Clay soil in Tri-cities? (Jonesborough, Gray: home, tax, live in)

[PeggyM]

I've been hearing that the soil in this area tends to be clay, oh yuch! I dealt with that in NJ & it was so hard to grow anything. Is it all over the Tri-cities or is it worse in some areas & less in others? I love gardening, so soil condition is very important - another thing I should have checked into before moving here. Hopefully, there will be pockets of good soil versus clay. Any advise is appreciated.

[mbmouse]

I have found that it varies from block to block! I live in a development in Gray where it is solid clay on the left 3/4 of my yard, front and back, but the right last 1/4 is more top soil than clay. Go figure! Of course everywhere that I want to actually plant is solid clay. But between hubby, son and them wielding the pick ax, we get it up and churned up. Trying to get composted added in this year which should make it better.....I hope!

[pineywoods]

If anyone wants horse manure...DM me. Good stuff

[jchometeam]

From what I understand, much of Jonesborough is clay.

[kamoshika]

Originally Posted by PeggyM

I've been hearing that the soil in this area tends to be clay, oh yuch! I dealt with that in NJ & it was so hard to grow anything. Is it all over the Tri-cities or is it worse in some areas & less in others? I love gardening, so soil condition is very important - another thing I should have checked into before moving here. Hopefully, there will be pockets of good soil versus clay. Any advise is appreciated.

I highly recommend using a remarkable tool developed w/ your tax dollars, the Web Soil Survey.

It shows so much detail that it can be a bit overwhelming at first, but the basic steps are as follows:
1. Plug in your address and click on "View";
2. On the interactive map, click on either of the "AOI" buttons and then place your cursor at one corner of your property; click and drag to demarcate your property;
3. After the program is finished processing, hit the "Soil Map" tab;
4. Your property's soil types will be marked on the new map and also shown in percentages on the left, with detailed descriptions of each soil type available by clicking their links;
5. To dig even deeper into the analysis, select the "Soil Explorer" tab and see what other goodies you can find there.

FWIW, I just ran quick analyses on two large, random chunks of land in Washington County. On a 6,000-acre piece between JC & Jonesborough, silty clay loam (i.e., clay) made up 67% of the soil. On a 7,600-acre tract between JC & Gray, only 50% was silty clay loam.

Also FWIW, there's certainly no shortage of gardeners in this area.

[GrannyLois]

Some areas have that red clay - very obvious - but some areas have excellent brown or black loamy kind of soil.

As you look at properties, you should be able to check out the soil.

My property has both. The garden area and lawn area are rich. In the woods, the clay is bright red with red rocks even!

[jabogitlu]

I've found much the same; pockets of great black soil mixed with some of the most stubborn red clay imaginable. And the occasional slate!

[ania]

Yes, there's quite a bit of clay in some areas. I'm used to sandy soil (FL, TX); boy, was I amazed at the effort it took just to dig one hole for a plant... When I moved here and finally had a home with a yard, I got excited about planting and bought many plants. It took so much longer to do - but I appreciate it all when I see them grow. As long as you make reasonable plant choices (based on growing conditions, soil, etc) and amend the soil well when planting, you can do very well with clay. Many local nurseries can help you out; some even offer free classes in the spring/summer planting season.

[PeggyM]

Thanks so much for all your input. I especially like the website to check the soil. Great!

I do know that clay soil is generally more acidic & will change the colors of flowers, such as Hydrangeas. My beautiful blue hydrangeas (when planted) turned light pink in one season in the clay soil in NJ. Even though I amended the soil with lime, it didn't help much.

But, South Jersey is the reason that NJ is called the Garden State. Ever seen that on their license plates? The Jersey tomatoes are known far & wide as the best. They ARE delicious! So I guess clay is good for some things.

[mbmouse]

I do have to say that even though most of my yard is mostly very thick clay, the PH level is dead on at 7 so I have not had to add any lime for my plants. However the Hydrangeas and Azaleas ( I think?) like it at least 8 so it really depends on what you are planting.