FINALLY the video I've been looking for, much appreciative. My entire property is black gumbo clay and when it get's wet it becomes a huge mess. So it seems raised beds for the short term gardening while I use all the tools you talked about on the area's I want to grow in ground. Thank You
Oh, what sticky, challenging clay you have! But all of these tactics should definitely help with black gumbo clay, just as it does with other types of clay. I'm glad you found this video helpful and best wishes for improved soil. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
@@GrowfullywithJenna Hi, Jenna - do you think working wood chips INTO the soil in the early years of bad clay soil could work ? To loosen it up already, and I think wood chips absorb moisture, even more so when they are in the process of being broken down. Maybe with additional nitrogen gifts to compensate for what is (temporarily ?) bound by the processing of the wood by fungi.
@@GrowfullywithJenna My understanding is that if you get plenty of earthworms (mulching, aerating with the fork, lifting the beds for drainange, adding looser organic material) they will at some point have eaten all of the aerated soil in search of organic material that can feed them - it all was processed through their body at least once. Which is massive if you think how small they are. That is why it magically gets better also (especially) for gardeners that only mulch and do not till. I saw in another thread that you noted a major improvement in / after year 2 - must have been a great joy to see that your long term strategy starts to pay off. I think by that time the worms had processed a lot of the soil and once they get going the process accelerates, because more and more soil is aerated. Again: three cheers for moles they make the larger tunnels that allows air to enter so earthworms (and other much smaller creatures, and bacteria and fungi) can take it from there. Moles are like alive daikon radishes if you will ;) only you do not have to raise them, and they also work in winter (I do not think they hibernate, and they must eat plenty of earth worms to stay alive and heat their little body, earth digging is hard work and it is cool in the earth year round. The mounds of soil on the lawn that one must remove before mowing are testimony to their dilignet work. The number of moles also increases (they hunt the earth worms, they eat _them_ - not plants) as your soil improves and they are part of the soil improvement squad. Earth worms (or the bacteria in their "gut" ) add some "glue" to the castings - that glue is able to hold the soil together (for instance sandy soil) while also making it water absorbant and crumby (for heavy loam and clay). They are like tiny bioreactors. Worm castings from worm compost (from other species than earth worms in the wild) have plasticity (they are not as crumby / soft as carbon rich compost created by funghi) but despite that slight "stickyness" the castings from a worm bin do not compact like clay and they can absorb more water. That must be something that worms add.
Super late comment, but as an ecologist and botanist, you have hit every major point in doing soil restoration. One of the best videos connecting science to the common man ive seen in a hot minute. Major respect!
@The Stock Trader As you haven't had a reply I will dive in. I would till it. But no point tilling it and not doing anything else.Work in some animal manure - cow if you can get it, sheep or goat are also good, horse would work as well. Then mulch it heavily, at least 4 inches deep but more is better up to around 8 to 10 inches deep. The mulch will encourage worms to work close to surface level as they are protected from the heat and it will retain the moisture close to the surface worms need to breathe. The manure will also attract more worms to the area and facilitate breeding. Increasing worm quantity and activity is IMHO a primary objective and an increase in their population is an indicator you are doing something right.
The land I'm farming on was used for making bricks until early 1900. I can't go trough even when i jump on the shovel. To create soil, I use pigs. I feed them with sunflowers and all the veggies I can find. Always putting the food around the same spot so they dig and mix all. At the end of the season, I mix the clay with 1.5 feet of leaves using a rototiller. Next year, planting feld bean than buck wheat. An other 1.5 feet of leaves. Then you have a foot of new garden earth by the third year.
Yes! This is an excellent way to work and improve the soil. I utilize chickens in a similar way- but pigs are much, much better at this! Great tip- thank you!
That's interesting! I often see ducks from the lake waddling around the neighborhood - but only the occasional slug! Now, all I have to do is get the neighbor kids to stop chasing off the ducks!
@@hootiebubbabuddhabelly they are rumored to be excellent eaters of insect pests. I've debated keeping ducks for that reason... but have yet to actually get some!
She is not a soil scientist or even have a degree in ag. Don't assume she is telling you the truth. She dose give decent advice for how to start but if you only add organic matter you will run into problems with root rot due to the water. You have to have well draining soil and sand will help with this. Tilling sand in the ground will not always help (not sands fault) as the sand help drain the water. The water has to have someplace to go. The clay will actually dam the water in and the soil will not drain. You will need to give placed for water to drain away from . I use dry wells. Using a post hole digger I dig several 2 foot wholes ( at the low end of beds ) and fill with a sand rich soil. Then have the beds over them. (You only have to do this one in your life) as the water drains down threw your beds it draws in air (you plants need it at the roots) when the water hits the clay it stops flowing and start to stagnate and it slowly trying to go threw the clay. The dry wells give the extra water someplace to go aiding to roots. You can also french drain the aria the remove more standing water. The concept is the increase the surface area between the grow bed and the clay soil to keep the water moving
@@michaelsilberstein I appreciate you sharing your technique. This makes sense, and I absolutely agree that giving the water some place to go is necessary. Raising my beds and creating mini swales achieves this to some degree. I would like to point out however, that the advice I share regarding adding sand to clay soil DOES actually come from research done by folks with much loftier credentials than myself. To cite just one of many articles on the topic: s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/403/2015/03/soil-amendments-2.pdf I research each of my topics before ever posting a video, as I do not want to add to the rife spread misinformation on the internet. I would also like to point out that having a diploma does not always an expert make. Most of the best growers I've known in my life do not have Ag degrees, but have years of life experience.
@@GrowfullywithJenna very well put! Absolutely agreed- some of the best growers I've known in my relatively long life likewise do not have a fancy piece of paper.
Yes , best way to detect a clay soil. I tried to plant a shrub and bc the ground was so hard I filled the hole with water to moisten the soil . Instead the water just sat there , hours later and still have a puddle . I was shocked , now I know why my emerald trees died 😢
I added organic matter for years to my clay soil with very limited effect. Added course sand last spring and it instantly improved. Carrots, parsnips, and potatoes actually grew instead of just creating a leafy top with nothing going on below ground. The adding sand will only make things worse if no organic matter is in the soil, so never only add sand, but my garden drastically improved after I incorporated sand and my mother in law 500km away from me also added sand and has wonderful results that were way quicker than all the chicken manure she’s added in the last ten years. We’re in different soil and growing zones and by adding course sand to the garden, both of us can work the soil when it’s damp and have much better tilth so plants thrive instead of struggle to survive. Sand shouldn’t be the first thing added, but to improve clay soil, it may be needed. ETA: talking with coworkers last week and two of them ended up adding coarse sand to their farm gardens too with great results between 20-40 years ago. They had the same problem of adding manure from their beef cattle and dairy operations for years, and both got frustrated and brought in sand. Their gardens were so much better after that and are still thriving decades later.
@@ricoproia328 that is true of Sodic soils, but not other types of clay soil. My area has a little bit of sodic soil, my mother-in-law does not. Gypsum wouldn’t do a whole lot for her soil, and depending on if my soil originally came from a low spot would determine if mine would benefit from gypsum. Both responded really well to organic matter and course sand, and purchasing gypsum just doesn’t make economic sense when we were able to source sand for free and both have ample access to free organic matter. Gypsum is meant to bind to sodium ions in sodic soil that aren’t overly present in other clay soils. It’s a myth based on truth for some very specific parameters.
Horticultural sand, calcified seaweed and perlite plus lots of manure, dry leaves, woodchips, compost and either shredded cardboard or layers of cardboard under the woodchips and compost. Works wonders but takes a year. Nothing in nature is a quick solution.
@@ricoproia328 i have heard this advice, and been tempted, but now I'm confused, and actually would love to find a solution which does not involved buying stuff in bags at the big box store. We've done almost 30 yrs of leaves, grass clippings, straw, etc and still have heavy clay soil. Have a few beds where I've added peat moss (which was donated, did not buy it) and despite those bags saying it would preserve moisture, it has actually lightened the soil and made it suitable for carrots, it is that nice. Other beds I have added some chopped alfalfa (donated!). Perhaps if I can find a source for organic gypsum donation I will try that too. Otherwise, most of us are going to use whatever is available. Even shredded paper would be a good addition.
Thats a great idea! When you leave the roots they will decay in place and next season other plants will be able to fill in where the roots were without having to expend as much energy to get there.
It is hard to beat adding 5 to 6 inches of organic matter (we use chicken litter and cotton seed husks) in the Fall, tilling it in and covering the garden with black landscape fabric for the Winter. We have seen some amazing transformations and the work is done when production is finished for the season.
Namaste from India! You have been making a lot of lives easier❤️ Keep doing what you do, the world needs more people like you. We will make sure that your name is heard 💞🌱 Love and peace to you ma'am 💮🌻😊
awesome video, thanks! have you tried planting sunflowers? i was surprised at how they transformed my soil from dense and sticky to light and crumbly in just one season. they're really beautiful too
Not with the intention of improving clay soil, but I am definitely doing that this year! Thanks for the great suggestion, James, and have a wonderful week!
I just turned over a bed that I planted huge sunflowers in a couple of years ago. I had just cut them down at the time an left the roots in the ground. I have hard clay and soil was beautiful! I have planted some short sunflowers I found at Burpee and am looking forward to transformation. Thanks for alerting me to the possibilities of sunflowers!
We planted sunflowers this this year too, the only thing we got were moles! Lol they coming up tall tho and soil around them and the chicken coops look pretty good
Living in Ohio , I'm told this was under water at one time, Clay is really bad here, I've been working on the dirt for about 7 years. Last year I couldn't get anything to grow. The raised bed , I should have known better. This year will be different . Thank you for this channel. You're awesome!
It's a challenge for sure! From being covered in water, to (in my area at least) glacial erosion, to soils completely depleted by conventional farming practices- our soil is in desperate need of TLC. It's doable, just takes time & patience- you'll get there! Best wishes for a great '22 gardening season.
Bummer. 7 years. Bad Gardner. We moved into our second home and the whole area is tan compacted clay. It took all of 2 years to turn it into soil in 2 years.
When my husband and I bought our home in northern Utah in 2013, I was clueless about soil. I started lettuce indoors and foolishly thought I could just put the starts in the ground. Our heavy clay soil was in such poor condition that water literally ran off when we attempted to wet it down. The clay was hydrophobic. My lettuce starts lasted about 5 minutes. We were literally taking pickaxes to the soil to break it up so we could start amending it and getting water down there. Eventually we got a broadfork and we love it. We have worked compost, mineral amendments especially those sulfur based, and lots of other organic matter into the soil since. We trawl through the neighborhood looking for leaves and pine needles and we use wood chips when they're available. Sulfur based amendments help improve the bioavailability of nutrients in the soil and lower the alkalinity. With regular amendment we have gotten good performance from our soil. Now we get more vegetables than we know what to do with. We don't use sand in the clay soil but we do use utelite, a gravelly amendment available here in Utah that helps with aeration.
Miss Jenna you're a saviour, not only is it beautifully produced and informative, but also effectively explained and educational. A lot of people come to youtube to learn from 0 and may be stunted by tutorials speaking about nutrient ratios/fertilizer types/etc., but you actually put it in lay man's terms and demonstrate quite easily too. I think it really shows on your expertise.
I'm on my third year working with poor clay soil and it's just getting better every year. I live in southern Arizona, this season I've been amazed at how improved my soil is... Keep turning that dirt. Even if it takes a few years.
Hi Jenna my farm is in India and I face the same problem of heavy clay soil and get frustrated so many times. The rain water does not drain easily and forms a crust on top. This time I picked up mulch from the Neighbouring areas and have spread on the terraces on the slopes. I do dig and then spread mulch once the seed sprouts. Still trying ways to support my plantation. I glad you shrared your ideas.
