The low-down on clay soils – Part 3

How can I improve my clay soil?

There are several things you can do to improve your clay soil, helping to create a garden where you can successfully grow a wide range of plants:

– In areas where water does not drain away, consider sub-surface drainage. Ask your hardware store for information on laying drainage pipes, or employ a landscaper to do it for you. – Consider making raised garden beds. If you are excavating one part of the garden to lay paving or similar, use the topsoil you removed to build the raised beds.

Raising a bed by even a minimum of 25 centimetres will help greatly – even heavy clay soil can be well-drained if it is raised above the general soil level. – Dig up and replace all soil to a depth of about 30cm.

This method can be very costly but works well as long as the slope of the underlying soil is away from the garden area, so the water percolates down to the underlying clay and continues running away from the garden. – Compost is a great way to improve all soils, especially clay.

Apart from making the soil workable, it provides a slow release source of nourishment for plants. The beneficial organisms released regularly by adding compost to your soil will solve many gardening problems. That is why healthy, biologically active soils are all compost rich.

Improving the texture of the soil with organic matter is an ongoing process which can take years, but the good news is work you do initially will immediately improve its structure and make it easier to work with. Regular top dressing with compost will pay off in the long run. – Leaf mould, composted manure or other organic matter will gradually bulk up the texture of your soil, lessening compaction and allowing you to grow a wider variety of plants.