In Part 2 of my Clay Soil Amendments Test- ‘Which Soil Amendment is Best’, I share the results of my 8-amendement soil test.
I tested 8 different amendments for clay soil to find which soil amendment is best, and this video looks at how each amendment affected soil structure and drainage, performance of plants grown in each container of amended soil and the cost & ease of application for each amendment.
Be sure to also check out Part 1, ‘Clay Amendments Explained’ where I cover how my test is set up, the 8 popular clay amendments I am using– what they are and how they are supposed to work: https://youtu.be/kwUJHK83-jk
And check out my video on how I’ve improved my clay soil here: https://youtu.be/QS7qQVOzK7g
00:00 Intro
00:20 How this test was set up
02:07 Evaluating plant performance in each amendment
03:20 Evaluating soil drainage/moisture absorption
06:11 Evaluating soil structure changes
10:34 Amendment Cost & Ease of Application
14:58 THE BIG TAKE-AWAYS!
#claysoil #ohiogardening
42 Comments
nice hat
Horse manure is my father's favorite!
We have a few cows but you have to age it, or weeds take over! Chicken manure is my personal favorite, but can burn plants if you use very much.
I have so been waiting for this video….. I wanted to plant my garlic yesterday but the inside was to dry not sure what I did wrong.
I think compost is a clear winner for us also who has sand not clay. It is recommended to add homemade compost or cow manure.
Awesome video !
Thanks so much for this eval! A lot of work on your part. I live in SE Idaho & have a lot of clay as well. This video is helpful. Thanks! Can you test coconut coir? That's what I'm thinking of using next season.
I didn't do a test like you did but I have tried many of these on in ground beds. I have a section that I only had time to do half and the other half was left. I used cow manure on one half 2 years in a row. I solarized the other half starting in spring. I planned my garlic in the first bed and needed to put a few in the second bed. What a difference between the two beds! First was soft, dark and loamy. The second was still hard and full of clay lumps
Thank you for all the time and information you put into this experiment! Rabbit manure has been my amendment for years since it can be put on straight from the cage mixed with the pine shavings for bedding. Soil is fluffy with lots of clean fertilizer with no seeds in the mix.
I just use cover crops:🐞 Cover crop seed: Warm season soil builder (12way)
Red Ripper Cowpeas, 5518 Hutchinson Blend Soybeans, Mung Beans, Sunn Hemp, Sweet Forever Sorghum Sudan , Tifleaf III Hybrid Pearl Millet, African Cabbage, Trophy Rapeseed, Black Oil Sunflower, Mancan Buckwheat, Clemson Spineless 80 Okra, Golden Flax
Great video. Answered all my questions. Definitely sticking with cow manure.
So it’s true; sand+clay= cement.
You poor girl. That clay I remember at my in-laws. It holds nutrients so you shouldn’t need much fertilizer and it holds moisture, But don’t let it dry out—you will have rock. I grumble about my sand, but it’s what I grew up with and know.
We had some top soil delivered this year and it was mostly clay and rocks. Not happy and most ended up on the lawn except 2 long boxes. This is the first year I ever had slugs. The grubs are a problem in sand. Why grubs like sand I don’t know but they do.
I would definitely use manure and other carbon and box in those areas. I’m trying low long beds to save space and prevent dry out. I’m throwing all the leaves and everything at it. I’ve used logs and any scrap wood I can get to prevent sand from eroding away. With lower sides I can have narrow walkways to get wheelbarrow through. Cost is basically free with sweat equity. It may not be Better Homes & Gardens, but it works. I think since so many are gardening now that the costs and availability are out of touch. Fine if you have a small area, a HOA that things need to stay or you want pretty, but I’m all for production.
If you ever tire of gardening you could always get a potter’s wheel🤣
Great experiment and a lot of work Jenna! Now you know for sure what to do. Have a great Fall!
Wow…..thanks for doing all the hard work, so people with clay properties don’t have to waste time, money and sweat equity!
How did you ever find the time to do such an amazing comparison? I am envious of your energy.
I also have heavy clay soil and was going to recommend trying my favorite soil amendment, leaf mold.
Another kind of cool thing to look at would be any difference in the soil life within the different samples.
I've really enjoyed looking at different soil samples and amendments this year.
Enjoy your videos.
Do you have any idea if maybe the mushroom compost will amend the soil better over a longer period of time? Maybe it wasn't fully composted when applied? I appreciate the time and effort you put into this video. I'd like to amend my soil, and you've helped me rule out some options. 🙂
Excellent, thanks
I'm surprised peat and mushroom compost didn't do quite as well as the control (for overall plant growth). So cow manure eh… and maybe biochar and gypsum. Do you know what your mushroom compost was based out of? I get my mushroom compost directly from a mushroom farm so it still has bits of mushrooms/mycelium, and manure/rotted straw (I think the substrate is mostly horse manure based). But a lot of bagged mushroom compost is more broken down looking.
Interesting that the lawn aerator was a failure.
I had always heard never mix clay with sand. Lots of work in this video…very nice. Great info!
This is a really well done study! I have seen several similar tests done with different types of soil. My father taught me to garden and always said don’t make it complicated; there’s nothing better than composted animal manure, leaves and composted wood chips from cow stalls. This is what I’ve lived by because it’s what I know but as a see more of these tests and hear more of the actual science and life of soil, I am realizing these old timers’ experience was as good as Cornell University studies. I’ve come to the conclusion that all soil types will benefit immensely from just adding manure and readily available organic matter.
I never understood why people said to add sand! My garden is pure clay, sand and rocks. Sand doesn't help at all. No theories as to why there are more grubs, except possibly less competition from some established bugs. The only addition I really have access to is horse manure, it seems to be the only thing that works in addition to coco coir. Great video and super relevant for me. 💖
Great Video!!!! Good job detailing results.
