Creating a New Garden Bed In Clay Soil 

Thank you!

Absolutely! I continue to amend and improve every year- I think it will work just fine for you. Hope your gardening season goes great!

Hello & thank you so much! That means a lot to me. The solarization will work great for ridding your bed areas of grass & weeds- you can even use it at the end of the season to burn off any remaining weeds or grass that have popped up through the growing season, after your veggies are done.

Thank you!

@@GrowfullywithJenna You are very welcome 😊 J

I agree. After five years of working with the soil in my raised beds, I am finally pleased with my efforts. I have listened, I have learned, and I have created.

Sounds like you are off to an amazing start, Michelle! Best wishes!

Best of luck with your new garden!

Oh goodness- If I moved to 9b, I'd have to learn to garden all over again too! Best of luck!

What an awesome gift you are giving him! That sounds like it will work well- just that addition of compost will help so much.

@@GrowfullywithJenna Well I am the compost master. But I am almost out, Have to dig into my winter compost, weather has not cooperated,

Great to hear from a fellow Ohioan! Have fun creating new planting beds!

Good stuff!

I see some farmers slowly coming over to this way of thinking- we've got one down the road who has started using cover crops extensively and is trying to minimize his sprays as much as possible. It's promising, especially in an area dominated by conventional farming techniques. And thank you so much- I really appreciate the support & encouragement you've given me along the way. It means a lot to me. Hope this garden season is a wonderful one!

Wood chips are such a great resource! Where do you get yours? ChipDrop isn't active in this area. and I've not had great luck with the local tree trimming companies. I'm about to rent a chipper myself!

@@GrowfullywithJenna We’re lucky to have a few great tree trimming companies here. I usually call the people who took down our maple tree for us and they’re happy to drop em off for free. They have a long wait list but it’s worth it!

Thanks!

Congratulations on the new property & best of luck with that clay soil!

Oh no! Sorry to hear about that truck-- sounds like you've had the same weather as me- wet, wet, wet (and snow mixed in for fun 😩). I hope it dries out for you soon!

Thank you, Dawn! I'm glad you found my channel too 😊. I hope you can find some useful tidbits here. Best of luck with that clay!

Thank you!

Thank you so much!

I'm glad it worked well for you!

Thanks

Absolutely. Improving soil health is always my focus (I do not have good native soil).

@@GrowfullywithJenna My garden is clay. In my first year I built raised beds and filled them with my version of Mel’s mix mainly to improve drainage and help seedings establish their roots before reaching the rock hard clay. I dedicated a large area to growing Comfrey so I always have biomass for my compost plus the comfrey tap roots go deep into the clay. In other beds I broadcasted alfalfa seeds as their tap roots go deep into the clay. I grew sunflowers, sweetcorn and broad beans, again mainly for biomass for composting plus I left their roots in the soil. Over the first winter I grew more broad beans and leeks. The roots of leeks are massive so they also help break up the clay soil, again producing biomass for the compost and leaving roots in the soil. For me, it took about three years of creating my own compost, using it to top dress my beds, leaving roots in the soil etc. before I no longer saw any signs of a clay soil base. In years one and two I found it wierd how I sometimes saw clumps of clay near the top surface of the raised beds. I only imagine they came from rodents digging. After three years, whenever I stuck my dibber into the soil, all I saw was great soil, full of life and worms. I don’t know if it’s scientific or not but I now have a measure of what good soil is without using a microscope or refractometer. If each time you stick your dibber into the soil and you see a worm, you have soil full of life. I genuinely can’t believe how my many worms are in my soil, for me it’s amazing from where I started. The biggest lesson I have learnt from trying to grow in clay soil is that you have to plan to create a constant surplus of compost which ultimately means you either need to dedicate an area to grow biomass for composting and/or ensure you grow specific types of crops which you know will produce biomass for your compost. The second biggest lesson I learnt was from watching Elaine Ingham videos. Leave the roots of plants in the soil, never pull the roots out. Whenever I help friends start a vegetable garden, I find it difficult to teach them the importance of creating a composting system. For most newbies, their mindset of what compost is is the bagged stuff you buy from shops. Most people who have never done any gardening in their life before just don’t get the concept of composting.

