Clay Soil

[SouthernGuerila]

Anyone Guerilla grow where all the soil is clay, with very little hummus/sand / top soil above the clay?

I've had a problem with digging holes in clay, filling it in with decent soil. When it rains My holes tend to get overly saturated...

Should I shoot for the raised beds type of approach?

 

[junior_grower]

I deal with clay, the only solution I have found is 3' deep holes and plant in a mound So you have less risk of over saturation.

 

[Passenger]

Gypsum

 

[TheSoulStealer]

This is a problem I'm currently faced with for this years grow, good topsoil down to about a spades depth, then soild clay. As a result my site is very prone to becoming waterlogged, (large puddles covering my site as we speak).

Your options are to either break up the clay and dig in some organic matter, gravel, sand, anything to break up and help the clay to drain better. If your growing a few plants this shouldn't be too much of a problem. Gypsum is more of a long term solution and can take upto 3 years to have any effect.

My grow site is 20ft x 20ft so hauling in the tons of soil conditioners needed is just not an option. My solution is to grow using the swamp tube method, using a mixture of topsoil and coir.

 

[Ganico]

After a rain dig a test hole about the size you plan on and let it sit and see how high it fills with water. Or maybe you could even just dig a hole and cover it and come back after a rain.

Anyway as long as it doesn't flood the hole you're alright. If it's just clay-soil/clay-loam rather than just pure straight clay than work some lime and gypsum in the bottom of the holes and just mix 50% organic matter like coir,compost,etc with the native soil.

I wish I had that problem, the last few years here have been droughts.

 

[Dee9]

Sorry Passenger - but NO NO NO, not gypsum. You will cement your plants into the ground.

Clay soil is very very fertile, but has very little oxygen. Especially the gray clay.

Raised bed/mound is a good remedy. And don't plant in a geographical dip, during the rainy season, you will have your plant sitting in a duck pond.

Add organic matter. That is about the best thing you can do to clay soils. Get those wormies to aerate the soil.

 

[Dee9]

I wish I had that problem, the last few years here have been droughts.

... global warming...

 

[TheSoulStealer]

I'd be carefull using mounds, all it takes is some prolonged heavy rain to disturb them. Raised beds would be a better alternative.

Also gypsums fine in the right amount, just dont go crazy. Lime is also something to use, but again, remember these are long term solutions and will unlikely make any difference this year.......

 

[medicine farmer]

where i come from we have rocky hard clay soil, i find that creeksand and swamp muck are the best amendments if you are to far out to overland haul store bought stuff......any decaying organic matter works but w/ swamp muck you need to prepare your holes an extra month ahead (you always should) to let the anaerobic underwater bacteria die and new aerobic bacteria to start growing and spreading

 

[jackel]

use grow bags.

 

[SouthernGuerila]

It's infamous Georgia red clay with white clay/grout type stuff and then granite underneath it.
There are some spots where its 1-3" of hummus and then prob 6-12" of sandy soil, under that is the infamous red clay granite/quartz subsoil.

For my previous Guerilla grow, I made a compost pile a few years ago, on top of sandy/clay soil, turned it into a worm pile of sorts and then last year planted my babies. My major problem with that spot is toting water in gallon jugs every 1-2weeks.

We've been in a "drought" of sorts for the last few years, so grow bags wont work. Not unless I want baked Cannabis.

I'd like to go about this with spending as little money as possible. I have located a spot where rainwater water seeps out of a depression in a hill that eventually feeds into a creek 2+ miles away. If I used this spot, I think I'd have a problem with root rot?

Also this is a diverse woodland environment with hills that have 100 to 250ft elevation changes.

Digging in this clay is about like trying to dig into rock.

 

[CLDBD]

I fought the same thing where I used to live. I gave up and went with huge pots.

 

[SouthernGuerila]

I fought the same thing where I used to live. I gave up and went with huge pots.

In drought conditions?

I'd have to water them like every 3 days, too much like work...

 

[CLDBD]

In drought conditions?

I'd have to water them like every 3 days, too much like work...

Well when I was growing outside we were having some pretty dry conditions. Are climate is officially a desert. It does not look like one but anual rainfall says it is.Most of the water came from the hose but it pooled low and caused root rot. I should have just dug deeper. I would think that is what you should do. Go deep and mix in some sand with the clay. Then maybe a layer of sand and then your soil.

 

[SouthernGuerila]

Its subtropical here...

 

[Dee9]

No sand with clay and in my opinion, no gypsum...only organic matter.

The red clay is very fertile too, the red colour indicates a lot of iron in the ground - red = oxydised iron.

If I had to choose a spot, I would probably go for something slightly elevated (but out of sight). Root rot could be a problem if it rains a lot, so dont plant in a dip.

The other problem with clay is, when it dries out, the particles contract and cracks form, damaging the roots of your plant.

Remedy: organic matter. Compost.

And to conserve your water - mulch that baby...!

 

[SouthernGuerila]

Alright I'm gonna wing it as best as possible, Just a bit strange to wander around the woods with a shovel.

 

[Dee9]

Atl least you are not looking for a place to bury a body...see, it could have been worse...

 

[Guest]

Hey Georgia

Im like you buddy, stuck under that big friggin red spot of "exceptional drought". Lets hope this year will end that.
Those pine saplings sure do make good cover.

When reiewing a soil analysis for clay or loam, its obvious that clays are missing 2 major ingredients that are plentiful in loam. 1. Sand 2. Organic matter. Those 2 ingredients are the difference.

I grow in a few spots that have soil that is not acceptable to grow in either becasue its rocky or heavy blue/gray clay. When growing in these spots, I have found it to be much more effective to properly prepare 3 or 4 holes, and grow just a few branch breakers than actually trying to prepare a planting site for numerous plants. Four good yeilding plants can provide a grower with more smoke than 20 plants that yield 4 oz.

Its easier to prepare for 4 than 20.

Your soil is an easy fix, your drainage problem isnt. I might go with buried containers to fix that problem since the soil is bad anyway. Ive pulled in excess of 7 pounds of quality smoke from 4 buried container grown plants.

 

[SouthernGuerila]

Hey Georgia

Im like you buddy, stuck under that big friggin red spot of "exceptional drought". Lets hope this year will end that.
Those pine saplings sure do make good cover.

When reiewing a soil analysis for clay or loam, its obvious that clays are missing 2 major ingredients that are plentiful in loam. 1. Sand 2. Organic matter. Those 2 ingredients are the difference.

I grow in a few spots that have soil that is not acceptable to grow in either becasue its rocky or heavy blue/gray clay. When growing in these spots, I have found it to be much more effective to properly prepare 3 or 4 holes, and grow just a few branch breakers than actually trying to prepare a planting site for numerous plants. Four good yeilding plants can provide a grower with more smoke than 20 plants that yield 4 oz.

Its easier to prepare for 4 than 20.

Your soil is an easy fix, your drainage problem isnt. I might go with buried containers to fix that problem since the soil is bad anyway. Ive pulled in excess of 7 pounds of quality smoke from 4 buried container grown plants.

With the drainage issue, digging a trench downhill and filling that with gravel, sticks, leaf matter, or whatever and covering the top with clay to have a french drain of sorts. The end of this trench will be on the lowest point of the hill should remain free of clay to allow water to drain out.

Picture it as a sink with the drainage piping going downhill. The water will flow downhill back on top of the soil surface.

Thats what I did with one spot that I removed the clay in a 3ft cubed area, then I filled it in with compost. Took me too long for my liking to remove that clay.

Here's to a strong back and thick skin...