Best soil amendment for heavy clay soil?

dojutsu

3 years ago

I need a soil amendment for clay soil with no fertilizer and are not rich compost. Any ideas? Thanks.

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davidrt28 (zone 7)

2 years ago

btw any normal sand is too small and tends to form a kind of concrete if mixed with clay...not a good idea.

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Comments (6)

mindshift
3 years ago
I think what you want is a liquid humic acid product. This is the only ONE that came up in my search of "best soil amendment for clay". (See their FAQ page for details.) Everything else was recommendations for compost or sand/limestone/etc.

Amazon has PAGES of these products, but despite searching for "liquid" some of the products listed are granular. Some products also are a combination of humic acid and fulmic acid. Both are the result of complete breakdown of organic material that leaves a more lasting humic substance in the soil. Saturating clay soil with humic acid results in a more friable soil. I haven't used any of these products, so cannot give any feedback.
Embothrium
3 years ago
Is this for a vegetable plot or for decorative gardening, involving long term plants like perennials and shrubs?
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I guess if you purport to speak with more authority on the subject than those who spend all their time researching and studying these issues, Embothrium, then feel free to call that false. OTOH, I tend to give more weight to opinions of actual horticultural scientists : "Let's say you have incorporated the recommended 25-50% organic matter to your backfill. (Remember that an ideal soil contains 5% organic matter by volume.) The initial results are positive; roots grow vigorously in this ideal environment as long as irrigation is provided. But what happens when these roots encounter the interface between the planting hole and the native soil? Native soil contains fewer available nutrients, is more finely textured and is less aerated. Roots react much in the same way as they do in containers: they circle the edge of the interface and grow back into that more hospitable environment of the planting hole. The roots do not establish in the native soil, eventually resulting in reduced growth rates and hazard status as crown growth exceeds root ball diameter" The Myth of Soil Amendments, Linda Chalker-Scott, PhD
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S Rodriguez
2 years ago
Here in GA I like this. It's pine bark fines and helps break up the soil and aerates it. Pink bag
davidrt28 (zone 7)
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Ultimately, adding anything organic to 'break up clay soil' is counter-productive in the long run. As in, years down the road in most climates - so this is where Embo's question about the type of plants comes into play. If you just have a vegetable garden, go ahead and work some pine bark fines or whatever in the soil. If you are growing permanent long-term landscape plants, likelihood is you are just going to turn the area into more of a quagmire eventually.

The only true long term solution is either calcium sulfate or calcitic limestone, if the soil is the type to benefit from it, or the incorporation of agents that permanently change the soil structure.
An example would be something like Permatil or Turface that is added to athletic fields. And mind you even this won't fix underlying drainage problems if they exist, although calcitic limestone, applied generously over several years, improved a part of my garden from being so gooey my subcompact tractor almost got stuck it in, to being merely prone to mushiness. Basically, in some clay soils, especially near coastal areas like where I live, magnesium and sodium ions long trapped in the clay are displayed by calcium, forming a clay that aggregates more readily giving water more space to move down into lower soil strata. After a heavy rain now, I can sometimes actually hear a sucking sound as this happens. I still need to fix the drainage in that area with new tile drains, but it's made it a bit less treacherous.
User
2 years ago
Commercial grade fertilizers can have the same (cement like) effect.

Best soil amendment for heavy clay soil?

davidrt28 (zone 7)

Comments (6)

mindshift

Embothrium

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S Rodriguez

davidrt28 (zone 7)

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