Hi,

I'm in Northwest NJ and every garden I've every dug here has been hard clay.
It takes a while to get the treatment right, but the problem can be solved.

Any new beds you put in, force yourself to take the time to fix the soil
first. It makes all the difference. I use Peatmoss ( be carefull, you
have to really wet the stuff in a wheel barrow before adding it to the soil
or you'll just make it worse... ) and any organic compost I can find, ( at
our local dump you can pick up free compost from the clippings they collect
in the fall. I 've found some strange things in it, and some weird
mushrooms, but basically, the improvement to the soil outweighed the
downside.

I mix 1 part peat to 1 part compost if I can, and add all that the soil can
take or all that I can afford. Which ever comes first.

Established beds..... Mulch Mulch Mulch with something that will break down.
Again, local dumps may have free mulch from branches and trimmings that they
collect and chip. In the spring, pull away the mulch, if there is any still
left, or just work it in and work in an inch or so of compost, put back the
old mulch and cover with new. Give it about 3 years and those old beds
will improve greatly.

Good Luck!
Cassiope
"GIJane" wrote in message
...
Carl,

Victoria's advice sounds right on. Whether you can do that in an
established bed is going to be a challenge. What has worked for me is
simply taking kitchen scraps out every few days (even in winter, zone 6)
and
digging a narrow hole to 2-3 inches below the clay line, dumping the
scrapes
in and covering. The garden has slowly but surely been improved over the
last year or two. Digging a narrow hole will be a lot less intrusive to
your established plants. Good luck.

"Carl e Roberts" wrote in message
...
thanx Victoria.. there's a lot here to "chew" on..

. pelletized gypsum.. can I top dress with this or do I need to till it
in
the fall
(already established beds)
.I am trying to develope "tilth" in this garden-sometimes it gets so
packed you
can't poke yer finger into the soil. (gotta be hard on those little
roots
trying to
spread out)
.I am currently using straw to mulch where I can (to prevent the sun
from
baking
the clay and also moisture retention)
.let's talk about worms-happy abundant worms make for good soil-(no
doubt
in my
mind)- what can I do to make these little guys happy and go forth and
multiply?-(maybe sprinkle some corn meal on the soil?)-also things to
avoid to make
them unhappy
.I've got grass clippings and shredded newspaper to use for organic
material-currently "working" in two compost piles.. (more on this-maybe
in
another
post) When to add the grass clippings and shredded newspaper? -we're
talking about
top dressing with these-(established beds)-would make me some happy
worms?
.I would like to hear more about this "fungal mat"-what does it look
like?-I just
surface cultivated what I think to be a "fungal mat" this morning.. The
soil was
(lightly) hard packed with a green surface area..




animaux wrote:

Pelletized gypsum is an excellent product to add to the soil when it
is
hard
clay. I would not suggest you use powdered gypsum. The addition of
sand may
work, but usually only if accompanied by a thick layer of mulch,
otherwise the
small particles of clay stick to the significantly larger sand
particles
and can
cause some very hard soil, as you now can see. Mulch is really
important in
that it continues to nourish the soil with active organisms which help
break
down the mulch and shades the soil to keep it cooler, thus the
earthworms come
higher to the surface and drag down the organic matter to ingest and
process, as
well as aerating the soil. Worm castings will then be present in the
soil,
which will introduce other aerobic organisms, which further break the
soil down
into more friable particles.

Leaving clay with added sand in hot open sun will give you something
on
the
order of concrete. It will change the minute you mulch. On areas
where
aesthetic is not an issue, I will use alfalfa hay to suppress weeds
and
feed the
soil organisms. It keeps the soil cool and moist, which is how
clay(s)
develop
from hardpan into workable soil.

It's a process which is well worth it. It can take about three years
for soil
to truly come alive and be self sufficient enough where you only need
to
add
organic matter to maintain the levels of micro and macro organisms
which
in
turn, do all the work. A soil should only need to be tilled
mechanically once.
Then it should be left alone to recover and develop a fungal mat
where
you will
smell frankincense in the soil. It smells sweet and has great texture
and
structure. Clay is a lot easier to do this with than sand since the
clay
already has body, it just needs to be nurtured and given organic
matter
to
develop. If you add anything, add finished compost, preferably with
active
actinomycetes, which is a fungus and will help develop active soils.

For information about soil and how to get it alive, take a look at:

http://www.soilfoodweb.com/phpweb/to...ex.php?tid=153

or start at their home page:

www.soilfoodweb.com

Victoria

On Tue, 10 Jun 2003 07:44:54 -0500, Carl e Roberts
wrote:

15 yrs ago I added 24 cu yds of white sand to my yard (here in
Memphis).
(The neighbors thot I was building a beach). We are on the downward
side
of a slight slope and this sand definitely has helped with drainage
and
has improved our soil overall. Recently this spring we tilled about
400sq. ft of new flowerbeds and I was amazed at the variety of soil
types in various locations of the yard. Some in full sun, partial
shade,
the "upside" of our yard, and the "downside" all with different types
of
soil. (I am going to take a small break from this sand issue to say
for
the benefit of some-I have also added other "amendments" to the soil
such as lime,compost,organic matter,etc. ). Here (finally) is the
issue:
The area where we have a small garden after tilling and planting this
spring is showing signs of hard packed soil. The sand is still mixed
with the clay but the clay still "hardpacks" after a good rain. I
have
two compost piles "working" and intend this fall to incorporate large
quantities of organic matter (grassclippings/shredded newspaper) into
this garden spot. My question is this: I am wondering whether to add
more sand to help with the breakup of the clay or maybe gypsum is the
answer here- I am not very familiar with this product what exactly is
"gypsum" and how/when is this product added? where can gypsum be
purchased?