Do *not* remove the clay.

But do amend it by mixing in lots of compost, 3 to 4 inches the first year, then 2 inches each successive year. (When you use 4 inches, mix in 2 inches, then 2 inches more.)

If needed, build raised beds.

Pine needles are fine as mulch for ornamental plants.

Don't add lime unless your soil needs it. Get a basic professional soil test to know for sure. And ask for recommendations for your *home* garden -- if you don't specify, they will recommend based on amount per acre.

More than likely, gypsum is unlikely to help your clay. It does help if the soil has excess sodium. Again, only a soil test knows for certain.

"Topsoil", sand, gravel, are not good things to add to clay. What is needed is organic matter and compost is organic matter but need not be the only form of OM you add. Your pine needles and old leaves are good things to add. What organic matter does is separates the clay soil particles and allows both air and water to flow more easily and allows plants roots to move about more easily.
Gypsum will do little to help in the southeast where ample rainfall keeps harmful mineral from accumulating in the soil as happens in the southwest where rainfall is scarce.
It would help to know something more about where you are other then just somewhere in the southeast United States.

Here is a link that might be useful: Amending clay soils

Why are people so negative about removing any bad or poor soil? I found that you have to remove some of bad soil if you want to add massive amounts of compost. There is just no space if you insist on keep each particle of original soil. Is this like soil hoarding?

I guess it would be possible to only add small amounts of compost and wait for that to breakdown and then add more small amounts and then wait a few more months, but why?

It would technically work, but it would take a long time before one would want to plant anything, but since OP is not planting anything at this time, it won't matter.

This post was edited by tropical_thought on Mon, Sep 15, 14 at 10:32

Add organic matter (like everyone else said).

NEVER walk on it. Have dedicated footpaths to service your growing space.

Transition to a no-till system. Tilling destroys the soil structure that requires years to build up through the action of roots, fungus, worms, etc. AND it causes significant loss of soil carbon that was otherwise stably linked to the soil's mineral/microbial components. A clay soil is the worst thing to regularly till. Do one big compost amendment, then sell your rototiller, and keep layering on organic debris. Ideally, just build a mound; don't fuss with boxes. Use nitrogen-fixing cover crops which also inject carbon into the soil through the life/death of roots. Dead roots become valuable water/air passages in soil.

Don't dig up your soil. It's really effing heavy, and it's not necessary unless it's contaminated with heavy metals and petrol or something.

-B

m never planting anything here so many factors wont be a issue since its not a location for shrubs/etc..i want the water to flow well into the ground in this area and not sit solid on top of compressed clay ground.

Mix in oregnaic matter, as has been suggested.

It was asked
"Why are people so negative about removing any bad or poor soil?"

Because you can almost always remedy what's thought to be "bad or poor" soil.

Yes, there are rare exceptions. But we have to know just what the problem is before we can make viable suggestions.

When you remove "nasty" soil then add new stuff, you create new and different problems, among them, a bath tub without a drain hole.

Some people have this misconstrued idea that clay soils are inherently bad and they are not. They simply lack adequate amounts of organic matter. Put adequate amounts of organic matter into clay soils and you will have a very fertile soils to work with. Not sand, not "topsoil", not gravel, not shale, just organic matter. Not a little, but enough.

I was not suggesting all the soil be removed but only enough to fit in what amount compost one is adding. One example a street tree, if you don't removed some soil the compost will wash away as it will be over the top limit. Remove the same volume of soil and replacing the same volume with compost and then watering keep the soil level at the same level and then the compost won't wash away.

Do not remove soil when adding compost. The best compost is all carbon. Carbon eventually breaks down into CO2 and floats away on the breeze. It is perfectly acceptable for your planting space to be mounded. Be careful: the peak of any topography dries out much faster, so plant/water/mulch accordingly.

I am a big fan of trench composting. Using your spade that you carry everywhere with you in the garden, dig a hole as deep as you can (I usually get 12-24"). Throw in your raw kitchen scraps, roadkill, etc. Dig a hole next to the hole; throwing the dirt from hole#2 in/onto hole#1. As you fill hole#1, mix in finished compost/eggshells/etc. that you have with you in a bucket/wheelbarrow. Next week, rinse and repeat. You may want to keep a small square of plywood or something to cover hole#2 until it gets filled and a third hole is created. And so on. Don't put your plants' root-zones directly in the raw stuff. This is something you are generally doing in the off-season, or in preparation of some future planting. Not amongst the current season's crops.

It is important to get the organic matter INTO the mineral soil, and that it gets incorporated into the bodies of soil dwelling flora/fauna (plants, worms, fungi, bacteria, etc.). This is how you create stable soil organic matter. Sheet mulching is less effective at acutely building soil organic matter, but a long-term carbon-cycle maintenance system.

Bromus LOL great idea.......But we only have a 2 week timeline in the spring and in the fall to be able to dig ANY holes in our clay soil! The rest of the time it's like concrete (May-Nov) or sucking mud (the rest of the time!)
Raised beds for me! Nancy

Clay will certainly fluff up as you add organic matter over several years. Garden beds become raised on their own. This is OK with me, it helps drainage a bit, which can be a real problem especially in the cold wet spring. I don't garden in street tree boxes so it doesn't bother me. :-]

Tox, in container gardening, let's say I ran out of potting mix, can I use clay soil mixed with finished compost ? If yes, in what proportion? Thanks.

Using clay, sand. loam, or any other garden soil in containers is not a good idea. That garden soil just will not drain well enough in containers and plants will suffer from too much water, moisture.

Kimmsr thank you!

Agreed, containers are a special environment and they do need something more like potting mix than soil.