Double Digging...Single Digging...ahhh 1.5 Digging

[joshuaa]

Our garden is on the coast of South Carolina and unbelievably, we have clay soil. After getting our soil samples tested at Clemson University and buying all of the different soil additives ( lime, Clay Soft, etc. ) we started ' Double Digging '. After realizing we need to be super human to pull this off..we decided to try this approach: We would dig down around 9-12" and fill a wheelbarrow. Add mulch, lime, etc...mix it all together. Then we would garden fork and ( try ) to break up the clay another 5-8" down. Fill the hole with the wheel barrow contents and repeat. I like to refer to this as 1.5 digging. My question is, does this seem like a good approach for amending the soil?

[Newt]

Hi Joshuaa,

Good that you had your soil tested. As to double or even 1.5 digging, that will help to amend your soil. I've found that adding organic matter in the form of compost is one of the best ways of improving the tilth and drainage of clay soil. I don't know what Clay Soft or etc is, but the compost should be most helpful. I do not recommend peat moss. You don't say if you are putting in a veggie or flower garden, but you should find these sites helpful as well.

http://csf.colorado.edu/perma/no_till.html
http://www.ondelmarva.com/peat.html
http://soils.usda.gov/sqi/soil_quali...gy_primer.html
http://soilfoodweb.com/
http://www.ranchomondo.com/compost/phfactor.htm

Newt