Bummer SteveP I have to deal with clay soil too. I've never used compost burr, but my nursery recommends tilling it in.
If your soil is in really badly compacted, I agree some manual intervention is necessary unless you have a few seasons to wait for natural processes. I have tried many but none is a once and done quick solution.
Clay soil does need some type of maintenance to counterbalance settling. I've done the cover crops as in post 10 and it is my best bed. The roots were too difficult for me to turn over. I had to cut it down and wait a year for the roots to decompose.
I've added Black Cow compost just by layering and it was wonderful in moderation. Too much just sitting on top and it adds to the compaction. I dug deep planting holes to mix the compost in and now it is good. I didn't see any benefit to just topping it to a 12 inch raised bed, it gave me another layer to chisel thru.
One year a friend thought I should use pretty wood chips as mulch, so I bought pine bark nuggets for the tomato bed. I had to lay it on thick to tame the weeds. At the end of the season I scraped off the top layer to save it in the garage for the next year. What was left behind partially decomposed over the winter and by season two left a very nice crumbly layer that was folded in at the next planting.
Leaves (mostly shredded) just sat on top and didn't compost in a very dry winter. Again, folding them in was key. It does take a season to decompose or you will have a very crunchy top layer to work with that year. If you have normal moisture , they will decompose if they are shredded. Large leaves are a mucky mess.
A local friend scoots around on a ride on and adds bags of sand to her clay soil when she plants and has a wonderful yard. On the opposite side I have a bed filled with purchased topsoil that was very sandy and it is a concrete mess now so approach with caution.
A mix of amendments imho will be much improved over a singe ingredient .
- Lisa
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