How to Improve Clay Soil

Soil heavily laden with clay can be some of the worst soil to work with if you want to plant a vegetable or herb garden. The density of clay soil can prevent plant roots from spreading, which prevents plants from reaching their maximum growth potential. Because clay soil drains slowly, it stays saturated longer after a rain or snow has melted. Also pH levels tend to be higher in clay soil. It is recommended that you have your soil tested to see exactly what nutrients are lacking and the exact pH level. There are organic ways to enrich clay soil to get it to the consistency where vegetables and herbs will grow in abundance.

The first thing you have to do in order to turn your clay soil into fresh-smelling, enriched dirt is to rototill the ground. There is no getting around it; the ground has to be plowed and tilled before you can mix in organic matter. Anyone who has rototilled clay soil will tell you to be prepared for a workout because it will feel like you are trying to till through concrete. Waiting until after a good rain when the ground is softer is not going to help with clay soil because water only makes clay clump more. When I work with clay soil, I'm reminded of my kindergarten days when I played with modeling clay. I would shape my wet clay into the ever-popular ashtray and then let it set on a shelf somewhere to dry hard. Well, clay you find in garden soil is very similar. It has a similar consistency as modeling clay when it's wet, but when it's dry, its consistency is more like a bricks.