Thanks for sharing your technique, David!

You're welcome!

Thank you! 😊

👍💚

You're welcome!

You're welcome!

Ooh- I didn’t think about hastening the breakdown- great point!

Grandpa Jude sounds like one smart guy!

You're welcome- you too!

You are welcome!

Thank you so much, Susan! And, I agree, 100%- clay can actually be wonderful to garden in, once you work with it a bit. Take care!

Yes- It really is! I save money on a gym membership this way 😆.

I had a lot of fun with the straw bale gardens- and at the end of the season that rotted straw made an excellent amendment for my soil. I hope it goes well for you! Gotta love those pigs- nature's rototillers!

Glad you think so!

Sounds like a good use of resources to me! Keep an eye on those potatoes- I did the same thing last year and deer mowed a bunch of mine off. I ended up having to put one of those black plastic deer netting fences up around them.

@@GrowfullywithJenna Yes I have a back up plan. Actually I'll probably protect them with a fence when they're young and remove it when the get larger. Greg from Maritime gardening up in Canada claims the deer there didn't bother his potatoes so they must be polite Canadian deer lol.

@@franksinatra1070 haha 😆 they must be!

Yes, definitely!

Thanks! I wouldn't have half of those, but the farm I used to work at was getting rid of them-- I couldn't pass them up. I prefer my in-ground beds, but do like the raised beds for early plantings when my soil is still really wet & cold.

My brother in law made that wonderful thing! I keep trying to convince him to sell them, but no luck yet. I've had so many questions about it!

@@GrowfullywithJenna That would be great if you can sell them. I think it would be a wonderful business.

Nice!!

I try to mix everything up as much as a I can (though with no real rhyme or reason 😆).Like you, I try to avoid monocropping!

Sounds like you've got some wonderful things going on there! Best of luck with all of your projects. The broadfork was handmade by my brother-in-law and is apparently called a 'modified' broadfork. My sister just showed him this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-K4krslH2jgU.html and he built it!

Yes! Growing them in my amended clay soil is my favorite way to grow potatoes! I much prefer to grow them in-ground (check out the video where I compare 4 methods ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-GKFB_bMQvQo.html), but I do the no-dig bed both to break in a new plot and when the ground is too wet to plant (as it is right now). Thanks!

@@GrowfullywithJenna I just watched it! Your results line up with my especially with the straw bale performing really poorly. The way I deal with overly wet soils is that I plant the potatoes very densely. There might be enough water to drown 1 plant but if you had 4-8, there's not enough water to go around. Last year I planted potatoes around 10 inches deep around this time (way too early). We had 48 hours of rain and the seed pieces were submerged under at least 5 inches of water for a few days. They still made it and the yield was relatively unaffected in comparison to my other trials.

@@theurzamachine Wow! That is really interesting! And good to know. Thank you for sharing your experience. I would have probably just given those potatoes up for lost. Impressive!

Nice! Sounds like you've got a good method going.

Best of luck towards your beautiful oasis!

I feel your pain- we have areas with hardpan and it is no picnic! I'm glad the raised beds are working for you-- planting with a jackhammer would not be my idea of fun 😆! Best wishes for a wonderful gardening season!

I've tried to talk my brother-in-law into into making & selling these- but so far, no dice! I think if you're willing to let the plot sit long enough so that the wood chips can break down, that's a wonderful plan!

I did sunflower & sorghum sudangrass at my folks place last summer... chopped & dropped and just let all the residue sit on top of the plot this winter. I'm very curious to see what it's looking like this spring (I've not checked on it yet)! I'm curious what you used to terminate. My poor dad ended up out there with a machete, chopping up sorghum... not the most efficient tactic, but he actually seemed to enjoy it 😄. We don't have a bushhog-type mower that can tackle something like that!

