How to turn hard clay into soil
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ส.ค. 2024
- I started this edible landscape a year and a half ago on a hot and dry, sub tropical Queensland property. Over time i have started to turn the hard, dry clay ground, into nutrient rich, light soil using only resources available to me on the property. Hope you enjoy
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“Don’t feed your plants, feed your soil.” My new mantra ❤️
Thankyou very much :)
This is what I was looking for. Simple, direct, something I can understand. I can stand up and start working after this video without buying a lot of crap that people advertise in their 50minutes videos. Thanks man.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’m so tired of over complicated, raised bed, wanna be organic/natural gardening channels. I’ve been waiting for a channel like this
Gardening is my only passion, and this video sums it up nicely, cheers man.
Thx from the Sandhills of NC USA. Guy that cleared my lot & cut the driveway In ,underbid the job & /or rushed & did a shity job. Pushed all the topsoil in some dry creek beds. Along with the 20is year old trees he was hired to clear. 10 years later & I have about gotten the way I want it. All with hand tools,fire,free wood chips & some sand. + still have the top soil. Some is in piles around parameter. If I had it to do over…I’d have rented a machine & done some redistribution .in the very beginning 10-11 years ago. Have all kinds of grass from surrounding states. Picked up a box or bucket of walkway edgings during our summer travels. The top soil & leftover compost are going into a garden…raised maybe. Will do most of the moving & mixing when I rent a machine for a natural swimming pool. Going to give that a shot. Takem easy.
i love the hard rock intro on a really peaceful gardening video lol
hahaha cheers
Awesome video. Nothing more practical and useful than common sense. Best answers are always so simple
I have same problem kuz, here in USA North east Georgia it is 80% red clay 5% rock and if I'm lucky 5% dirt. good video it gives me ideas
Cheers mate :)
I’m in Tennessee same
I am in North west georgia.. i want to grow radishes and carrots but i get no fruit coz of the heavily packed clay
One of the best videos to understand how nature takes care of itself if we give it the right environment
I had to subscribe simply because of the hardcore music at the end of a gardening video. I mean great information and all that got me to the end, but the ending was the kicker. Thank you.
Mean bro 👍, I'm not an expert gardener but all of what you shared makes seems and on my property I now believe I have everything necessary to naturally change the condition of my soil and grow abundantly. 🤙
I love your video. Thank you for being really basic in your explanation and breaking the process down. I've watched many videos in search of solution . Now I have it.
One question though, can one go ahead to plant right after mixing in the 'greens and browns' in the clay? Or is it imperative to wait some time?
Thankyou very much. After mixing it all up let it settle for a few weeks, and turn it a few times all the green will break down. By then you should notice a huge difference.
Straight and to the point my friend. Very good video.👍
Thanks man!!! You save me a lot as a first timer. We have some much clay on our property and I couldn’t figure how the trees around us still thrive in there growing process.
You are a really good teacher
Thank you, you have made this so simple and to the point
excellent points you make, thanks so much, makes all the sense in the world.
cheers mate, love your name
Aussie soil is the absolute worst unless there's bush over it for centuries to drop crap. I've found that sifting the soil works but you can't do that on a large scale. Doing a quarter acre over a year broke my back. Basically look up 'how to make potters clay' then do that but everything you keep in your sift turf back into the ground. You'll have sinkage but you'll have vastly superior soil (and a ton of potters clay so find someone to gift it to). Do it a meter square at a time, get a good wheelbarrow to help, and only aim for about 10 - 15 cm's down unless you are fit as hell.
Your a natural teacher!
Thankyou very much :)
Just seen this video. I hope you're ok in the Bush fires
Found this incredibly helpful. 😘😘 from a kiwi lady on a tight budget 😃🖒❤
I just found your videos and I love them. Very educational! Thanks!
Thankyou very much, glad you like them
just started doind this method this year. im mixing in horse manure and bark cant wait to see the results
The 100mm layer of "nothing" is actually where the tree roots lie and is filled with air, moisture, nutrients and is the best organic matter you can find including those of soil organisms. Half of it will contain a good layer of topsoil with big pore spaces for holding both air and microscopic ones; water. Since the oxygen within the air is essential for both plant root and soil development, roots require oxygen to gain energy to grow so it can take up nutrients and maintain the cells within the plant. The other half of topsoil will be ground rock, while the later will be composed of organic matter; both living and dead.
