I use fall leaves for mulch everywhere. Just don't let it get real close to the base of the tree as it can add to rot to the bark and also allow critters cover to chew on the bark, both not good to the tree. Soil that has an odor to it because of it being to wet can be dried out and re-used. I would use it mixed with some fresh to give it a new life. If you use the half barrel again make sure to drill lots of drainage in it. Sandy

OK, so I sprayed it with water several times and mixed the mud up with the dry soil, then added some complete organic fertilizer, and bought some compost which I both mixed in and added as a top 1/2 inch layer. It may still be a bit silty in parts of it, but I do think I added a good bit of organic matter (the store-bought topsoil I put in there earlier was mostly peat moss and forest floor compost plus sand). In any case, I am planting arugula and escarole which I think are pretty hardy plants, so if the soil isn't in top-shape they should still be able produce something for me. I think that it soaks better now, it doesn't just turn to sludge like it did originally. I live in the Pacific NW in the USA, and in fall it is very rainy, so I think that now I will just let the rain do its work. Can I just use more of the store compost (I only added half to the bed so far, because it was over-full) to mulch the plants once they are bigger, or do I need heavier stuff like wood chips or straw? Thanks for the advice!

Yeah Daniel, it is tough to work, but it is also quite nutrient-dense stuff. Once I turn in organic matter for a couple of seasons, and keep it mulched all year, it becomes fairly decent soil. It has a very cloddy/crumbly texture, so really, the difficult thing is sowing small seeds. I have to spread some compost on the surface and sow into that. As long as I don't let the surface dry out too much, larger seeds work fine (peas, beans, squash, fava, etc...) And as long as I keep the soil covered with mulch between the time I work the soil, and actually set out plants, transplanting is fairly easy. I just have to rake the mulch back, let it dry a day, and set the plants out. I turn lots of leaves directly into the soil. The worms seem to love them. I don't even shred them. Although, many of the leaves are from my many locust trees - they are the size of shredded oak leaves lol. In warm, moist climates like here in E. Tn., things decompose extremely quickly. I do everything I can to keep as many worms of as many different types active in the beds. They do more to help heavy soils support plant life than I ever could. So, feeding them organic matter, and keeping the soil insulated with relatively thick layers of organic mulch really helps. Feed the soil not the plants. Thinking ahead and covering an area before you work heavy soil simply helps to make it appropriately friable.

Wide and shallow - that's my new mantra. Root ball partly above grade. Raised beds. I was focused on helping root growth penetrate the clay. I'll see what I can do to improve drainage. I'm at the mercy of the variable seasonal rainfall. Thanks BossyV, I've read of your exploits elsewhere. That photo of the dry looking hole was from late March 2016. I've done better since then. We had decent rain a few weeks earlier, followed by some 90 deg days. The grass still looks dormant. I've read 'don't work with wet clay', but mine drains so slowly it's rare when it's not at least partly wet (well, most summers it will dry out severely...I've contemplated dropping organic material down the big cracks that develop in our area). The auger drill bit only works when the clay is somewhat wet, it pulls out nice thick curlicues. It won't penetrate hardly at all when it's dry. My soil plight was probably worsened during house construction, by heavy equipment causing more compaction. There also seems to be some crushed builders stone plowed under, in layers here and there. The first hundred weeds I removed from my new lawn with a weed puller (screwdriver shape), I usually struck a stone an inch or 2 beneath the weed. But life goes on. Thanks everyone for all the information, not what I wanted to hear but it's sinking in, live & learn.