@@GrowfullywithJenna if you wait to let the sorghum or cereal rye send up a seed head *with pollen anthers* and then cut it you shouldn't have much regrowth. *TIMING* It's all in the timing. Once plant shifts to reproductive stage then it can't (?)/won't send up new growth when you cut it. Trying to terminate prior to pollination allows plant to 'retry'. Of course, the entire plot sowing will NOT be on exact same schedule so be prepared to whack the stragglers that resprout. Edit: terminate with weed eater. I've done small beds with pruning shears when I felt 'ambitious'.

I'm sure that constant rain is very frustrating. Where I live, we haven't had a good rainfall since last May, it's hard not to be a little envious. Too little or too much, both are detrimental.

@@GratiaHomestead water is kind of like salt. At least you can add water, but I can't subtract it.

@@GratiaHomestead water is like salt. At least you can still add water, but I can't subtract it.

Being west of Chicago your probably a Cubs fan, or not. I moved from Chicago in 1990 to Baraboo WI, did not plant my tomatoes and peppers until June last year. I do have cold weather crops out there, but I will not plant my onions or potatoes until the first of May, last year they took a really bad hit in late April (fricken weather!). You must be out around the fox river, used to catch a shit load of channel cats out there. Rain is good. Have a great growing season.

Haha, I wish I moved that fast-I sped everything up in editing for the sake of fitting it in 😆. Same here with the rain and being behind- I don't think we got as much rain as you, but it does feel like it's been raining every other day for two weeks. Snow tonight and tomorrow. I have a sneaking suspicion we're going to go straight from this in to summer... but I hope I'm wrong! I hope it dries out for you soon!

Hi Lena- I think it sounds like you could plant this season, and have some really lovely results- especially since your wood chips are already broken down. I'm curious about the coffee bean bags- tell me more! Are they like the burlap sacks grain used to come in- and are you using them to block out weeds from growing around your plants?

I've heard that about the small grain sand (playground sand) too. I've also been told that one would need to add 50% sand by volume to make a difference in clay soil. I'm curious what you think about the areas where you've added sand- do you notice a difference? I'd be curious to hear the results of your comparison test!

​@@GrowfullywithJenna ​ It did make a difference in the spot where i dumped it but it was indeed quite a lot, I would not purchase sand just for that purpose unless maybe to mix in a raised bed dedicated to propagation or root vegetables. Will let you know! thanks for the ideas btw

It is much sturdier than the store ones ( a LOT heavier too). Apparently my sister just showed my brother-in-law this video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-K4krslH2jgU.html and he made it based on that. I've been looking for plans on line, as I've had lots of questions about it, but have yet to find any. If you find some, I'd love to know!

Thanks for sharing!

Adding aged wood chips is a great addition. Unfortunately, the broadfork I use was custom-made by my BIL and I've not been able to find a similar pre-made version for sale.

Great question! No- I don't plant my corn in these beds. Corn actually does relatively well in our clay soil- so I typically mix some composted manure into the soil and plant the corn on a large, flat plot. You can see an example in this video at around 11:20 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-YmHYcLs5N9s.html

Thanks. I use ground fabric much in the same way I use my tarps- as a temporary way to smother out weeds. I will never, ever put it down permanently again. I did in one of my first gardens and it was a nightmare. Even with wood chip mulch over top, the weeds eventually found their way into the fabric and were almost impossible to pull out (much more difficult than just pulling out of soil), When I did decide to remove it, it was difficult to remove and the soil underneath it seemed very compacted and wet. I'm sure it has its applications, but in my garden I'll stick to my biodegradable mulches.

Thank you, Jenna. I used it in one of my inground gardens last year and I have it in my both inground gardens this year. I haven't removed any of it at this time, but I do have mixed emotions about it myself. I knew you would give me your honest opinion and I like hearing others' opinions. Thanks again and God Bless!

Wow! After 45 years your soil is probably beautiful! I've been playing around with biochar and have been impressed with the results. I have a friend who swears by it and makes his own in large quantities- I need to learn his process!

