How to Amend Clay Soil - I Use the Ryobi and Gypsum (viewer request)

Tips, Tricks

1. For such a small area I would have moved the loosen soil and use the tiller again to get deeper. Looks like you only loosen only 4-5 inches which does not allow future plant roots to go deeper for moisture.
2. Thank you so much. That was very simple and to the point. Now I know what I need to do next year.
3. Wouldn't a bag of potting soil do the same thing? The bag with the white pellets inside? Cheaper also?
4. I wish I could do this with my red clay dirt. We rented the most heavy duty tiller at Home Depot last year to help turn over a spot in our yard. Just bounced right off of it. It did not penetrate it one bit. He had to sneak over his trenching machine from work one day and dug up some trench lines to break it up so we could shovel it out.... I just want to grow grass! :(
5. I have rock in my yard so that little machine would explode after 1 min of trying to break up my yard...! And I don't mean pebbles I mean baseball size flint rock...
6. Yeah, that's thing works awesome for jobs like that! You can run yours much faster than I can ; )
7. I like that Ryobi, too! Are they pricey? Where did you get it? Do they make electric ones?
8. Her garden and design ideas. It is a work of art-in-progress....I also love her attitude...How deep do you think that tiller dug? The method I used before having access to a tiller was a double digging method.where each layer is 12 inches. Then the peat and manure was dug into each of the bottom row shovels and the top layer like that but with (now,I would have) worm compost, mushroom compost and all those other amendments ...azomite, assorted rock dust; with Clay, maybe a tiny bit of sand for types of worms....and just saw gypsom being used for the clay also.
   Just question the tiller because I have to rent one, and expected to have to get a really big one. Most of my gardening this year is in containers, which is becoming cramped quickly. I spent the morning transplanting to larger but still temporary pots.
   Thanks for reading. I really appreciate any/ every idea and advice. :) b
9. A possible reason for the soil being better than you thought under where your raised bed was sitting was due to organic matter coming into contact with the clay. You can amend clay soil with all sorts of organic matter (straw is used a fair amount in land reclamation) but it takes longer on average than what you have done. Hopefully your ginger loves the new spot!
10. Lovely update Donna have a Blessed day
11. I wonder if that stuff would work on my insanely tough clay. I'll have to mark this one and save if for when I do an in ground bed. Thanks for sharing ! 
12. Great tip on the gypsum, I have never used it but I will be on the look for it next time I am out . I have the worst clay soil in the world. I have been working it for 5 years with organic matter and it is still clayous.
13. Ahhhh, great video! I know grown men that couldent handle a machine like that....GREAT JOB!!! imma show them this vid ;-)
14. I also have a rather shady yard during the afternoon.  I have a couple of raised bed because of the clay here in the foothills of NC.  I am trying to decide what to plant this year.
15. Interesting video..  I need to break up some heavy clay in my yard...  I might need a Ryobi Like yours..  Made it look so easy :)
16. Donna, I'm very impressed with the quick work the Ryobi made on that soil! Nice demo!
17. gypsum does add lots of calcium which is crucial for plants, so it does add nutrition, just not in the kind we think of as the "big 3". I love gypsum since it ammends without raising the pH of the soil.
    Great job! 
18. Excellent Donna! I sure like that little ryobi, seems like it does a nice job eh.