Never add sand to clay soils. You'll end up with something more akin to cement. Sand is useful only when you actually replace most of the clay with sand. DaisyDW is right: organic matter is the ultimate amendment for clay soils. I'd disagree with her on the addition of dolomite, however. There's nothing in dolomite (magnesium + calcium) that will do anything to improve clay soils, but it can sure increase your pH. That's something you don't want to do unless a professional soil test indicates that you need to. She may have been thinking of gypsum (sulfur + calcium), which is often touted as a 'clay buster'. It won't do the trick, either, but it won't raise the pH. (Sodic clay soils can be improved by gypsum, but you don't have that kind of chemistry in Knoxville.) It is very difficult to alter the soil conditions of a site. That is, unless you are willing to maintain it on a regular basis. I have very heavy clay soils, but they are not wet. The front yard used to drain slowly, but we fixed that with some sub-surface drainage tile. We then amended our planting beds with lots and lots of organic material from various sources. We have to add a heavy mulch of OM every year. I've come to love our clay! Your idea of amending for your lavender on a hole-by-hole basis won't work for very long. You will create a bathtub effect. Water will pool in the planting hole because it cannot escape quickly through the clay. Lavender requires excellent drainage, period. One of the first steps of good landscape planning is to select plants that will do well in the given site. There are some things we can do to alter, change, and improve the situation but oftentimes those fixes are temporary, at best. Know the characteristics of the site, understand limitations, and select your plants accordingly.

Hello, Our favorite tomato expert Carolyn137 wrote an excellent response to a question about Blossom End Rot (BER) and I am quoting it here: With BER there is NO problem with absorption of Ca++ though the roots. The problem is maldistribution within the plant that can be induced by a number of stresses which include uneven delivery of water, too much N, growing in too rich soil, too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry you name it. As the plants mature they can better handle the streses that can induce BER so usually it goes away. The two exceptions are first, if the soil has NO Ca++ as confirmed with a soil test, and that's a rare condition, and second, if the soil is too acidic in which Case Ca++ is bound in the soil. Again, adding lime, egg shells and on and on can not and will not prevent BER b'c absorption of Ca++ thru the roots is OK. Paste tomatoes are especially susceptible to BER and I think someone in a post above mentioned that. If you go to the top of this first page and click on the FAQ link and scroll down you'll also find an article about BER in case some of you have never looked at the FAQ's And there';s some darn good articles there as well, but I wouldn't pay any attention to the variety list b'c it's way out of date. The old information about BER being caused solely by lack of soil Ca++ has been shown to be wrong with research that's been done in the last 20 years or so, but it's going to take another generation before the real story gets into books, websites, magazines, etc. Most of the better websites already have the correct information. BER affects not only tomatoes, but peppers, squash, cabbage, cauliflower, etc., and it's a huge multimillion dollar problem for the industry, which is WHY all that reasearch was done. For instance, when tissues were taken from a plant that has BER fruits and was assayed for Ca++, the normal level of Ca++ was found, it just wasn't getting to the blossom end of fruits. And there's also a condition called internal BER where the fruits look fine, no evidence of BER externally, but when you cut open the fruit the inside is black Hope that helps Carolyn knows tomatoes! Betsy

There really isn't any shortcut to this. You need to repot everything with fresh potting soil. You do not necessarily need to move each plant into a larger container but you DO need to replace the soil. Potting soil degrades, compacts and loses its ability to drain quickly over time. The fact that you think you need to add soil to the top of the containers is clear evidence of this. As is the state of the plants growing in it - they are suffering. While I wouldn't ordinarily recommend it, even the cheapo potting mixes available at places like Walmart or Home Depot are better than what you have now. At least for this growing season. Consider it an investment in your plants :-)

If you really want to educate yourself, just start reading some of the questions and replies here. I don't mean to be abrupt, just saying that it is extremely informative. However, I will say that the most commonly recommended growing medium here is half commercial cactus and succulent soil and half perlite, both available at most nurseries. Strain the small bits of perlite out before mixing with the C/S soil. You can rinse it through a strainer. Don't breathe it. If you have a choice of C/S soils, look for the ingredients and choose one with no peat, if possible. As far as repotting after purchasing, just remember these plants do not like to be in oversized pots, just a little room around the sides and at the bottom is fine. Don't pot too low, clay pots are a good choice but plastic is ok too, and whatever you choose it MUST have a drainage hole in the bottom.