We usually use clovers the year before to break up clay, then just till it in as a green mulch. The clover is also nitrogen fixing so that is another perk. many wheat farmers grow alfalfa (clover) and sell the hay for 2 to 4 years to recondition fields for grain crops.
I’ve been reading a lot about clover lately. From what I’ve read, grass seed years ago was rated by how much clover was included in with the seed as this is good for correcting the lack of nitrogen.
A key advantage of cover crops is that you don’t have to move organic matter first to one spot (the compost pile) to rot, and then move it again to where it’s needed. It is composting in place. In vegetable gardens, there may be several weeks between when one crop ends (for example, cool weather crops) and another can be planted (later summer or early fall crops). A cover crop planted then can help improve the soil.
I’m so glad I found this channel - no nonsense, essential information and to the point. No 45 minute explanations. Plus, you are a fellow zone 6 Ohioan (Cincinnati-Dayton) so we share a lot of the same issues and conditions.
After years of adding compost to the clay soils in our raised beds, we started using agricultural gypsum when we dig in the compost in the spring. This alters the chemistry of the clay and makes an amazing difference. We no longer have a hard layer during the heat of summer and the soil crumbles easily. We also dig in annual rye in our fallow beds for the nitrogen and tilth.
Thank you, Bill. I am hoping to give gypsum a try this year. And I'm with you on the rye-- I've had great results with it as well. Take care & have a wonderful week!
@@manuf.eng.808 I would be careful about assuming that there are no additives. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drywall We chose to go with the agricultural gypsum to be on the safe side.
Your tip to raise the level of the bed resonated strongly with me. My soil is a mixture of clay and fine sand which is fairly nutrient rich and gets crumbly with light rain, but turns to mud with heavy rain and concrete in the dry season. Elevating the bed I think will allow me to better harness it during the rainy season
I'm very glad you made this informative video. I have some leftover sand that I was going to put in my garden to loosen the clay. As you mentioned, that would have been disastrous. I did a search for sand's influence on clay. What I found out is that sand mixed with clay forms a substance similar to cement. Thanks for keeping me from making a concrete garden. :)
Thanks for this. I’m getting ready to remove all the sod from my backyard to do gravel and flagstone with xeriscape. I was thinking of leveling with sand instead of topsoil. You saved me from a massive mistake. 🙌🌻
Walt, it may be too late now to say it but all sand is not the same. And the sand that makes 'concrete' when mixed with clay soil is the very fine sand with a particle size 1mm) usually from rivers behaves quite differently, and if mixed with heavy clay (2in depth for top 8 inches of soil - ie 25%) it makes a dramatic and long term change to the physical properties of the soil - inclreasing its drainage and reducing hardening and cracking. Carrots, parsnips & other root veg will suddenly take off, and it's easier to fork over. But such a quantity needed, suitable only for a raised bed.
@@falfield You are correct. I use a combination of pea gravel, sharp sand, and compost. I mix it by the barrel full. I do a portion of my clay garden each year. My clay has dramatically improved. I dig mine in about eight inches and I am sure to mix it thoroughly with the clay chunks that slice in.
You are most welcome! It's definitely experience based-- I've been gardening in clay soil my entire life (as have my parents and grandparents). It's challenging for sure, but clay soil does have its merits (less watering for one)! Take care & I hope you have a wonderful day!
I’m going in to year 3 of building from dark orange/ red clay in 5a Northern Virginia. Rich in iron and other micronutrients and it’s unreal how well this soil performs now. Built with biochar, compost, mushroom compost and never leave exposed soil.
I had a vegetable garden for a few years. I grew tomatoes, zucchini, poblano and jalapeño peppers, cucumbers. The first few years I tilled in compost and peat moss that gave me more than my family could use. Later after seeing the size of the root balls at the end of the season I started making holes 2-3 inches deep filled with compost and plants. I got the same harvest. The next year I started putting down landscape fabric and reduced leaf blight that gave me even more tomatoes and almost no weeds.
I guess I made the right choice. I just had 10 cubic yards of rich compost trucked over. I was torn between that and sand, but I went with the compost. Then I came across this video. Looking forward to a bright future.
This is the best explanation we have in TH-cam, about clay soil conversion. Our farm has all black clay soil and we were restricted to rice. Good work Jenna. Thank you so much :)
Great information, I am now planting Sudan Sorghum grass my garden as a cover crop for its fast growth and massive root system which breaks up the heavy soil, plus it is sort of drought resistant. The top can be "chopped and drop "and will regrow for more green manure cover. In the fall I plant rye or wheat to chop in late spring for organic matter. My soil has improved so much in the past 3 years.
Yes! Love both of those cover crops and use them frequently. Excellent suggestions. I'm curious how you chop and manage your rye in the spring. I typically just chop it up with weedwhacker then work it into the soil with my broadfork, but I've read that crimping is actually the best way to terminate it. I'm looking into making a small scale crimper, but I'm curious to hear what other folks are doing. thanks!
The clay is for real up here in Wood County. Couple years ago I dug out clay 15 inches deep and refilled with a cubic yard of compost for a 8 x 4 in ground garden. I'm about to dig another for use next spring, glad I found this. Still have a load of displaced clay that I use to level barrels and raised beds.
Love this video. Interesting that you mentioned the radish. Some of the farmers in our area have been having crop dusting planes spread those radish seeds on their dormant fields for the last few years. It hadn't dawned on me to use them in my flower beds, but I will now. Thanks for all the good, helpful information.
Yes! Those radishes work just as well on a small scale as they do in a big field. How fun that they are using crop dusters to spread the seeds- my little guy would love to watch that 😀. Thanks for the kind words & I hope you have a wonderful week!
Plant radishes around your beds before planting the bed this makes an excellent slug feast, pull a few up occasionally to tempt them they ignore the other plants
I've been doing the things you said for just over two years now and my soil is already so much better than when I started. Mine was like baked pottery when I started. I smashed it into tiny shards and mixed in a truckload of compost. Then I watered it and covered with a layer of sugarcane mulch and watered again. I make all my beds 1.2m wide so I can reach everything without having to step on the bed. Slowly converting the yard one bed at a time. The soil seems to improve the more I use it. Just started doing no-dig with my first couple of beds to see how it goes.
THANK YOU for stating NOT to add sand to your clay soil! The end result is usually something akin to cement. The property we purchased over a decade ago, the former owners had apparently never heard that advice and it took us the better part of a decade to correct it. It was terrible!
Oh no!! I'm sorry to hear that! What a mess. I appreciate you sharing your experience. Many folks have commented here that adding sand was the best thing they ever did for their clay, but people also need to know about experiences like yours before adding sand to their soil!
I've been told so many times, watched so many videos telling me to use sand, I'm so glad to say I'm dead against it. The sand may work year 1 even year 2 but somewhere along the line your gonna turn your garden in to a desert, and the cost of fertilisers and water are gonna sky rocket in the process. Thanks for your advice 👍
That is a major consideration that I didn't even mention- sand does not hold moisture or fertility well (especially as compared to clay). I've seen plantings in southern Florida on extremely sandy soil where they have to fertigate every single day! That could get pricey in a hurry. Thanks for bringing that up!
WOW so many videos seem very Hollywood produced but yours seems amateur like a real person, non acting yet the best educational, most explanatory and helpful advice seen. SERIOUSLY!!!!! THANK YOU. I needed something like this to help my soil. BEST VIDEO I've seen that truly helped me. ❤
Jenna you are absolutely correct about never adding sand!! I wish I would have seen this a few years ago before I purchased a dump truck load of sand and added it to my clay soil. I turns it into something similar to concrete! It has taken raised beds and lots of compost to get back to where I can use it again. I am adding more beds this spring and have started composting on a larger scale by mowing my grass hay and stacking it in a large compost pile. Thanks for all your great videos, I also have watched all of Charles Dowding's videos and I am using a modified no dig technique here in Idaho where we heavy clay soil. Ours is not nearly as bad as yours but it is still a challenge. I was glad to see your video on your modified no dig technique, now I don't feel as much like a traitor to the true no dig way. Keep the education coming we enjoy hearing from you.
Thank you for sharing your experience, Ron-- I'm sorry you had to go through that! I'm curious- I've heard that 'river' sand or 'horticultural' sand works differently (better) than playground sand for this application, do you recall which you used? I'm still not sure that even horticultural sand would be an option I'd go with- but I am curious about how it might affect soil structure as compared to playground sand.
@@GrowfullywithJenna Well actually the first dump truck load I purchased was golf course sand and it was very expensive! But it worked the best and actually improved our soil. A few years later we purchased another load but because of the price we went with the cheaper playground sand and that is what turned our clay to concrete, we were unable to use that section of the garden for a couple years while we tried different things to amend the soil. The only way to recover that area was to turn it into 30" raised beds and lots of compost, last year was the first year for those and they worked great! I sure wish I had been composting back then. My wife and I have been gardening our whole lives and we are 70 now but I just started composting 3 years ago and now I am not only using 3 - pallet bins, I am composting around 10 acres of grass hay in a stack and raising red wiggler worms. You might say I have jumped into the deep end! I made 4 30" raised beds last year and I am gearing up to put in 12 more this year if I have enough compost that is. I am also using a modified "No Till" I till to make the beds but then no more tilling after the beds are made, much like you do. Love your teaching videos! Ron from N-C Idaho
Great presentation. Here’s a good use for clay soil AS IS: put it against your house foundation and create a positive grade. It’s bad for growing plants, which means it’s resistant to weeds. Foundation plants usually get out of control eventually, so stick with planters. Water will run off the clay soil away from your foundation (good). Cover with mulch.
We have some clay mixed with our good soil on the south side of the house. Back in the 1970s when three bedrooms were added to the original house, they dug out a new basement area and threw all of that deeper clay on top of the already-existing soil on the southern side of the house. As a result, lawn and garden growth has been inefficient on that south side, at least in specific areas. Ever since I started doing more landscaping and gardening in the last seven years, I've been chipping away at this problem each year. After starting my own natural compost from yard waste materials three years ago, I was finally able to build up enough additional compost material to start spreading it over that part of the garden just last Fall before Winter. Then once Spring arrived, I rented a tiller and worked that new material down into that soil with the clay. It's helped for sure. I've also supplemented it with free composted black soil from our city dump area. Something else I do is that when I weed, I take a second pale just for rocks and clay. I then dispose of those materials in a separate area. I've been doing that for a good several years I'd say, and I find a little less clay each time I weed the garden. I have a feeling I'll start seeing larger results in the next 2-3 years.
Perhaps I missed this but the most important step is the raised beds and one tip to source a lot of organic material. Get a load of wood chips when you see the electric company cutting back trees from the powerr lines.
@@hulagabal - That's a really bad idea to dump so called additions blindly! Beside the fact that almost surely the mineral content of your soil. Might have more than enough content already... I call your attention to the word "might". ;-) With that said it's the soil BIOLOGY that release all that in a plant ready form! Meaning your focus is better used precisely on that biology. BTW tends to be cheaper also! ;-)
Great video with thorough explanations. We are just now establishing our garden in Central Texas and we have very hard, clay soil. I appreciate this! Thanks so much.
at 4:13 am on March 16th, what a gift this video is for us here in Northern New England. Another two months of cold and snow, and then mud season... but as hope springs eternal, so does Spring itself and the thoughts of getting our hands in the life giving earth and helping it help us. Thank You Jenna. A fabulous way to start this Tuesday morning - hitting the subscribe button.
Thank you for the kind (and lovely) words, Mark. You really struck on one of the reasons gardening is so wonderful- "getting our hands in the life giving earth and helping it help us"... I love this and couldn't agree more! I hope spring finds its way to you soon and I appreciate your support. Take care & have a wonderful week!
