In message , AL_n
writes
stuart noble wrote in news:IhBSu.11032$Eo5.6870
:

B&Q sell sharp sand labelled as "soil improver". Same stuff in a
different bag is a building product. To be fair though, same price!
It's incorporating the sand into the clay that's the problem.

My favourite improver is vermiculite, but I imagine fly ash might have
similar properties and be relatively cheap in bulk?

Thanks... Yes, I've often heard people say that using sand is a way to deal
with clay, but, as you say, mixing it in might be a problem.

Real, pure clay like mine, is incredibly hard to work. The only tome you
can do much with it is when it has throughly dried out. Then you can
pulverise it somewhat.

What I have done, is break down the clods of clay into small (tennis ball
and golf ball sized limpss, and leveled it all out with a rake. Now I will
probably sprinkle a load of cheap compost (cheapest I can possibly find)
over that and sow the seed into that, and trust nature to eventually break
down the clay. Once I have a lawn crowing, I guess it doesn;t matter too
much what is going on below the surface - except that I've noticed that if
there is too much glay mixed in with the soil, rainwater tends to sit on it
without soaking in.

Thanks..

Al
Anything fibrous will help. Horse manure or similar is quite cheap.
--
bert