He is so correct. To have great soil or the best soil you must add carbon. Also, to break up clay
Apologies! I accidentally hit the down hand. I hope doing two up-hands compensated. I really enjoyed the presentation and information
Thanks for this video!
What if you did the jar soil test and found out you have 100$ clay soil. I need to get soil like this growing stuff. The thing is somehow this soil has had plants growing on it in the past. Will adding some sand to this make it a little easier for water and air to get into the soil and move around and therefore make it better for growing food? It is raining a lot here right now. I have heard water in clay will drown plants, but it also deprives them of oxygen. Also what about the advice of some that adding compost fertilizer to clay soil, particularly during a rainy season, will starve the soil of oxygen. The compost supposedly has a lot of microbes that eat up a lot oxygen, which is like a double whammy in wet clay, which is already low in oxygen that can be used by plants.
I like what you're saying I had no one mentioned weeds I'm I'm mixing leaves Wood Weeds anything that's organic but few people mention using weeds weeds some of them have some of the longest taproots that draw out nutrients deep
yeh mate, anything, but the key is to constantly add them. Thanks for stopping by :)
eatyourgarden I am going to do better than that I am going to subscribe. Because if it makes you that you give seems very down-to-earth and it is the truth. You and I speak about the same things. I like the way you think keep up the good work
Cheers mate, appreciate it. I actually subscribed to your channel awhile ago. Thankyou for your kind words and keep up the great work too. :)
Cue mosquitos... welcome to Australia! Great video, thank you. I have a soggy clay bed I plan on converting to a veggie patch.
Love the sound of nature in the background :)
Love it! Awesome!Understanding!!!
Gonna try this!! Thank you!
Peace and blessings. Good video, plain and simple but very imformative.
Thank you.
3/9/18. 5:01 AM
Dallas Tx
Thankyou very much for your kind words :)
great information, thanks for posting
Simple and great tips. Good work buddy
Thankyou very much :)
Some sodic clays respond to gypsum addiction.
Thanks for helping me to get this! 😀
You are very welcome :)
Adding carbon to soil will always improve the structure and growth capacity. The best way is to do it directly with structured carbon - charcoal. Charcoal has the benefit of not degrading like compost, absorbing its volume in water, absorbing the organic chemicals plants use and serving as a growth media for the bacteria and fungi that connect the soil food web.
I have found that brush is easily pyrolized into charcoal in a long narrow pit. There are a number of TH-cam videos on the process.
Cheers, but i will keep following natural principles
@@eatyourgarden Biochar is totally natural. It was used by humans in the Amazon 3500 years ago and is still highly fertile. The black soils of the Ukraine and the N American prairies are the result of 15000 years of charcoal from grass fires.
Look up biochar and Terra Preta on TH-cam.
You rock man. Thanks! My clay is thick and wet here.
Worthy, thanks 🥰
Great video
Good information.
Thanks brother . I live in/on Tennessee Georgia line and its nothing but red clay here
No worries mate, cheers. :)
Thank you for the information
Thankyou very much
I have 2 maple trees in my back yard that I would love to utilize the leaves for compost, BUT, they both have black spot. Everything I have seen says remove the leaves to prevent it next year. Is that necessary? Because my lawn gets more compact every year. My husband bags the grass, even though I keep telling him not to. Also the leaves. But I would like to use the leaves to enrich the soil. Especially for my garden beds. I would rather just have him mulch them up.
Black spots a fungal issue, so yeh best to remove those. Concentrate on the soil health, most fungal issues are associated with poor drainage, compacted soils. So areate the area around the trees with a pitch fork straight down, several times over a few weeks. Test the soil ph. Trees like maple like an acidic soil. Are your trees mulched? How old , how big?
Very practical presentation mate. That cats claw's going nuts though, not that I'm suggesting you should remove it- no mean feat. Even that raises a point of discussion though. That stuff grows massive tubers which break up the ground beneath allowing water to penetrate. I would never recommended planting the horrible stuff but sweet potato might be a more benign comparison in the veggie garden
Nice one... subbed 👍
Thanks for sharing.👍
No worries mate, thanks for watching :)
I thought my situation was bad… don’t envy your starting situation. But I figure if you can do it so too can I.
Almost lost my grafted plantsxwithvthe clay but I add cut grass an roots cut into small pieces tovrhe clay an mix it up
Thats how you do it, well done and cheers :)
4:28 dont feed your plants, feed your soil
Thanks mate.
