I could never afford to use commercial products to improve my soil, and I don't think the quality is worth putting in the garden at any price. I use my own shredded leaves and manure from nearby stables. I can understand not wanting to get down and dirty to that extent, but I got a lot accomplished in a weekend with a flatbed trailer and a pitchfork. You might try the composted manure in bags. I would just continue to add organic material in the form of mulch and compost.

You could also visit the Soil, Compost and Mulch forum here on GW. They can be very helpful, though some are a bit intense. Good luck.

Martha

I'm fortunate to have the benefit of parents who practiced organic gardening here for 50 years before I moved back home so my soil is amazing. Granted it was sandy loam all along and not clay but the fact they observed all the rules of incorporating organic matter + compost gifted me with lots of healthy worms and easy-to-work-in soil. Martha's right on with her suggestion to continuously work in mulch & compost. Another consideration is to plant things that readily or easily adapt to your current soil conditions as not all trees, shrubs & perennials have the same growing needs. Just about anything I stick in the dirt grows well here but in your situation you may have to do a bit more homework before purchasing, digging & planting.

In the UK, we often use a bagged loam made to a specific recipe - called John Innes, it comes in 3 'strengths' and an ericaceous mix. Loam or topsoil (Often made from turrves, stacked together) is amended in various way. I mostly use No.3 which is the best for permanent plantings (my entire home garden is essentially a pot garden - all my soil has been imported) or, I can buy 1ton of topsoil and follow the JI recipe:
7parts loam
3 parts peat,
Hoof and horn, 3.5kg
3.5kg superphosphate
1.8 potassium sulphate.
The resulting soil can have the addition of extra grit, perlite or vermiculite and, of course, a goodly proportion of any sieved compost you are able to produce, depnding on what it is used for.
Any soil, no matter how bad, can be amended, although it can be a long process involving green manures, home composting, adding various rotted manures and as much humus as can be found. It is also possible to add minerals such as zeolite and rockdust (commonly various granites or leopardite). I believe there is a lively soil forum.

I was told that clay is the best soil amendment because it is mineral rich. But when it gets dry it is a plant killer. I have clay soil and from what I have read clay is different in different regions. Georgia clay is different than Pennsylvania clay soil. That said.....

I have always diligently improved my soil by doing 3" of shredded leaves, 3" of homemade compost, 3" of purchased compost and 3" of peat, 3" composted manure. That was so I could plant immediately. In the other areas for future planting I would just continue to cover every fall with the leaves. By covering with the leaves the worms did the work for improving my clay. I do not use any store brought topsoil. My topsoil is always my compost.

Also I have been told never ever add sand when you have clay soil.

marquest is right on the money, I agree completely. I have clay soil as well and that is basically what I do (although I have never added peat in the mix, I read that peat helps retain water and I don't need more water retention with clay soil. Also decided against gypsum, even though that was recommended to improve clay soil. I read it helps drainage in the beginning, but it can compact later and actually cause drainage issues in clay soil when I did my research on improving clay soil. Didn't know who to believe on that, so I just left it out).

I would suggest you look up lasagna gardening, which is what I think marquest is doing as well. You have several inches of each type of amendment and just layer it and it breaks down, improving the soil underneath and allows you to plant in it immediately.

I will take a look at what I buy from lowes, but it is a compost in a blue bag with an earth pictured on it, if I remember correctly. I have been very happy with it. I would use that and manure and leaves, as many as you can collect, if I were amending the soil. That is what I do and it works very well. It will help tremendously for breaking up that clay soil! I buy everything in the bag from lowes or my local soil place (except for the leaves), I have no room for composting on my own. Just be sure to topdress with manure and/or compost once to twice a year to keep the process going and your soil will thank you for it. I second the not adding sand to clay soil as well.

This post was edited by funnthsun on Tue, Jun 11, 13 at 7:51

I started out with horrific clay soil. It was cement. I've added nothing but compost and some chopped leaves for a mulch now and then. Fast forward 12 years and I now have soil to die for (if I may say so!).

I dug in about 6" of commercial compost to start and top dressed with about 3-4" twice a year for many years. Now I can get by with a lot less because my soil is so rich. I used to have to buy commercial compost (very cheap if you have your own truck) but now mainly I can make enough for my needs. It's still a little chunky when I apply it, but I have never seen any need to screen compost you are using as a mulch. It actually holds up better as a mulch if it isn't as fine.

The mixes mentioned here sound more like what I would use as potting soil.

Just checked the bags that I have and it's the Harvest ultralite organic top soil (it says top soil, but the ingredients say 100% compost, so I use it as I would compost). It has a great texture, great drainage, not too loose, not too compacting.

As an aside, I tried the Garden Pro compost & manure and I HATED it. They have a ton of clay mixed in there (they even say it on the ingredients) and that's all I need, more clay! This and the Harvest Top soil basically the same price (2.78 a bag), but the Harvest blows the Garden Pro out of the water in quality. The real "tell" was when I added the Garden Pro to the top of a big pot that took full sun and it hardened (just like clay would) and I had to break through it to loosen it up again. Not a good sign. Harvest is sooooo much better. I use it everywhere.

This post was edited by funnthsun on Mon, Jun 10, 13 at 17:25

I am also in VA with marine clay. It is awful-so heavy and poorly drained. Still, where I have amended regularly, the clay adds to the richness. I use Leafgro soil conditioner and manure and every now and then (not every year), I add some gypsum. Don't add peat moss- it will just make your clay even more water retentive. I used to use the city leaf mulch and liked that except it wasn't too clean, so now I buy pine fines (or fine pine-depends on where you buy it).

To get started, you might also want to try the lasagne method with layers-very easy.

Good luck.

First, unless you've got a few million years at your disposal, you can't make soil :-) The best you can do is improve existing soil, shy of replacing it completely, which few of us have the means or abilty to do.

There is virtually NO soil that cannot be improved by the addition of organic matter. And for organic matter, read compost although pretty much any other organic matter (leaves, grass clippings, yard waste, manures, wood chips, etc.) will work equally as well but perhaps far less quickly. Addtion of organic matter will lighten heavy/clay soils, improve drainage, encourage soil biology, improve soil structure and porosity, add fertility and increase moisture retention in very sandy soils. Adding organic matter is the number one recommendation by soil scientists and horticulturists for improving any type of soil.

And 'quickly' is relative. Amost without exception, few of us start out gardening in ideal soil. But over time the routine addition of organic amendments can produce a very friable, workable, well-draining and fertile soil. And this process needs to be maintained as well. Just by its nature, organic matter is not long lasting. It continues to degrade and breakdown and be consumed by soil organisms so needs to be replaced on a routine basis. Typically mulching is the easiest way to achieve this.

There is a Soils and Compost forum here on GW where you can find countless posts discussing this matter. One needs to be cautious about terminology - "topsoil" is technically defined as the first 4-6 inches of uncultivated soil (usually removed during development and construction) but it can mean just about anything anyone wants to stuff into a bag and sell. And by definition, ALL soil is organic unless the supplier has manually added synthetics like soil moisteners or fertilizers.

funnthsun, that is funny about the clay added. I guess what I have read clay is a great soil mix.

FYI..... I add the peat because we do not get good rainfall in the summer and the clay gets hard, dry and kill the plants. Clay is great if it is moist and stay moist but no rain for months and 90 degree temps will kill your plants.

Peat is worse than clay, in that respect. Once it dries out, it is extremely difficult to rewet. Much, much worse than clay in that respect.