That approach can also lead to creating a "bowl" effect that leads to poor drainage. Yes, the clay is very effective at retaining moisture, but it is slow draining and you could have your plant sitting in a bowl of water while that happens.

There is no professional that would recommend doing this.

The linked thread below has some of these points (by professionals, which is not me).

Here is a link that might be useful: Another thread on this

I never recommend adding simple top soil to the soil. Esh is right, it will simply be eaten by the top layer of soil and then the hardpan clay will be left underneath.

If I want top soil, I use fairly narrow, at least 2' tall raised beds filled with topsoil (and other amendments) for correct drainage. Frankly, I prefer deeper than 2'

I recently read an article...basically saying what esh and ggg are saying.

The article talked about how "ammending" the soil never works and why it doesn't work (drainage;root system will develop only till the area soil is ammended and not beyond etc).

What was instead suggested was to loosen the soil (till it) and top the soil with tons of mulch (several inches of mulch) and keep adding more mulch each year.

The natural organisms (such as earthworms) will do the rest of the job of softening/loosening the clay soil.

:-)

Amending the soil works fine for small vegetable gardens or beds of seasonal color, anything that will be in and out within the course of a season.

But I'm with you if your planting an oak tree.

As to the OP's idea, hey, if it works for you, go for it. But I'm not sure that's the way I would go about it.

I did the same think when I first moved here. Of course, it was in the middle of a drought and the clay was as hard as cement. So digging a hole in it was effectively having clay pots in my yard. But as others have said, if and when it eventually rains a lot, the hole of topsoil will be flooded and will not drain.

The method you have may work for awhile and for annuals like tomatoes, but for long term plants and shrubs, it's not workable. I had to dig up and replant almost all of the shrubs that came with my house because they were planted in tiny holes in the hard clay. What I do now is double dig the clay to break it up, add in amendments and mix them together with the clay. Then every year add new mulch and compost which will eventually break down and create a good top soil. The mulch also helps keep the clay moist and pliable.

It can take years to get a bed to the point where it's 'dirt' and not clay. But it will happen.

I agree wholeheartedly with esh and girlgroupgirl. The only solution is organic matter. And by that I mean a lot of organic matter.

Georgia clay is actually good soil, except that it's packed too close together. The organic matter makes the soil useable.

But I'll admit that I have done something similar to what calypsobloomer suggests. Part of my yard was so hard that I had to use a pick to dig holes. It was like rock! So I dug my holes (made 'em big and deep!), planted my plants, covered the entire area with newspaper and cardboard (thick too!), and then put down a think layer of mulch. I now have good soil there, but it took several years.

I was inspired by a lady named Ruth Stout. Google her. She never tilled her garden, just mulched. It might not work exactly the same in GA, but the ideas can make work easier.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ruth Stout

Georgia clay is evil stuff. I've been working my slowly-growing garden area for six years now, adding a (roughly) 6x10 section every year using raised beds and compost from the previous year.

I have a large compost bin (that I originally built out of landscaping timbers - which I don't recommend because they rot) that I process everything in - kitchen scraps, yard cuttings, ash from the fireplace - everything that's not meat. In late winter I dig the clay and rotten rock out down to about about a foot below ground level and set it aside. I then build a wall up about a foot (out of stone - which I do recommend because it doesn't rot), then move all the mature compost I have to the new bed where I mix it in with the demon clay that I set aside.

*whew*

I've got a nice garden going and I just might be done (finally... maybe) - but it has been expensive and tedious. If you don't really enjoy the labor, don't do the way I have!

Don't even get me going on planting a tree! Digging out an appropriately-sized hole for a tree is more like mining than gardening. You need a jackhammer, not a mattock.

It is heavy, hard work - and I'm (frankly) tired of reading about Georgia gardeners who have an easy go of it. The way I see it: if you want to garden in this area of Georgia, you'll either need to do a lot of work or buy a house from somebody who already did it. But phrases like "turn the soil" seriously misrepresent what's going on. Seriously. To the point of being fraudulent.

Georgia gardeners need to invent a word to use instead of "till". "Tilling" doesn't involve explosives and jackhammers. When striking the earth with a mattock creates a whiff of dust and a few bits of hard-pan-shrapnel: you are NOT "tilling".

voodootree, do you think maybe you are doing it the hard way?
Georgia Clay is nutritious and delicious and full of vital minerals and good things. Only the structure is difficult. There are ways to get around that, it's some effort, but you work when the soil is not a rock, and not in the dead heat of summer (in the day). I just dug and turned quite a bit of solid red clay today, put some "rocks" (broken cement chunks = free) around the edge, added compost and covered with mulch then planted. I know I'm going to have some awesome veggies! :)

voodoo, all you need to do is wait for rain. It's been raining a lot for a few days, so now would be the perfect time to dig. I just pulled out a bunch of weeds and it was so easy.

Gardening - you're doing it wrong!

Voodoo -- you are cracking me up! I dug a 100 foot long dry creek all by myself with a shovel and mattock -- I have lived your pain! Those hardpan clay boulders are the worst!

If you want good drainage, you definitely have to get through that layer. This isn't the most environmentally responsible tip, but when I ran into a particularly large and hard "boulder" -- I filled the hole with water and waited. And waited. Dug out some of the dirt around it. Added more water. Even did a power blast of water to help shoot through some of the dirt.

It is such hard work, but so rewarding when you've done it. I dug the dry creek 2 years ago, and I'm still bragging about my studly self! :) hee hee!

PS -- 2 years later, we FINALLY ordered some rocks!!!!!!! I'm excited to start making my big drainage ditch look pretty!

bagsmom, I use the water trick all the time, that's how I got the soils at church (around the building, all horrible clay/builders clay mix) broken up and planted. I'd dig, fill with some water (there are rain barrels though), let it get moist, dig more. It took a long time but it wasn't back breaking. I'd have just done a raised bed there but because of the lay of the land I could not.
At home I just raise everything, it's much less work!

I do what trivedi says and it has worked beautifully for me the past ten years. All that extra digging and expensive dirt are not needed.
I did do that for the first 5 years of my gardening life and lost plenty of plants to the bathtub effect.
Bags of Fafard to no avail.

Now, I keep an area where I toss old potting soil and use that in small quantities to amend planting holes. I heavily mulch and topdress the mulch yearly.