The development of plants, their growth, flowering and fruiting are largely related to the quality of the soil on which they are planted. However, for dacha and household plots, inconvenient areas with insufficiently high soil fertility and quality are most often allocated. The most problems arise with heavy clay soil, which must be cultivated to improve its characteristics and beneficial properties.
What it is?
Clay soil is 80% clay and 20% sand. In this case, the percentage of clay components may vary significantly.The higher it is, the denser and heavier the soil is. It does not have a crumbly or grainy texture, which is why, when compressed into a lump, it forms a plastic mass from which various figures can be sculpted.
In terms of mineral content, such soil is considered rich, but “greedy”. This means that the soil contains enough nutrients for plant growth, but in a form that is inaccessible to them. In a dry state, it allows water to pass through easily, but when filled with it, it stops absorbing, which is why there is little water in the depths, and it stagnates on the surface, forming puddles and sticky dirt.
If the site has dense clay soil, in order to grow plants it needs to be refined, made lighter, looser, and moisture-permeable. This will have to be done in several stages and, possibly, more than once, since it tends to swim and sour in the surface layer, and increased acidity harms most plants.
Advantages and disadvantages of clay soil
Given the properties of clay soil, it is difficult to make it fertile and loose, but if you put in some effort, this can be achieved. Such soil has both pros and cons, which must be taken into account before the development of the site begins.
Advantages:
- High moisture content. Clay soils retain precipitation well, so when improving the top layer and using mulch, the garden, vegetable garden, berry or flower bed can be practically not watered.
- Clay contains many nutrients.If you make them accessible to plant roots, you can achieve a good harvest.
Flaws:
- Tendency to waterlogging of the upper layer with insufficient water supply to the underlying layers.
- Insufficient air permeability.
- Dense cracking crust in heat and drought.
- Too dense, heavy structure.
- Slow warming up in spring.
To make such soil fertile, you need to use several different methods at once.
Difference from sandy soils?
Clay soils contain varying amounts of sand and other substances. If there are more than 80% clay particles in the soil, then it can be considered simply pure clay. Using basic concepts, we can say that clay soil is dominated by clay, while sandy soil is dominated by sand. This characteristic clearly describes the main differences between the two soil options.
Improvement Methods
For the successful use of clay soils in agriculture in summer cottages and household plots, they must be improved and modified so that plants can receive the necessary nutrients, water and air. The work is carried out comprehensively and consists of several different methods of influence.
Preparation
If the area is small, for example, allocated for a flower bed, front garden or vegetable garden, the easiest way is to completely remove the clay soil to a depth of 1-1.5 meters and replace it with loose fertile soil with a high content of mineral fertilizers and organic matter. Then the plants grown in this place will be able to grow for many years without adding additional substances.
Large areas are plowed annually to a depth of 20-30 centimeters, then organic matter is added - manure, humus, peat. These components enrich the composition, make the soil looser and attract worms, which further enrich the soil.
If you plan to create lawns and flower beds, you can get fertile soil, for example, black soil. The same method is used when arranging flower beds and raised beds.
Soil permeability is increased by adding sand, straw, bark, compost, rotted sawdust, sunflower husks and other materials, and acidity is neutralized by liming. In this case, it is necessary to first analyze the calcium content, the excess of which can be harmful to plants.
Fertilizers
Despite the fact that clay soils are considered fertile, the nutrients in them are in a bound state, inaccessible to plant roots. To improve the composition, it is necessary to apply fertilizers, mainly organic, since clay contains minerals in sufficient quantities.
Compost, manure and sand for permeability are added in a bucket per square meter of planting area.
Sowing green manure
Clay soils should not be empty, so they are sown with green manure. This protects the soil from erosion and drying out, enriches it with humus, makes it loose and nutritious.
The following plants can serve as green manure: lupine, fodder mustard, clover, and lawn grasses. They loosen the soil with roots, enrich it with nutrients, for example, legumes supply the soil with nitrogen, and also improve the texture when rotting. They are sown in the fall, after the main harvest is harvested, then sown in the spring and left for a year.
What can you grow?
In order for seeds to sprout on clay soil, sprouts to appear and full-fledged healthy plants to form, it is important to choose the right planting material. The following plants grow on such soils:
- Tall trees - fruit and ornamental. They have strong roots that easily cope with dense soil and reach the lower layers with sufficient moisture for growth. Dwarf and columnar trees require additional components to be added to the planting hole.
- Shrubs with long roots.
- Berry gardens must be grown on ridges, high beds, with a thick layer of mulch.
- Root crops, if planted shallower than in loose and permeable soils.
- Flowers: daylilies, peonies, asters, carnations, tolerant of clay soils.
Bulbous plants need light and loose soil, so they are planted in raised beds or high beds with improved soil.
Soils containing clay can be used if a set of procedures is followed to improve their composition and fertility.