@@GrowfullywithJenna I recently cut down a bunch of 30-40 foot trees, mostly spruce, so I have a lot of branches and wood that isn't burnable in a fireplace. I need to figure out how to make biochar safely and LEGALLY. I'll report back...

@@GrowfullywithJenna And, yeah, the soil looks a LOT better (we have 7 mulch piles) but it breaks down after five, ten years and you have to keep feeding it. Every carbon-based molecule we can find goes into the garden, but it turns into carbon dioxide so fast. Pure carbon stays.

Sounds like a great process- thanks for sharing!

It may vary depending on your lawn- but we have so many weeds and weedy grasses mixed in with the actual lawn that tilling through all those roots is quite difficult. And with cover crops, yes, leave the roots in the ground if you can!

Great to hear from fellow Ohioans! My brother-in-law made that fork, it's a modified broadfork. I've yet to find anything similar for sale!

Oh no!! And yep- it's snowing away here today!

@@GrowfullywithJenna Same :( The rental company was like "I don't think you want this tiller today" LOL so I rolled with it. Looks like it's being put off for a few more weeks! DANGIT OHIO CMON! 🤣 I guess I'll finish the fence in the meantime and plan which trellis' I'm going to be using. I have probably 200 more things to up pot anyhow so I suppose I'll work on that today too...

"Dangit Ohio Cmon" is right 😆

I like to put my strawberries in separate beds, just because I find it to be easier. Watermelons & cantaloupes I plant with my other veggies. Melons & watermelon grow great in my soil which is no where near sandy 😀

You can just let the roots rot away in to the soil if you like. Sometimes I will use a broadfork to break them up a bit without turning the soil. Same with the grass- I find that using a broadfork is helpful in breaking up the roots enough so that I can plant, you can also till... no need to remove the dead grass.

@@GrowfullywithJenna Thank you so much! That was very helpful!

Rye can be very persistent and the general recommendation for termination is to till under at less than 12" tall OR mow/crimp at anthesis (AKA during pollen shed and before seed production begins). The first time I used it, I cut it down at the wrong time and it just grew back again and again, so I ended up tilling it in, which helped, though I did still have some clumps that regrew. I just pulled them out and flipped them over by hand when they popped up. Terminating at anthesis is more effective because a lot the plants' energy stores are depleted at this point and it is not likely to grow back.

I've not found one like it for sale yet... though I keep looking as lots of folks have asked about it- my brother in law made the one that I use.

Yes- that's at least one benefit of clay, it holds on to nutrients and water. I think sand would be very challenging to grow in!

@@GrowfullywithJenna I'm trying not to judge it that hard and go with the flow~ with what prime creator gave me. Gardening on the surface of a planet is sacred because on most planets extraterrestrials can't live on the surface.

@@zephaniahmarion4890 great way to look at it!

Just watched your whole cover crop video - I love your channel!!

It depends a bit on which cover crop you're using and what the desired effects are... but for most cover crops you can mix into beds or allow them to remain on top of the soil as a mulch. Hopefully the cover crop video answered your questions, but if not, let me know!

I also weld.and did build my broad fork, But the basic design and Jenna has a upgrade and look improve, If it's movable into location. I might copy the extra part..thanks

My brother-in-law (also a welder) made it after my sister showed him this: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-K4krslH2jgU.html

I wish someone made a tutorial how to make it. Looks awesome!

@@NobodyNN659 maybe I can convince my BIL!

Thank you! The fenced in area is approx. 45' x 75' and the fence is 5' tall.

@@GrowfullywithJenna Thanks!

Oh... that is tough. Raised beds may likely be your best bet.

Sounds like you are giving your soil just what it needs... good stuff! My mom & dad do something similar at their place with the planks to walk on. I was a little worried as cold as it got a week or so ago, but peas are doing well- breezing right through this cold wet weather! Hope your multi-plantings go well this year!

You're correct- it is a modified broadfork

I have not. I try to always get 2nd or 3rd cutting alfalfa to avoid weed seeds.

