Clay soil, Friend or Foe?

SQWIBB · June 15, 2018

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.

June 15, 2018	#1
SQWIBB Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: Philly 7A Posts: 739	Clay soil, Friend or Foe? 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.