Library

Gardening in Clay Soils

Summary

Soils with high clay content create planting and maintenance challenges for gardeners. Soil textures with high clay content include clay, silty clay, sandy clay, clay loam, silty clay loam and sandy clay loam. The other textural classifications generally indicate soils with more than 40% clay. In addition to their high clay content. Soil texture can be determined through a soil test. Generally, soils that contain greater than 30% clay are considered unacceptable as topsoil material because soils with high clay content slow water infiltration and air penetration. Clay soils can be difficult for roots to penetrate, and can be very hard for gardeners to cultivate. Gardeners with clay soils may choose to bring in an alternative soil and garden in raised bed boxes, or amend existing clay soil with loamy topsoil or well-composted organic matter.