Conditioning clay soil and what to plant

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Conditioning clay soil and what to plant
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catbaffler

Joined: 31 Mar 2009
Posts: 937
Location: Barry

Posted: Sat Apr 04, 09 8:01 am Post subject: Conditioning clay soil and what to plant

This is probably in the wrong thread as it isn't fruit and veg but I'll ask anyway!

Whilst I have an allotment, where the soil is sticky but good, I also have a grave to tend, situated on a sunny, relatively exposed site where the soil is little short of pure clay. I need to condition the soil so that I can grow something decorative. Yesterday I dug in some compost, at which point I realised that it wasn't nearly enough. I have a good idea of what to do but any comments/suggestions would be very welcome.

Despite his disabilities my husband was a keen gardner (the local MIND Drop-in centre garden, which he planned and helped a group of the centre-users create, is to be formally named after him later on this month

) so I'd really like to do him proud.

marigold

Joined: 02 Sep 2005
Posts: 12458
Location: West Sussex

Posted: Sat Apr 04, 09 10:45 am Post subject:
Can't think what to plant, but you might get an idea of suitable plants from what is growing elsewhere in the burial ground. I think the usual advice for conditioning clay soil is "lots of organic matter" . Maybe you could remove some of the existing clay soil before mixing in a load of compost?

Went

Joined: 19 Mar 2006
Posts: 6968

Posted: Sat Apr 04, 09 11:27 am Post subject:
Hi Catbaffler - Maybe add some sand and grit, together with bark chippings (these take a while to help the soil but do eventually add organic material to the soil). When you plant the grave add some soil around the root ball or bulbs etc this will also give them a good start. Good luck and let us know how you get on. Last edited by Went on Sat Apr 04, 09 12:36 pm; edited 1 time in total

oliveoyl

Joined: 18 Sep 2008
Posts: 425

Posted: Sat Apr 04, 09 12:29 pm Post subject:

I've got an allotment with sticky clay soil and am wanting to improve it... after much googling, agricultural gypsum looks the most promising. I've ordered 25kg from an online company called Rootwise (£31 inc delivery). Recommended coverage is around 500g per m2, but if you are only looking to treat the grave area, and not your allotment as well, I think they sell 500g bags - I can't check at the moment as their website seems to be down.

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Sat Apr 04, 09 2:09 pm Post subject:
Check the ph of the soil. If it's acid, lime will help the clay particles to floc (as will the gypsum) which opens the structure. My advice would be to mulch with compost (or better leaf mold) in the Autumn then lime in the spring before planting.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45426
Location: Essex

Posted: Sun Apr 05, 09 7:46 am Post subject:
As much mulch as possible, incorporate some compost into the soil too.

catbaffler

Joined: 31 Mar 2009
Posts: 937
Location: Barry

Posted: Sun Apr 05, 09 9:28 am Post subject:
Thanks folks - lots more mulching and digging in of the good stuff then and I certainly hadn't thought of testing the ph!

sueshells

Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 690
Location: North Bucks

Posted: Sun Apr 05, 09 6:39 pm Post subject:
I think I'm right in saying that gypsum, which was advised elsewhere, won't affect the PH of the soil anyway, whereas lime does affect it. Gypsum flocculates the soil (as mentioned by Tavascarow) - helps the tiny clay particles stick together to form larger particles, thus making the soil easier to work.

