Clay soil, Gardner’s is the biggest nightmare. Yet many Garden experts were able to combat the stubbornness of clay soil.
You can turn your backyard’s clay soil into black gold by working diligently. Just begin your soil amendments for clay process with routine mulching and organic nutrients admixture supply.
There may be a lot of questions wandering in your mind. “How to make clay soil suitable for planting vegetables” or else “Are vegetables grown in clay soil enriched with nutrients?
Well, don’t worry! This article will dig deep into the biggest challenges of clay soil and the best remedies to convert your backyard into a fruitful garden.
Clay Soil characteristics
First of all, let us gather information about the nature of clay soil. You must have observed that clay soil is slimy when wet but turned out to be lumpy and hard on drying.
This is due to the minute particle size of clay particles. Waterlogging is another problem you may encounter while working with clay-rich soil.
The most probable reason for this is fewer spaces between the particles. Nothing to worry about! The organic mix can do wonders for clay soil.
Positive facts about Clay Soil
Are you aware of the high fertility index of clay soil? The high fertility of this soil is due to its ability to attract positive charge particles. You will be amazed that if handled correctly, you can cultivate a lot from this soil. (Read Adding Phosphorus To Soil)
Clay soil has huge water and nutrient retention capacity. This nutrient retention feature of clay soil can turn out to be a masterstroke in gardening due to the application of slow, nutrient-releasing fertilizer.
Clay Soil management
Are you worried about how to amend clay soil? As per experts, you should follow a two-way approach for clay soil management.
Short term goal
Temporary improvement of soil texture demands the addition of organic matter as deep as possible. You will land up with soil having proper structure and tilth.
Long term management
Short term strategies may provide temporary relief. However, if you failed to convert soil texture in the long run, all your hard work will be in vain!
You should adopt strategies to enhance carbon and other essential nutrient content in the soil by using compost and manure.
How to amend clay soil for vegetable gardening?
External addition of Essential nutrients
There is no ambiguity in the statement that gardening in clay soil requires continuous efforts. For instance, in autumn, you have to add low nitrogen organic matter.
This has to be done to replenish the temporary loss of nutrients. Ammonium sulfate addition during tilling is another requirement to replenish the nutrient deficiency.
Reshuffle soil
This is another crucial step in the amendment process of clay soil. You can use tilling, a traditional approach to break the hard lumps in the soil.
Turning your soil upside down has several advantages. It enhances the soil’s nutrient value and increases space between the particles.
Concentrate on Composting
Always stick to the basic rules of gardening. Composting is one of the vital steps in the clay soil management program. (Learn How To Use Bone Meal In Vegetable Gardens)
This is because compost is rich in organic content. Hence, it will enhance the organic carbon content of the soil. Secondly, compost has a low level of oxidizable carbon and nitrogen.
This makes the soil free from any further decomposition. If you add compost in your soil, you are ultimately improving the physical nature of your garden soil.
Composting procedure
All you have to do is take a large amount of compost and mix it properly. It is advisable to achieve 6 to 8 inches depth for better results.
You can add chicken manure, enriched with nitrogen. Afterward, a mixture of clay soil and compost along with wood shavings can be layered.
Long term benefits of composting
You can use your backyard soil for growing a wide range of vegetables ranging from tomatoes to green beans
After composting, the soil will become more absorptive. This further diminishes the chances of flooding.
Focus on Mulching
Wood Mulching can turn out to be a beneficial approach to improve the texture of clay soil. All you have to do is collect wood mulch from the carpenter’s workshop. Avoid pressure treated timber as it is treated with chemicals. (Read Best Mulch for Vegetable Garden)
Don’t forget to put cardboard with a thick layer on the corrected clay portion. Afterward, you can spread your mulch layer.
Layering using Wood Shavings
Waterlogging is one of the significant problems associated with clay soil. However, you can get rid of it by using the simple technique of wood layering.
Just fill the whole bed of soil with wood fragments. You will be amazed by the results.
This technique provides a drainage strategy for slimy soil. This, in turn, reduces the high water retention capacity of clay.
Timely Planting and Watering
Once you are done with the amendment of clay soil, focus on plantation and watering. Regular watering of beds is critical for the proliferation of vegetables.
Strawbale Gardening
If all your amendment strategies failed for clay soil, straw bale gardens could be the best alternative. In straw bale gardening, straw bales are used to raise beds.
This type of gardening technique is the best replacement strategy for poor quality soil. Pre-conditioning of bale straws is required as they serve as a growing medium for your vegetables.
Steps involved in Bale Straw gardening
The first step is the preconditioning of Bale Straw. You have to soak the baled straw with water. This usually lasts for three days. In this procedure, the bales decomposition occurs.
In this phase, sprinkle ammonium sulfate or urea on every bale. The sole purpose of this step is to supply nitrogen. The duration of the second step is from day 4-6, from 7th to 9th-day fertilizers are used but half of the previously used amount. (Learn What is the Difference Between Drill and Driver)
On the 10th-day step of the addition of fertilizer is stopped. However, bale watering should be continued.
On the 11th day, you can plant your vegetables if you can feel warmth in bale straws.
Conclusion
You can cultivate highly nutritious vegetables in clay soil. Try to make all necessary modifications in the clay soil to upgrade its texture. All you need is patience!
