My Soil Is Powdery

[OldGuy43]

No matter what I turn my soil with it goes straight from rock hard to a fine powder. I've tried a Maddox, a shovel, a spade and a small rototiller. First time it gets wet it goes back to a consistency resembling mortar. Water just puddles on the surface or runs off. I'm considering working a little clay into it. I was thinking of spreading some oil-dry on it and working it in. After all, oil-dry is just super dry clay. It's cheap and would be easy to spread.

Thoughts?

 

[thistlebloom]

It sounds like you need a lot more organic matter in your soil OldGuy. Grass clippings, compost, leaves, straw, alfalfa hay, rabbit, llama and horse manure, chicken coop cleanings etc. will all improve the texture and water holding capacity as well as the nutrient level of your ground. It will take time to build it up because you can only add so much at a time. You can also grow cover crops and work them into the soil.

 

[OldGuy43]

Great! I rent on a horse ranch so I have plenty of manure available.

 

[lesa]

I agree with thistle- keep adding organic material. Start a compost pile, and make good use of that horse poop!

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

i have a similar issue in certain areas here. but i have the chickens and a bunny that help to produce some good manure that has helped to amend a lot of areas that have been neglected by the previous owners of my house.

 

[digitS']

Bricks

. . . are made from clay.

My understanding is that the clay may go thru a process of grinding to make it even more powdery and better brick-making material.

Very coarse sand may loosen soil but fine sand is used for mortar and grout.

Steve

 

[catjac1975]

Organic material is always the answer. You can have your soil tested to get a more complete result. Your county extension service will test it for a small fee. The analysis will probably not give you organic solutions, but you will know what you are dealing with.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

actually, see if you can find a clear vial or glass container and take a sample of your soil and add some water to it, swish it around without making a mess, let it settle for about 30 minutes or until it is clear again. you can get a good estimate of your soil composition this way. certain parts that make up soil will settle in the vial in visible levels. usually the heaviest at the bottom (gravel/small stones) with the lightest (loam or organic material) will settle on the top. take a measurement of the total height of the soil sample in the vial, then measure each visible layer. if you can do the math you can figure out the percentage of each layer. i am sure this method can be found online that tells you what each layer should be. i can't remember since it was too long ago in a class i had in HS that we learned to do this.

 

[OldGuy43]

How about those testing kits you can buy at garden stores? Are they accurate? I bought one last year and, if I used it right it said my ph was good, but the soil had no nutrients. I've been composting for about a year. I just put it in the garden, about two large wheelbarrows full. We don't get a lot from the kitchen because it's just OldGal and I. Their would be a lot more if we had a garden, but apparently I need compost to grow a garden.

Kinda a chicken and egg thing, huh?

Their are a few places around here that sell compost. I was wondering if that might be my solution?

Oh, guess this would mean more if I told y'all how big my garden is. Not overly ambitious, 20' x 8'.

 

[Kassaundra]

Grass clippings, mowed leaves, if you have alot of horse poop you probably also have a lot of hay (but both horse poop and hay add weed seeds)

If you don't have enough leaves check neighborhoods during fall for bagged leaves and see if they will let you take them for free, most will. And most people don't "treat" trees or leaves w/ "icides" so it is safer to get these from neighbors then the grass clippings.

I have found a great source in my area the local 4 h children have free pig pooped wood shavings.