We built our home on 10 acres of old pasture land, and it's all compacted clay underneath the bahia grass from years of cattle grazing. I've been using a raised bed for the last year, but I feel it's such a waste of soil to make it deep enough, so I'm trying to look into amending my clay so I can have numerous beds. I also plan on getting a good many fruit trees in the ground, so I'll take all the info I can get! Thanks for putting this out there!
I broke up a new grow bed last year with a heavy clay soil , planted beets that didn't do well so I tilled them in and covered with a tarp . I was surprised to see in the spring to see how much it improved in 1 season!
Hi Jenna, I had no idea something like this was even a possibility, thanks so much! I have clay and a lot of rocks here in WV and just thought I was stuck with bad dirt. I am happy to learn there is a way to make it better. I love the thought of the broad fork (never heard of that before either), it would definitely help me trim down a bit.
You can absolutely improve your soil! It will take some work, but you’ll be surprised how quickly it improves. And yes- that broadfork can be a workout- especially in clay. I just figure I’m saving money not having to buy a gym membership 😆.
The 1/3 acre yard at my house growing up was solid red clay under an inch of topsoil. We had a rainfall that washed all our topsoil to the bottom of the hill right before our grass seed went in.We tried EVERYTHING, gypsum, sand, aeration. It was SUCH a battle. The little garden we had was a 10 round heavy weight boxing title fight. You couldn't get the shovle 2" deep. We had to wait till the last spring rain to get a pitch fork into the ground. It was impossible stuff, and took years of folding in compost and sphagnum mulch to be able to garden. It was a nightmare! That radish looks like it would have been a big help!!
Oh wow! And I thought my soil was bad! I'm glad you all had to patience to keep adding compost & mulch. I hope that if you're gardening now, you've got a more cooperative plot of soil! Take care & have a great weekend!
@@lucygjohnson88 I would recommend it- yes. I don't love using a tiller in the garden, but you may want to till it once to get started, and in subsequent years focus on using these strategies to build your soil. You could also break up the soil by hand using a fork/hoe/shovel, depending on how much you're able to tackle!
You came up in my feed this morning and it was perfect timing. I have heavy clay soil. I am doing a bit of fall planting and getting everything ready for winter. I found a lot of organic matter that I will begin incorporating into my soil. Everything from leaves to a few broken down logs that have been stacked against a back fence for about three years. I look forward to exploring your channel!
I moved onto hard clay virgin soil in the Philippines, 8 months into our garden, I've had to dig initially with a crowbar,incorporating chicken,goat and cow manure, also rice hulls. It is slowly improving. I also have compost now and use rice hulls in the chicken coop which get transfered into the garden .constant digging it in but easier each time No seasons here so I just grow what I want year round. Each time a crop of a certain veg finishes, I dig in more compost and poop. Slowly slowly. Oh I'm not a gardener,I'm a sailor Doing OK, I agree with your estimate of 3 years to improve the soil. Thanks, new subscription.
I’ve lived in our Oklahoma home for 3 years where we have clay soil. I trench compost and I use leaf mold from another home we have in Tulsa where the soil is so rich! A hundred miles can make such a difference in soils! Thanks for a great video!
We tilled in yards upon yards of compost for the first two years. Then we dug in a lighter layer the third year. No dig this year. Ultimately it raised our whole soil level about 6-8"
Hi Jenna. Yet again, a very informative video. Here in NZ, they dig in “gypsum” initially to loosen the clay. We didn’t used it much in our last place, but have been using it in this very clayey soil, especially for fruit trees. I believe, adding gypsum to clay soil and continuing to sprinkle some around the plants is very beneficial to the soil. But, this year, I’m going to follow your simple method of just adding organic matter and lots of mulch. You sure have a wealth of knowledge which helps people like me. Thanks again.
I'm so intrigued by gypsum. Lots of folks here recommended it, but when I did a little research on it, I found that it really only works with sodic clay soils (not what we have here). But lots of farmers in my area apply to their fields anyways! Have you noticed a difference in the areas that you've used it? I want to test it out this year, just to see what happens!
Hi Jenna, sorry for the late reply. I didn’t see the link that usually alerts me to a reply. Yes, a year on and we have seen a huge difference in the quality of the soil. But I guess nature does the rest. In the Charles Dowding videos, he just used the “no dig” method for any type of soil. But again, like you said, the soil must be very different in all countries and regions. We were very surprised about the progress of our trees. I love flowering trees too, so planted many of those. You’re doing a wonderful job Jenna, and I’m sure many gardeners like myself appreciate your work.
@@Nan54424 Yes, it did. I didn’t see Jenna’s reply all that time ago, but have now explained to her above. The way we did it was where we’d dig the hole large enough for the rootball and loosen the clay a bit, then sprinkled a couple of handfuls of gypsum, filled in with good garden soil (over here, the garden soil has compost already mixed in), placed the plant in the soil filled in with more soil, and finally watering the base well.
I believe one benefit of a thick mulch that you didn't mention is that it makes a wonderful shelter for worms. I have used cardboard covered with several feet of grass to break up new planting areas & the worms gravitate to that area. They move up through the soil up & eat the carboard because the mulch protects them from the sun & keeps the soil moist. Where I skimped on the mulch, there were few worms & the cardboard didn't break down as quickly. To keep the heavy mulch away from my plant stems, I cut rings from a 3" pvc pipe & put that like a collar around my seeds& seedlings. Yes, I have been known to lean over a newly planted spot & lean my hand on a seeding.
Yes absolutely! The worms love it! And great point about keeping the mulch away from the plant stems. This is very important, especially when using a heavier mulch like wood chips. Thanks for sharing this and take care!
Awesome, the only thing I have to add is Gypsum, it's super cheap and the calcium in it basically creates pockets in the clay and greatly improves the soil tilth and exchange capacity
I'm giving gypsum a try this year- it's one soil amendment I've not tested out yet. I'm hoping to do a true test where I apply gypsum to 1/2 of a garden bed and not to the other and observe the results. Thanks so much for the suggestion & have a wonderful weekend. Happy 1st Day of Spring!
I spent 10 years doing all I was told only to remember we had clay soil in our back yard when I was but a youngster. We had some really good vege patches and fruit trees. After this memory I rang my Mum only to find out from her nothing lasts you gotta keep doing it. What ever you do. I started using raised beds and from 1 bed turned into 10 knee height beds and I used discarded pallets from the local hardware. 20 years later I have less work and more veges. Plus at now 70 I care less about hard work than I do about eating drinking and and feet up.
yes!!! sand and clay = mortar!!! lol don't add sand to clay! all these tips are great for clay soil! I find tilling the soil once before plants and adding peat moss, vermiculite, compost, and perlite help drainage. I mix these into the native soil with the tiller before planting anything. I also mix in good garden soil as well and the plants love it! I mulch and top dress with compost throughout the seasons. Love your channel and content! Awesome to see people spreading good knowledge of healthy and safe gardening techniques!
Great info. I had planted a shady garden with clay soil at my back yard last year. Only a few plants survived and they were not happy. I want try your methods by adding organic compost and raising bed this year. I am looking forward to it.
Having lived in clay soil for about 20 years, what I did was mulch with arborist wood chips 6 - 12" thick and wait three years. Voila, lovely fluffy spongey clay soil. Cover crops are next. What I don't think that works in clay is aerating as you showed. It tends to compact soil but it might work for some folks. THANK YOU for adding (like I keep telling people) don't add sand to clay. You might tell them why. That it will cause your soil to become a brick like material. Make sure people also know that still if you have clay and you live in the desert, you will want SUNKEN beds with similar methods but you want to PRESERVE WATER AND NOT DRAIN IT in that case (still for clay soil). So kindly add for this or that climate so people will know the different between draining water and preserving it. They all want to have raised beds, lol. Not good for the desert environment in clay.
Yes! If you've got patience to wait, wood chips allowed to rot away into the soil are an amazing amendment. Great point about the desert- thanks for bringing that up!
I've been fighting my garden for the past 3 years with clay, I learned the hard way not to add sand and to never till before it rains. The first summer everythng went to plan, fingers crossed she does well in the winter I'm here just incase I need new methods to keep the crops alive for the winter haha, thanks for the vid :)
I just now found that reading the comments are very helpful too. There are lots of information from the people that's watching from your videos too. I'm amazed! 😲🤭🤗
This is absolutely great advise on how to improve clay soil. I been doing most of these for over 9 year now, I dont mess with raised beds yet. When I first started gardening we only had maybe 6 inches of really nice soil and then just clay below. I also like to add especially eggshell to my garden. Its a great slow releast calcium that plants need to create strong cell walls. Now the black rich soil goes down to at least 3 feet. I know I had to tear up my poor garden trying to get rid of horseradish without chemicals.
@@GrowfullywithJenna yep it just sucks I let my garden gro because the horseradish has taken over. I think I found a non chemical way to get rid of it though.
I had a very poor clay soil, I simply planted 4 trees, covered all the soil with leaves,grass and woodchips, in 4 months the land became very black and fertile
Yep I have a lot of clay also. I make raised beds and use leaves, straw and other stuff to make it better. Enjoy your video's, hope you have a good garden this year. Take care and be safe.
Thanks Charles! Raised beds can definitely be helpful when dealing with poor soil, I like to use them too. I hope that you have a great garden this year as well, and have a wonderful week!
I have a hard yellow clay about six inches down. When digging to plant a potted plant I dig as far as I can and then I use a tulip auger on my drill to loosen the hard clay base to which I add some compost and mix it in breaking the remaining clods with my hands. It makes planting much easier.
Wow Jenna, not only did you deliver exactly what I was looking for, you delivered far more with things I did not realize I was looking for. Very well done! New subscriber, I am looking forward to exploring more of your content. Thank you.
I think some gardening info is pertinent no matter where you are growing, but I ran into the same frustration-- I'd get half way into a video and realize they were growing in Southern California and half of what they were doing would never work in Ohio 😆.
Very clear and well-explained! Thanks for sharing. I did get some good results in improving my clayish soil by using gypsum+compost+leaf mould. Subscribed!
Thank you for sharing what worked well for you! I love the idea of using the gypsum with compost & leaf mould. It seems like you would get much better results than with using gypsum alone. Take care & have a wonderful day!
Excellent video! You showed a picture of clay that looks as if you were standing in my garden. Exactly like pottery version clay. I watched to the end and loved your planting and composting tips that address the problem, too. So happy to find some good information in regards to what I am looking for. You should be proud of yourself!
A great way to add organic matter and raise your soil is to dig out sections and bury logs, sticks, etc. These will slowly decompose over time. This is great if you're in a wooded area and and have fallen tree limbs to utilize.
Hi Jenna - new subscriber here! I am in Northern California, and am in the process of converting my dry clay soil, and yes it's a process. I appreciate your thoughtful content and I have been using the method you recommended in this video to create success. My garden improves exponentially every year, and I've been at this for almost 3 years. Cover crops are awesome. I use Bell beans and daikon radish. Where are you located?
Hello! I appreciate the sub! You are spot on-- it is definitely a process improving clay soil, but I'm so glad you're seeing results from your hard work. I am in mid-western Ohio, Zone 6a. Take care!
Love it! Good video. Lots of clay here, but with a little sandy loam here and there. Really rich soil. As I have built up my gardens and orchards in the last few years I decided go with the use what I have route as well. I am fortunate to live on a old cattle farm surrounded by forests and fields. Lots and lots of organic material to use. Also happen to have a old barn that was full of hay in the loft and very well aged manure down below. I am extremely frugal and don't like buying soil or amendments. A little work is all it takes. Messing around with covers and hugel kultur as well. And yes, cover that soil. That stuff has lots of goodness in it. Another benefit of OM added to clay is to lower the ph a little since clay tends toward alkaline. Now I get thousands of nightcrawler mounds in the morning and the gardens and orchards are turbo charged. Good work! Take care.