It's slow going this year! Everything feels behind because of how grey & cold it's been. I'm ready for sunshine & green!

When planting into straight compost, do you ever have issue with how quickly it dries out?

@@GrowfullywithJenna not really. Maybe the top inch, but everything below that so far has stayed decently moist. But i am also installing a drip system to prevent dryout as well.

@@thomaslist252 thanks!

Blue would work just fine!

A little bit of everything, but I try to focus on things the rabbits won't eat (though they pretty much end up eating everything, so I often use temporary fencing to protect plants. Right now I've got fruit trees, elderberries, strawberries, haskaps, rhubarb, asparagus, onions, garlic... I'm probably forgetting something 😄. Regarding cardboard, the short answer is 'no'. The long answer, I talk about here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KvjeOv4E5GI.html at about 2:38

Sounds like that would work well!

Hello! You certainly don't have to do all the steps I added- it's just what has worked well for me. I'd recommend going ahead and planting, and then just continuing to work on improving that soil over time!

@@GrowfullywithJenna thanks Jenna!

My brother in law made it.

So basically the exact opposite of my approach 😆.... that's a lot of digging & tilling! My dad used to do something similar- he loved tilling that soil into powder!

.. Yes Sweetheart, even brothers and sisters in the same family have different preferences and growing techniques .. different soil types also .. I have 3 tillers that I enjoy operating .. a mini tiller, a small tiller, and a Heavy Duty Tiller. VRRrroooOOMMM VRRrroooOOMMM .. !! kiss kiss .. Love Kelly .. !! @@GrowfullywithJenna

Hello and you're welcome! Rye is very persistent and the general recommendation for termination is to till under at less than 12" tall OR mow/crimp at anthesis (AKA during pollen shed and before seed production begins). The first time I used it, I had a similar experience to you. I did end up tilling it in, which helped, though I did still have some clumps that regrew. I just pulled them out and flipped them over by hand when they popped up. I've not tried smothering it as you describe- if you go that route, just ensure it's completely covered give it plenty of time before planting with your crops because "Rye suppresses germination of seed after termination due to allelopathy. It can take up to 3 or 4 weeks for that effect to subside. Make sure to plan termination if early spring seeding is planned. Incorporating the residue after termination can speed up breakdown of the rye to allow earlier seeding." From: u.osu.edu/growingfranklin/2018/04/30/managing-over-wintered-rye-cover-crop-in-spring/

Oh, boy, looks like we've got some work to do! This is year two of our attempt at no-tilling. Will go with another cover crop option this winter, but for the current season to get plants in the ground in two weeks, tilling looks like the best option. Adding good compost and mulch will help restore the health of the soil, yes? Anything else you would recommend? So appreciate your time, Jenna!

@@BokenkampsInBaja I wouldn't fret too much about having to till it again- I do think it's probably the best option in this case, and you don't have to overwork the soil- just enough to incorporate the rye a bit. All that leaf and root residue from the rye, as well as the compost will definitely help attract and feed microorganisms. When you look at the long term health of your plot, this will help improve it... even with that little extra bit of tillage.

@@GrowfullywithJenna You're very kind and encouraging. Thank you, Jenna! May Jesus bless you and yours.

This is on my list of things to try this year! So many folks on my 'improving clay soil' video said they used gypsum, but it was my understanding it really on works on sodic clay soil (which I don't have). My plan is to do several amendment tests- possibly in buckets to I can really isolate them, and see what actually works!

@@GrowfullywithJenna definitely interested to see how your experiment goes

I mow (well, I 'mow' it down with a weedwhacker) at anthesis (AKA during pollen shed and before seed production begins) or it can be tilled under in early spring at less than 12" in height. In a small plot, I just turn it over with a fork instead of tilling.

@@GrowfullywithJenna Thank you. Good video!

