In article ,
"songbird" wrote:

Billy wrote:
...
Towards the end of your season, try planting buckwheat or rye
as a
cover crop. They will lighten your soil considerably by
introducing
large quantities of fine roots into it.

i've, coincidentally, just gotten a few
buckwheat seeds to see what kind of
plant they are, and a much larger amount
of birdsfoot trefoil seeds to spread on
a few areas i've been spading.

we'd planted alfalfa in the general
area to improve the soil and to break
through the hardpacked clay layer but
it didn't get enough color to be left wild
like i would have done. now it is being
mowed. the trefoil eventually will fill in
and improve things on a smaller scale.

Rye and buckwheat aren't going to pass as ornamentals. They function
very well, though, in breaking up clay into a soil that is more workable.
At this point you could add your amendments (including sand to 30-40%,
organic material to 5-10%). Once your amendments are in, you may wish to
change to growing green manure, and avoid the cost of bagged animal
manure altogether.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arn3lF5XSUg
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html