Your soil sounds wonderful-- I'm glad to hear you've got good resources around you that you are able to utilize. You are absolutely right- a little work is all it takes, and it can make SUCH a difference! Love seeing those nightcrawlers, it always makes me feel like I'm making a difference in my soil's health. Thank you so much, and you take care as well!
New follower. This spring was my first year to start a garden. I didn’t know what I was doing I’m still learning. The problem I noticed that I ran in to is I did a little tilling and the weeds took over also I didn’t use any mulch until late summer. By then it was too late weeds took over and Ive been having to water A LOT. So I’m getting ready to prep the grounds where my gardens are at. This was very helpful because I’m wanting to use the sources that I have readily available to me to make my no till soil better, help keep out weeds, and help hold moisture in so during the hot Texas 3 digit summer months it helps to cut back on watering some. Thank you. ❤
Thanks for your sharing. I used water blaster to dig 600mm deep holes around fruit tree that prevent to damage the roots. And then fill in with good forest soil and insert bamboo to keep the channel.
I added grass cuttings from my yard last year to my new broken up clay soil garden to mulch the plants and this year it tills much better! Will be adding more now and not leaving the ground bare! Thanks for the info!
Awesome tips Mrs. Jenna. Everything you named is good to mend in cept for pine straw. Way to much acid to deal with. Worms are your friends no doubt! If you see them then your soil is doing really well. Yes Mam cover crop helps way more then people think. Thanks for taking the time to teach folks how to turn clay into an amazing garden. Stay safe and have a wonderful rest of the week!
CB would that pine straw work well if you wanted to make your pH more acidic? Many of my berries (blueberries in particular, but also strawberries and raspberries) could benefit from some acidity-- our soil is so alkaline! Thanks so much!
@@GrowfullywithJenna Not sure what pine straw is but pine needles are fantastic mulch and OM. However, I believe they are only acidic when green. I keep reading differing opinions on that, so please don't take my word for it. CB's above probably knows better than I. My soil pulls hard to 7.0 would love it a little lower. I do have issues with blueberries and other acid lovers, but not as much as you would think. Strawberries and raspberries grow crazy good here, blueberries continue to be a challenge. I am playing around with blueberry alternatives like honeyberries and saskatoon berries. I believe clay soil, though alkaline, does have high humic content. I think that helps mitigate ph issues to a certain extent. Still kinda learning on that a bit. I have to see things work or not to understand how they function. Thanks for putting up with my gibber jabber. Any insight or knowledge is welcome.
@@bbtruth2161 I have had a similar experience- my strawberries and raspberries do well (as long as I get my drainage right)... blueberries I've given up on growing in-ground, I only do those in pots now. You are right about the clay- it generally (at least in my area) has good humic content, but I can't speak to how this mitigates pH... something I need research! I'll also have to look into the pine needle thing (I use the term 'pine straw' just to denote dried, aged pine needles). Pine needles aren't a resource I have much of around here- most pines & other evergreens don't thrive in my area. I've also been looking at honeyberries. I did an evaluation at a research farm a while back where they had 20+ varieties planted. Some were quite tasty indeed... some tasted like gasoline!
@@GrowfullywithJenna Yup the honeyberries are kind of hit or miss. Just getting going on those, but have a good resource in state at a place called honeyberry farms. Got some sour cherries from them too. Can't wait for those. As to blueberries, decided to go in containers with those as well. Found a huge wood slabbed watering tub with steel bindings, looks great, drilled some holes in it for drainage and turned it into a blueberry home. I might not be that bright though; I'm going to give blueberries another try in ground but a little bit raised and amended. I do have one blueberry in the ground still. It just happens to be near/ under a pine and is doing pretty good. Thought ph might be a issue with my strawberries. Not the case. They spread like wildfire and are the tastiest strawberries I've personally ever had. Struggled with raspberries a while. Moved to new spot, worked in lots of composted, aged hay. They are taking off now.
@@bbtruth2161 the sour cherries you got- did they happen to be the bush sour cherries from the University of Saskatchewan breeding program (Carmine Jewel, Romeo, Juliet, Romance, Cupid etc)? Those are some excellent varieties. It's quite interesting that the in-ground blueberry happens to be near a pine. I'd love to know the pH of that soil versus other soil in your area.
Thanks for such an informative video! I’ve been considering using daikon to “lazily” break up my clay for aeration and to increase the amount of water the clay holds on a soggy part of my property. I was worried about just letting the huge radishes decay in place, if there’s a lot of them, they don’t attract animals or smell bad in the heat of the next summer? I’m willing to remove the dead leaf matter and compost it in the pile, that’s no problem. Just skeptical about leaving huge daikon in the ground. Wondering how dense to plant them too, because they are just so huge. If I can aerate that soil I’ll bet I can really increase my water infiltration. This could be a way for some of us to cope with the unpredictable weather we have been facing. 😉 Standing water is bad for homes, infrastructure, and breeds mosquitoes. If I plant a bunch of daikon I can imagine it doesn’t decay fast enough to plant another crop the second year? Such a huge root! Thanks for any advice! Really enjoyed your teaching style, you have a great voice and I hope you do more videos, I’ll subscribe and share. (I’m in northern IL 5b)
You're welcome! Regarding the radishes- they definitely stink. But the smell is worst in the early spring and is gone by summer. Plus, when you're using them on a smaller scale (in the home garden versus a 100- acre field), the smell is minimal. I've not found that they attract animals in a problematic way. I usually see some chewing on the roots (voles, I'm assuming), but never notice an increase in animal populations in correlation with the radishes. The freeze/thaw cycles we typically have in late winter/early spring quickly rots the roots down quickly. You should not have a problem going in the following spring or summer & planting garden crops. You will find chunks of roots still left in the soil, but I've never had a problem with these affecting my subsequent garden crops in a negative way. You also don't have to remove the tops from the garden if you don't' want to-- I just push them out of the way so I can plant, and leave them in the garden. The suggested planting rate is 1 lb/1000 sq ft. I almost always overseed though. Usually I just go out in the garden, grab a handful of seed and attempt to scatter it evenly. A hand-held broadcast spreader would help you get more uniform coverage. I hope this helps! Take care and have a wonderful week!
What a great video! I have used oil seed radishes in a new front garden bed to help prepare it for landscape planting, I am sure my neighbors thought I was crazy, but it was a success and I can stick a shovel in it now. I also top dressed with compost and then wood chips. I am in zone 6a - about 50% of the radishes were not winter killed, so I went around and lopped off the leaves once or twice, and that did the trick to get them to break down.
Thanks for the tips! I had beautiful gardens in our old home, Sandy soil…. We moved int my dream home and I had no idea how had it would be to deal with clay soil! This will really help! Thanks again!
FINALLY the video I've been looking for, much appreciative. My entire property is black gumbo clay and when it get's wet it becomes a huge mess. So it seems raised beds for the short term gardening while I use all the tools you talked about on the area's I want to grow in ground. Thank You
Oh, what sticky, challenging clay you have! But all of these tactics should definitely help with black gumbo clay, just as it does with other types of clay. I'm glad you found this video helpful and best wishes for improved soil. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
@@GrowfullywithJenna thwnk you very much, appreciate you!
@@WTFnecktatto you are very welcome
@@GrowfullywithJenna Hi, Jenna - do you think working wood chips INTO the soil in the early years of bad clay soil could work ? To loosen it up already, and I think wood chips absorb moisture, even more so when they are in the process of being broken down. Maybe with additional nitrogen gifts to compensate for what is (temporarily ?) bound by the processing of the wood by fungi.
@@GrowfullywithJenna My understanding is that if you get plenty of earthworms (mulching, aerating with the fork, lifting the beds for drainange, adding looser organic material) they will at some point have eaten all of the aerated soil in search of organic material that can feed them - it all was processed through their body at least once. Which is massive if you think how small they are.
That is why it magically gets better also (especially) for gardeners that only mulch and do not till. I saw in another thread that you noted a major improvement in / after year 2 - must have been a great joy to see that your long term strategy starts to pay off.
I think by that time the worms had processed a lot of the soil and once they get going the process accelerates, because more and more soil is aerated.
Again: three cheers for moles they make the larger tunnels that allows air to enter so earthworms (and other much smaller creatures, and bacteria and fungi) can take it from there.
Moles are like alive daikon radishes if you will ;) only you do not have to raise them, and they also work in winter (I do not think they hibernate, and they must eat plenty of earth worms to stay alive and heat their little body, earth digging is hard work and it is cool in the earth year round.
The mounds of soil on the lawn that one must remove before mowing are testimony to their dilignet work.
The number of moles also increases (they hunt the earth worms, they eat _them_ - not plants) as your soil improves and they are part of the soil improvement squad.
Earth worms (or the bacteria in their "gut" ) add some "glue" to the castings - that glue is able to hold the soil together (for instance sandy soil) while also making it water absorbant and crumby (for heavy loam and clay). They are like tiny bioreactors.
Worm castings from worm compost (from other species than earth worms in the wild) have plasticity (they are not as crumby / soft as carbon rich compost created by funghi) but despite that slight "stickyness" the castings from a worm bin do not compact like clay and they can absorb more water. That must be something that worms add.
Super late comment, but as an ecologist and botanist, you have hit every major point in doing soil restoration. One of the best videos connecting science to the common man ive seen in a hot minute. Major respect!
Thank you so much, Ben! It really means a lot to hear feedback like this, I appreciate it! Take care & have a great weekend.
@Ramen Lover which book is that? I'd love to check it out!
@@ramenlover1727 thank you!
@The Stock Trader As you haven't had a reply I will dive in. I would till it. But no point tilling it and not doing anything else.Work in some animal manure - cow if you can get it, sheep or goat are also good, horse would work as well. Then mulch it heavily, at least 4 inches deep but more is better up to around 8 to 10 inches deep. The mulch will encourage worms to work close to surface level as they are protected from the heat and it will retain the moisture close to the surface worms need to breathe. The manure will also attract more worms to the area and facilitate breeding. Increasing worm quantity and activity is IMHO a primary objective and an increase in their population is an indicator you are doing something right.
Clay particles attract each other at the atomic level. Certain ions disrupt this. Gypsum is the go-to amendment for this purpose.
The land I'm farming on was used for making bricks until early 1900. I can't go trough even when i jump on the shovel. To create soil, I use pigs. I feed them with sunflowers and all the veggies I can find. Always putting the food around the same spot so they dig and mix all. At the end of the season, I mix the clay with 1.5 feet of leaves using a rototiller. Next year, planting feld bean than buck wheat. An other 1.5 feet of leaves. Then you have a foot of new garden earth by the third year.
Yes! This is an excellent way to work and improve the soil. I utilize chickens in a similar way- but pigs are much, much better at this! Great tip- thank you!
Excellent advice, thank you so much
Wow. What a challenge. Good luck.
I have Empathy ...
Love this! I just got pigs this year and hope to use them for garden work while they make bacon!
Bill Mollison said, "You do not have a slug problem. You suffer a duck deficiency."
An excellent way to look at a problem!
That's interesting! I often see ducks from the lake waddling around the neighborhood - but only the occasional slug! Now, all I have to do is get the neighbor kids to stop chasing off the ducks!
@@hootiebubbabuddhabelly they are rumored to be excellent eaters of insect pests. I've debated keeping ducks for that reason... but have yet to actually get some!
