Making Garden Soil from Clay...

All my garden was once clay - today I am starting the process in a new section.
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Twitter: / homesteadtassie
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[@brucejensen3081]

I had a block of clay. Black wattles came up and would get massive in 2 years. I raked the leaf matter onto my veggie patches and around my fruit trees. I would dig the trees out with an axe and shovel and cut them up a bit. Once it dried, I removed the bark, used it as ground cover and burnt the wood, with as little smoke as possible. The soft wood changes into charcoal much faster than hardwood, so you lose very little volume. When there was no wood left burning I would put the fire out. Then I crushed the charcoal quite a bit. I also had chooks and used there manure, they loved the wattle seed, which I would collect to feed it to them. Also composted anything I could get my hands on. It was amazing the difference in the soil in 10 years, without bringing anything in, except from the sky

[@Pipsinstitches]

That’s great Bruce, we get those black wattles here too.

[@marvinrobinson8519]

My experience has proven that what you are doing will make a huge difference! Lots of organic matter is the answer for any soil type from rock hard clay to sand. Works "down under" as well as us up north!!

[@ausfoodgarden]

I had very compacted clay in my last 2 growing areas and honestly, 2 years of trying to split it up with Gypsum did almost nothing. Churning it up and adding as much compost as possible sped up the repair process hugely. I hope it all works for you

[@goodlifehomestead6876]

Adding organic matter is my favoured approach also.

[@sylviam6535]

I also found that adding compost works much better.

[@Delosian]

Gypsum really only works for high sodium (sodic) clays.

[@lisagrace6471]

Do you have advice about how much compost and organic standards? I am at a loss of where to start.

[@michaelg4931]

@@lisagrace6471 The more the better. I have 95+% heavy clay and had good luck adding some compost and leaves (not very much, an inch or two max), tilling it in as much as possible (a real workout even with a rear tine walk behind tiller) and then growing a series of cover crops over the coarse of 2-3 years. After that, it became very productive and loose. The cover crops used were daikon radish, Austrian winter peas and triticale mix (equal parts) in the early spring as soon as the ground thawed. You can harvest pea shoots, the pea pods, daikon radish and radish greens while it is growing. Then in late june, I cut everything with a mower, left the cuttings in place, waited a week, tilled then planted some sorghum. When it got about 5+ feet tall, I cut it to 3 foot high(this encourages the sorghum to root deeper/more extensively) and let it grow until late September, cut it down and left the cuttings in place and resowed with the radish/pea/triticale mix and left it grow until it got winter killed. Repeated the following years. I'm in Zone 6a so you'd have to adjust your planting to your zone.

[@arsewell]

Here I am in Alabama USA dealing with the identical type of soil. Very useful!

[@feudinggreeks3316]

How did this video help your soil? Did you manage to grow vegetables with success?

[@maggiedawdy8777]

This is EXACTLY what I was looking for! We have solid clay on our property in Missouri. I have been trying to figure out how to prep the soil for next year’s garden before winter. This is exactly what I needed.

[@redheavenrose]

same here.New in MO and the soil is rock solid😅

[@keith6400]

Old plaster boards are mainly made from Gypsum and not welcomed at many dump sites.

[@sandramaiden4707]

Try any local dairies to ask for some truckloads of cow manure, top up with any straw, cardboard, lawn clippings, etc that you can beg from your area. I have turned my clay gardens from rock hard clay to nice soil. An Aussie gardener /farmer.

[@nadias5192]

A proactive approach in working with what you have. I do look forward to watching your content especially as it’s the same season. Happy New Year to you and your family happy gardening 2023

[@rodneyholland1867]

From the beginning I was saying to myself: "Add some gypsum and then you should put in potatoes or green manure"... then you came up with a very clever idea. I would not have thought of gypsum, then potatoes AND green manure - I wouldn't have known how to do it.. Conceptually, it seems like a really good idea that you've come up with. I'll be watching with interest on how successful you are. Wishing you the best crop in autumn.

[@KJ-jl5oc]

It looks great John! At my place in Sthn Tassie we have similar issues with clay. While I generally adopt minimal dig practices we find that we need to disturb the clay in the first instance to break up the surface and incorporated gypsum. We have access to horse manure to help bring life and organic matter to the system.

