Amending Clay Soil - cheaply?

[willywildes]

sand will work if you take out 80% of the clay and put in sand. or you will make a brick! gypsum and organic compost is the answer. there are a few other options but you said cheaply

 

[BB_TX]

Have you checked with the local cities/towns? Some around here offer compost. One offers it free to residents of that town and a monthly limit. Another sells it for about $25 a yard with no limit.

 

[Highbeam]

This is a good thread, thanks for starting it. I was worried that sand wouldn't get you much.

 

[Indydirtfarmer]

Back when we bought our house, iot had a back yard that was pure clay. During the summer when it was dry, you could strike a match on it.

CONCRETE.....

I am obsessed with my garden. This soil just wasn't gettin' it.

First off, I added 4 tri-axle dump trucks loads of river bank top soil. It has a high sand content. Then I added 4 tri-axles of composted horse manure. Since then, I've added compost from the yard, along with a truck-load of manure every year, for 5 MORE years.

I just got done planting 5 more rows of green beans. The soil is now like potting soil. I can dig down 10" with my bare hands.

Out of all the ammendments, I'd say the composted manure did the biggest part of the improvement

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I'd say the composted manure did the biggest part of the improvement )</font>

My place was also clay. To start with, I tilled in massive quantities of wood chips, and that was the primary thing I used. A little 5hp Craftsman chipper/shredder got a LOT of use, not only whole limbs, but also the crews clearing the electric lines dumped me several loads. Their chipper left larger chips, so I shoveled them through the little machine. But then a neighbor had a calf barn that had not been cleaned out in more than 4 years. His two boys grew up and left home and his big John Deere tractors were too big to get into that barn. I cleaned it out with my little B7100 and stacked it outside, then he loaded in into his dump truck with one of his big tractors; two loads in a single rear axle dump truck with high side boards (used to be his grain hauler). And of course I had the rabbit manure from the rabbits I was raising. It made a very nice garden plot.

 

[TMcD_in_MI]

Interesting mix of answers so far. Here is a link to an article written by someone who knows more about this than we do. Link

If you have county extension agents in Washington, you should give them a call as they will probably be familiar with your local soil type.

Tom

 

[jeffinsgf]

Funny how this "expert" and several folks on here always bring up the "mix clay and sand and you get bricks (or concrete)" -- yet every golf course manager I have ever been around spreads sand on the fairways, roughs and greens absolutely religously every Spring (and some in the Fall, too).

I am not going to argue the point, but I am not going to stop spreading sand, either.

 

[willywildes]

over sanding a green or fairway is not what this thread is about you like sand knock your self out. good luck.

 

[Tom_H]

The issue with sand is proportion and the degree to which you mix it with the clay. The best soil there is, sandy loam, is a mixture of sand, silt, clay, partly decomposed organic matter, and fully composted organic matter. A little sand won't help. You need a lot of sand and then till only some of the clay up into it (but mix well). The organic matter is very important too as this is what holds the moisture. Good soils drain quickly, yet the organic matter is what retains moisture for the roots to draw on.

Adding freshly cut woodchips or sawdust will cause most of the nitrogen to be initially depleted from the soil. After decomposition is well under way, the level may recover some. If you add sawdust or wood chips, mix in nitrogen at the same time to prevent this effect. Adding some partly decomposed matter and some fully composted matter is preferable.

You really should consult your local Soil and Water Conservation agent/County Extension agent. Some other factors to consider are the parent rock of your topsoil, the pH, the composition of your subsoil, etc. In some places there is a layer of hardpan below the clay topsoil and sand below that. When other factors are favorable and the sand not too deep, using a backhoe to lift and mix the various layers can work wonders. These are things your local agent will be able to advise you about as he will be knowledgeable about all these conditions for your area. As others have said, many grasses can grow well in clay and you may not need to amend as much as you think. Establishing appropriate drainage could actually be a bigger consideration.

 

[have_blue]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Funny how this "expert" and several folks on here always bring up the "mix clay and sand and you get bricks (or concrete)" -- yet every golf course manager I have ever been around spreads sand on the fairways, roughs and greens absolutely religously every Spring (and some in the Fall, too).

I am not going to argue the point, but I am not going to stop spreading sand, either. )</font>

I believe in sand too, but you can't add just a little sand to clay. You must add a LOT of sand to clay. There is probably not much clay on the fairways you are talking about.