Nicky cigreen

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9717
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Sun Apr 05, 09 8:05 pm Post subject:

yes, I would go with mulch and organic matter. the worst part of clay soil is how it dried out to rock hard given half a chance. however clay is usually full of nutrients, so tahts something.
my last home had clay with rocks for soil. it was terrible trying to dig it or anything.. but in the ornamental line, we grew some lovely roses, peonies, clematus, broom, and daffs.
So I 'spect with some soil improving and hitting on the right plants, you should make the grave look lovely. Good luck with it.

deanom

Joined: 19 Apr 2006
Posts: 93
Location: Lincolnshire

Posted: Sat Apr 11, 09 12:59 am Post subject: Improving Clay Soil
If you have a woodburner, the wood ash will help to condition the soil, as will any charcoal contained within it. It's free, effective, and helps find a 'home' for your ash. If it's any help. I garden on clay, and wouldn't swap it for anything else. Treated well, it beats all of the other soil types. Best wishes Deano

Went

Joined: 19 Mar 2006
Posts: 6968

Posted: Sat Apr 11, 09 6:26 am Post subject: Re: Improving Clay Soil

deanom wrote:

If you have a woodburner, the wood ash will help to condition the soil, as will any charcoal contained within it. It's free, effective, and helps find a 'home' for your ash.
If it's any help. I garden on clay, and wouldn't swap it for anything else. Treated well, it beats all of the other soil types.

Best wishes

Deano

Hi Deano - interesting that you say you like your clay soil - we have clay - can you say a bit more about treating it well - any tips you can pass on - biggest problem here is breaking up the lumps when first dig in spring after the rains.

Woodburner

Joined: 28 Apr 2006
Posts: 2904
Location: Essex

Posted: Sat Apr 11, 09 3:33 pm Post subject:
Many wild flowers prefer poor soil. Look for meadow collections rather than cornfield, although many cornfield ones will do well too, as they like disturbed soil.

catbaffler

Joined: 31 Mar 2009
Posts: 937
Location: Barry

Posted: Thu May 07, 09 1:40 pm Post subject:

Once again, many thanks

Wild flowers are a lovely idea.
So far I've dug in some small grit, compost and lime and it seems slightly better already. The minature dafs I put in last year did really well before I did anything to the soil and the hellebore seems fairly happy too.

I'm actually very happy cos the person who, for the past year,has persisted in sticking plastic flowers (pauses to shudder violently) into the soil seems to have got the hint and stopped - it was a fairly broad hint, on one one of my visits the plastic flowers simply leapt into my hand and insisted on being carried to a bin. Seems harsh but if I went and stuck things on her son's grave she'd go crackers. She's the main reason why I want to get plants in there asap so that she no longer feels the need to interfere, alhtough I know she means well.....

catbaffler

Joined: 31 Mar 2009
Posts: 937
Location: Barry

Posted: Thu May 07, 09 1:44 pm Post subject: Re: Improving Clay Soil

Ian33568 wrote:

deanom wrote:

That would be so useful - the allotment I'm working on is predominantly clay and having only recently begun we're finding it heavy going too. I don't have a wood burner but we do have bonfires on the allotment - would the remains of something like that do?

Indypendant

Joined: 03 May 2009
Posts: 33
Location: Welshland (north)

Posted: Thu May 07, 09 3:37 pm Post subject:

As general advice to those with heavy clay soils (and i dont know if this is completly scientific or right to do) my late father used to build a bonfire of good wood and cover it with all the weeds he dug out then the clay from his garden (he said he learnt this trick from a neighbour when he was young and starting his first allotment) you need to put a metal pipe in at the base of the fire to the middle of the wood and a chimney out the top, then you fire the wood by pushing a well burning deisel/petrol soaked rag in the bottom pipe, the burning is very slow and takes many days to complete and a careful eye is kept on the process so that any cave ins are covered again with weed and clay. These fires were about 6-8ft high and about the size of a medium sized dome tent.
when the burn is finished you have baked clay which is basically earthenware which does not return to its original state of clay ever this mixed in to your soil helps open it up and simultaeneously holds moisture and promotes drainage (sounds weird i know ) I have used this method effectively in more than one plot and his plot was very productive, it saves buying in sand, he also added lots of organic matter from his compost heaps and anywhere he could find it ,
I remember as a child being gently forced to help collect leaves and leaf mold from the woods ( which were being ripped out for housing estates at the time ) to aid this process

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