@@GrowfullywithJenna I'd just been looking at videos about how to attract ducks to your property! MAN, there's a video for EVERYthing!
@@hootiebubbabuddhabelly haha- yes there is!
Finally a video that actually explains how to fix clay soil. Thanks
Thank you Farhan, I'm glad you found the video helpful. Take care!
She is not a soil scientist or even have a degree in ag. Don't assume she is telling you the truth. She dose give decent advice for how to start but if you only add organic matter you will run into problems with root rot due to the water. You have to have well draining soil and sand will help with this.
Tilling sand in the ground will not always help (not sands fault) as the sand help drain the water. The water has to have someplace to go. The clay will actually dam the water in and the soil will not drain. You will need to give placed for water to drain away from .
I use dry wells. Using a post hole digger I dig several 2 foot wholes ( at the low end of beds ) and fill with a sand rich soil. Then have the beds over them. (You only have to do this one in your life) as the water drains down threw your beds it draws in air (you plants need it at the roots) when the water hits the clay it stops flowing and start to stagnate and it slowly trying to go threw the clay. The dry wells give the extra water someplace to go aiding to roots. You can also french drain the aria the remove more standing water. The concept is the increase the surface area between the grow bed and the clay soil to keep the water moving
@@michaelsilberstein I appreciate you sharing your technique. This makes sense, and I absolutely agree that giving the water some place to go is necessary. Raising my beds and creating mini swales achieves this to some degree.
I would like to point out however, that the advice I share regarding adding sand to clay soil DOES actually come from research done by folks with much loftier credentials than myself. To cite just one of many articles on the topic: s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/403/2015/03/soil-amendments-2.pdf
I research each of my topics before ever posting a video, as I do not want to add to the rife spread misinformation on the internet. I would also like to point out that having a diploma does not always an expert make. Most of the best growers I've known in my life do not have Ag degrees, but have years of life experience.
@@GrowfullywithJenna very well put! Absolutely agreed- some of the best growers I've known in my relatively long life likewise do not have a fancy piece of paper.
@@williamaber2791 thank you, William!
You know you have clay soil when you dig a trench and leave it while it rains and you realize you are now the proud owner of a swimming pool
Haha- yep… I’ve had that happen too!
Or a moat!
😂😂😂
Right there with you! I'm pretty sure I could start a fire in any hole that I dig and end up with a clay pot.
Yes , best way to detect a clay soil. I tried to plant a shrub and bc the ground was so hard I filled the hole with water to moisten the soil . Instead the water just sat there , hours later and still have a puddle . I was shocked , now I know why my emerald trees died 😢
You explained everything perfectly.
Straight to the point, no unnecessary chats.
Good job! 😁
Thank you. That was exactly what I was going for, so it's good to hear your feedback. Take care & enjoy your week!
Amen! So good to get right to the info!
I added organic matter for years to my clay soil with very limited effect. Added course sand last spring and it instantly improved. Carrots, parsnips, and potatoes actually grew instead of just creating a leafy top with nothing going on below ground. The adding sand will only make things worse if no organic matter is in the soil, so never only add sand, but my garden drastically improved after I incorporated sand and my mother in law 500km away from me also added sand and has wonderful results that were way quicker than all the chicken manure she’s added in the last ten years. We’re in different soil and growing zones and by adding course sand to the garden, both of us can work the soil when it’s damp and have much better tilth so plants thrive instead of struggle to survive. Sand shouldn’t be the first thing added, but to improve clay soil, it may be needed.
ETA: talking with coworkers last week and two of them ended up adding coarse sand to their farm gardens too with great results between 20-40 years ago. They had the same problem of adding manure from their beef cattle and dairy operations for years, and both got frustrated and brought in sand. Their gardens were so much better after that and are still thriving decades later.
Gypsum is the only supplement that will break it down. Read the info on the bag. Sounds like you haven’t.
@@ricoproia328 that is true of Sodic soils, but not other types of clay soil. My area has a little bit of sodic soil, my mother-in-law does not. Gypsum wouldn’t do a whole lot for her soil, and depending on if my soil originally came from a low spot would determine if mine would benefit from gypsum. Both responded really well to organic matter and course sand, and purchasing gypsum just doesn’t make economic sense when we were able to source sand for free and both have ample access to free organic matter. Gypsum is meant to bind to sodium ions in sodic soil that aren’t overly present in other clay soils. It’s a myth based on truth for some very specific parameters.
Horticultural sand, calcified seaweed and perlite plus lots of manure, dry leaves, woodchips, compost and either shredded cardboard or layers of cardboard under the woodchips and compost. Works wonders but takes a year. Nothing in nature is a quick solution.
@@ricoproia328 i have heard this advice, and been tempted, but now I'm confused, and actually would love to find a solution which does not involved buying stuff in bags at the big box store. We've done almost 30 yrs of leaves, grass clippings, straw, etc and still have heavy clay soil. Have a few beds where I've added peat moss (which was donated, did not buy it) and despite those bags saying it would preserve moisture, it has actually lightened the soil and made it suitable for carrots, it is that nice. Other beds I have added some chopped alfalfa (donated!). Perhaps if I can find a source for organic gypsum donation I will try that too. Otherwise, most of us are going to use whatever is available. Even shredded paper would be a good addition.
Wheni harvest my veggies and fruit, I try to leave the roots in the ground. This has helped my clay soil massively.
Great tip, Allan! Thanks for sharing!
Thats a great idea! When you leave the roots they will decay in place and next season other plants will be able to fill in where the roots were without having to expend as much energy to get there.
So do I!
My husband plants a winter rye cover. The roots penetrate deep and help break up clay soil.
Yes!! Winter rye is so good for clay soil! Thanks for sharing, Joan.
Do you need to do anything with the rye in the spring or does it just die off and compost?
@@leighannf.4730 Rototilled under.
It is hard to beat adding 5 to 6 inches of organic matter (we use chicken litter and cotton seed husks) in the Fall, tilling it in and covering the garden with black landscape fabric for the Winter. We have seen some amazing transformations and the work is done when production is finished for the season.
Great tip, John! Thanks for sharing.
Namaste from India! You have been making a lot of lives easier❤️ Keep doing what you do, the world needs more people like you. We will make sure that your name is heard 💞🌱 Love and peace to you ma'am 💮🌻😊
Thank you for your kind words. I appreciate your support and hope you have wonderful week! Take care 💚
That is a crazy nice comment! 😍
@@plssmellmycheese yes it certainly was! I was honored by it!
awesome video, thanks!
have you tried planting sunflowers? i was surprised at how they transformed my soil from dense and sticky to light and crumbly in just one season. they're really beautiful too
Not with the intention of improving clay soil, but I am definitely doing that this year! Thanks for the great suggestion, James, and have a wonderful week!
I love Sunflowers and plant them everywhere. I never thought about it being good for the soil. Thanks!
I just turned over a bed that I planted huge sunflowers in a couple of years ago. I had just cut them down at the time an left the roots in the ground. I have hard clay and soil was beautiful! I have planted some short sunflowers I found at Burpee and am looking forward to transformation. Thanks for alerting me to the possibilities of sunflowers!
Cosmos is also useful for breaking up clay.
We planted sunflowers this this year too, the only thing we got were moles! Lol they coming up tall tho and soil around them and the chicken coops look pretty good
Living in Ohio , I'm told this was under water at one time, Clay is really bad here, I've been working on the dirt for about 7 years. Last year I couldn't get anything to grow. The raised bed , I should have known better. This year will be different . Thank you for this channel. You're awesome!
It's a challenge for sure! From being covered in water, to (in my area at least) glacial erosion, to soils completely depleted by conventional farming practices- our soil is in desperate need of TLC. It's doable, just takes time & patience- you'll get there! Best wishes for a great '22 gardening season.
Bummer. 7 years. Bad Gardner. We moved into our second home and the whole area is tan compacted clay. It took all of 2 years to turn it into soil in 2 years.
only in ohio
@@happyyt266 Also in central Missouri. Dense tan clay.
When my husband and I bought our home in northern Utah in 2013, I was clueless about soil. I started lettuce indoors and foolishly thought I could just put the starts in the ground. Our heavy clay soil was in such poor condition that water literally ran off when we attempted to wet it down. The clay was hydrophobic. My lettuce starts lasted about 5 minutes.
We were literally taking pickaxes to the soil to break it up so we could start amending it and getting water down there. Eventually we got a broadfork and we love it.
We have worked compost, mineral amendments especially those sulfur based, and lots of other organic matter into the soil since. We trawl through the neighborhood looking for leaves and pine needles and we use wood chips when they're available. Sulfur based amendments help improve the bioavailability of nutrients in the soil and lower the alkalinity. With regular amendment we have gotten good performance from our soil. Now we get more vegetables than we know what to do with.
We don't use sand in the clay soil but we do use utelite, a gravelly amendment available here in Utah that helps with aeration.
I'm so glad to hear about the improvement you've seen in your soil! That's awesome!
Miss Jenna you're a saviour, not only is it beautifully produced and informative, but also effectively explained and educational. A lot of people come to youtube to learn from 0 and may be stunted by tutorials speaking about nutrient ratios/fertilizer types/etc., but you actually put it in lay man's terms and demonstrate quite easily too. I think it really shows on your expertise.
Thank you so much, Valentina- I truly appreciate it!
I'm on my third year working with poor clay soil and it's just getting better every year. I live in southern Arizona, this season I've been amazed at how improved my soil is... Keep turning that dirt. Even if it takes a few years.
Hi Jenna my farm is in India and I face the same problem of heavy clay soil and get frustrated so many times. The rain water does not drain easily and forms a crust on top. This time I picked up mulch from the Neighbouring areas and have spread on the terraces on the slopes. I do dig and then spread mulch once the seed sprouts. Still trying ways to support my plantation. I glad you shrared your ideas.
Keep adding whatever organic matter you can find!
We usually use clovers the year before to break up clay, then just till it in as a green mulch. The clover is also nitrogen fixing so that is another perk. many wheat farmers grow alfalfa (clover) and sell the hay for 2 to 4 years to recondition fields for grain crops.
Nice! Thanks for sharing that, Adam- I'm sure it does wonders for your soil!
I’ve been reading a lot about clover lately. From what I’ve read, grass seed years ago was rated by how much clover was included in with the seed as this is good for correcting the lack of nitrogen.
A key advantage of cover crops is that you don’t have to move organic matter first to one spot (the compost pile) to rot, and then move it again to where it’s needed. It is composting in place.
In vegetable gardens, there may be several weeks between when one crop ends (for example, cool weather crops) and another can be planted (later summer or early fall crops). A cover crop planted then can help improve the soil.
I have been combating my clay soil in a similar manner and it works well. You end up with a very rich soil in which a variety of plants grows well.
Glad to hear it's working well for you!
I’m so glad I found this channel - no nonsense, essential information and to the point. No 45 minute explanations. Plus, you are a fellow zone 6 Ohioan (Cincinnati-Dayton) so we share a lot of the same issues and conditions.
Thank you-- and it's great to hear from a fellow Ohioan!
After years of adding compost to the clay soils in our raised beds, we started using agricultural gypsum when we dig in the compost in the spring. This alters the chemistry of the clay and makes an amazing difference. We no longer have a hard layer during the heat of summer and the soil crumbles easily. We also dig in annual rye in our fallow beds for the nitrogen and tilth.
Thank you, Bill. I am hoping to give gypsum a try this year. And I'm with you on the rye-- I've had great results with it as well. Take care & have a wonderful week!
It doesn’t need to be “agricultural grade”. Gypsum is gypsum and scraps of drywall from a dumpster are perfect. 100% gypsum
@@manuf.eng.808 I would be careful about assuming that there are no additives. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drywall
We chose to go with the agricultural gypsum to be on the safe side.
