My soil here is such hard clay that the water pools everywhere around my house, and it's very acidic. (The arborist said he's never seen such lush pines.) I'm new to gardening in this area and am thinking I should just make raised beds. Any ideas?

I don't think you would regret making raised beds in clay territory. I did, years ago, and haven't regretted it in the least. One of the many bennys is that they seem to me to not only dry a bit early, but also warm up earlier too. With large amounts of organic amendments concentrated into the beds everything you plant will grow better due to the tilth of the soil & more oxygenation at the roots (from the greater porosity in the soil). Good luck with whatever you decide.

Mari, in the Willamette Valley, OR, USA, z.8b

The best amendment for any soil type is lots of compost. For heavy clay soils rotten wood products is also excellent. It's actually better and cheaper than gypsum. I use lots of rotten untreated sawdust in all my compost stockpiles. It comes premixed from the tons of horse manure that I collect from the local equine clinic.

When we moved to our house 16 years ago, th soil was also clay (almost all of Los Angeles is) and hadn't been worked with for decades. We had to rent a jack hammer to break into it! I then double dug all the vegie and flower beds, though with the invention of lasagna gardening that may not be necessary now. 16 years of compost, compost, and more compost later the soil is dark and fluffy. Listen to the Captain!

I was thinking about planting a cover like vetch for a few years after I even out the holes. It's an acre lot. Do you think that would work? I'm also clearing and chipping, should I scatter the chips around?


Can I use pine needles in my compost? It's been going for 3 years now but I've always been afraid they would make it acidic.`

Right after we moved in I ruptured a disc double digging so all the outside plans came to a screeching halt. All better now and totally excited to start, but is it too late in the season to lasagna for a veggie garden? Zone 5 NW New Joisey.

I never knew how blessed I was by having beautiful soil at my old house!

Thanks-Briana

I promise I won't ever complain again!LOL -Briana

If you're willing to plant a cover crop for a few years, you are in fat city! Plant a mix of clovers, vetch, and tall fescue.

At the same time, use as much cheap carbon as you can find to mulch the soil. I'm thinking of free sawdust from a local cabinet shop. Don't ever use any sawdust from any preserved woods. The preservatives are designed to kill the microbes in the soil that rot wood. This is not what you want.

You can use pine needles in your compost. The microbes in the compost will take care of the pH for you.

The best thing you can do for your soil is to get a handle on watering it. Water infrequently but deeply. Deeply means for an hour or more at a time. You cannot over water unless you get runoff. Infrequently means monthly during the cool months and no more than weekly during the hottest part of summer. If your grass wilts between waterings, then water more next time.

Thank You so much for a great answer. I was going to use the cover for the area I want to turn to lawn/flower beds. I wanted to lasagna for the veggie garden this year.-thanks again, Briana

Briana
I too seem to move from nice gardens where if built up the soil to yards with hard clay. I found that raised beds ( even without built sides) was the best way to get a garden going. That way all of your hard work and compost stays where you are planting and not where you walk. I also found leaves did a good job. being cheap and lazy I got my brother who runs a lawn care business to bring them to me and dump them in the garden, he also brought grass clipings from untreated yards. This is all stuff he normally would take to the dump. I was closer and had no lines to wait in. Maybe you could find someone like that in your area.

I decided I was going too do exactly that-raised beds, no walls. The guy on the corner had about 20 bags of leaves out ALL WINTER. I was going to stop and introduce myself-they're new-and ask for the bags. I'm ok with being the weird neighbor. Of course just when I want them I drive by today and THEY'RE GONE. (SMACK FOREHEAD!!) My luck! I'm now asking neighbors for newspapers. (Ya gotta love the qizzical look they give you.)-thanks Bri

That's ok, probably most of our neighbors think we're weird at first. Until they see our beautiful flowers and taste the produce we share with them!

Briana...You have received lots of good advice. I would also encourage the raised bed, no boarder method. One suggestion: save your pine needles and use them as your top mulch on your raised beds. You can put newspaper under them for extra weed block too. This will give you more free time to work on the rest of your lot, as you won't be weeding your beds as much, and over time, the needles and paper will break down and enrich your garden soil. Sheet composting is a wonderful thing and the pine needles make an attractive mulch/weed block. Be sure to check your pH too. Good luck and happy gardening.

I have at least 12 HUGE lush white pines right outside my door-not a problem with the needle mulch. thanks-Bri

In reading the book 'Lasagna gardening', she states that you have to be careful of using pine needles because they tend to be acidic. I tried to offset this last year with more alkaline wood ash. If pine needles can be used as easily as leaves, my procrastination has converted my entire forested lot into one big lasagna garden!! (unknowingly I am SO progressive) Any other information or opinions on composting pine needles?

Your soil is hard clay and you say it is very acidic, how do you know? A soil test? What is the pH? The wee particles that clay is made of tend to cling tightly together and not allow water to move through, so puddling on the surface is pretty normal for clay and does indicate the need for lots of organic matter to improve drainage. Organic matter in clay soils tends to seperate the particles so there is someplace for water to flow, and allow roots to reach out. So the best thing you can do is add lots of oraganic matter. Whatever you can get for free is best, tree leaves, grass clippings, any of that kind of "stuff" other people throw away. If not much of that is available then peat moss can be used if you also add lots of manure to make up for the lack of nutrients in the peat moss.