Is there any product availabe to break down clay soil?

Answer 1

I am a landscape contractor who has dealt with clay soils for forty years. My answer may strike you as funny but I offer it in all sincerity. The best tool for breaking down clay soils is a sharp mattock. The best products are agricultural gypsum and compost.The cheapest way to introduce gypsum into your clay soil is to use wallboard scraps which are available for free from any construction site The cheapest way to introduce compost is kitchen scraps if time is not of the essence or you can use a combination of coffee grounds available for free from coffee houses mixed with leaves and sawdust which are also available free. The mixture of coffee grounds and sawdust is especially synergistic because while both contribute to soil tilth and provide organic matter, the grounds provide the nitrogen needed by the sawdust to breakdown into nutrients available to plants.These soil amendments must be worked in with liberal amounts of good old-fashioned elbow grease.

Answer 2

I live in Houston and the soil around here is a clay gumbo (horrible stuff). When I have planted some fruit trees I added Humates to help aerate the soil and LOTS of organic materials. Gypsum is more readily available than Humates and can do the trick as well.

A problem you might face if you live in an area that gets a lot of rain (like Houston) is that when you try and improve the soil you might make a basin and drown the roots.

My recommendation is build some raised beds and avoid this problem altogether. I have added six 8'x4'x1' raised beds to my garden and do not have to deal with trying to break down the clay. I have received numerous compliments from people who have seen my garden and the results I have gotten thanks to avoiding the clay soil entirely. Though there is a bit more money involved up front, you don't have to wait for weeks/months/years to resolve this issue. Landscape timbers work as do landscape bricks (though are a bit more expensive) and I'm sure you can contact someone locally to get good quality soil delivered by the cubic yard.

Answer 3

Ask at a landscaping store or a nursery. My guess is that you could work in some organic matter to help break up the clods of clay, but this would only work for a small area. Doing your entire yard would be very expensive and messy.

If you wanted to do a flower bed, for example, I'd consider putting a couple of bags of peat on the area, and using a roto tiller to mix the peat and the top few inches of soil. You might try mixing some sand in to improve drainage, but that's just a guess on my part.

Answer 4

No actual product. Digging in manure and strawy material will help but it will not happen overnight.It will take several years of digging,cultivating and adding manure and humus to get the clay to a reasonable soil suitable for good plant cultivation.You cant hurry it up.The only quick way would be to dig out the clay,transport it elsewhere and import loads of topsoil to replace the clay. This option is not usually viable and would be very expensive.No if the soil is really thick clay you are looking at something like 10years of digging and manuring to get the ground into a reasonable state.

Answer 5

You can add sand and compost and turn in with a shovel or tiller about 6 -8 inches deep. You may have to remove some of the old clay 1st. Depends on how high you want your beds.

It works best when the soil is wet. If it is dry I can't even get a shovel in it. It is hard as rock!

Answer 6

Traditionally Lime was used on clay soils this makes the soil more friable as it coagulates the tiny soil particles togerether. However the liberal use of gravel and large quantities of organic material will also help to keep the soil more open and will prevent the caking of clay. Good luck it is going to be hard work but it will be a worthwhile aim over several years.

Answer 7

Gypsum will helps recondition clay and hardpan type soils. It's not a miracle and it doesn't work over-night, but a three-year program of yearly applications should help improve poor soil conditions. It's easy to apply and relatively inexpensive for the job it does. See the below link for a full article on this topic. I used it my garden and I'm in the second year of applying, along with compose and it's working well.

Answer 8

Mix in a good top soil to help break the clay. Good top soil should include sand. Peat moss also helps improve clay soil.

Answer 9

You can till up the clay and add soil amendments that are designed to keep the clay aerated. It takes a lot though. Adding sand can be a disaster. I did it once and ended up with a gummy mess.

Answer 10

All the other answers have merit, but there is a product that will break down Clay soil. Having said that, I can't remember the name of it!! A good Garden Centre ought to know.