hard soil...

I just planted some veggies yesterday but the soil was hard...it was a lot harder the day before that I had to run water on it....what do you do if your soil is very hard and since my soil is hard, will my veggies grow?

 

You might try putting some top soil on your ground and some sandy loam .Something that will cause the
the soil to loosen up .Talk to someone in a nursery they can tell you more than me .I have very sandy loam and I use Mushroom compost in with it are straight compost. I get it where I work and have it dumped on black plastic so grass or weeds wont grow through it and I get it in Oct .or Nov.so it will
get the rains and drain it down so its not to strong.
Then in the spring I usually use it on raised beds and have black plastic under its beds so I don't have the grass and weed problems.

 

Thank you for this advice....I do have some topsoil I can use as well as compost....

 

I have La clay soil. Its very hard when its dry and will suck into the belly of the earth when its wet.

I just use some of my compost/manture mix or topsoil, which ever I have on hand. I mix it into the clay real well. I usually water the ground as I mix. It seems to be easier.

Good luck!

 

Thanks Eileen.....I will look for gypsum soon and since it takes a good three years to work, I will in the meantime use topsoil and compost....

Thank you for all your help everyone and any more suggestions is always welcome.....

 

Thank you Pinkiered, that is a good way to describe our La. clay, I have amended my soil in severaly places over the last several years, and it is still like concrete. If we till to make a new bed it sinks down after every watering be it by rain or hand. It's like the clay comes up and eats the compost, leaf mold, peat moss, or whatever I put in it.

 

We've quite a bit of clay around here too - the standard thing to do for me is when I'm digging anything up to mix it half-n-half in my wheelbarrow with mushroom compost before putting the soil back. That and topsoil, good stuff that.