@@manuf.eng.808 you are wrong
@@wiktorpoliszczuk1372 wouldn’t be surprised if American drywall is poisonous
An 8 year old who visited my farm told me to use the vole and groundhog dug soil as a topsoil instead of tilling. I have utilized it and it’s working.
That's one smart 8 year old!
Your tip to raise the level of the bed resonated strongly with me. My soil is a mixture of clay and fine sand which is fairly nutrient rich and gets crumbly with light rain, but turns to mud with heavy rain and concrete in the dry season. Elevating the bed I think will allow me to better harness it during the rainy season
It's been a game changer for me- especially during the early season. I'd love to hear what you think if you give it a try!
I'm very glad you made this informative video. I have some leftover sand that I was going to put in my garden to loosen the clay. As you mentioned, that would have been disastrous. I did a search for sand's influence on clay. What I found out is that sand mixed with clay forms a substance similar to cement. Thanks for keeping me from making a concrete garden. :)
You are welcome! Best of luck with your clay soil!
Thanks for this. I’m getting ready to remove all the sod from my backyard to do gravel and flagstone with xeriscape. I was thinking of leveling with sand instead of topsoil. You saved me from a massive mistake. 🙌🌻
Walt, it may be too late now to say it but all sand is not the same. And the sand that makes 'concrete' when mixed with clay soil is the very fine sand with a particle size 1mm) usually from rivers behaves quite differently, and if mixed with heavy clay (2in depth for top 8 inches of soil - ie 25%) it makes a dramatic and long term change to the physical properties of the soil - inclreasing its drainage and reducing hardening and cracking. Carrots, parsnips & other root veg will suddenly take off, and it's easier to fork over. But such a quantity needed, suitable only for a raised bed.
@@falfield You are correct. I use a combination of pea gravel, sharp sand, and compost. I mix it by the barrel full. I do a portion of my clay garden each year. My clay has dramatically improved. I dig mine in about eight inches and I am sure to mix it thoroughly with the clay chunks that slice in.
Great content that's experienced based, not a "book report" from other sources like so many videos. Thank you for sharing your advice.
You are most welcome! It's definitely experience based-- I've been gardening in clay soil my entire life (as have my parents and grandparents). It's challenging for sure, but clay soil does have its merits (less watering for one)! Take care & I hope you have a wonderful day!
I’m going in to year 3 of building from dark orange/ red clay in 5a Northern Virginia. Rich in iron and other micronutrients and it’s unreal how well this soil performs now. Built with biochar, compost, mushroom compost and never leave exposed soil.
Excellent! I'm glad to hear you're having great results with your soil. It's amazing what some TLC and good amendments can do.
What do you cover your soil with?
I had a vegetable garden for a few years. I grew tomatoes, zucchini, poblano and jalapeño peppers, cucumbers. The first few years I tilled in compost and peat moss that gave me more than my family could use. Later after seeing the size of the root balls at the end of the season I started making holes 2-3 inches deep filled with compost and plants. I got the same harvest. The next year I started putting down landscape fabric and reduced leaf blight that gave me even more tomatoes and almost no weeds.
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing your experience-- I'll have to give this a try.
Here in Texas, I've had good results mixing in expanded shale and peat moss, then topping with compost.
I've never tried expanded shale, I'll have to look into that. Thank you for the suggestions and have a great week!
I guess I made the right choice. I just had 10 cubic yards of rich compost trucked over. I was torn between that and sand, but I went with the compost. Then I came across this video. Looking forward to a bright future.
I’m so glad you opted for compost!!
This is the best explanation we have in TH-cam, about clay soil conversion. Our farm has all black clay soil and we were restricted to rice. Good work Jenna. Thank you so much :)
Thank you!! Not sure why my original response isn't showing up here, but I'm glad you found this explanation useful. Take care!
i agree!!!!!
Great information, I am now planting Sudan Sorghum grass my garden as a cover crop for its fast growth and massive root system which breaks up the heavy soil, plus it is sort of drought resistant. The top can be "chopped and drop "and will regrow for more green manure cover. In the fall I plant rye or wheat to chop in late spring for organic matter.
My soil has improved so much in the past 3 years.
Yes! Love both of those cover crops and use them frequently. Excellent suggestions. I'm curious how you chop and manage your rye in the spring. I typically just chop it up with weedwhacker then work it into the soil with my broadfork, but I've read that crimping is actually the best way to terminate it. I'm looking into making a small scale crimper, but I'm curious to hear what other folks are doing. thanks!
The clay is for real up here in Wood County. Couple years ago I dug out clay 15 inches deep and refilled with a cubic yard of compost for a 8 x 4 in ground garden. I'm about to dig another for use next spring, glad I found this. Still have a load of displaced clay that I use to level barrels and raised beds.
Best of luck with your new bed!
Love this video. Interesting that you mentioned the radish. Some of the farmers in our area have been having crop dusting planes spread those radish seeds on their dormant fields for the last few years. It hadn't dawned on me to use them in my flower beds, but I will now. Thanks for all the good, helpful information.
Yes! Those radishes work just as well on a small scale as they do in a big field. How fun that they are using crop dusters to spread the seeds- my little guy would love to watch that 😀. Thanks for the kind words & I hope you have a wonderful week!
Plant radishes around your beds before planting the bed this makes an excellent slug feast, pull a few up occasionally to tempt them they ignore the other plants
Added bonus: pollinators love radish flowers and the seed pods take a while to mature so they are easy enough to control from spreading.
This is clearly helping me to improve not only clay soil but giving a really good structure to the soil in general. Cheers from Argentina!
I'm so glad you found this helpful and it's wonderful to hear from you all the way from Argentina! Take care!
Another fellow argentinean!
Cheers
@@jesidillon4593 Qué tal, che!!! Saludos!
I've been doing the things you said for just over two years now and my soil is already so much better than when I started. Mine was like baked pottery when I started. I smashed it into tiny shards and mixed in a truckload of compost. Then I watered it and covered with a layer of sugarcane mulch and watered again. I make all my beds 1.2m wide so I can reach everything without having to step on the bed. Slowly converting the yard one bed at a time. The soil seems to improve the more I use it. Just started doing no-dig with my first couple of beds to see how it goes.
That is awesome! I'm so glad to hear you're seeing improvement. Thanks for sharing your experience!
THANK YOU for stating NOT to add sand to your clay soil! The end result is usually something akin to cement. The property we purchased over a decade ago, the former owners had apparently never heard that advice and it took us the better part of a decade to correct it. It was terrible!
Oh no!! I'm sorry to hear that! What a mess. I appreciate you sharing your experience. Many folks have commented here that adding sand was the best thing they ever did for their clay, but people also need to know about experiences like yours before adding sand to their soil!
I've been told so many times, watched so many videos telling me to use sand, I'm so glad to say I'm dead against it. The sand may work year 1 even year 2 but somewhere along the line your gonna turn your garden in to a desert, and the cost of fertilisers and water are gonna sky rocket in the process. Thanks for your advice 👍
That is a major consideration that I didn't even mention- sand does not hold moisture or fertility well (especially as compared to clay). I've seen plantings in southern Florida on extremely sandy soil where they have to fertigate every single day! That could get pricey in a hurry. Thanks for bringing that up!
WOW so many videos seem very Hollywood produced but yours seems amateur like a real person, non acting yet the best educational, most explanatory and helpful advice seen. SERIOUSLY!!!!! THANK YOU. I needed something like this to help my soil. BEST VIDEO I've seen that truly helped me. ❤
Wow, thank you!
Great advice! I've been gardening in clay for 10 years and everything you are doing I have been implementing for years with great results.
I'm glad to hear that!
Jenna you are absolutely correct about never adding sand!! I wish I would have seen this a few years ago before I purchased a dump truck load of sand and added it to my clay soil. I turns it into something similar to concrete! It has taken raised beds and lots of compost to get back to where I can use it again. I am adding more beds this spring and have started composting on a larger scale by mowing my grass hay and stacking it in a large compost pile.
Thanks for all your great videos, I also have watched all of Charles Dowding's videos and I am using a modified no dig technique here in Idaho where we heavy clay soil. Ours is not nearly as bad as yours but it is still a challenge. I was glad to see your video on your modified no dig technique, now I don't feel as much like a traitor to the true no dig way.
Keep the education coming we enjoy hearing from you.
Thank you for sharing your experience, Ron-- I'm sorry you had to go through that!
I'm curious- I've heard that 'river' sand or 'horticultural' sand works differently (better) than playground sand for this application, do you recall which you used? I'm still not sure that even horticultural sand would be an option I'd go with- but I am curious about how it might affect soil structure as compared to playground sand.
@@GrowfullywithJenna
Well actually the first dump truck load I purchased was golf course sand and it was very expensive! But it worked the best and actually improved our soil. A few years later we purchased another load but because of the price we went with the cheaper playground sand and that is what turned our clay to concrete, we were unable to use that section of the garden for a couple years while we tried different things to amend the soil. The only way to recover that area was to turn it into 30" raised beds and lots of compost, last year was the first year for those and they worked great! I sure wish I had been composting back then.
My wife and I have been gardening our whole lives and we are 70 now but I just started composting 3 years ago and now I am not only using 3 - pallet bins, I am composting around 10 acres of grass hay in a stack and raising red wiggler worms. You might say I have jumped into the deep end! I made 4 30" raised beds last year and I am gearing up to put in 12 more this year if I have enough compost that is. I am also using a modified "No Till" I till to make the beds but then no more tilling after the beds are made, much like you do.
Love your teaching videos!
Ron from N-C Idaho
@@ronjones1308 Thank you for sharing- that is very useful to know! And I'm so glad to hear you've 'jumped into the deep end" with gardening!
Thank you Jenna. This is my first year gardening, really appreciate your content.
You are so welcome! I'm so glad you've decided to start gardening!
Follow up. I had a great year. Double digging, steer manure, and compost for my clay garden beds. @@GrowfullywithJenna
Great presentation. Here’s a good use for clay soil AS IS: put it against your house foundation and create a positive grade. It’s bad for growing plants, which means it’s resistant to weeds. Foundation plants usually get out of control eventually, so stick with planters. Water will run off the clay soil away from your foundation (good). Cover with mulch.
Thank for the tip!
We have some clay mixed with our good soil on the south side of the house. Back in the 1970s when three bedrooms were added to the original house, they dug out a new basement area and threw all of that deeper clay on top of the already-existing soil on the southern side of the house. As a result, lawn and garden growth has been inefficient on that south side, at least in specific areas. Ever since I started doing more landscaping and gardening in the last seven years, I've been chipping away at this problem each year. After starting my own natural compost from yard waste materials three years ago, I was finally able to build up enough additional compost material to start spreading it over that part of the garden just last Fall before Winter. Then once Spring arrived, I rented a tiller and worked that new material down into that soil with the clay. It's helped for sure. I've also supplemented it with free composted black soil from our city dump area. Something else I do is that when I weed, I take a second pale just for rocks and clay. I then dispose of those materials in a separate area. I've been doing that for a good several years I'd say, and I find a little less clay each time I weed the garden. I have a feeling I'll start seeing larger results in the next 2-3 years.
Perhaps I missed this but the most important step is the raised beds and one tip to source a lot of organic material. Get a load of wood chips when you see the electric company cutting back trees from the powerr lines.
Lots of folks have had good results with ChipDrop too, as a source for wood chips.
Slicing up the clay (yeah, thats how solid my clay is in Il.)and adding gypsum really helps so you don't have to add so much compost.
Going to give that a try Anne, thanks!
