I have the same type of soil. CLAY! What I did, that worked well for me, was to loosen up the soil with a shovel. Then I dumped compost and bags of garden soil over top of the area. I used the shovel to mix it up a bit. Every fall I cover the area with leaves that decompose and really improve the texture. Whenever I plant now, I toss in more compost if I have it or Garden Soil from a bag. It keeps getting better and better. I don't think you'll need to haul away any soil. Just bring add some good stuff to what you have. Kim Here is a link that might be useful: My gardens

Bags of dehydrated or composted manure from the store, as others have said, don't smell. Don't worry about that. My experience is that aged rabbit manure doesn't smell, either (or at least it definitely doesn't smell bad, or strongly). I have less experience with other manures, but after it's composted, or even when it's just well aged, it won't smell. Yes, tea leaves and egg shells and banana peels are great for the garden (many plants, not just a couple of kinds of plants), though I usually send them through the compost first. When I used bagged tea, I send tea bags into the compost whole (though if they have a plastic tag, I'll remove it)...the rest will break down in the compost. If you're not going to compost them, I'd get them into the dirt sooner rather than later, because they won't be really useful until after they've broken down. You might consider putting them out immediately rather than stockpiling them -- some people bury kitchen scraps directly in the garden, but I don't really know the details, so you should figure out the best ways to go about this. I also put egg shells in my compost, but you can't expect them to break down into nothingness at the same rate as kitchen scraps. They take a while to break down, but over time, the minerals are leached out, and the shells become thinner and weaker, until eventually they break down and you can't see them any more. I just toss them into the compost as-is, which usually means in halves. When (if?) I turn the compost, I may poke at them with a pitchfork, or crush one in my hand. You know, if I feel like it. The longer they've been in the compost, the thinner and weaker they are. My Spring garden always has bits of egg shell scattered across it, but now that I think about it, my Fall garden never does. I think you're on the right track, but I also think you're doing both too much and too little. I say too much, because I think you're going to much more effort with your scraps (charring, grinding, etc.) than you need to, and it's probably not worth the effort. I say too little, because if you want to amend your soil organically, you probably want more volume than that. In order to get started this year, I'd suggest that if you can't find another source, that you re-think the bagged products (such as manures, though sometimes you can find things labeled "compost") from your local garden center. While they may not be odorless, they won't *stink*. I promise. See what people have to offer on Craigslist, too, because you might be surprised. This will give you a boost while you get your own compost going, and research other sources. Meanwhile, get a compost bin or pile going. I don't know where you live (state, city/country, etc.), so I don't know what to recommend, but there are lots of options. I live in the city, so I use garbage can compost bins, which I make by taking a 32-gallon garbage can, and drilling 1/4"-1/2" holes all over. The size is just right for my family and my yard (I don't have the volume for a more traditional pile). If you have a larger space, a more traditional compost pile (or something semi-enclosed with wooden pallets or chicken wire) might make more sense. Either way, none of these approaches is difficult, or expensive. Just do it! Take today's banana peels and tea leaves, and START. Eventually you'll have compost.

I've been thinking about this a lot since it was first posted. I'm not sure I'll be very coherent, but my rambling will make sense (mostly) in my head. We bought this house/property 5.5 yrs ago, it was a neglected house, but the lot was to-die-for (middle of town, near a great park, LARGE (for in town), 7 minute commute to work, on a corner, with lots of mature trees). We stalked it for years prior while the old lady went off her rocker (sadly not exaggerating) as we lived just 2 blocks away. So that's part of our crazy plan- to not contribute to sprawl (it just makes me sad). I live in an area of the most fertile soil in the world- we should not be building houses here. So doing a demo/in-fill makes my heart feel a little joy. We want to create a legacy for our children. I know they may move away and not want this house when we die, but I hope it can be paid for and provided to them as an inheritance. Or maybe they'll want it b/c we're hoping it really creates a love of 'home' and family. We hope to do a lot of the work ourselves (being big DIYers and having done almost everything to the 2 homes we've lived in) and hope to involve the kids in some of that work so that they have some ownership. I really want to create a home with minimal maintenance as the last 2 homes have been non-stop with one thing or another. Like today when our kitchen sink was running slow and after snaking it it was fine- only to go to the basement and realize all water was now backing up from the floor drain. As if mowing, trimming bushes, and cleaning off the back porch from winter wasn't enough to keep us busy today. So new construction is a must. I get water in the basement every time it rains, the joists are termite eaten, there's adequate space (another 200 sq ft would be PERFECT), but it's not built for accessibility for overnight guests and my FIL is in a wheelchair (as is MIL, but she doesn't stay with us) and my mother has had 2 hip replacements and 2 spine surgeries. 1st floor guest room is also a must. When we bought this house we interviewed architects to see about an addition and major remodel- for 17K more the builder/designer could demo the existing house and build the same sq footage as a shell, BUT NEW (my eyes and ears and back like the sounds of that!). That sold us on living here and making do with 3 layers of wallpaper in the dining room, floor that are mushy, a 1 person kitchen, no tub, on and on and on. So we're living in the house until it's paid off so that we can get more of what we want. In the meantime we will continue to play around with plans and have done lots of reading and research. There are some things we'll be able to re-use- some light fixtures, the garage door opener, faucets, all the appliances, and I'm hoping to buy some things in advance and just store until needed. My husband and I agree on quality over quantity. We don't want a McMansion, we both want a rectangle (Colonial). Preferably one that's more energy efficient than our current home (not hard to do), and keeps us warm/cool/dry. A place to live in for as long as I can conceivably live alone (my grandma made it to 95 with her hardy Midwestern genes). The most current set of tinkering plans have very little in the way of compromise- I think if we can do that and actually build the thing we can call it a success and check something off our bucket list while drinking coffee sitting in our screened-in porch on a Sunday morning knowing all we have to do is mow and trim bushes (and maybe clean off said porch :)).

Suncoastflowers, I've never run into dog poop in any of my leaf bags in 5-6 years of 200+ leaf bags/year, but maybe it has something to say for my neighbors. I can't imagine they'd be any happier to be scooping up dog poop to deposit along with the leaves any more than you'd be happy to be on the receiving end of the poop. Even with gloves or those "leaf grabbers" you'd have to have your nose so close to the handful that it would be an unpleasant experience for the homeowner enough to discourage them. If you can't count on people to do something courteous (and leave out the poop), at least you can count on them to do something self-serving. Not saying it can't happen, just that I haven't seen it. Candy wrappers, cigarette butts, plastic pull ties. huge branches - those have been in the leaf bags, but I can deal with those. Cynthia