Clay soil, Friend or Foe?

[SQWIBB]

Time to ponder...


Almost every one agrees that hard clay soil is not the preferred soil for gardens. So how much of this is just regurgitated information? I have been giving this a lot of thought lately and just so you know, I'm not one of those "Hop on the bandwagon" types. I like to do what works for me. I have been using my clay soil to my advantage and so far it seems to be working fine for me, although I dont have a "control" to compare it with.



While clay soil, on its own, has a terrible tilth or texture, is almost impossible to work, especially when wet and can be compacted too easily, clay soil is loaded with minerals, can hold a lot of nutrients, and is more fertile than some other soil types. I didn't want to loose out on the benefits of using clay soil but at the same time, I didn't want to have the issues that come with using clay soil.


What to do?



When I built all of my "newer" beds I used clay soil as one of the layers in the beds, layering in with other Bio Mass. I'm guessing about 20-30 percent of my Hugelkultur beds have clay soil mixed in, my Raised beds on the hill have even more. So far this has worked well for me.


Here are a few examples.

• This bed had the clay added to the next to last few layers (4th layer).
  

• This one had the clay as the third layer.

• This bed was dug down about 14" and all of the clay soil was reused layering with hay and other yard waste on top of the wood.

• This bed had the clay added to the 4th layer of the bed then was topped with my end of year potting mix.

I just wanted to do a quick write up on clay soil because I think a lot of times it gets a bum wrap. The only thing I have done to one of my beds that I wish I wouldn't have, was to add top soil, not that top soil hurts but it was a waste! There is no need to add top soil, use your own soil, just amend it properly or layer it in the bed.

I'm sure my clay soil was a better gardening choice than buying a few bags of top soil.


Well that's 2 cents worth anyhow.