How to deal with hard, clay filled soil (Houston, The Woodlands: renting, Home Depot)

[chrisnjunny]

Good day fellow Houstonians and Katy folks. Hope I don't offend anyone by this statement.

Recently moved to the area. Bought a home in Katy. We really like the entire area. Happy to be here.

Having some challenges with establishing a garden in our back yard. Rented the largest, most capable rototiller that home depot had to offer, and it did an ample job removing the grass and some root structure. However, the soil is so hard and seemingly filled with clay, that I can barely get through it with a pick axe.

I live in a typical housing development with a standard width gate with access to the back yard. So I'm not getting anything to large back there in terms of equipment.

Appreciate any advice anyone has that might help me make this process any easier. Thinking maybe a jack hammer or something along those lines.

Thanks in advance.

Chris

[lhafer]

There is a lot of clay in our soil. It hasn’t really rained here in quite a while, thus resulting in very hard ground right now. Might try running the sprinklers for a little while and then trying again. No suggestions on the soil - I kill everything I try to plant or grow!! Good luck!

[Snapper_head]

Clay soil holds water well. That’s perfect for the native plants and trees with hard roots that easily penetrate the clay. The native plants just soak up all that moisture. According to the county rain gauges I just checked, here in The Woodlands we’ve received 75 inches of rain in the past 12 months. And out in Katy you’ve received 51 inches. That’s still a lot of moisture. You can grow a forest with 51 inches of rain. Not including what comes from your garden hose. But the time for planting in the Houston area is in the fall or winter. In the summer, most of the plants and trees are bunkering down to resist the heat.

[WRM20]

Give up on getting through the clay. Your best bet is to use raised beds to grown your garden. My Dad fought the soild in Katy for a couple of years, then gave up. The clay layer is pretty hard, and too thick to get rid of.

[Svensk08]

Gardening in the greater Houston area is different than anywhere else in Texas. Before you try anything else, get a gardening book written by one of our local master gardeners (there are a few good ones). Raised beds are an excellent idea, but be prepared to shop around for the best quality and price for the types of gardening soil, mulch and amendments you need for whatever you'll be planting.



Gardening is a year-round activity here. Now is a good time to prepare garden beds but if you can, hold off on planting stuff while it's still so hot or you'll be watering twice a day. The folks who work at independently-owned nurseries (NOT chains or bigbox stores!) are great sources of information about plants and their care.

[Snapper_head]

Houston’s clay soil and other growing conditions are amazing assets - for species adapted to them. Mulberry trees take off like rockets. Loquat trees do as well. Pecan trees have a unique advantage here. Some citrus trees can even grow here. Fruit and nut trees provide shade for your home and yard - which is a must during our scorching summers. And you can grow things beneath them.

[sonic0boom]

Chris, unless you are planning to convert your whole backyard to a farm, i'd save that money on renting tillers! I'm in a similar situation in Katy and have had a garden going for a few years. A couple different gardens, actually. I do have a 4x8' raised bed. I recommend you don't do anything fancy with kits, etc. Buy some untreated cedar and some planter corners like this: Home Depot. The ones i have are concrete and those look to be some sort of resin or composite. The main expense come with getting some quality dirt. I recommend The Ground Up, which is off Westpark before you get to highway 6. Since you are in Katy, i recommend Enchanted Gardens as a great place to buy plants and whatever else you need.

The other thing i've done is to convert some landscaped beds along the fenceline that were there when i bought the house. Every year, i refresh with some compost and a layer of mulch after i plant. While you'll eventually hit clay if you dig down enough, that's further down than the stuff i plant will care about. The dirt now is really nice and not clay-like at all. Part of it is a flower bed and the rest has seen carrots, radishes, tomatoes, potatoes, shallots, cucumbers, and other stuff just this year. I'm in the process of prepping the soil now for fall.

Good luck!

[HookTheBrotherUp]

If you want easy gardening, you may want to consider raised beds as mentioned earlier. The clay situation is horrible. More than likely your builder put a layer of soil on the ground to level it out, this can be anywhere from a few inches, to maybe almost a foot deep, but after that, you will hit the clay, and you will never get passed it unless you want a well in your backyard.

[Snapper_head]

If you want to grow vegetables and are considering paying for tilling equipment and raised beds and purchased soil every year...why not do it right and set up a hydroponic or aeroponic system indoors or in a greenhouse or a garage? It would be more efficient, more high-tech, and more resilient. There would be no pests to worry about. It would use a fraction of the water. You wouldn’t need any soil. You would either use grow lights or natural light. You would produce all year long.

As for me, I let my yard produce what is good for the natural ecosystem: things like native Mulberry, Plum, and Pawpaw trees. And I buy my local carrots from the grocery store or the farmer’s market. It’s way more productive for everyone involved. And if I want to splurge and grow other things for fun, I do it indoors under controlled conditions.

[Mandres]

Is there any kind of amendment or process that can help? I have a few low areas in my yard that I was hoping to fill in with dirt excavated for a patio. But i can't even spread the stuff with my tractor - it just clumps up and makes a mess. I was thinking about mixing it 1:1 with sand before trying to spread it? Or maybe compost, or gypsum? Anyone have any advice?