Compost, compost, compost! That is the best amendment to add to clay soil to make it well-drained, especially if you can't make raised beds.

Why are you adding potting soil to your garden? That is usually used for containers only.

Blueheron,

That is what I was told to do. To either mix potting soil or topsoil in a half and half mixture with the original clay to aerate the clay.

So if I put in compost, do I totally fill the hole in with it? Or put the clay back in on top or mixed in? Or use topsoil?

And can I use any kind of compost? I currently have manure compost and soild amendment, whch includes compost.

And once the compost is in, how long does it take to break down the clay? Am I going to rot my roots if I plant there immediately? Because my flowers will be here soon.

Sorry to ask so many questions. My first attempt at a flower garden a few years ago was a dismal failure because the roots rotted in the standing water on the clay.

Thanks for your help!!

Katrina

two feet down is plenty...

and oh, do I know the joys of clay soil- I grew up on a shale outcropping that laughed at shovels, bent pitchforks, and broke the teeth of rototillers.

what I would do was pickaxe and shovel until my mom made me stop (I don't think I ever made it 2 whole feet- 18" at best!) and lay 6" of chunky stuff in the bottom- coarse mulch, twigs, whatever organic junk I needed to dispose of anyway. then I'd mix two shovels of the clay with two of potting soil, and two of fine mulch (shredded leaves in my case), blend it, and backfill the hole. that's what the roots will actually grow in to. Water it to settle it, and then I'd switch to half mulch and half clay, fill it in to 3" above ground level, put the plants in, and mulch over the whole mess...

you can also adapt this as a 'lasagna' method, where you layer dirt, mulch, and kitchen waste/grass clippings/dead leaves or whatever organic material you have.

the first year, I'd plant annuals in a new bed, then the next spring, I'd rototill the whole thing in on itself, and sink my perennials...

there wouldn't be a lilac or a forsythia on the property if I hadn't done this- the neighbors all grow pachysandra, moss, and the local wildflowers like mayapples, because that's what was there when they moved in.

Improving clay soils is the easy part. Addressing what may be a serious drainage issue is not so simple. You may have something going on with that location that all of the compost in the world can't cure. If there is an impervious layer of highly compacted clay or rock a few feet under the soil surface, then water can't drain. It needs to BE drained.

This may be as simple as puncturing a hardpan layer and adding a bunch of gravel, or creating a french drain system to steer water away from a collection point.

An improved bed is great until you get an inch of rain....and then you have an improved POND! Try to determine the seriousness of this problem with a post hole digger or even a rented auger.

I should add that I am now creating all new beds in an all clay yard. The backyard drains quite well, so all we've done is to add organic matter and till it into the beds. All the plants have done wonderfully, even in times of heavy rains! I've been amazed that even the little plugs of annuals that I've grown have thrived in this stuff.

The front yard, however, holds water for a couple of days. We've put off the landscaping projects for the front until we can reconfigure the drainage. I won't plant into something like that, when I know that it can be fixed. Adding compost to that situation won't do the job.

Sage advice immediately above. I believe you'd do well to pay heed to it.

Al

this is a perfect place for a bog garden. My advise is to not fight Mother Nature, you will not win. Go with bog type plants, you will love them

Hmmm...

What are some bog plants?

And what is a french drain system?

I did manage to dig down another inch or so. Very slow going. Not sure how the other end is going to do...the end which stayed perfectly dry in the rain. The dirt from the puddle end is piled there. I'll dig it out and fill it with water and see what happens there.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my new daylilies in the meantime.

Thanks for all your help! Sorry it is taking me a long time to answer....my computer has gone all squirrely and keeps kicking me offline (and I have a cable modem). Arrrgh!

Diane,

Thank you very much. I shall try this. I know they sell it at Menards. I'll add it to the bottom of the hole because, let me tell you, I am OVER the digging!! :)

Another thing I did was to dig the hole lopsided so the one end is more shallow than the other. Hopefully that will keep the worst of the drainage in one spot. So now I just need to find out what some bog-loving plants are to put in that area.

Does anyone think it would be helpful to drive some PVC pipe into the ground with a sledgehammer?

Katrina

Imagine your yard, complete with clay soil, is the size of a football field & your gardening area is in the center. If you dig a hole & it fills with water, there's a problem. If you dig a hole & it rains & fills with water & then the hole empties slowly - you still have a problem. The holes you dig to garden in are much like a bathtub with a plugged drain, but so it's sort of like your garden, let's say it drains very very slowly. If you dig the hole bigger, it's like having a bigger bathtub with the same drainage issue. If you amend the soil by adding vegetative matter, or gypsum, or sand, or gravel (you get the picture) it's the same as filling your bathtub with sponges & thinking it will help it drain - it won't. The only way to properly address clay soil drainage issues is to remove the water that occupies your gardening area with the help of gravity or a pump. Last I checked, I think Mother Nature invented gravity, so it's not fighting her to use it to your advantage. How? Dig a ditch, a trench, or use a tile to drain from the problem area to a lower spot where the water can flow away from your gardening area. If this is not possible, you could dig a sump hole for the water to drain into (still using ditch, trench, tile) & then pump it from the sump hole to somewhere it can drain away.

You can amend by the semi load if you want, but in clay soils, all you're doing is building a bigger bathtub. Like Dorie said - amending the soil before the drainage issue is resolved is putting the cart before the horse.

Another option is to utilize raised beds.

Al

Al,

So you don't think my idea of using PVC pipe to drain the hole would work?

Katrina

Only if it leads to a drywell that drains somewhere away from the hole. ;o)

You didn't say if your clay is the natural soil in your area, or the result of fill being hauled in to raise the grade around your home. If the clay is just sitting atop a soil type that drains well, it is possible that "punching a hole(s) through it so water can drain into the substrate would be effective, but there was no indication from you that this was the condition you are dealing with.

Keep well.

Al

Al,

Unfortunately clay is the natural soil in the area. :(

I can't get into putting in a lot of drainage system because this is a condo and most of the yard behind my place is common area. I just keep thinking that maybe if I put that PVC pipe in and angle it toward the slope (remember this hole at the top of a gentle downslope that leads to the drainage ditch), it will "encourage" the water to head down the hill. Just not sure if it will work if the PVC pipe is totally underground and doesn't have a part sticking out. Will it clog up?

If I build a raised bed over this, how far up do I need to go? I have the hole dug around 2 1/2 feet down now. How much room to keep the roots from rotting? After that big rainstorm, there was probably 2 inches of standing water in the hole.

It sounds like you have a poorly draining area that is just above the drainage ditch. Our yard had a similar problem, but the "puddling" was not as bad as yours. The way I'm solving the problem is to plant thirsty, bog- and/or water-type plants in the puddly area. (I noticed that water irises don't mind the wet clay muck--in fact they loved it! when I planted them our first winter here--the thirsty lily of the valley bulbs I put down rotted in the rain.) So when it's time to water, I water the plants on the slope (these tend to tolerate drought conditions), and minimally if at all water the plants in the "wet" zone.

In addition to planting water-loving plants (water irises, canna, daylilies, or calla lilies to name some), you might consider sloping that area down so that things drain into the drainage ditch.

Good luck!

Lil

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