Fix Heavy Clay Garden Soil Using Plants (EASY, LOW-WORK)

Plants are a great way to help fix heavy clay soil. Both cash crops like vegetables and cover crops can help improve your soil. The roots break up the clay clods and layers leaving organic matter behind and opening pathways for soil biology.
In this new series, we will look at different ways to fix heavy clay garden soils. The videos will help gardeners turn their clay soil into a loam which will improve plant growth. Each method requires a different amount of work and a different amount of inputs. Find the method that works best for you or combine a few to get better results.
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[@richards5110]

For the 4-season gardeners out there, this means leaving a plot non-"productive" for at least one of those seasons! This is a tradeoff that I feel is absolutely worth it, but something to keep in mind.

[@henrythenaturalist4950]

Always love to see the advocation for ecology-based solutions when addressing garden-centered issues!

[@kevincurtright1692]

Right on bro . You put history, common sense, and science, into one digestible package, that helps so many of us, that are just trying to do the right thing. Thanks, thanks, thanks.

[@landylaura]

I loved the thick root vs thin root information. Makes total sense. Thanks for this! I want to turn the yard of my new old house into a food forest, and even though I'm 72, I'm going to take this slow root ;-) for a large portion of my yard this year.

[@doncook3584]

Great info actually learned about cover crops and leaving roots in soil about a year ago. Another case of allowing Mother Nature to do the work (all we need to do is be nice and kind)❤️always love your content which is well prepared organized and delivered.

[@amysnipes4245]

Another great video Diego. I'll have to try the sorghum. I tried the radish cover crop this past Fall. While the radishes were huge, they all grew above the soil. Quite hysterical really!

[@aok2727]

I have a plateau, above my yard that has sticky, heavy soil. I threw down 3” of wood chip to protect the exposed soil and start improving the soil. I have been adding various legumes and radish to drill through and break it up a little. After 2 years, it is significantly less dense and each year, plants have improved growth. We have long wet winters followed by parched, hot summers. I am at the point I rarely have to water and when I do, I do a slightly longer watering, far less frequently.

[@JohnCollins-mo7sl]

Straightforward and informative- thanks!

[@notaregistereduser3446]

I think a combination of all different root types is the way to go.

[@johnjude2685]

I'm learning and expectations are great thanks

[@sandraoconnor5700]

So helpful!!

[@TheMarkvq]

good. thanks diego

[@lidiorivera8499]

Haha I love the straightforwardness; be nice, be appreciative, do the work. My man.

[@marcogallazzi9049]

Great topic! I´m using vetiver grass to break up soil. These roots go down six or more feet and are massive. Once the plant has done it´s job you can cut it, leaving the roots to decay, divide the plant and keep on planting. The grass itself has lots of uses too. It´s similar to comfrey in that aspect, which i´m starting to use this year. Btw, vetiver is not fertile, so it will nor spread out.

[@mattmerrick9672]

I'm looking to source some vetiver in UK. Have you used vetiver on heavy clay soils?

[@leopoldpierre269]

Nice videos...I use daikon radish to break up my soil and improve it ...

[@alyssa0411]

I have solid orange clay. The type that turns hard as a rock in the summer and heavy and sticky in the winter. I could easily make clay pots with it. I dig a hole and a fill it with water….24 hours later, it’s still holding water. I tried digging a trench to make a bed and I ended up needing a pickaxe. 😭

[@lachumproyale]

Have you ever run into any allelopathic effects from the sorghum sudangrass? Some people seem to have noticed it, wondering if it's really a thing or not.

[@DiegoFooter]

Nope. I have potatoes growing under it and they are fine.

[@carlostorrelio8099]

I have a patch covered of weeds that i will tarp this week, do you recommend tilling and adding organic material before tarping or after? Or not rototill at all?

[@DiegoFooter]

Just tarp it.

[@Norbingel]

Makes sense in theory and I really wanted to do this but radish couldn't make a dent into our clay soil. I'm going to try tilling a section and maybe put some coco fiber into the ground. Thoughts?

[@ricardocalderon9823]

Coco fiber and peat moss can get very dry and are hard to keep moist in the summer and when wet, it can compact and not let in oxygen. What I did was: Take all the weeds I could in my back yard, put it on top of clay soil, cover pulled weeds with cardboard so they don't grow back, cover cardboard with compost or woodchips, then wait a couple of months.

