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Discussion on popular lawn grasses has me wondering about gardening in NC. At my current house in the Chicago suburbs, I have 2 inches of black topsoil.
Below that is 8 inches of 40% rock, 20% sand, 40% clay, below that is hardpan. You need a pick axe to bust through that. Dynamite would be better, but they don't sell that at The Borg Depot
In 20 years of gardening, the best soil amendment that I have found is pine bark mulch. Pieces smaller than a dime are best. Breaks up the soil, easy to dig 5 years later, provides organic material...
other suggestions I tried
**Cedar mulch-- no good, cedar is good at killing off other competing vegetation
**Peat moss -- okay for acidifying the soil for tiger lillies. 50% peat, 50% clay.
**Sand "to improve drainage" -- Sand + clay = bricks. I'll never try that again.
The NC red clay is obviously different from the hardpan that I am used to. What is the best way of improving this soil for gardening? In the south, I would be concerned that adding pine bark mulch might be food for termites...What soil prepartion is best for the clay in Raleigh?
PS
I have a friend who built her house about 10 years ago. For lawn preparation, she brought in about 6 pickup loads of horse manure. Raked all that in before the lawn was seeded. Looks great without chemicals.
I agree with using pine bark mulch as a conditioner. It can make your soil acidic though.
I had just finished drywalling my bonus room, so I had a bunch of leftover scraps of sheetrock (regular, not fire-suppressent). Sheetrock is composed of gypsum, which is a very common soil conditioner. Benefits include...
1) An excellent fertilizer source for calcium and sulphur.
2) Improves soil structure.
3) Reduces PH level (which is important in our clay soils).
4) Helps retain water (gypsum-treated soils can hold up to 100% more water)
What I did was till in about 1" of pine bark mulch and whatever leftover sheetrock I had into the soil. The sheetrock helps control the acidity of the pine bark mulch, and I eliminated a large volume of trash that would have ended up in a landfill.
Pine bark is good, if somewhat acid.
Termites are no sweat. We all have them, and regardless, your home has to be protected. Pine Bark won't harbor or attract them.
Anything that will separate the soil from compaction, and help it hold moisture.
You might consider addition of Perma-Till, which is a slate(?) product that doesn't compact or deteriorate. It has the aded benefit of deterring voles from munching on your succulent bulbs and roots.
I live in TX (moving in a couple months to Raleigh!!) and have somehow survived gardening in solid black clay. It's awful and does a number on foundations here. (Just look up all the foundation repair companies in North TX and you'll see what big business it is here.) Anyways, the best amendment by far is mature compost. Any organic matter is good, but if you have composted organic matter, there is no more decaying needed to break down the matter (like mulch, etc.) into nutrients for the plants. Bacteria needed to break down mulch feed off nitrogen. Applying compost does the best job at breaking down clay and also supplies the soil with all the nutrient requirements needed.
EDIT -- I've heard that expanded shale is awesome for clay b/c it doesn't mix into it and turn to sludge like sands. I'm not sure how expensive it is, and it doesn't aid w/ nutrients for your plants like compost, but I think it's probably the quickest fix to loosen clays.
I like to use a compost mix, which is a mixture(percentages depend on where you get it) of topsoil, manure, and organic(usually leaf mulch)material. I buy it by the cubic yard, not in bags.
I like to use a compost mix, which is a mixture(percentages depend on where you get it) of topsoil, manure, and organic(usually leaf mulch)material. I buy it by the cubic yard, not in bags.
Yes. We usually just have a unit delivered in the spring. I used to buy it buy the bag, but it seems to be cheaper by the unit. I almost ruined my knee double digging in Portland clay. In the future, I'm just going to do raised beds.
Yes. We usually just have a unit delivered in the spring. I used to buy it buy the bag, but it seems to be cheaper by the unit. I almost ruined my knee double digging in Portland clay. In the future, I'm just going to do raised beds.
I usually till the bed, add compost, then till again. No double digging for me
Where in Wake County can you purchase the compost mix in bulk for vegetable raised bed gardening?
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