Help! Need Easy Way to Amend GA Clay

9 years ago

Hi! My question is twofold...What perennials grow easily in GA red clay, which tends to be poorly draining soil? And, second, what is the EASIEST way to amend soil? I love gardening, but absolutely dread and detest spending so much time and pain trying to mix/amend soil for planting. I usually mix about 50% red clay with purchased "garden soil", mushroom compost, and maybe soil conditioner. Digging in the hard red clay is back breaking, and I feel I can't ever get it to break down enough when mixing so that it will be a rich, well drained soil. Thanks for any help you can provide!

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Comments (3)

trovesoftrilliums
9 years ago
Our yard has mostly compacted clay soil. I think when the house was original built 15 years ago, the builder removed and sold the topsoil leaving ghe clay subsoil. Apparently this is common here.
Anyways, I have been trying to ammend for 3 years with collected leaves, city compost and bales of peat we bought on a year end clearance (40 at $1 each).

The soil had improved minimally even in the areas of my most intense amending. The areas that are proving to have the best soil are ones where I edged the garden with 4 inch edgers and then raised up the garden level within the edgers. I put down 3 inches of peat and compost and then one inch of bagged topsoil.

I have given up on the worst parts and had someone come out today to talk about relocating the top 6 inches of the soil from where I would like new garden beds. Then we will get topsoil delivered and pick up loads of compost from the city landfill.

I really don't think there is an easy way. If you had access to rotted manure that could speed it up though.

You could look into sheet mulching. You need a lot of organic matter.
Good luck!
Janis_G
9 years ago
blujaye, I live in GA zone 7.
I took the lazy way out when it came to our clay soil.
Where ever I wanted to make a flower bed I brought in
truck loads of bark mulch. I mounded it up like you would to make a berm . I then bought bags of nature's helper grow mix, scooped
out a hole in the mulch poured in the nature's helper and planted my flowers, or whatever I had planned for that bed. Every year I would add mulch to the beds. The result was rich black dirt and
beautiful flowers.

Later on I bought a chipper shredder and when I wanted a good soil mix, I would put some bark through the shredder then add mushroom dirt, peat, etc mix it up and use that.

Good luck with your planting.
A fellow Georgian
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Kimmsr, this is essentially a composting forum, and EVERYONE here recognizes, nay, advocates the use of copious amounts of compost. I don't think anyone here is suggesting sand or silt can take the place of compost for amending clay. So you can stop beating us with that stick. It's not an either-or proposition, as illustrated beautifully by Albion's post. This is basically what I've done, although with less sand. I've added tons of organic matter to my clay over the years, and occasionally a bag of sand I come across or a wheelbarrow of river silt. I don't have concrete, I have raised beds with great soil. Either the high organic matter mitigates the 'concrete' effect, or I never added enough pure sand to get into the concrete zone, or I also added enough silt (or it was there in the silty clay to begin with), that I now have loam and not sandy clay. I never went out to buy sand for the specific purpose of amending the clay, and I wouldn't necessarily advocate that, but there are some success stories right here. I would say that if you add enough compost to eventually fluff the beds into raised beds, that mitigates many of the problems with clay, so you don't really need massive amounts of sand.
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I have been gardening for years. But I am finding clay very different. You all have been so helpful. I am really glad I started this thread. I can't wait to put it all into action. Only shallow holes for now on and I will only add the compost to top layer right below and with the mulch ;or as the mulch. I have had a worm bin for years. Just a large Rubbermaid chest with holes drilled into sides. Had to buy compost recently though. Couldn't make enough. I am still surprised about what is being said about not putting compost into planting holes. I have heard many times how gardeners do this. It makes sense not to I guess. But could all those gardeners be so wrong?
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Don't dispair Mari! Any well planned soil building is ABSOLUTELY WORTH THE EFFORT! You sure can use those materials to add organic matter to your soil. Sounds like you're considering bulding a compost pile: Great idea. I'd suggest chipping those materials you mentioned so that they "cook" faster. If you don't have a chipper, you can use a lawn mower on those leaves. And, really, for all things composting I'd recommend the composting forum. On a practical note, most gardeners cannot produce compost on a scale appropriate for soil conditioning--mostly on account of our joyful exuberance in hacking out new beds and ending up with many hundreds of square feet to care for. I feel your pain about the shopping spree, but maybe you can consider a small budget for this project during the next few years as a smart investment. Here's a link to a compost calculator, and just for comparison, I pick up compost in a truck by the cubic yard and pay $23-25/cu.yd. If that's not an option, you can get a good start with what you have and keep an eye out for good sources of free compost goodies! -Hannah Here is a link that might be useful: Compost calculator
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The ('dug out') in-ground 'raised' beds are what I use. I too have clay (although I don't have the pH issues you have,) but I've been planning my beds for a long time. I've been throwing small amounts of my grass clippings into the space I turned into this year's garden for about 3-4 years. Clay, aside from its horrible tilth issues, is usually very nutritious. Therefore, why not take advantage of the free resources. Basically, I just tilled the soil, mulched heavily, then planted. In the fall the mulch will get tilled in, and I'm already preparing the organic matter to add for next year. The more compost and organics you add, the more 'raised' they will become. If you have fairly good drainage, and this is just my opinion - everyone will have their own reasons for their decisions - the only reasons to box in and 'lift' your beds are for organization, esthetics. and for those who have difficulty bending down low. Here's what my beds look like... When I was younger, I used to work all my beds (a lot of them!) by hand. Breaking new ground with a pick ax and a digging fork. Turning-in organics with the fork. Now, lol... not so much. I borrowed a relative's tiller and after the ground was broken well, I worked the soil by handling the tiller from the side. That way, in the final passes, there was no walking on the freshly tilled ground. Now that the hard work for these beds are done, I'll add a couple new ones each year as my sunlight allows (I need to top a few trees on the south.) Anyway, sounds like you have the beginnings of a plan. There's a lot of good advice on this site, take a little of this, and little of that, and find what works for your situation. There are people who have a lot more knowledge than I. When something comes along that is better - whether it be knowledge or tools... upgrade!
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ifraser25
9 years ago
We also have red clay here in Brazil. It is called laterite. My simple advice is: don't fight it, go with it. Have a look round in your neighbors' gardens and see what is doing well. If it's doing the trick for them it will for you too. One plant you may not encounter which has been a spectacular success for me has been New Guinea hybrid impatiens, sometimes called sunpatiens, a kind of busy lizzie, but it doesn't self-seed so will not become pestilential. A lot of people find it difficult as it prefers very moist soil. You may find it perfect, though it's best to plant in the spring. Good luck. Ian.

Help! Need Easy Way to Amend GA Clay

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trovesoftrilliums

Janis_G

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