We have hard clay soil. It is hard to make anything grow well. I have planted tomatoes two years and one year they grew okay, but did not grow tomatoes the other year. I plan on planting tomatoes and maybe some other vegetables next year. Is there anything that I can do to the soil to make it less hard so that tomatoes and other vegetables will grow? Any help will be appreciated.
We have had clay in 4 of the last 5 houses and there is no easy solution. Every year, I added bags of peat moss, gypsum powder and compost. Eventually I did raised gardens so that I could add topsoil. A handful of Epsom salts in the earth around the tomato helps them too. Catherine
add gypsum (sp) which is suppose to loosen clay soil,http://www.humeseeds.com/gypsum.htm a good article on this. You could also do raised bed an just add good soil/compost.
compost, already mentioned, leaves, aged manure, deep dig or double dig your area to be planted. gypsum will help, but it will also raise the soil Ph, so use that in conjunction with composted materials,and work all in well
I've had success with tilling in chopped straw and small (1/2 -3/4") wood chips. About a 25% straw/chips to 75% clay. Helps to lighten up the ground. Composts as the year goes. But adding any/everything mentioned above is also a great idea. And if using leaves or wood chips remember, Black Walnut leaves are poison to garden plants. Not to all plants but if the level of juglone (the tree produces this) in the ground is high, most plants will die or at least not produce well.
i agree with all above........ Clay is no fun on the farm.......Rotted manure works wonders on clay or anything else..... My flowers favorites as well as the veggies.