Thanks for making this. I have the same problem... but I am a bit confused because even in the forest setting, it's a small layer of good soil (decomposed matter from your trees and manure) over top of the clay. Is it really converting the clay into good soil or just piling good soil on top of the clay? How do you actually convert what's UNDERground into better soil instead (or in addition to?). I am thinking a combination of planting fast growing species that will ream roots into the ground (inserting carbon into the ground) combined with dropping on top. My thought is there is a needing of mass penetration in order to actually change the soil rather than adding layers. Is this right and what is the practical way to do this at scale?
amazing question! That´s exactly what I´v been pondering on for the last months since I started off growing my own plants. I might try what you said, that is working up the upper layer by planting some roots in it and then add it some to the top. That must be the answer for a real soil improvement!
every location is different. But most nutrients are locked away in the clay. Any legume will send tap roots into the soil to break it up . But that layer of leaf matter on the ground is where the magic happens. Good Top soil is worth more than gold. Take that layer away the forest dies. Simple as that.
How’s your garden going now?
thanks, i agree
You are stellar!
Thankyou😊
2:02 - Awwww yeeeaaaahhh...let me get a handful of this poison ivy!
Holy shit those bugs in the background are deafening!
My guy! Feed your soil!! I've been saying that for a long time!!
very good video. by the way are some of those trees jacarandas?
cheers, yes they are
What can i use for non animal manure substitute?
Animal manure
@@eatyourgarden I meant as non animal manure
@@nimimerkillinen im not sure theres any such thing.
@@eatyourgardenI guess some sort of compost concoction maybe
@@nimimerkillinen just saw a vegan fertiliser in bunnings- also sea weed ferts are fantastic
I want a 10 ft rake that brings leaf litter from the hard wood forrest. Thwn I have an instant pile of compost !!!
Free wood chips from tree service crews, I give them a meal gift certificate and they happily dump, saves them paying at a landfill too.
Buy old bread from the bread plant..or stores throw out in your yard over two seasons the black birds will take care of the rest😉
It is a mistake to add sand to your clay soil. Add organic matter. There is a video on TH-cam which tests these (soil gypsum and compost) on clay. The answer is clear it is compost (organic matter).
I would love to live in Australia.
Dude, at 2:40 that mosquito made by body tingle..
Hi
I have very heavy clay soil , my house a lot leaf fall , for prepare soil plant vegetable can I mix leaf with clay soil ? ,.
Thanks
The best way to use your leaf litter is to compost it! In about 3 months (hot compost - in a compost bin) you'll have the best compost ever! Use that on top and through of your clay soil as you plant your plants/trees 😘
"Horse poo. Look at that!" Memed
haha :)
Great video though.
Very Misleading title
Self Sufficient Me, black sheep brother. Lol
I'd be getting rid of that Cats Claw Creeper if I were you, otherwise you'll have no more trees in a few years.
Thanks! The only thing is, I have a longtime abandoned piece of clay soil with really strong, established weeds on it, and cannot get a hoe into the soil to remove anything. So how to get rid of the weeds - some light tilling? - and then start regenarating the soil?
@GloudinaL if you are finding it hard to weed certain or all weeds you have. Try waiting for after a rainy day. Or try watering the clay by portions, though you will need to break/crack it a bit with a crowbar or something.
@@elcapitan240 You're so right - I've come to the same conclusion! I've waited many years to have land, and now that I have it, I'll have to be patient still. Yes, rain/water and breaking up - not tilling - portion by portion. And then adding some organic matter, and better soil, right?
Look up "no till" method by Charles Dowd as well. He's a wealth of knowledge. Some weeds are very beneficial for your clay soil do don't be in a hurry to pull them out 😉 😘
@@greengippsland Charles Dowding - just in case someone searches based on your comment, I have just detected him, he is great.
Thank you for sharing 💕
Thankyou for your kind words :)
I inspire to be you
Thankyou very muchfor those awesome words. :)
Mate come back! I need your help! Fuuuuck
Whats up mate?
How to turn hard clay into soil
NOTHING about water infiltration???
Huh?
Feed the soil microbes
Feed your soul not your plants
and this is the stuff people want to burn off in a useless attempt to prevent fires.
Yep, its catch 22
Haha
Just bury shit in your soil that was once alive. That's literally all it takes to improve shitty soil.