View Single Post
  #9   Report Post  
Old 23-02-2012, 06:03 PM posted to rec.gardens
David E. Ross[_2_] David E. Ross[_2_] is offline
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Oct 2009
Posts: 1,049
Default A Goliath project on a David budget

On 2/23/12 1:48 AM, saltdog wrote:
'Patty Winter[_2_ Wrote:
;951634']In article ,
saltdog
wrote:-

Is it worth me digging in the sticky clay while it's still soaking wet?
-

If your English clay is anything like what we've got in California
(adobe), you sure don't want to be trying to dig it when it's dry!


Patty

Much as I appreciate the response and agree with you Patty, I must
clarify that my clay is very much Scottish and not English. Lol.

You have a point though. I never really meant when it was baked dry
though. I'm thinking that happens less in Scotland than it would in
California anyway. I just wondered if there was any point digging it
while it was efectively a pond. The rain has been relentless here since
I actually dug it out. I am going to get out there with a fork tonight
though to see if I can't get a little bit of it to drain away.


When you dig truly wet clay, you make the soil stucture far worse than
it was unless you are removing the clay and hauling it away. Actually,
you cannot even walk on wet clay without adversely affecting the soil
structure.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary