How to Deal with Clay Soil

You can plant in clay soils with a little preparation. Here's how the use of Soil Mender products can work wonders.

Yum Yum Mix® - 12 lb. bag
Item # H0018 		Yum Yum Mix® 2-1-1 Organic Fertilizer: Earth Food

each $14.95
Planters II - 10 lb. bag
Item # H0022 		Planters II: Natural Trace Mineral Fertilizer

each $10.95
Soil Mender® Compost - 40 lb bag
Item # 99744 		Soil Mender® Compost

One 40 lb bag $21.99
Soil Mender Humate
Item # H0019 		Soil Mender Humate

each $10.95
Earth Juice® Grow™ 2-1-1 16 oz. concentrate
Item # 99746 		Earth Juice® Grow™ 2-1-1 Organic Liquid Fertilizer

each $12.99
  • Topic: Soil
  • Author: Cindy Bellinger
  • Keywords: clay soil, soil preparation, soil mender, planting in clay soil
  • Date: July 2007

© All articles are copyrighted by High Country Gardens. Republication is prohibited without Permission.

Anyone who gardens here quickly acquires hands-on knowledge of miserable soil. Trying to turn this stuff into something habitable even for the most forgiving plants is not easy.

I’m in the process of completely redoing my garden and I must say I’ve fallen in love (all over again) with Soil Mender Blend Plus. It was fine before they added the “plus” but now it’s a dream.

Blend Plus breaks up hard packed clay. But you just can’t sprinkle it on top. You have to help things along.

Digging out the clay soil

  • if possible, choose a time after a good soaking rain
  • shovel out the bedding area or just the planting hole
  • use a sifter to cull big rocks; crumple the clods

Now amend with Blend Plus

  • get a big plastic tub or wheelbarrow
  • shovel scoops of the sifted soil into the mixing container
  • now scoop Blend Plus onto the pile

How much?
The bag suggests a 1 to 4 or 2 to 4 ratio. I often use 1 to 3. Through experience I’ve learned to use a pinch more of the Blend Plus when the soil is downright awful. Basically you can wing it and never go wrong. But it is an amendment, so don’t use it alone.

My Project of Late
I’ve spent a few weeks now digging out a pathway that I’ve lined with metal lath as a barrier to gophers. This translates into a lot of work. But as I begin amending the soil, I’m getting excited about all the possibilities.

Many years ago David Salman, President of Santa Fe Greenhouses, got to talking with Greg Birkenfeld, one of the owners of Soil Mender. “He had the cotton burrs and the manure, and I suggested putting them together to see what would happen. The mix was wonderful and became the Blend,” said Salman. A few years ago alfalfa and humates were added to make the Plus.

For plants that like clay soil (amazing, isn’t it?) the Blend Plus doesn’t diminish the clay but creates a condition that lets the plants better slurp up the nutrients. The proof is the bedding areas I redid last fall with Blend Plus, are now happily thriving and the flowers are just lovely.