[@goodlifehomestead6876]

I just keep adding organic matter-mostly on top, as I favour the no dig method.

[@tassiegirl1991]

Big job ongoing but looking good so far and nice backdrop behind the fence, interested in seeing the outcome John. Happy N Y to you and the family.

[@homesteading]

Thanks, you too!

[@glenhehir3833]

Looking forward to seeing the progress. Thankyou.

[@proteinman1981]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge, I'm presently battling clay and heavily compacted ground on my property - thanks for sharing your knowledge on this matter. That's a good looking little plot there.

[@bryanjohansson3180]

Highlight to wake up to this! Always love your videos John!

[@homesteading]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

[@heatherkennedy9973]

i have not heard kooaburras in many years--used to love the sound when i lived in aust when i was 11 and 12

[@goodlifehomestead6876]

Aren't they wonderful?

[@sylviam6535]

Kookaburras are adorable.

[@benjaminblanco8160]

Been slamming my lawn with a broken pickaxe for a couple days - about to spread some recent ash and wood chips as well as lawn clippings from mowing on the recently churned stuff - hope it goes well

[@alexsmith-ob3lu]

Interesting video! Thanks for sharing!

[@SuerteDelMolinoFarm]

Greetings from the LooseNatural farm in Andalusia Spain where we currently live through a drought and we know the promises of rain

[@daniellee414]

Very informative. Thank you

[@michaelfoort2592]

I really like your approach. Many no dig folks recommend digging for the first while so, whatever... Your approach seems right.

[@Brisbanegardener]

Thanks for this video, very informative 👍

[@ouraussiehomestead]

Just subscribed to your channel! Great ideas for the clay soil. We are just clearing and trying to sort out what grows in our soil and if we need to add anything to it to help the plants along. As well as the homestead, we are trying to get our homestead channel going too, keep up the great work and we look forward to learning from you as you go!

[@DE2borknot2b]

Our yard soil is a red, red clay. Ugh. Building beds but now, you've given me an idea. Hubs & I are in the US & I can't believe I'm seeing your soil is the same as ours....I've always worked in wood chips & compost in normal soil but the clay soil? We have a wood chipper to get wood chips & I need to put together 2-4 compost bins to start getting compost ... wishing you success in the garden. Samuel no longer helping you in the garden? 🤔 🙂

[@BrixThePlanter]

Silt port loam soil is actually highly sought after by some people if you know how to incorporate the correct things according to nature you have your self terra Preta soil which is the Amazon soil that is some of the most sought after soil on our planet.

[@lisagrace6471]

@@BrixThePlanter I don't know what to do - can you explain this in more dummie terms for me?

[@lollypop2413]

I love your hydrangesa im gonna copy in my driveway circle...around a few lemons in there

[@neilkemp9118]

That’s a hell of a big 100 sqm. Good video thanks

Have you considerd using Phacelia? It can help to break to ground and fluff it while it also provides a nutritious green manure. Not to mention that bees love when it gets into blossom.

[@jcb3393]

We have VERY gummy clay on our property. I need to convert it to good soil, not just for yard grass, but also for the flowers, fruit trees, and other produce we are planting.

[@jaspercaelan4998]

I like the idea of no dig but I'm on clay soil and don't have access to huge amounts of compost either. Like many things I don't think there is a magic formula that works everywhere all the time. I'm using a mixture of tilling, green manures, compost with the goal of reducing the amount of tilling I do as the organic matter increases and possibly eliminating it all together eventually.

[@denisebrady6858]

HAPPY NEW YEAR John great video- what variety of potatoes are you growing- I buy all my seed potatoes from Agronico in Tasmania & they are amazing. My favorites are Kennebec / Sebago & I am trialling Burbank Russet. Our weather up here in Brisbane is honestly Hit & Miss at the moment but my garden is doing well. Cheers Denise- Geebung Brisbane

[@homesteading]

Thanks, I planted Dutch Creams, which is the main variety I grow.

