well...i really shouldn't be giving advise......the novice gardener that I am...but....have you had the soil tested?....it may not be as bad as you think.....i thought my soil was going to be awful...as it is very light...actually...some of it is orange...which i took to mean it was clay.....anyway...i tested it...and the ph was actually right where it should be for most plants.....i was really surprized...

You can't go wrong with compost manure, humus, and a little peat moss. When I dig, I put the clay into my wheel barrow and mix it with a big pile of these amendments. It's a beautiful, dark soil when it's all mixed together. And keep a pile of pine straw in the back corner of your yard, it will break down and provide a rich mixture for those acid-loving shrubs like azaleas.

Arabgirl is right. Your red Alabama clay can be improved (texture-wise) with the incorporation of organic matter of almost any kind. Red clay is NOT bad stuff! And the good thing about clay soils is that you do not have to fertilize them very much. Your best bet for your existing plants is to keep them mulched with an organic layer of 2 to 4 inches, but not piled up on the trunks which causes problems.

If you are going to create new beds, by all means bring in some compost, peat, triple ground bark, etc. Work it well into your clay soil....never just pile a top-soil on top of the clay. It must be mixed together.

Having a soil test done is a good idea, so that you have an accurate idea of what your pH (at the very least) is. But pH has nothing to do with whether your soil is clayey or not.

I agree with the above - amend and blend. Clay gets a bad rap, but when your pretty, black topsoil is void of all moisture, clay is waiting on the sideline with it's own reserve, plus bound-up nutrients to boot.

Nelson

As for feeding shrubs - usually a tablespoon of 10-10-10 for each foot of height is a good amount - the slow-release kind. Once in April and maybe once in either June or September. That should do for most shrubs. If the plant is less than a year old, you might want to fertilize in April, June, and September. If you mulch over the fertilizer, you don't even have to work it into the soil. This reminds me that it is April and I need to fertilize my shrubs.

Bunny - I live up north of Wetumpka - so I feel your pain! :) But, everyone is right - check the soil - at my place, it varies from spot to spot - and some of my orange "clay" wasn't clay - but then again, some of it is/was!
I have done some raised beds, including one that i put that ICKY black landscape fabric down (does NOT work as far as we are concerned!)- the next raised bed I did, I used cardboard boxes with newspaper under it, and composted manure/topsoil mixture on top of it - works much better, although still not perfect.

In some other spots I am just amending as I plant, and throwing compost everywhere.

FYI - keep an eye out in the Bulletin Board - last couple of years, there was someone in Blue Ridge area off 231 selling "horse manure compost" - for $5.00 per pickup load.

If you are not averse to it, check some of the local chicken farmers - they will probably be glad for you to come clean their chicken coops...best stuff in the world for helping to amend the soil.