Amending Clay Garden Soil
The foundation of successful gardening is good soil. I always tell beginning gardeners that if they get the soil right they are two-thirds of the way to a beautiful garden. Unfortunately, few of us move into a home where the soil is already perfect. When I began digging my garden I was faced with a thick layer of highway grade gravel that was left over from when the then vacant lot was used as a community park. In order to remove all the gravel it was necessary to take with it most of the arable topsoil. That left me with a heavy, clay-based subsoil that was harder than a terra cotta pot.
Few things can strike fear into the hearts of gardeners like heavy clay soil. It is almost impossible to grow anything in the stuff. It is gooey when it is wet, and brick hard in the summer.
Why is Clay Soil So Troublesome?
The problem is that clay particles are very small in comparison to others found in the soil. For instance, if a clay particle were the size of a baseball, the average grain of sand would be, relatively speaking, the size of a Greyhound bus. Because clay particles are so tiny they pack together easily and become very dense, virtually impermeable to water and air, which are essential for healthy soil.
P. Allen Smith is an award-winning designer, gardening and lifestyle expert. He is the host of two public television programs, P. Allen Smith's Garden Home, P. Allen Smith's Garden to Table and the syndicated 30-minute show P. Allen Smith Gardens.
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