Amending concrete

[Daidohead]

Hello All, I have just purchased a couple of acres just North of Red Bluff California. My property sits right on the Sacramento river. I believe I am in zone 8, It can get as low as 15f in winter and as high as 115f in summer. The soil texture here is beautiful when damp, sloppy when wet, and hard as concrete when dry. I'd like to have a veg garden planted in the spring. My question ; What can I do to keep the soil from setting like cement everytime it gets dry ? I am very new to gardening so please feel free to treat me as such.


Thank you in advance. Mark

 

[PunkinPeep]

Welcome to TEG!

I don't know the answer to your question, but rest assured someone here does. I'll be interested to learn too.

 

[beavis]

I would opt for raised beds, on top of your existing soil.

 

[journey11]

Mark,

I've got red clay here, so dense you could probably use it to make pottery! What I do is add loads and loads of organic matter: compost, leaves, manure, animal bedding, bark from the woodpile, spent hay, grass clippings anything like that. It does take a while to build up your soil's tilth. Faithfully adding organic matter over the years will pay off big time and it usually takes about 2-3 years to see the results. (In the meantime, you could do some raised beds like Beavis mentioned).

Hit up local stables and farmers for manure. Start composting everything from your household--all veggie scraps, coffee grounds, papertowels. Keep an eye out for people tossing leaves to the curb for pickup in the fall. Get some chickens and let them do what they do best... You get the idea.

And mulch -- heavily mulch around your garden plants once the ground has warmed up and things are starting to really grow. 3-4" of mulch will stabilize the moisture and texture of the soil around your plants and help to keep it from turning into concrete.

Good luck with your gardening endeavors! Hope this helps!

 

[beavis]

Mark,

I've got red clay here, so dense you could probably use it to make pottery! What I do is add loads and loads of organic matter: compost, leaves, manure, animal bedding, bark from the woodpile, spent hay, grass clippings anything like that. It does take a while to build up your soil's tilth. Faithfully adding organic matter over the years will pay off big time and it usually takes about 2-3 years to see the results. (In the meantime, you could do some raised beds like Beavis mentioned).

Hit up local stables and farmers for manure. Start composting everything from your household--all veggie scraps, coffee grounds, papertowels. Keep an eye out for people tossing leaves to the curb for pickup in the fall. Get some chickens and let them do what they do best... You get the idea.

And mulch -- heavily mulch around your garden plants once the ground has warmed up and things are starting to really grow. 3-4" of mulch will stabilize the moisture and texture of the soil around your plants and help to keep it from turning into concrete.

Good luck with your gardening endeavors! Hope this helps!

I could not have said it better, great advice!

 

[Ridgerunner]

First of all, welcome to the forum. Glad you are here.

What you do and how you approach the clay problem will depend on your method of gardening. Are you planning on the "traditional" turning a large area and planting rows of crops or are you planning to only do a small intensive plot. Several people on here do containers. Some people try to go organic and some do not. There are many different ways to do things.

Whichever way you go, I agree with adding lots of organic material. I have a similar problem with clay. This next season will be my third season here, growing in a 50' x 75' "traditional" garden. My procedure varies a bit depending on what I am planting and the method I use (transplant, direct seed, raised hill) but I will usually use a hoe to scrape out a trench about 2" to 3" deep, fill it with compost of some sort, mix it up with the clay, then plant in/on top of that.

I also mulch certain plants heavily, usually spreading two or three layers of newspaper around the plant and covering it with grass clippings or well dried wood chips to hold the newspaper in place. All that organic material gets worked into the ground the next season plus the benefit I get from mulching during the growing season.

Speaking of growing season, I'll give you these three links to help determine yours. I'm right on the border so I get three different zones when I use these, 6, 7, and 7A, so I figure anything that is good for all these zones 5, 6, 7 and 8 has a chance here.

Arbor Day Zip Code Planting Zone
http://www.arborday.org/treeinfo/zonelookup.cfm

Zip Code Planting Zone
http://www.gardenweb.com/zones/zip.cgi

Zip Code Planting Zone
http://www.garden.org/zipzone/

I'd suggest visiting your county extension agent's office and see which phamplets and bulletins they have you might be interested in. You should be able to find them in the phone book under county government. Here in Arkansas, I can get a different brochure for each crop, telling me the time to plant, type of soil conditions they like, which varieties do best, how to harvest, etc. One of the more useful is a calendar telling me what to do each month in my area. For example, in December I can plant garlic, lettuce in a cold frame, certain salad greens, and English peas, lime the soil if it needs it, get a soil test, order catalogues, and order seeds. The list for April is much longer.

Another suggestion. If you plan on sticking around this forum, and I hope you do, you might want to go to your profile and show your general area and zone. It does help to answer some questions and I think it adds a nice personal touch when we communicate.

 

[obsessed]

The previous posts have some really great advice. Organic matter is way important. Raised beds rock! Your extension service should be way helpful. And the local library as well as the archives here should give you more ideas.

I give more info but I cant say it better than was already posted!

 

[PunkinPeep]

The tip about calling your local extension office - that's a good idea (not that the rest of them weren't ). My extension office was able to recommend varieties of trees and plants that are known to grow well in this area. That helps a lot.

And of course, depending on what you want to do, there are certain things that grow naturally in your cement, so if you can find out about those, you can have a little beauty without as much work until you can get your garden going - or whatever you have in mind.

It will be neat to hear what you do with it.

 

[digitS']

Hi Mark, Welcome to TEG .

When I first became aware of the world, it was on my grandmother's little farm in Redding. I may have been only about 30 miles north of your home.

That doesn't mean that I know much about growing things in the Sacramento Valley, tho'. But, if you plant carrots for 3 year-olds and some foxglove so that they can stand there and look up inside the "gloves" - that will make life-long gardeners out of them, just about guaranteed.

You've gotten excellent advice! If you can put at least 1 cubic yard (and better, 2) of compost on every 100 square foot of your garden - that will take you a ways down the road to a better soil. But, here's a thought: Roots are awfully good for your soil. Grow something, even if it's turnips! Working plant material into your ground has a long-term benefit. If you can't get the ground in great shape in 2010, you can begin the process that leads to a wonderful garden.

Here's a link to your local Tehama County Extension.

You have something of an internet celebrity there in Red Bluff, Mike Garofalo with his Quotes for Those that Love Gardens, Gardening and the Green Way. Find that guy and learn everything he knows about gardening!

Steve

 

[Daidohead]

Thank you for the welcome and the advice. Based on my many minutes of experience I am excited about the possibilities around here.

The soil I am working with was brought up from the river bank and spread to a depth of about 18", My neighbor calls it loam. It drains very well and when it is damp a shovel slices right through it. It has a gritty feel to it. I have bent the tip of a shovel trying to dig when the soil was dry. I am thinking that adding lots of organtic matter is a good place to start.

I have a source for horse manure, all I want to load and haul. The manure is mixed with pine shavings and has been sitting dry for months. I have already hauled and piled about 10 yards. I also have 8 chickens that are willing to contribute all they can.

Am I better off starting a compost pile now and tilling it in in early spring, or can I spread what I have now over my 40 x 40 garden area , till it in and let it do it's thing over the winter ?

Thanks agin, Mark