cat litter in garden

[smom1976]

Ok people who have clay soils often have water drainage problems.. IE.. too much water..

We cant keep water.. we have such a sandy soil..

So I was sitting outside in the sun on the hot brick trying to warm my cold ridden body.. and I saw my bag of cat litter that I used and didnt have the energy to put away...

I wonder if I could put some of the UNUSED cat litter in the garden to give it some water retention properties??

Comments???

The big block of peat moss is like $9 here and a bag of 100% clay unsented cat litter $1.50

 

[patandchickens]

(edited because I *totally* misread your post, I thought you said you had *clay* soil not sand )

I wouldn't recommend it at all. It would take such a vast amount to make any difference. And if you did want to try that you'd be better off buying it by the dump load (yes, aggregate or landscaping companies will happily sell you clay )

Organic matter is by far your better bet. Adds nutrients and water retention abilities. The only thing I could say in clay's favor, over organic matter's, is that clay in large amounts may stay in your soil a bit longer (organic matter gradually disappears and has to be renewed) but really that is not enough to make it a good idea to add clay IMHO.

Compost, or well-composted mulch hay, or composted manure, or composted leaves, or even just {wood shavings plus high-N fertilizer} is the way to go.

Peat moss is actually not a great soil amendment, because it shares clay's property of not re-wetting well once it has dried out, because much of it is from not-very-swiftly-renewable sources, it lacks nutrients, and is just too darn pricey.

Some people in REALLY sandy soil, like actual sand rather than soil , will bury rotting logs several feet below their garden beds to act as a water reservoir and slow the leaching of nutrients. Supposedly you have to replace them every five years (or whatever, as appropriate to your site) but they are said to work well. That's kind of for EXTREME sand, though, more than just sandy soil.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat, who is INSANELY JEALOUS of anyone who can get decent cat litter for just $1.50 for a regular sized bag! I pay about $14 now for a ~30 lb container (tho it is the clumping kind)

 

[bid]

I think you would get a lot more bang for your buck from peat moss anyway. It is compressed in those blocks and is a lot more than it looks like when you break it apart, really dusty too. Has been a long time since I bought any but isn't it in 3 or 4 cubic feet blocks? For $9.00 that's not too bad considering.

 

[muddler6]

Organic matter makes a huge difference. It takes time to get it built up properly, but in just a couple seasons I took mine from clay to some good stuff!! I have a few compost bins going that I add to all spring, summer and fall, then it goes into the garden (at least the finished part of it, and even though it ends up bringing some weed seeds that I have to contend with, I fill the rows with grass clippings when I mow, I bought a bagger for my riding mower, best investment I made for the garden. This past season, I had more produce than I could have ever eaten in a year and a half. Go natural, ad organic matter and compost!!! Oh, and I added a little sand too, just because someone gave me some and I didn't have any other plans for it. One last thing, if you know anyone with chickens, horses, etc. get some manure for your compost, or add it in the fall and let it sit till spring.

 

[smom1976]

OK.. I was planning on purchasing a bail of hay anyway for covering my rows around the base of plants.. and to put into with dirt into my potato bins that I planted on saturday.. I just thought I would throw that out there and see if anyone had done it.. as for the rotting logs.. (that is way to much work that I wouldnt want to do) I can throw the chicken junk on there.. and I am afraid to put my weeds into the compost pile because of weed seeds.. But my soil is just so sandy..

 

[patandchickens]

If you pull your weeds before they have flowered they will not contain seeds; anything perennial that you're worried about the root surviving, leave it lying in the sun on the edge of the driveway or patio or something like that for a few days til it is crispy (literally crispy) and then it is fine to compost.

If you were going to buy organic matter, the cheapest thing is likely to be something along the lines of wood shavings, sawdust, or wood chippings. You would have to add a bunch of nitrogen to them (from natural sources, or just a buncha high-N fertilizer) and dampen them WELL before they will compost at an appreciable rate, but they will rot down into good, water-holding compost that can really improve *any* soil. No, they will not make your soil acid

Also a lot of times you can scrounge stuff for free or real cheap, like neighbors' bagged grass clippings (provided they do not spray stuff on the lawn) or moldy ol' mulch hay or seaweed (rinse first); or if you see a tree company working in your area, stop and ask if they would like to relieve their truck of its burden of trimmings/chippings in your driveway When you are scrounging stuff you will hear 'no' a lot but sometimes you WILL hear 'yes' and that makes it really worth it, especially if you're serious about improving the soil

Have fun, good luck,

Pat

 

[kellygirrl]

Turface mvp is a baked clay product that keeps water accessible to roots, and is considered a permanent amendment (ie in a hundred years, it's still 90something% same). In my clay soil, it also aerates. Compost would seem most important thing for you, though.

I'm wondering though, as far as mulching, it seems to me that when I mulch with leaves, I begin to find amazing soil beneath the leaves, crumbly black beautyousness, and lots of worms. I would consider that, and it's free. I harvest heavily in fall, on my block, I go to the city leaf pile, and even have a "leaf tower of Babylon" to compost leaves, I'm so sold on them.