😅 Conquering Clay Soil: Tips for Managing Challenging Gardens

This week I want to share my experience working with clay soil, a far cry from Florida's sandy soil!

You may or may not know, I live between North Florida and Southwest North Carolina (summer months). 😃

Challenges of Clay Soil

When we went to NC for two weeks in May, I started planning what I might want to do for my landscaping. That included making myself familiar with the existing plants which were put in over the years and the native plants that I might promote and nurture. I quickly realized that the soil was like clay, which was something I was not really familiar with, being used to Florida's sandy soil. The clay causes the ground to hold the water and as it dries, it compacts.

Building Raised Beds for Better Drainage

When we went back to NC for two and a half months to work on improvements to our cottage, I worked on the landscaping. In June, there was a drought, so I decided to develop raised beds with landscape timber we had.

I did the best I could to break up the clay soil and added 4 to 5 inches of soil that was made from humus and organic matter on top of the clay-filled bed to allow a certain amount of drainage. My logic was to allow the roots of the plants to grow and become strong in the upper surface and the deeper roots could grow into the clay underneath, as they seemed to do in NC. Adding more like 12" of media would have been best, but this year I did not have time for that.

Managing Pests During Wet Weather

In July the drought was over, and the rain came almost daily. At first, I was happy to see worms in the organic matter, which I did not see in the clay soils. However, the beds became too wet and held the moisture too long. Then, I started noticing something was eating the plants. I started seeing slugs, a couple of types of slugs, plus snails and other wet bugs.

Beer was one of the ways I killed them. (That story is in last week's newsletter, if you didn't get it, let us know and we will send it to you!). I was diligent and got that under control. Thankfully, the plants started growing again.

Adjusting to Drier Weather

Then August came and it stopped raining every day, so the soils were no longer staying saturated. The wet pests and diseases eased up. Now I had to keep an eye out for wilting.

Preparing for the Next Season

We will be leaving to go back to Florida soon. What we leave will have to take care of itself. Several things lasted from the year before, hopefully more will make it through the winter until we come back.

Now when I get back to Florida, I will be anxious to see what has happened to my plants in the heat and after being hit by Hurricane Debby.

Have you dealt with clay soil? What has been your experience?

Don't forget to check out our YouTube Channel by clicking on the button below. It's a work in progress so be patient with us!

See our YouTube channel here!