Mulch

[SIP Gro-Tubs]

Originally Posted by Durgan

My underlying soil is heavy clay. In the small cultivated area (about 1000 square feet) 100 cubic yards of compost has been added over about 8 years. About 8 cubic yards of wood chips are added each year. One year I added about 5 yards of washed mason sand to inhibit coagulating of the compost\clay mix. I notice even after 5 years this sand is still obvious.

My initial concern was to break up the clay. Eventually it was found that compost does the best job of making the clay friable. The wood chips are icing on the cake.

The combination of wood chips and compost are considered indispensable, and both must be added yearly. I also like a cover crop, of red annual clover but I cannot afford to allow an area so small to be idle while it does its miracle so usually don't grow the cover crop-meaning the season is too short.

Fortunately, I don't have any rocks. A downside is there is no water table. Two feet down is almost a cement base and no water permeates. All my water comes form the surface, which can be a misery in a very dry year. No wick effect for me.

Gypsum is the best for making clay friable.