What is the amount per acre and how to add please explain. I have too heard gypsum is good option
@@hulagabal - That's a really bad idea to dump so called additions blindly! Beside the fact that almost surely the mineral content of your soil. Might have more than enough content already... I call your attention to the word "might". ;-)
With that said it's the soil BIOLOGY that release all that in a plant ready form! Meaning your focus is better used precisely on that biology. BTW tends to be cheaper also! ;-)
@@crpth1 thanks for input
Great video with thorough explanations. We are just now establishing our garden in Central Texas and we have very hard, clay soil. I appreciate this! Thanks so much.
You are welcome and best of luck with your clay soil!
at 4:13 am on March 16th, what a gift this video is for us here in Northern New England. Another two months of cold and snow, and then mud season... but as hope springs eternal, so does Spring itself and the thoughts of getting our hands in the life giving earth and helping it help us. Thank You Jenna. A fabulous way to start this Tuesday morning - hitting the subscribe button.
Thank you for the kind (and lovely) words, Mark. You really struck on one of the reasons gardening is so wonderful- "getting our hands in the life giving earth and helping it help us"... I love this and couldn't agree more! I hope spring finds its way to you soon and I appreciate your support. Take care & have a wonderful week!
We built our home on 10 acres of old pasture land, and it's all compacted clay underneath the bahia grass from years of cattle grazing. I've been using a raised bed for the last year, but I feel it's such a waste of soil to make it deep enough, so I'm trying to look into amending my clay so I can have numerous beds. I also plan on getting a good many fruit trees in the ground, so I'll take all the info I can get! Thanks for putting this out there!
Best of luck with your clay soil!
I think I need to watch this video once a week for good reminders. Thank you so much.
I broke up a new grow bed last year with a heavy clay soil , planted beets that didn't do well so I tilled them in and covered with a tarp . I was surprised to see in the spring to see how much it improved in 1 season!
Nice! Glad to hear you saw improvement so quickly, Jack- that's awesome!
Hi Jenna, I had no idea something like this was even a possibility, thanks so much! I have clay and a lot of rocks here in WV and just thought I was stuck with bad dirt. I am happy to learn there is a way to make it better. I love the thought of the broad fork (never heard of that before either), it would definitely help me trim down a bit.
You can absolutely improve your soil! It will take some work, but you’ll be surprised how quickly it improves.
And yes- that broadfork can be a workout- especially in clay. I just figure I’m saving money not having to buy a gym membership 😆.
The 1/3 acre yard at my house growing up was solid red clay under an inch of topsoil. We had a rainfall that washed all our topsoil to the bottom of the hill right before our grass seed went in.We tried EVERYTHING, gypsum, sand, aeration. It was SUCH a battle. The little garden we had was a 10 round heavy weight boxing title fight. You couldn't get the shovle 2" deep. We had to wait till the last spring rain to get a pitch fork into the ground.
It was impossible stuff, and took years of folding in compost and sphagnum mulch to be able to garden. It was a nightmare! That radish looks like it would have been a big help!!
Oh wow! And I thought my soil was bad! I'm glad you all had to patience to keep adding compost & mulch. I hope that if you're gardening now, you've got a more cooperative plot of soil! Take care & have a great weekend!
Do we need to break this red clay up before box gardening
@@lucygjohnson88 I would recommend it- yes. I don't love using a tiller in the garden, but you may want to till it once to get started, and in subsequent years focus on using these strategies to build your soil. You could also break up the soil by hand using a fork/hoe/shovel, depending on how much you're able to tackle!
You came up in my feed this morning and it was perfect timing. I have heavy clay soil. I am doing a bit of fall planting and getting everything ready for winter. I found a lot of organic matter that I will begin incorporating into my soil. Everything from leaves to a few broken down logs that have been stacked against a back fence for about three years.
I look forward to exploring your channel!
Your soil will enjoy that!
I moved onto hard clay virgin soil in the Philippines, 8 months into our garden, I've had to dig initially with a crowbar,incorporating chicken,goat and cow manure, also rice hulls. It is slowly improving. I also have compost now and use rice hulls in the chicken coop which get transfered into the garden .constant digging it in but easier each time
No seasons here so I just grow what I want year round. Each time a crop of a certain veg finishes, I dig in more compost and poop. Slowly slowly. Oh I'm not a gardener,I'm a sailor
Doing OK, I agree with your estimate of 3 years to improve the soil. Thanks, new subscription.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
I've love to try gardening someplace like the Philippines- what a different experience from Ohio!
I’ve lived in our Oklahoma home for 3 years where we have clay soil. I trench compost and I use leaf mold from another home we have in Tulsa where the soil is so rich! A hundred miles can make such a difference in soils! Thanks for a great video!
Glad to hear you've got access to some great soil-improving materials. You're absolutely right- 100 miles can make a HUGE difference! Take care!
I have never failed on any soil type by adding natural mulch leaves/woodchips/chopdrop along with used coffee grinds and crushed egg shells.
Thanks for sharing!
Adding calcium to the clay soil bonds to the magnesium and creates a lattice structure
Thanks for the information- take care!
We tilled in yards upon yards of compost for the first two years. Then we dug in a lighter layer the third year. No dig this year. Ultimately it raised our whole soil level about 6-8"
That sounds wonderful!
east of Cincinnati, horrible clay soil, have been working on it for a few years, thank you for helping me add to my process.
Hi Jenna. Yet again, a very informative video. Here in NZ, they dig in “gypsum” initially to loosen the clay. We didn’t used it much in our last place, but have been using it in this very clayey soil, especially for fruit trees. I believe, adding gypsum to clay soil and continuing to sprinkle some around the plants is very beneficial to the soil. But, this year, I’m going to follow your simple method of just adding organic matter and lots of mulch. You sure have a wealth of knowledge which helps people like me. Thanks again.
I'm so intrigued by gypsum. Lots of folks here recommended it, but when I did a little research on it, I found that it really only works with sodic clay soils (not what we have here). But lots of farmers in my area apply to their fields anyways! Have you noticed a difference in the areas that you've used it? I want to test it out this year, just to see what happens!
Did you try the Gypsum and how did it work for you?
Hi Jenna, sorry for the late reply. I didn’t see the link that usually alerts me to a reply. Yes, a year on and we have seen a huge difference in the quality of the soil. But I guess nature does the rest. In the Charles Dowding videos, he just used the “no dig” method for any type of soil. But again, like you said, the soil must be very different in all countries and regions. We were very surprised about the progress of our trees. I love flowering trees too, so planted many of those. You’re doing a wonderful job Jenna, and I’m sure many gardeners like myself appreciate your work.
@@Nan54424 Yes, it did. I didn’t see Jenna’s reply all that time ago, but have now explained to her above. The way we did it was where we’d dig the hole large enough for the rootball and loosen the clay a bit, then sprinkled a couple of handfuls of gypsum, filled in with good garden soil (over here, the garden soil has compost already mixed in), placed the plant in the soil filled in with more soil, and finally watering the base well.
I believe one benefit of a thick mulch that you didn't mention is that it makes a wonderful shelter for worms. I have used cardboard covered with several feet of grass to break up new planting areas & the worms gravitate to that area. They move up through the soil up & eat the carboard because the mulch protects them from the sun & keeps the soil moist. Where I skimped on the mulch, there were few worms & the cardboard didn't break down as quickly.
To keep the heavy mulch away from my plant stems, I cut rings from a 3" pvc pipe & put that like a collar around my seeds& seedlings. Yes, I have been known to lean over a newly planted spot & lean my hand on a seeding.
Yes absolutely! The worms love it! And great point about keeping the mulch away from the plant stems. This is very important, especially when using a heavier mulch like wood chips. Thanks for sharing this and take care!
Awesome, the only thing I have to add is Gypsum, it's super cheap and the calcium in it basically creates pockets in the clay and greatly improves the soil tilth and exchange capacity
I'm giving gypsum a try this year- it's one soil amendment I've not tested out yet. I'm hoping to do a true test where I apply gypsum to 1/2 of a garden bed and not to the other and observe the results. Thanks so much for the suggestion & have a wonderful weekend. Happy 1st Day of Spring!
I spent 10 years doing all I was told only to remember we had clay soil in our back yard when I was but a youngster. We had some really good vege patches and fruit trees. After this memory I rang my Mum only to find out from her nothing lasts you gotta keep doing it. What ever you do. I started using raised beds and from 1 bed turned into 10 knee height beds and I used discarded pallets from the local hardware. 20 years later I have less work and more veges. Plus at now 70 I care less about hard work than I do about eating drinking and and feet up.
yes!!! sand and clay = mortar!!! lol don't add sand to clay! all these tips are great for clay soil! I find tilling the soil once before plants and adding peat moss, vermiculite, compost, and perlite help drainage. I mix these into the native soil with the tiller before planting anything. I also mix in good garden soil as well and the plants love it! I mulch and top dress with compost throughout the seasons. Love your channel and content! Awesome to see people spreading good knowledge of healthy and safe gardening techniques!
Great info. I had planted a shady garden with clay soil at my back yard last year. Only a few plants survived and they were not happy.
I want try your methods by adding organic compost and raising bed this year. I am looking forward to it.
I hope it works well for you!
Having lived in clay soil for about 20 years, what I did was mulch with arborist wood chips 6 - 12" thick and wait three years. Voila, lovely fluffy spongey clay soil. Cover crops are next. What I don't think that works in clay is aerating as you showed. It tends to compact soil but it might work for some folks. THANK YOU for adding (like I keep telling people) don't add sand to clay. You might tell them why. That it will cause your soil to become a brick like material. Make sure people also know that still if you have clay and you live in the desert, you will want SUNKEN beds with similar methods but you want to PRESERVE WATER AND NOT DRAIN IT in that case (still for clay soil). So kindly add for this or that climate so people will know the different between draining water and preserving it. They all want to have raised beds, lol. Not good for the desert environment in clay.
Yes! If you've got patience to wait, wood chips allowed to rot away into the soil are an amazing amendment. Great point about the desert- thanks for bringing that up!
I've been fighting my garden for the past 3 years with clay, I learned the hard way not to add sand and to never till before it rains. The first summer everythng went to plan, fingers crossed she does well in the winter I'm here just incase I need new methods to keep the crops alive for the winter haha, thanks for the vid :)
Thanks for stopping by, Michael! Best of luck with your soil- it's definitely a challenge!
Great informative video. Too many others recommending sand, more than just adding available organic matter.
I'm glad you found it informative, Lance!
I just now found that reading the comments are very helpful too. There are lots of information from the people that's watching from your videos too. I'm amazed! 😲🤭🤗
Absolutely!
This is absolutely great advise on how to improve clay soil. I been doing most of these for over 9 year now, I dont mess with raised beds yet. When I first started gardening we only had maybe 6 inches of really nice soil and then just clay below. I also like to add especially eggshell to my garden. Its a great slow releast calcium that plants need to create strong cell walls. Now the black rich soil goes down to at least 3 feet. I know I had to tear up my poor garden trying to get rid of horseradish without chemicals.
I am glad to hear you’ve had such great success building your soil- that is awesome!
@@GrowfullywithJenna yep it just sucks I let my garden gro because the horseradish has taken over. I think I found a non chemical way to get rid of it though.
I had a very poor clay soil, I simply planted 4 trees, covered all the soil with leaves,grass and woodchips, in 4 months the land became very black and fertile
Thanks for sharing your experience. Glad to hear that your soil improved!
Yep I have a lot of clay also. I make raised beds and use leaves, straw and other stuff to make it better. Enjoy your video's, hope you have a good garden this year. Take care and be safe.
Thanks Charles! Raised beds can definitely be helpful when dealing with poor soil, I like to use them too. I hope that you have a great garden this year as well, and have a wonderful week!
