might not be
finished in a couple of weeks.)

So basically the bottom line is you need to be concerned with two
things: Soil structure, and nutrients. There are things to do for
short-term results, and other things to do for long-term benefits. And
you're going to have a lot of work ahead of you.

--
Warren H.

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Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.