Hello! First- I have to say how funny it is- the thought of getting manure from a zoo never even crossed my mind, but in the last week you are the 3rd or 4th person to mention it! It's genius! If it were me, I'd start by incorporating the manure and then planting with a cover crop right away. You could use rye if you wanted something that looked a bit more like 'lawn' while you're in the process of improving the area and it's a good one for clay. Another option for the areas that won't be garden is to plant white dutch clover- a perennial cover crop that's good for the soil. Timing for the gardens is something to keep in mind as well- you could really keep the area in cover crop till next year (for example, rye followed by buckwheat, followed buy daikon)- but if you want to plant a veggie garden this year, maybe just choose one cover crop- and after termination you can either work it into the soil and plant your veggies OR leave it on the soil surface like a mulch and just move it out of the way to plant.

@@GrowfullywithJennaAdmittedly, I mentioned the zoo poopy doo on another one of your clay videos! I had no idea until I accidentally stumbled upon it. We have a couple raised beds and some pot options, so I'm totally fine with using those while we fix the yard. We have a tree that has root rot because of the drainage and it needs to be fixed. And it's a water maple! It must be bad if the water maple thinks there is too much h20. -_- It sounds like rye would be a good starting place for us. I might put the clover in the corners by the trees that don't have grass. My husband likes coleus, but they didn't like it too much back there. Would you recommend using a broadfork, turning in the manure, and then planting the cover crops over top starting with the bald spots? I'm inclined to just do the entire yard (it's mostly clover, violets, dandelions, with some grass here and there), but I also tend to way overestimate my ability to get stuff done in a period of time. Haha! Now to find the seeds at a decent price. Thank you mucho, girlie!

@@thehotsinger ah ok- I thought maybe you did… and then someone else mentioned working at a zoo! A broadfork or even just a garden fork/ pitch fork will work to turn in the compost/manure- but if you need to use a tiller to mix it in for the sake of time- go for it.

It's the opposite of clay, in all the bad ways. It's abrasive, has no nutrients and doesn't hold any. Control water with raised beds and drainage. There are much better soil amendments, of which carbon is the best and carbohydrates are good but temporary. Biochar, compost, manure, leaves, cardboard, pine cones, newspaper, rotten wood. No such thing as green "waste".

Hi Suzanne- my opinion is very similar to James'- in fact I warn against using sand in my video about improving clay soil (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QS7qQVOzK7g.html), because, "When sand mixes with clay, it creates a soil structure akin to concrete. To create a real change in a clayey soil structure, you would need to add a 1:1 ratio of sand to clay. Considering the actual volume of clay soil underfoot, that equates to a lot of sand." extension.illinois.edu/blogs/good-growing/2018-01-31-does-sand-improve-clay-soil-drainage Now- after digging around a bit on this, fine playground sand is really to blame for this concrete-like effect. Some folks claim that be using 'river' sand, you won't get that same result. BUT- as James says, sand has no nutrients and doesn't hold any. It's not really doing your clay any favors.

I'm glad you asked- for my low lying areas I actually opted for hügelkultur beds ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-u8SWtuhL3so.html I found these work better than trying to build a bed on the soil that's always saturated.

@@GrowfullywithJenna thank you so much!

Hi Harley- check out this video, I show my seed starting set ups. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Jos0dKeWZOg.html The one I use the most is at 01:23 Also, this video breaks down my whole process: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hGDYbRsOX7M.html Hope this helps!

@@GrowfullywithJenna thank you.

Root plants like carrots go in now. Then the leafy greens. Then summer plants after frost.

😆

@@GrowfullywithJenna ;)

👍

Ooh- that is frustrating! I can't say mine's quite that bad... but I have to believe yours will improve eventually!

I know what you mean. I sure wish it didn't take looking food shortages and price hikes to convince people to grow their own food.

Growing organically and having fresh produce is worth something. At least you know what you put on it. And you can grow stuff you can't find in the store.

@@jamesvandamme7786 absolutely!!

Hoping someone else might weigh in on this. This is not something I have any experience with-sorry!

I'm a 'low-dig' gardener 😆

@@GrowfullywithJenna 😆😆😆