[@steenmolving9973]

As a cheap source of gypsum, you could go to a building site and get offcuts of drywall or gib board as we call it in New Zealand. Put it through a chipper and incorpoate it into your garden area. Free gypsum.

[@olin777]

Do those plaster boards contain glues and adhesive to keep it solid and bonded to the paper ? Thanks

[@rickthelian2215]

Happy New Year Let’s wish for a bumper crop, floods on the mainland have forced shortages and price increases.

[@goodlifehomestead6876]

We here in Tassie are feeling for you!

[@markenrega4191]

Great ideas John. Looking forward to seeing the follow up video to see how it's going. I'm looking for a Green Manure seed mix in Hobart/Tassie. Can you share where you found yours?

[@homesteading]

I mix my own: feed wheat and oats (sometimes only oats) with legumes (dried peas, mung beans, excess broad beans,) also any old seeds and I also like to add mustard seed (a little goes long way) which I buy from the spice section!

[@Pipsinstitches]

You should take up pottery 😉

[@mrdarkremnants922]

I'm processing a smaller area using the water method.

[@darraghkelly6417]

Hello, have you any tips for planting self fertile cherry trees or about training apple tree branches growing along wires or tied down strings, too aid growth of fruit buds, Do you grow oats or barley that you can harvest to make bread or just to eat as a cereal. Thanks.

[@tomsaunders383]

Gypsum is a chemical coagulant that binds to certain clay particles for 3 to 5 years Max. It needs to be at the bottom of your growing bed not ontop 😊

[@ricoproia328]

I don’t think so!

[@Owl4909]

good vid. new sub

[@QualityGardener]

Once you grow the green manure or cover crop and turn it in, how long does it take for the green manure to break down (in the soil) before you can actually use the soil again for planting crops? Thanks!

[@homesteading]

Personally I find a couple of weeks is usually sufficient. But I don't think it is time critical - examine the soil and make your own judgement.

[@AscheOfTheLake]

I've not waited. Till it under and my plants and seeds start going in a few hours later.

[@Chris-op7yt]

some of the liquid gypsum concentrates are more economical and work better/faster, because screened for smaller particles, which are more soluble. wish there was a way to deep rip without expensive and large machinery. potatoes seem to exude substances that break up clay. someone should research it.

[@Howtofarmandgarden]

Genesis Biochar would be a great way to get permanent carbon into your soil

[@Daughterofgreatmen]

What exactly was that noise at 1:46? It’s anything I’ve ever heard in my neck of the woods. 😮

[@mattdotile]

kookaburras

[@Daughterofgreatmen]

@@mattdotile Ok, thanks. I’ll have to look them up. Never heard of them.

[@AscheOfTheLake]

Was wondering the same thing. I wish we had that here, would be better than the squeal of the catbirds and crows that fight in the trees here 😂

[@Daughterofgreatmen]

@@AscheOfTheLake Same. Definitely nothing we hear in my neck of the woods.

[@thehappygardener1308]

I live in Perth, how to I make sand to soil?

[@Ojb_1959]

Greetings from New Orleans 🎭 What was the bird at 1:50 please?

[@homesteading]

Kookaburra!

[@kolapyellow7631]

My property is pure clay like this 😢, where I am located, they don't have sypsum. What is my alternative alternative?

[@homesteading]

Add lots of organic matter.

[@brucejensen3081]

Use proper soap in your washing machine and let the water go onto the clay. The soap will decrease the stickiness of the clay, much in the same way gypsum does. Also if you see someone throwing out gyprock drywall, ask if you can have it, probably best if it's been painted with non lead water based paint, if not, you could strip the paint off. Crush it and you have gypsum

[@AscheOfTheLake]

If you can, compost everything that is compostable (food scraps, paper products, animal waste, grass clippings, leaves, etc) and till it in. The tilling helps a significant amount.

[@smokeytexx]

G,day john and thanks for the videos . just one request , any chance of some more or better detail pictures of your wheel hoe because i would like to make one . mainly because i would have no hope of finding one and i want one,i think it would be very handy for hilling spuds and a few other jobs .

[@homesteading]

Have you looked at kzbin.info/www/bejne/eX_Uh6x-nLKraaM - it's an older video I made which has close-ups of the wheel hoe.

