Best material to loosen clay for a garden

[Wacky]

Any ideas what to add to hard red clay to loosen for a good healthy garden? I am getting a truckload of cow manure later this year. What else should help? I was told sand, but I thought that would make it like concrete after watering and downpours. Thanks to all in advance.

 

[KennyG]

Sand will keep the clay from going solid and allow draining. Depending on how bad your clay is, I would recommend mixing in about 2/3 sand and about 1/3 organic compost. The manure alone should be supplemented with a high carbon material like leaves, sawdust, etc.

 

[CompactTractorFan]

I would start a compost pile and use that (if you already don't have one). :thumbsup:

 

[medicshawn]

Gypsum, or sheetrock scraps. Helps change the Ph.

 

[Ranger Rick]

Keep adding the composted cow manure. It adds to the fertility of the soil in addition to making the soil better. :thumbsup:
Rick

 

[Western]

Almost anything organic will help over time. I knew a guy that swore by newspaper (non-glossy) he had a super garden. Sand will help too.

It will take some time, in a few years, if you keep on it, it will be nice. Clay usually has better nutrients.

 

[otis whitehead]

We are using rice hulls down here but we have a lot of rice farms in the area.They are slow to compost and help break clay somehow

 

[The Haymaker]

Gypsum, or sheetrock scraps. Helps change the Ph.

So I should put my garden over the ditch I dug for the water and septic lines? All the sheetrock trimmings from my house accidentally fell in there before I covered it over.

 

[adjusterr]

wacky: I don't know where you are in WV but the Washington County Landfill, near Hagerstown, MD, has great black compost for about 14.00 per ton. I have used it for several years on some very poor quality mountain ground and now you can turn my garden soil over almost by hand. One trip through with the tiller this Spring and I was ready to plant. three years ago the tiller just spun around on top of the ground. If you are too far from Hagerstown, check your local landfill. At first I was afraid to use the compost as I didn't know what was in it, I found out the landfill grinds up all the brush trimmings, puts the trimmings on big piles and after they age, they sell the chips for landscaping. When they get to the bottom of the pile, the wood chips have rotted and they sell that as compost. Good luck.

 

[bp fick]

All good responses above.

Fall plowing and allowing freeze - thaw cycle to work. It is miraculous.