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hello this winter i broke ground for new plot. its been done by the book so to speak, lime gypsum compost etc. the ph is 6 soil color is nice dark brown color. trouble is i get alot of little 2 inch round clay balls in the garden plot. this come from tilling , turning over the mulch compost and all. anyone have any ideas on how to break these balls up without addind any heavy duty ammendments to my soil, my ph is at 6 now if i add too much more it will possibly change , on another plot i did 3 years ago i still see some clay balls here and there but not as bad as the new plot. these are compost manure and red clay balls that get stuck in the soil. i thought about letting the ground dry out more by turning it over again today, and its worse but the ground is drier . if i cover plot up with plastic sheeting im afraid i could get fungus due to rapid drying ???
Here in Texas, where we have black clay "gumbo" soil, we are encouraged to mix expanded shale into the soil to break up the clay. It does a pretty good job over time, and adding it doesn't affect the pH. It can be hard to find and somewhat expensive, however.
H Fremlick, We have the same clay soil and problem. My husband puts peat moss, regular soil, fertilizer and tills it in. It makes the soil better, but I still find balls of clay. If you let the clay dry out, the balls will become hard rocks. I throw the clay balls out when I come across them. Put them in the compost pile. I hope this helps.
