Clay soil, Friend or Foe?

Vespertino · June 28, 2020

(I know this is an old thread, but

Sqwibb-

I'm also cursed with clay soil and agree it doesn't mean you're doomed!

One thing that helps for me in the tomato beds is to add expanded shale every year. You would need a tiller to mix it in, but that's about it. It helps break apart the clay.

I have one of those crummy houses in an HOA where they stripped away all the topsoil, built the houses and put down sod. I only had a thin layer of dark top soil- maybe a couple inches thick. Even though it's not much to work with certain things still grew: lillies, bridal wreath spirea, turks cap, beautyberry, lots of different irises, birds of paradise, etc, etc, etc.

I did have a struggle with tomatoes and vegetables; while they grow my first year's harvest was poor and the plants were spindly (as expected). But I kept adding organic matter, year after year and it worked. Once I started tilling in expanded shale every year it helped tremendously in making the soil more manageable and easier to work with. I'd recommend it for any beds that you plant veggies in but when digging your shovel feels more like it's carving out blocks of clay instead of digging soil.

June 28, 2020	#1
Vespertino Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Southlake, TX Posts: 743	(I know this is an old thread, but Sqwibb- I'm also cursed with clay soil and agree it doesn't mean you're doomed! One thing that helps for me in the tomato beds is to add expanded shale every year. You would need a tiller to mix it in, but that's about it. It helps break apart the clay. I have one of those crummy houses in an HOA where they stripped away all the topsoil, built the houses and put down sod. I only had a thin layer of dark top soil- maybe a couple inches thick. Even though it's not much to work with certain things still grew: lillies, bridal wreath spirea, turks cap, beautyberry, lots of different irises, birds of paradise, etc, etc, etc. I did have a struggle with tomatoes and vegetables; while they grow my first year's harvest was poor and the plants were spindly (as expected). But I kept adding organic matter, year after year and it worked. Once I started tilling in expanded shale every year it helped tremendously in making the soil more manageable and easier to work with. I'd recommend it for any beds that you plant veggies in but when digging your shovel feels more like it's carving out blocks of clay instead of digging soil.