Preparing my hole for something big

bursto

bursto

Well-Known Member
Some big Berry OG Kush :weed:

So this is a spot that gets a lot of morning midday sun, and shade in the afternoon, next to a fence so i thought why not get it started so its ready and rotted down in a few months, and try to grow some berry og kush when season starts here soon.


So far all ive done is dig two holes in the heavy clay soil that was dug out of a dam and put there years ago, before the fence, so its going to need some improving

i got a bag of seaweed pellets and gypsum, that im goin g to start mixing in the clay,

I've started some FPJ, with excess leaf material in a 44 gal drum :weed:
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feel free to add any other suggestions as to what would be good in there, to let the worms at for the next few months, would be great, thanks,
 
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Phytoplankton

Well-Known Member
I saw the title and was scared of what I might see!(LOL). I’d dig out a lot of the clay and then mix in a lot of compost, perlite, bone meal, dolomite ,silicon (DE) would work and some manure. Great planning, since you’ve got months to let it cook. I’m sure there’s some good soil recipes on-line, and I know I’ve missed stuff, hopefully others will respond.
 
amneziaHaze

amneziaHaze

Well-Known Member
I think clay is shit i wouldnt mix it.it blocks water movement...
Depending on what type you have could be usefull to the plant but i would leave it at the bottom plant would use it in flower
 
bursto

bursto

Well-Known Member
Phytoplankton said:
I saw the title and was scared of what I might see!(LOL). I’d dig out a lot of the clay and then mix in a lot of compost, perlite, bone meal, dolomite ,silicon (DE) would work and some manure. Great planning, since you’ve got months to let it cook. I’m sure there’s some good soil recipes on-line, and I know I’ve missed stuff, hopefully others will respond.
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yeah i was trying to think of a better tittle, i changed it around a few times in my head (they just got worse) and then stuck with what my original thought was.

its clay as far as i dig down, not sure if i can do much more except few handfulls of gypsum and fertilizer and some mulch to start things off decomposing
The plant will send down a massive tap root much deeper than the hole i have fluffed up and mixed with seaweed and gypsum into, so im hoping whatever i mix in now will eventually leach down and improve the clay down a bit deeper, I'll be adding the FPJ soon as its ready, so im just trying to build up the soil, over time in that spot.

worms i need more worms, im thinking a bale of pea straw might be good start as mulch and dug in a bit for the worms,
 
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HandyGringo

HandyGringo

Well-Known Member
Damn, I got clickbaited. Anyway, if you're waiting several months anyway, maybe you should consider cover crops? With a small layer of hay on top, as other have suggested.
 
petert

petert

Well-Known Member
amneziaHaze said:
I think clay is shit i wouldnt mix it.it blocks water movement...
Depending on what type you have could be usefull to the plant but i would leave it at the bottom plant would use it in flower
Click to expand...
It can be done with clay, but for my grow I just dug it out!
For my yard and other garden areas I mixed it with compost, but it takes a lot of time to turn clay soil in to something decent.
 
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mandocat

Well-Known Member
Phytoplankton said:
Gypsum works well for breaking up clay soil, but I’d remove as much as possible.
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Our garden space totals about 2500 sq ft, so we have just been adding layers of mulch and manure over the years, it mostly has perennials. Keeping it heavily mulched has allowed the worms to proliferate and really impact the soil quality. Plus, it was a heavily wooded area at one time so there is a decent amount of organic material already present.
 
amneziaHaze

amneziaHaze

Well-Known Member
petert said:
It can be done with clay, but for my grow I just dug it out!
For my yard and other garden areas I mixed it with compost, but it takes a lot of time to turn clay soil in to something decent.
Click to expand...
It can be done with sand i fought you where chasing better
 
petert

petert

Well-Known Member
mandocat said:
Been working on the clay soil in my garden for 20 years!
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I tilled in leaf leaf mulch and compost for two years before I built bottomless raised beds on top of it.Some of My raised beds are fruit bins and and others are 4’x12’ beds made of 2x10’s and I’ve filled them with my mix of living soil. So I guess I can’t speak what the clay soil is under that.
But my yard is the same clay soil.. I put down prilled gypsum and compost after I plug the lawn with a big aerator I rent in the spring and fall. I see a huge difference in my soil after 4 years
 
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Phytoplankton

Well-Known Member
amneziaHaze said:
It can be done with sand i fought you where chasing better
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I used to have a black clay in my yard, and sand worked for a while, but when it dried it was like concrete, the only thing that really helped break it up well was gypsum. I still think he's better off to just dig out a big hole and fill it back in with good potting soil or mix up some supersoil. Here's a supersoil recipe, there are a lot of them on the internet. https://hydrobuilder.com/learn/super-soil-recipe/
 
bursto

bursto

Well-Known Member
Phytoplankton said:
I used to have a black clay in my yard, and sand worked for a while, but when it dried it was like concrete, the only thing that really helped break it up well was gypsum. I still think he's better off to just dig out a big hole and fill it back in with good potting soil or mix up some supersoil. Here's a supersoil recipe, there are a lot of them on the internet. https://hydrobuilder.com/learn/super-soil-recipe/
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yeah this is what im worried about the clay baking in summer and turning to concrete around the hole, im kinda reluctant to remove more clay and replace with supersoil, id rather try to improve the clay with broken down material, and work with what i have. Next to that hole i have another one with years of old potting mix/coco/perlite etc mixed in to the clay, its kinda like what you talking about, but this hole i want to see what can be done to the soil with just organic material and the clay, transformed by the gypsum etc..

the plan is to get some worms eating the straw, then in summer to set up a sprinkler that comes on say 11 am to keep surrounding clay moist
 
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bursto

bursto

Well-Known Member
What about some ash from the fire place or burnt leaves or something, before i start rotting down the plant matter?
 
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