What do I add to "clean" dirt for garden?

Question

I laid the fine, clean dirt down for vegetables and a few flowers and I can see I clearly have forgotten something. I'll have pure mud if I work with this. Do I need to go to Lowe's or somewhere like that and buy a few huge bags of something? Please help, I thought I'd have this done today and I am sitting here laughing at my stupidity! Patricia

The "dirt" is fine just like baby powder, I need to add something.

Answer 1

HUH?

Dig holes and plant your plants. then water them. Yes dirt turns into mud, but the water the plants don't use will drain away or evaporate.

Answer 2

It sounds like you've been working with a dry silty clay. The plants will grow fine in clay, but I'd recommend throwing a little organic matter in with the dirt. Till in a few wheel barrows full of manure or compost or black garden soil. Tilling in your yard leaves each fall will also help. I imagine your ground looks brown, possibly a light brown. The more organic matter your garden gets in it, the more black it will look and the better the soil will be.

You can buy bags of garden soil at Lowe's or go to some farmer's place and pick up some manure or go to a large regular garden and landscape center and pick up garden soil or compost in bulk. The bags are the most expensive option but if you have a small garden that might be the best. If you have a big one, I'd get the bulk from a garden center or load of manure.

Your plants will grow fine in the silty clay if you water them properly and fertilize them even without the organic matter, but the organic matter does help. The reason is that clay wants to form a crust when it dries that tends to prevent water from getting down into the soil. Also, although clay will hold a lot of water, much of it is held in micro-crevices that the plant roots can't get to and use. Organic matter lets water into the soil easier and it also lets the roots move through it easier. Plus worms tend to like it since they eat the organic matter and when they travel through it they add holes to the soil which help air get into the soil which helps the roots and also allows water to enter the ground easier instead of running off and not soaking into the ground.

Both clay and organic soil have high CEC values, meaning they can hold water and nutrients well. That is why even though not having a lot of organic matter, if treated well, it can produce a very nice garden.

Answer 3

I don't know if you're forgetting this, or if it's new info, but there's something you should absolutely get if you want your veggies to thrive. You need GOOD QUALITY potting soil. Worm castings, or vermicast has even more nutrients, but then you take the risk of attracting worms that may eat your veggies. Get some good potting soil. It is LOADED with nutrients and time-releases water and nutrients to your plants so that they get what they need when they need it. Check online at www.1800TOPSOIL.com or call 1-800-TOPSOIL to see if they service your area. They're good and they're national and they're reputable professionals. I don't know where you live, but these guys probably even deliver. Good luck with the veggies!

Answer 4

It sounds like you have to little organics in a fine silt heavy soil, but try the hand check first. Do you see any worms or other soil dwelling creatures? Does it smell good or can you see white cottony threads? That indicates a healthy actinomycete population necessary for nitrogen availability to plants.
Check your moist, not wet, soil's texture by picking up a handful and squeeze gently: If it feels sticky and stays in a tight mass, your soil is likely too high in clay. If it feels harsh or gritty and won't hold any shape or crumbles it is likely too high in sand. If it feels silky smooth or floury and won't hold any shape, it's likely too high in silt. If it molds into your hand yet crumbles apart when squeezed, it has the perfect texture. It is loam. Now wet the soil in your palm til muddy. Rub the soil against your palm with your other fingertips. Is it smooth, gritty or both?
1” gritty ribbon is sandy loam
1” smooth ribbon is silty loam
1” both is loam
1-2” gritty ribbon is sandy clay loam
1-2” smooth ribbon is silty clay loam
1-2” both is clay loam
GT 2” gritty ribbon is sandy clay
GT 2” smooth ribbon is silty clay
GT 2” both is clay
Black color indicates high organic matter; gray indicates medium organic matter. Red, tan or blue color indicates little organic matter and high clay. Blue means to little oxygen.
Loam is roughly equal parts clay, silt and sand, three distinct mineral particles. That though is just part of the soil. GOOD soil consists of 93% mineral and 7% bio-organic substances. The bio-organic parts are 85% humus, 10% roots, and 5% edaphon (soil denizens).
Sandy/silty soil is easier to amend than clay. The goal in is to add sponge like organic matter in the form of peat, composted bark dust, manure and/or compost to help it to retain more water as well as provide nutrients.
If the check indicated clay then the organics need to be very coarse. Chopped leaves, composted wood chips and very coarse sand. Avoid fine-textured material such as peat moss or the packaged manures. Fine material will make your problem worse. A good analogy is the manufacture of concrete, which entails mixing sand with cement - a fine particle substance. The results are obvious.
Do not buy topsoil if your hand check indicated sand or silt. Topsoil contains 30% sand. You already have more drainage than you want, so buy straight compost. It costs more but you do not need more large, infertile minerals you need organics.
*4 to 8 inches of organic material dug in 12 to 24 inches is optimal. The general rule of thumb is that one cubic yard will cover approximately 100 square feet with 3 inches of material. A cubic yard is to much to buy in bags easily as it comes to 27 cubic feet. Even if the bag held 3 cu ft you would need 9 bags to get a yard. Bulk delivery is the best option. That way you can get a bit extra because you will need more for this fall to prepare for next year. The problem with sand or silt soils is that rain washes away the organics you add. So it takes several years before the loss rate slows. I have been adding fewer yards of soil to my whole garden every year but some spots are worse than others.
Now I add fertile mulch every year as a weed block fertilizer. It is manure composted with saw dust.