I have a hard yellow clay about six inches down. When digging to plant a potted plant I dig as far as I can and then I use a tulip auger on my drill to loosen the hard clay base to which I add some compost and mix it in breaking the remaining clods with my hands. It makes planting much easier.
Thanks for sharing a great tip, Nancy! I'll have to give this a try.
I did hugel raised beds and plants are thriving in second round of planting - can’t wait to see how over wintered garlic grows.
Hooray for hugel!
Wow Jenna, not only did you deliver exactly what I was looking for, you delivered far more with things I did not realize I was looking for. Very well done! New subscriber, I am looking forward to exploring more of your content. Thank you.
Thank you so much!
I love my Arizona clay soil! I amended it with tons of horse manure, alfalfa and straw.
Glad to hear it! Clay can be awesome when amended properly. Thanks for sharing your experience & take care!
Thank you for being so thorough and especially the aeration options.
You're most welcome, Becky! Take care & have a wonderful day!
Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge!
Most gardening vlogs don't include zone or state/ I was really glad to see you were in zone 6, so I know the information is applicable to me!
I think some gardening info is pertinent no matter where you are growing, but I ran into the same frustration-- I'd get half way into a video and realize they were growing in Southern California and half of what they were doing would never work in Ohio 😆.
Very clear and well-explained! Thanks for sharing. I did get some good results in improving my clayish soil by using gypsum+compost+leaf mould.
Subscribed!
Thank you for sharing what worked well for you! I love the idea of using the gypsum with compost & leaf mould. It seems like you would get much better results than with using gypsum alone. Take care & have a wonderful day!
Excellent video! You showed a picture of clay that looks as if you were standing in my garden. Exactly like pottery version clay. I watched to the end and loved your planting and composting tips that address the problem, too. So happy to find some good information in regards to what I am looking for. You should be proud of yourself!
Thank you so much, Karen! I'm glad that you found some useful info here. Best of luck with your clay soil & Take care!
A great way to add organic matter and raise your soil is to dig out sections and bury logs, sticks, etc. These will slowly decompose over time. This is great if you're in a wooded area and and have fallen tree limbs to utilize.
That's a great idea! I've got plenty of that material as we're semi-wooded. Thanks!
@@GrowfullywithJenna that is huglekulture method. It helps to hold moisture. I am experimenting with it
That is the coolest Broad Fork I have ever seen!
That thing must have a multiplication factor of ten plus!
That is using leverage to one's benefit.
As a professional composted your information is very good and well researched. Thank you
Thank you!
Love your broadfork I have not see one like that.
It's a great design-- my brother -in-law (who is a welder by trade) made it. It works wonders for breaking up clay. Take care!
Hi Jenna - new subscriber here! I am in Northern California, and am in the process of converting my dry clay soil, and yes it's a process. I appreciate your thoughtful content and I have been using the method you recommended in this video to create success. My garden improves exponentially every year, and I've been at this for almost 3 years. Cover crops are awesome. I use Bell beans and daikon radish. Where are you located?
Hello! I appreciate the sub! You are spot on-- it is definitely a process improving clay soil, but I'm so glad you're seeing results from your hard work. I am in mid-western Ohio, Zone 6a. Take care!
@@GrowfullywithJenna O-H !
Love it! Good video. Lots of clay here, but with a little sandy loam here and there. Really rich soil. As I have built up my gardens and orchards in the last few years I decided go with the use what I have route as well. I am fortunate to live on a old cattle farm surrounded by forests and fields. Lots and lots of organic material to use. Also happen to have a old barn that was full of hay in the loft and very well aged manure down below. I am extremely frugal and don't like buying soil or amendments. A little work is all it takes. Messing around with covers and hugel kultur as well. And yes, cover that soil. That stuff has lots of goodness in it. Another benefit of OM added to clay is to lower the ph a little since clay tends toward alkaline. Now I get thousands of nightcrawler mounds in the morning and the gardens and orchards are turbo charged. Good work! Take care.
Your soil sounds wonderful-- I'm glad to hear you've got good resources around you that you are able to utilize. You are absolutely right- a little work is all it takes, and it can make SUCH a difference! Love seeing those nightcrawlers, it always makes me feel like I'm making a difference in my soil's health. Thank you so much, and you take care as well!
I'm starting my first garden today and videos like this really help!
How exciting! Best wishes for a wonderful garden!
New follower. This spring was my first year to start a garden. I didn’t know what I was doing I’m still learning. The problem I noticed that I ran in to is I did a little tilling and the weeds took over also I didn’t use any mulch until late summer. By then it was too late weeds took over and Ive been having to water A LOT. So I’m getting ready to prep the grounds where my gardens are at. This was very helpful because I’m wanting to use the sources that I have readily available to me to make my no till soil better, help keep out weeds, and help hold moisture in so during the hot Texas 3 digit summer months it helps to cut back on watering some. Thank you. ❤
For attracting moles, get earthworms first! The worms will actively dig tunnels that air out the clay, and passively attract moles to predate on them.
Thanks! I don't have any problem attracting them- it's keeping them where I want them that I need advice on 😆. They like to dig up everything!
LOL that mole rising up freaked me out
😂 Oh goodness- I didn't mean to scare anyone, but that's funny! Have a great week & take care!
In Permaculture we learned we learn this as well!
Glad to hear it!
Thanks for your sharing. I used water blaster to dig 600mm deep holes around fruit tree that prevent to damage the roots. And then fill in with good forest soil and insert bamboo to keep the channel.
That's an innovative solution! Thanks for sharing!
I added grass cuttings from my yard last year to my new broken up clay soil garden to mulch the plants and this year it tills much better! Will be adding more now and not leaving the ground bare! Thanks for the info!
Awesome tips Mrs. Jenna. Everything you named is good to mend in cept for pine straw. Way to much acid to deal with. Worms are your friends no doubt! If you see them then your soil is doing really well. Yes Mam cover crop helps way more then people think. Thanks for taking the time to teach folks how to turn clay into an amazing garden. Stay safe and have a wonderful rest of the week!
CB would that pine straw work well if you wanted to make your pH more acidic? Many of my berries (blueberries in particular, but also strawberries and raspberries) could benefit from some acidity-- our soil is so alkaline! Thanks so much!
@@GrowfullywithJenna Not sure what pine straw is but pine needles are fantastic mulch and OM. However, I believe they are only acidic when green. I keep reading differing opinions on that, so please don't take my word for it. CB's above probably knows better than I. My soil pulls hard to 7.0 would love it a little lower. I do have issues with blueberries and other acid lovers, but not as much as you would think. Strawberries and raspberries grow crazy good here, blueberries continue to be a challenge. I am playing around with blueberry alternatives like honeyberries and saskatoon berries. I believe clay soil, though alkaline, does have high humic content. I think that helps mitigate ph issues to a certain extent. Still kinda learning on that a bit. I have to see things work or not to understand how they function. Thanks for putting up with my gibber jabber. Any insight or knowledge is welcome.
@@bbtruth2161 I have had a similar experience- my strawberries and raspberries do well (as long as I get my drainage right)... blueberries I've given up on growing in-ground, I only do those in pots now. You are right about the clay- it generally (at least in my area) has good humic content, but I can't speak to how this mitigates pH... something I need research! I'll also have to look into the pine needle thing (I use the term 'pine straw' just to denote dried, aged pine needles). Pine needles aren't a resource I have much of around here- most pines & other evergreens don't thrive in my area. I've also been looking at honeyberries. I did an evaluation at a research farm a while back where they had 20+ varieties planted. Some were quite tasty indeed... some tasted like gasoline!
@@GrowfullywithJenna Yup the honeyberries are kind of hit or miss. Just getting going on those, but have a good resource in state at a place called honeyberry farms. Got some sour cherries from them too. Can't wait for those. As to blueberries, decided to go in containers with those as well. Found a huge wood slabbed watering tub with steel bindings, looks great, drilled some holes in it for drainage and turned it into a blueberry home. I might not be that bright though; I'm going to give blueberries another try in ground but a little bit raised and amended. I do have one blueberry in the ground still. It just happens to be near/ under a pine and is doing pretty good. Thought ph might be a issue with my strawberries. Not the case. They spread like wildfire and are the tastiest strawberries I've personally ever had. Struggled with raspberries a while. Moved to new spot, worked in lots of composted, aged hay. They are taking off now.
@@bbtruth2161 the sour cherries you got- did they happen to be the bush sour cherries from the University of Saskatchewan breeding program (Carmine Jewel, Romeo, Juliet, Romance, Cupid etc)? Those are some excellent varieties. It's quite interesting that the in-ground blueberry happens to be near a pine. I'd love to know the pH of that soil versus other soil in your area.
Have you ever tried amaranth for clay busting? They have incredibly aggressive and deep roots that might do a good job busting up tough soil.
I have not! I've grown it before (just for fun) but never as a targeted crop. I will have to give that a try. Thank you!
There are edible varieties
@@jomila87 Do you have a favorite edible variety?
@@GrowfullywithJenna I think the English name is calaloo but the Bangladeshi name are Denga and Doogi
@@jomila87 thank you!
Thanks for such an informative video! I’ve been considering using daikon to “lazily” break up my clay for aeration and to increase the amount of water the clay holds on a soggy part of my property.
I was worried about just letting the huge radishes decay in place, if there’s a lot of them, they don’t attract animals or smell bad in the heat of the next summer? I’m willing to remove the dead leaf matter and compost it in the pile, that’s no problem. Just skeptical about leaving huge daikon in the ground.
Wondering how dense to plant them too, because they are just so huge. If I can aerate that soil I’ll bet I can really increase my water infiltration. This could be a way for some of us to cope with the unpredictable weather we have been facing. 😉 Standing water is bad for homes, infrastructure, and breeds mosquitoes.
If I plant a bunch of daikon I can imagine it doesn’t decay fast enough to plant another crop the second year? Such a huge root! Thanks for any advice! Really enjoyed your teaching style, you have a great voice and I hope you do more videos, I’ll subscribe and share.
(I’m in northern IL 5b)
You're welcome!
Regarding the radishes- they definitely stink. But the smell is worst in the early spring and is gone by summer. Plus, when you're using them on a smaller scale (in the home garden versus a 100- acre field), the smell is minimal.
I've not found that they attract animals in a problematic way. I usually see some chewing on the roots (voles, I'm assuming), but never notice an increase in animal populations in correlation with the radishes.
The freeze/thaw cycles we typically have in late winter/early spring quickly rots the roots down quickly. You should not have a problem going in the following spring or summer & planting garden crops. You will find chunks of roots still left in the soil, but I've never had a problem with these affecting my subsequent garden crops in a negative way. You also don't have to remove the tops from the garden if you don't' want to-- I just push them out of the way so I can plant, and leave them in the garden.
The suggested planting rate is 1 lb/1000 sq ft. I almost always overseed though. Usually I just go out in the garden, grab a handful of seed and attempt to scatter it evenly. A hand-held broadcast spreader would help you get more uniform coverage.
I hope this helps! Take care and have a wonderful week!
What a great video! I have used oil seed radishes in a new front garden bed to help prepare it for landscape planting, I am sure my neighbors thought I was crazy, but it was a success and I can stick a shovel in it now. I also top dressed with compost and then wood chips. I am in zone 6a - about 50% of the radishes were not winter killed, so I went around and lopped off the leaves once or twice, and that did the trick to get them to break down.
Thanks, Michelle! I need to do the same thing to my front ornamental beds (they end up getting quite neglected)! Sounds like you had great results.
Thanks for the tips! I had beautiful gardens in our old home, Sandy soil…. We moved int my dream home and I had no idea how had it would be to deal with clay soil! This will really help! Thanks again!
You are so welcome, Jody! Best of luck with your soil!