Clay soil

[lujumble]

Hi All,

I'm looking for some help with gardening in clay soil. An area of my garden has extremely solid clay soil, it's quite yellow, soft and pliable and very heavy.. is it possible to garden this area? or should I give up and put a raised bed over it? I've tried digging it out, but it's too much. I've attached some pics. Any ideas would be welcome.
Cheers!

[smokeyeyes]

Hi Lujumble, This looks like it's sub-soil, it looks like it's below foundation level. If this is the case you won't get anything to grow in it. You would possibly need to put in some small rubble then good top soil on top of it, and if you can get your hands on some good manure compost you could mix it in with top soil. Happy gardening.

[lujumble]

Thanks. the blocks you see are the foundation of my glasshouse - I picked a great spot! but it's only in a portion of it, and I can grow in a bag there or follow your advice and it should be ok.

I wonder if there's any use for it? someone mentioned being able to make blocks out of it...

[Ruthy]

I agree with smokeyeyes, this looks like sub-soil, particularly the colour, and nothing will grow in it (hard lessons learned myself, very expensive). It will be waterlogged in winter, and drown anything planted, and will go rock hard in a dry summer, also killing anything planted. You need to get a good layer of topsoil, preferably several inches (someone has just posted top soil to give away on jumbletown), and then add manure or compost (people give away compost from time to time too and home-made compost is ideal, full of needed biological activity!) and it will improve over time. Its pretty hard to overdo compost or manure when mixed with topsoil, so use as much as you can get hold of (just make sure manure is not fresh, needs to have been sitting a while). I wouldn't even mix the sub-soil in, it adds nothing, just put the topsoil and any compost on top. Worms will do the rest. I just put compost from my composters directly on the soil now and the worms work it in.

Ruth

[sidhe.eire]

Hey :)
Depending on how much sub soil you have, you could make a clay oven to bake bread or pizzas or wotever takes your fancy, im planning on makin one this summer...you can scuplt one into wotever you like, ive seen snails, frogs, birds allsorts their so pretty. People usually put a stone base on them with a little hollow underneath for to keep your wood dry...hope this helps

[lujumble]

That sounds very interesting, thanks! if you have any information on making them let me know. good luck with yours!

[arancrois]

Just seen this on Guntree Free ads for a tonne of topsoil free to give away if it suits you.

http://www.gumtree.ie/dublin/27/38335927.html

[lujumble]

Thanks for that... I am definitely in the market for top soil - but I'm in Limerick...

[arancrois]

No Probs - didnt know where you are based

[sidhe.eire]

Originally Posted by lujumble

That sounds very interesting, thanks! if you have any information on making them let me know. good luck with yours!

I might get to build it if the rain ever stops!!

Check out this website:
http://www.dirtcheapbuilder.com/howtobueaovb.html

Regards,

Sidhe.eire