[@smokeytexx]

yep i did watch that one twice but never got a good look at the blade shape of the old hoe that you use for hilling .i will do some more searching online .

[@adrianianna2868]

A lot of work there but good luck.

[@homesteading]

A good result usually requires work!

[@gendoll5006]

I just keep hearing the cha-ching of a cash register. Man it’s so discouraging seeing how much you have to buy to amend soil like this (which I have, bad) into workable and growable soil. 😩

[@WhosLeadingYou]

You don’t have to do all everything spoken about here. If you just start putting in crops and using the soil it will slowly mend over time and become move and move usable and organic. Just start. And hoes work well too.

[@AscheOfTheLake]

You don't NEED to. My property is much like this, my process was: 1) Use the tiller set to a couple inches (3-5 cm) to break up the root mat/grass layer. Let it dry a couple days. 2) Use a propane torch to kill off any seeds on the surface to reduce seed issues, and add some carbon (optional) 3) Till down 1" at a time to the max depth of the tiller (7"/18 cm for mine) 4) Go back over it a few times at maximum depth. 5) Torch again to kill off roots that have been churned up (we have some very stubborn weeds here, optional again) 6) Add compost, till it all again 2 times. 7) Plant and enjoy. The compost I used was all from our own compost pile. Leaves, grass clippings, food scraps, paper products, chipped wood from a dead tree we pulled down, animal waste; it all goes into the compost pile, and costs nothing extra. You could also toss in ash from a wood stove/fireplace/fire pit, adds carbon and helps aerate the soil. You don't need a lot to start, so just starting with a small amount, it'll build up more each year. It takes a lot of work, but it is doable with a much lower cost. Just be sure to use a rear tine tiller to work it, they do MUCH better on clay soil. You can buy used ones pretty cheap, or rent one if you won't use it often.

[@handlesrstupid123]

You can look into hugelkulture where you bury wood, Ive been burying wood chips in my clay this year in a double dig. I work completely with hand tools (I got a broadfork tgis year but you need a mattock and grub hoe the basically need to chop the earth up with something akin to an axe) Also I bury tree branches and such way lower. Also input roadkill into the dirt, with compost from the kitchen and in 2 years you will have awesome soil. That is the cheapest way I have found.

[@paradiselost9946]

gypsum... gyprock... go talk to plasterers. i leave the offcuts and busted sheets lying around, just plonk everything on top and forget about. put the hoe through after a year or two. nope, only time i cant stand clay is digging trenches, when you cant get the stuff back in and it ALWAYS seems to rain for the two months that youre doing it...

[@Delosian]

Isn't the problem with the particle size of the soil? Soil is made up of sand, silt, clay, and organics (humus) added to it. For loam soil, the best growing soil, you want 20% clay, 40% silt, and 40% sand, and about 5% organics (humus) added to that. The problem with clay is that the particle size is really small so it retains water very well, but that means runoff and water not getting to lower layers, which is bad for trees, and too much water rots the roots of vegetables. Ripping the clay breaks up the clay and breaks the hardpan, which allows water to move into the lower levels, but it will compact again over time. Also, gypsum really only works for high sodium (sodic) clays.

[@AscheOfTheLake]

It takes effort, but tilling in more organic material each year helps. Our property is a compacted clay slab, I've tilled in compost, manure, and char and had success.

[@ourv9603]

Add wood. !

[@shaneoconnor6565]

Gypsum only works on sodic clay.. better off with organic only

[@mrdobalina3451]

34k views and 11 likes? I don’t get it… Press the like button people!

[@billiebruv]

Cultivation is the other worst thing for creating soil

[@doncook3584]

Can’t watch. We all have tractors…right???

[@AscheOfTheLake]

It can be done with a walk behind tiller too.

[@MeanOldLady]

I have very similar soil but less brown & a lot more orange. On a plot like that, yeah, I'd churn it up with a tractor first just to get something going on there. But otherwise I section off areas here & there as Terra Preta burn pits (basically ancient middens + bio-char) for next year's growth. - /watch?v=DnTaWiO5Eso (David the Good)