Clay soil problems

[HimIndoors]

Im still digging over my half plot that I got hold of at christmas because its packed full of cooch grass, I have 2 of my 4 main beds sieved and have already planted garlic and oions in one.

As Ive been digging and sieving I have noticed my soil is either clay or still rotting manure making things slow going, my big problem now is the bed that is planted looks to be very dry and cracking on the surface already.

I am going to drench the bed and mulch with straw to keep some moisture in there but is there anything I can do to my other beds to improve soil structure and retain the moisture better before I plant this years crops in it?

[Pumpkin Becki]

As Ive been digging and sieving I have noticed my soil is either clay or still rotting manure making things slow going, my big problem now is the bed that is planted looks to be very dry and cracking on the surface already.

Hi HimInDoors,

You're very brave, we took one look at our clay-soil plot and decided to make raised beds!

The good news is, the soil structure will lighten the more organic matter/compost/manure etc. you add, this will help to stop it cracking, but will take time. If you have cultivated a bed that you aren't likely to use this season, consider sewing a green manure, which will get dug in before it flowers/sets seed. The roots will help improve the soil structure, provide nutrients for the crop that follows it and prevent weeds taking over.

You could try laying black plastic over the top of your sewing areas, and cut slits to sew/plant through. This should stop excessive drying out and also waterlogging problems. Its not very attractive to look at, but you could put your straw on top of that. Brown cardboard can also be used instead of plastic, and will rot down after a season.

Be careful that as you dig you don't create a solid 'pan' in the clay at the bottom of your beds. The roots of your plants will find this hard to break through, and it will hold water and make your crops prone to rotting off. You will want to fork the bottom of the bed once its dug and add loads of compost to help keep the bottom open.

happy digging!

[Madasafish]

Don't dig. Mulch/compost on top. Full stop. Plant in that. Digging in toones of sand ia pointless. All else is futile.

Works for me.

[SarzWix]

I garden on clay too, don't despair, it does get better! I found when I sieved mine that the particles on the surface were too small, causing the solid/cracking surface which you have now (it's called 'capping-off' I think). As Madasafish says, you should mulch to prevent this - just spread a layer of compost (bagged stuff or old growbag soil or something like that will do) over the surface of the bed - you can do it when things are growing if need be, or as soon as you finish sieving the bed. Eventually the worms will pull it down which will help improve the soil. Adding sand probably won't help much, but very small chippings does make a difference, my front garden soil is ace thanks to the pebble-dashing falling off into it for years So in some of the lottie beds I have chucked in some pea gravel, along with loads of well rotted horse-muck. It helps to keep those small particles from joining together into 'clayeyness' (I just invented that word...Like it?!)
Anyway, just keep adding compost/manure and the soil will get better as you go. The good thing about clay, it has lots of nutrients, you just need to stop it sticking together

[HimIndoors]

Thanks all for the tips, I've been back down today to do a few more hours digging and I had a look under the cracked surface. The dry cracked bit is only a few millimeters thick and there seems to be pleny of moisture just under that \o/

I'm hoping to do raised beds eventually but even then I'm not importing any soil onto the site if I can help it so I may as well get started improving the structure. The really bad clay areas do seem to be in relatively small patches and I understand that the guy who had the plot before me used to turn it over with a jcb and add a LOT of manure every year. The soil level on my plot bears testimony to this as its a good 4 or 5 inch above everyone elses even before I start digging. So basically its not all bad news as the soil is super fertile and chock full of worms so if I can keep the water in there I think I am onto a winner (eventually).

Fingers crossed for my first year ever growing stuff, seem like I am learning the hard way

[SarzWix]

Thanks all for the tips, I've been back down today to do a few more hours digging and I had a look under the cracked surface. The dry cracked bit is only a few millimeters thick and there seems to be pleny of moisture just under that \o/

Sounds like it's capping that is your main problem then, and it's pretty easy to solve, just by hoeing to loosen it & covering with a thin layer of compost.

Soil Cap or Crust


Capping of the soil is a major problem in the vegetable garden at sowing time. It happens when the soil particles on the surface melt together to form a hard cap or crust.

Effects of capping:

the cap is so hard that the vegetable seedlings cannot break through it and are unable to push the shoot above ground
the cap shrinks when it dries, and forms a crazy paving effect of hard soil lumps


Causes of capping:

soil particles in the seed bed are too fine
large droplets of water (heavy rain, or a coarse watering can)
kitchen gardens with clay soils are particularly at risk from capping
Avoid capping by:

keeping small crumbs of soil on the surface - do not overwork the seedbed. Fine soil is needed around the seed, but the rest of the soil between the vegetable rows should be made up of small crumbs


watering with small droplets - do not water the seeds in with a bucket, or strong hose. Use a gentle spray from a rose with small holes
Renovate capped soil in the vegetable garden by:

gently keeping the cap damp, to enable the vegetable seedlings to push through
carefully hoeing either side of each vegetable row, to break the cap. Cover with a fine layer of old compost or spent grow-bags. Then the next lot of water will be able to drain into the soil, & will not sit on the cap & spread the crust over a larger area of the vegetable patch

[middlefield]

I'm on clay too, so sympathise, but the soil will improve with work.

We're in year three and with the digging and the double digging the soil has improved anyway, but the biggest improvement is with the addition of manure.

In Autumn we took delivery of a tonne of pig and cow manure (well rotted) and immediately spread this on top of the plot (we've not gone with raised beds). We left this from October onwards and over this time its broken down with the weather and been pulled-through by the worms. The result is much better drainage (a constant problem for us in the past) and a much better structure to the soil.

We have added a lot of course sand though and that has helped, but I guess that because its in addition to the manure and compost thats been added.

So, its a case of hard-work, patience and investment in improving the soil structure. But I will say that this spring has been so exciting as we've dug-over beds that have significantly improved and its great to see things getting better.

[Norm]

It may be worth investing in a cheap soil testing kit. That will tell you what soil type you have, what the pH is and the ration of potash, nitrogen and phosphorus. You can then work out from the results what you need to do with it to produce a good growing medium.