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Aurora, IL

I was wondering about planting mounds. I have clay at about 10" below grade. Obviously I can't go any deeper. I plan on using coo manure and Mycro and the soil from the patch. Any other suggestions?

4/29/2012 10:43:04 AM

Huntsville Texas

Is your garden on any kind of slope? I have always had the best success with both deep digging and raised mounds over that, but if you just deep dig in clay you can get a pit that doesn't drain, and stagnates and causes root rot. If on a slope, I go down about two feet, put in a layer of gravel and a drain pipe that exits lower on the hill, then mix at least part of the clay, mixed with gypsum, with your compost and good soil,filling the hole up to a foot or more higher than the original level.
For extreme results, I will border the deep dug, raised garden with sections of dead logs 12-24" thick and at least 4' long or longer, burying the logs up to half their thickness in the soil, then filling the mound to overflowing, actually covering the logs with several inches of soil. as they decay, they provide nutrients and stored moisture. With one mound I used a post hole digger and buried a 1' thick log, about 5'long, vertically in the center of the hole about 3-4' deep, so the top stuck up over the mound about6"; the idea was to try to wick up deep soil moisture, and give one really deep access for taproots.
Also, there were some excellent suggestions and sources about using biochar added to the soil that might help.

4/29/2012 11:40:00 AM

Buffalo, New York

get a broadfork....u can get a few inches deeper.

4/29/2012 11:53:55 AM

Onawa,Iowa

I second the broadfork idea, I did the normal ten inch depth for the heat cables then went down another sixteen inches with the broadfork, worked great. No more hard pan in the 8' x 8" area. Inline ripper only went down nineteen inches two years ago, now down to 26" should let her breath and make the worms come from the other side of the planet.

4/29/2012 12:24:54 PM

Annapolis Valley Nova Scotia

Coo manure sounds good!

4/29/2012 1:08:59 PM

South Hero, VT

Is coo manure from pigeons?

Seriously though, the suggestions above are all good. I added loads of topsoil, manure, and cover crops to amend my clay soil in addition to using a broadfork. My patch is now higher than my neighbors property, and on a slight slope, so that when the water drains down to the hardpan, it seeps onto his property and into his basement.

If he wasn't such a jerk, I'd feel guilty.

10 inches of good topsoil is what I and a friend have.

4/29/2012 1:47:50 PM

Aurora, IL

So, I can dig down a few more inches, add some gypsum to the clay to soften it and then make my mound? I just put up the store bough greenhouses today and still need to make the mounds. I was thinking of smaller mounds. Is a broad fork the same a a pitch fork? I plan on making my mound using composted cow manure, worm castings and soil from the patch. I also had the concern of going into the clay and making a pit that the water would puddle in.

The overall patch slopes to the east and will contain 2 plants.

Ya'll are great with helping me!

4/30/2012 1:08:14 AM

Oakland,Maine

This is a broadfork.

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/c-469-broadforks.aspx?source=google_tools_supplies&9gtype=search&9gkw=broadfork&9gad=11339847493.1&gclid=CO3s0paF3K8CFQrf4AodqClTiQ

4/30/2012 3:25:04 AM

South Carolina

Check out my diary when you have a chance to see the broadforks that I sell. Best garden tool I've ever used, hands down... Hard work, but well worth the effort.

4/30/2012 12:38:57 PM

Aurora, IL

Looks like a good tool, but way to $$ for my unemployed ass.

5/3/2012 11:33:05 PM

Huntsville Texas

there are plans for making them; i'll try to find some for you later.

5/4/2012 6:13:45 AM

Aurora, IL

thanks Vimes

5/4/2012 5:40:45 PM

East Jordan, MI

lok in brys diary from 2011. It starts here
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=171709

he upgraded toward the end because the handles he started with werent strong enough and the timber he started with had to have some bolts to keep it from splitting -- so look at all the pics.

5/5/2012 7:17:20 AM