Feet of clay

I started gardening in Atlanta, where Georgia Red Clay is its own meme. I know what digging a hole in clay and refilling it gives you - leftover dirt. So much dirt packed into that hole. It used to shock me when I moved to Florida a few years later, that holes could barely be filled up with their former contents once dug. You actually lose dirt when you dig. Sand settles, sand washes away, but doesn’t compact like clay. 

Getting open land has its down sides. Trees and shrubs can build the soil, but this plot hasn’t been planted for at least 12 years, just grass clumps and low shrubs. There is A LOT of clay. So I try to think of all that free dirt I’m getting as I start to plant these 30 or so willow starts currently in pots. It’s slippery wet red clay right now, thick and pure enough to make pottery. Maybe I should change craft markets? 

The north boundary of the farm has 
definite drainage issues.

In a way, I’m fine with it. I know what clay takes, and how long. I’ll have to buy some compost and mulch this year, and can build up the soil myself as I develop and plant in following years. Today I’m just laying down hay to keep the mud  from drying rock hard in the sun, and it will get worked into the mix later. I also joined ChipDrop.com to receive free wood chips from tree clearing companies in my area. I’m especially hopeful that works out, as a way to fill the very low areas and add some organic matter. 

On the positive side, clay holds a lot of nutrients and just needs to be broken and built up and free to support larger shrubs that build their own topsoil. Leaves, branches, bugs and animals that leave organic waste around. 

A tractor would come in handy right now. 

~~I started this post on Monday. It’s now Saturday, and we stopped briefly at the farm on Wednesday to check out the state of the soil. We also needed to measure the driveway to be sure a dump truck will make it down the drive to deliver compost. And I have a hunch. 

After we do an initial check, I take the shovel and walk over to a low place that has the remnants of an old burn pile, mostly a large charred stump and some stones in a vague perimeter. I shoved some grasses away and sure enough, real dirt, black dirt, likely all over the spot. Free dirt, just have to move it over to the rows and work it in. Maybe enough for the whole plot. Since the sun was going down, I didn’t check along the creek or under the neighbor’s overhanging trees, but I bet there’s more good dirt there too. 

The problem with this discovery is that I didn’t get those areas cleared. Part of the job the graders did was to strip the grasses off in an area big enough for this winter’s plantings. It’s about a 20x30 foot plot, neatly nestled into the drive area so it’s handy to the truck. Now I see that area is not the best dirt, but getting those other areas cleared will be impossible without handing more money to guys with machines. 

This is the area cleared for planting, 
right next to the drive

A tractor would come in handy right now. 

We have looked at several, on Craigslist and sitting on the roadside with a sign on it. I have the money set aside for it, but in getting the tractor, I also have to get a trailer to haul it or a shed to store it. If I do a shed, I have to get a foundation built first, and we’re back to guys and machines. 

Neither of us are in super-good health right now. Winter also has a way of depressing the motivation and also, I just really hate the cold. The likelihood of us getting a foundation in by spring is very small. 

But, what can we do ourselves is my fallback position. How can I get my pots in the ground asap and give them a decent bed to grow in? And how can I prepare 2 new beds for the 170 new stakes that are arriving in a few months? 

My current solution is to fork the first plot, avoiding compacting the mud more by digging it up. Then I’ll get a truckload of compost delivered and spread it, with the burn pile dirt and plenty of cut straw to cover. That should be enough for the pots to get going. 

For the 2 future beds, I’ll fork and compost and throw a cover crop over it, mostly winter grasses and field peas. I’ll cover it with cut straw and hopefully the warmer days this winter will give those nitrogen fixing plants some time to grow. Maybe by spring I’ll have a tractor and shed in the works and can then pick up from there, turning over the cover crop, adding more topsoil and covering with weedblock fabric. 

OK, we’ll see how it goes.