Wow, that's was really surprising results. Especially, the mushroom compost! I am not really surprised by the lawn aerator, it's hard to keep live microbes alive in a storage warehouse and big trucks before its purchased.
I would love to see store bought worm castings in your next experiment.
This was awesome to watch, thank you for the hard work it took to make!!
I wish one of your tests was with homemade compost. I worry about adding manure since there could be bad stuff in it. If I had my own animals I wouldn't hesitate, but all I can get that's for sure safe is chopped leaves, grass clippings and homemade compost, of which there is never enough!
Thank you for this test. It really shows how simple is better.
This is so very helpful – thank you so much! I'm really surprised with the results! Such good information! I'll be looking for a good source for uncontaminated cow manure! I understand that certain herbicides survive the cows digestive process and can poison the garden so I'm guessing an organic farm source is the best?
Sounds like a lot of BS… literally.😛 Good to now the manure was so effective. We've tried gypsum on a clay bed before, and it did nothing. In fact, like your test, it might have made the soil composition and drainage worse.
I would like to see wood chunks or chips as an alternative to biochar. You can also try "Cowboy Charcoal" or hardwood lump charcoal as a cheaper alternative to more expensive biochar. That might require more prep (breaking it up) and maybe more than one season to see the results, though.
Thanks Jenna. I know these experiments are time consuming. I use mushroom soil and horse manure/bedding in addition to my own compost to amend my beds. I live near the mushroom capital here in PA so the mushroom compost is relatively inexpensive. And there is a big horse farm down the street so that makes the horse manure and bedding practical for me. I never have done a controlled experiment as you've done but can say these amendments seem to have given me good results in the beds where I've used them. I usually use the horse manure in the fall in new beds or beds I'm renovating. The mushroom soil I consider safe to use anytime so I often apply that in the spring and summer if needed.
Thoroughly enjoyed this video! So very well done!
I am in SE Ohio and also have heavy clay soil. For those of us who don't have access to manure, which option came in second best?
Invaluable opinion and honesty regarding necesity or rather lack of for peat use! Amazing effort, thank you 🙂
Thanks for sharing! Not a big surprise that manure won. It's almost like recreating nature is the best method.
this was very interesting. I'm trying to amend my clay soil, so this is timely info. I personally would like to see the cow manure amendment in the next test as well to see how it stacks up with the new ones you're trying.
Thank you, Jenna, for this amazing study! It is very helpful to the home gardener trying to make the most of their soil. I have to ask, did you make your sweater? It is gorgeous and you wear it well 🎉
great experiment I love your videos!
Could you please tell us the reason you have not used mulch of some type on each of these pots? I am looking forward to your next soil amendments video. I just finished putting a few inches of 'ground up' dried leaves on my three raised beds. Does the aged cow manure have to be worked into the soil or could I broadcast it over the dried leaves? Should I wait until Spring (Wisconsin) or do it now brrrrrrrrrrrrr winter is about a month away. :0) Take care and be healthy.
The absolute best amendment that I have ever added to my clay soil was grass clippings from an untreated lawn…! My technique was to fill a large black trash bag with the grass clippings, left it out in the sun for a week or two, this caused a rapid composting. The end result was this beautiful, black mush! I then incorporated it into my soil the results were absolutely mind blowing! I wish I could post pictures😢
Interesting. The sand doesn't surprise me. In eastern NC we have loam that has a high sand and silt content. You have to go down about 10 to 14 inches to get to the clay. We grow a lot of crops that depend on good drainage such as peanuts, sweet potatoes, and cotton. The loamy top soil makes good drainage until you get down to where the loam transitions into clay. That's when the problem starts. As you stated the sand and silt will combine with the clay and form a "hard pan" or a very dense structure that has poor drainage. As a result in eastern NC the farmers have to use rippers and subsoiler tillage to basically crack and break up that hard pan. Surface discing actually makes it worse by compaction. You can actually feel this deadpan with a shovel. I have access to suboiler implement that I use in my garden. I agree with you that manures and organic matter are the best way to improve a soil including the loamy soils we have here where I live. Great study and video. Thanks for the info.
people need to realize these results are only applicable to peppers and similar plants. If one were to plant azelas or blueberries, then the peat/clay mix might be the best one out of all of them. Some studies I've read show that some plants do BETTER in unamended clay soils! Different plants like different conditions.
Great video, Jenna. Cheers to cow manure!
Jenna I'm going to be using primarily raised beds. Do you know of any negative effects using pressure treated lumber vs standard white boards? I like the idea of the wood lasting longer in pressure treated. Thanks!
Коровьи говна – наше всё. 🙂
Great test and recap!
You and I share very similar native soil here in SW Ontario. Now my garden has benefited from years and years of horse manure, compost, leaves, etc being applied and converting to no till a few years back has really ramped up the soil quality. All of my observations are just that as I have done no controlled testing but I can say that the soil in my slightly raised beds compared to my native soil is night and day difference.
The only test I really perform is plant performance and going by that metric whatever I am doing seems to be working as plant yields are extremely good.
Thank you for doing your work and video – really appreciate it young lady!
Have a great day!
Mike 🇨🇦 🍁
Another great video Jenna, thank you!!! I'm really amazed about the sand. I'm in northeast Ohio with clay as well. I added some sand several years ago after installing drain tile-(which brought a lot a clay up to the top surface). I guess I thought sand would make the water drain better, like at the beach 🤣. But it makes sense that it would fill in the voids in clay.
I also add leaves every fall. I recently got several loads of cow/horse manure from a local farm. But not all of it is "aged". I've heard 2 to 4 years counts as aged. What's your definition of "aged"?
I can buy aged manure from a soil/ gravel business but it's very costly, $27/yd.
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