[@ricardocalderon9823]

This will get a top layer of the clay dark and soft but to really go deeper you will have to continue adding compost to the area every year. Planting cover crops helps. You can plant on top of clay until it softens by planting in mounds.

[@vidaripollen]

Vettiver is used in some places.

[@amberc.7678]

I love how you spell out your name in the intro

[@joshward7009]

serious question though--how are you turning clay into loam when you're not adding any additional mineral grains into the soil? I know roots will aerate it and eventually add organic matter into the mix, which is all great, but how is exclusively organic material changing the mineral grain composition itself?

[@CherishedChristianLife]

what are those captions?

[@joshward7009]

I think you've got an invasive mimosa tree that snuck up behind ya there sir

[@flamegator3251]

Another amazing detail to God's creation. Amazing.

[@kingcrungler]

Im planting wandering jew to till my clay. But im worried ive just done something i cannot undo

[@chucknorisclone]

Would mammoth sunflowers help compacted clay?

[@doncook3584]

Imagine they would have mammoth roots so hope Diego says yes 👍

[@bigshu5520]

Sunflower is a heavy feeder, so would probably defeat the purpose as any benefit of them breaking up the clay would most likely be negated by the fertility loss.

[@aenorist2431]

@@bigshu5520 Nutrient depletion isn't a significant issue (given good levels of soil biology), even less so in clay soil.

[@Cynical1800]

@@doncook3584 I haven't seen sunflower roots go really deep. They usually stay shallow and go out horizontally for a stronger base against the wind since they are going to be tall plants.

[@doncook3584]

@@Cynical1800 I stand corrected. This is the case with most veggies save maybe dicon radish, carrots and others

[@ahmadqhuzhairieirfan8525]

can use arachis pintoi

[@drdoan993]

sunflowers. ultra big tap root does fine in clay. companion plant with vining vegetable that will wind up its stalk. flowers will bekon pollinators for miles. harvest seed heads for humans or livestock. harvest stalks for free stakes or trellis. DO NOT HARVEST roots--let them rest in place as an earthworm haven in their huge new section of uncompacted soil.

[@ljbrandt500]

So annual rye won't do well in clay soil?

[@hermanhale9258]

I planted a little patch in clay and it is not making it. The dollar store grass seed I planted next to it did fine.

[@ljbrandt500]

@@hermanhale9258 please share what kind of seed worked for you in clay!

[@hermanhale9258]

@@ljbrandt500 It was the grass seed Dollar General sold last year and for several years before that. Came in a clear plastic bag. This year they have a different package, not sure if it is the same seed. I sprouted the seed in a tray of potting soil, and I don't know how much potting soil or organic material I dug into the clay before I planted. At least an inch or two. So, it wasn't pure clay. I planted the annual rye late spring in full sun. I think you are supposed to plant it in the fall. It looks terrible right now.

[@hermanhale9258]

@@ljbrandt500 Found an old bag of the stuff that grew well for me -"Speedy Green Grass Seed Mixture", six bucks from Dollar General (most likely), I am amazed to see it is almost one hundred percent Gulf Annual Ryegrass, plus a little Academy III Perennial Ryegrass, and Noxious weed seeds of annual blue grass.

[@ljbrandt500]

@@hermanhale9258 interesting, so it is actually annual ryegrass

[@danaelizabeth4751]

I feel like this advice is not helpful if the soil is in the shade. If crops won't grow in shade, what are my other options?

[@wally7856]

#1 - a chainsaw to let some sun in, #2 - Mulch - if you don't have sunshine then nothing is going to grow anyways so don't worry about it, throw some bark down and make it look pretty.

[@MsOrange23]

What the heck are the subtitles about???

[@hermanhale9258]

1:37 Don't plant rye in compacted soil.

[@Error_NeocrtexUserNotFoundOffi]

Wtf looking through the transcript to see what you said about the plant you use bc the closed caption is way off the transcript translation is all over the place wrong.

[@francismeowgannou5322]

What's your favorite cover crop?

[@doncook3584]

Peas and radish

[@benthere8051]

I got the impression that Diego really liked sorghum-sudangrass from this video and from videos in the past.

[@Cynical1800]

strawberries.

[@diegoalaris]

Sweet potato worked well for me

[@CoconutInformation]

Please make shirts - Be nice Be thankful And do the work