The best stuff to improve clay soil is composted bark fines. I had works done 2 years ago and the builders moved a lot of orange and grey clay onto an area that I decided to make into a plant border. I read an RHS article here --> https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=620 I dug plenty into the clay - not an easy job! at the start of the year and then dug it over a couple more times and planted it up around June. I was very surprised at how quickly it has worked and the plants are thriving
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
You don’t have to dig in the organic matter, unless your aim is to be laid up with a bad back of course. Water the bed well, put on a good thick mulch of something like well-rotted manure, or a thinner mulch of garden compost, and leave it until spring. Cover with something porous to let the rain through, but keep weeds down if you like. Garden compost and well rotted manure take a while to generate though. Local Councils sell bags of compost that they make from resident’s recycled green waste. It isn’t as good as home made, but it is obtainable. Or you can put a layer of cardboard under the compost instead of something on top. It will rot down by spring.
Carmarthenshire (mild, wet, windy). Loam over shale, very slightly sloping, so free draining. Mildly acidic or neutral.
My approach would be to very roughly fork the clay, loosening it into chunks but not worrying about making a fine tilth or anything. Then lay a thick blanket of composted bark fines, composted manure, mushroom compost or any other bulky organic material you can lay your hands on. I agree that composted bark fines are probably the best but any organic matter will help. Then let the worms and the weather do their work over the winter. A job for a fine autumn day when the soil is reasonably dry.
In spring you can roughly level taking care not to overdo it and compact the soil, then rake the surface. And when you plant, add further organic matter into the upper layers of soil around the tree or shrub etc. Thereby you'll improve the soil as you go along. Don't stick organic matter in the bottom of the planting hole though, it can go anaerobic.
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour".
This is really great information and advice - thank you so much everyone for taking the time to share your knowledge and exerience. And as the advice includes getting it put into practice in autumn, it's perfect timing too. Thank you!!
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I had works done 2 years ago and the builders moved a lot of orange and grey clay onto an area that I decided to make into a plant border.
I read an RHS article here --> https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=620
I dug plenty into the clay - not an easy job! at the start of the year and then dug it over a couple more times and planted it up around June.
I was very surprised at how quickly it has worked and the plants are thriving
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
In spring you can roughly level taking care not to overdo it and compact the soil, then rake the surface. And when you plant, add further organic matter into the upper layers of soil around the tree or shrub etc. Thereby you'll improve the soil as you go along. Don't stick organic matter in the bottom of the planting hole though, it can go anaerobic.
Thank you!!