Chopped leaves and grass is gold in the fall. I just spread it on the beds and it melts in. It's free - what is there not to like?

Msirie, my soil has a clay base too, I've added a huge amount of compost to my beds over the years and they are much better - its been an ongoing chore. Like bakemom, I top dress with compost still, adding a layer in Spring and more in Fall where needed and I don't have the same drainage issues during our winter wet as I used to.

Amending just the planting holes though isn't usually recommended, it's better if you can add the amendments through the bed or area....

Here is a link that might be useful: amending planting holes

If I remember, I do add a little earth-friendly fert in the planting hole. In recent years it has been mostly one of the Espoma products- Plant Tone, Flower Tone, one of those. That's all the feeding most get in their lifetimes, except for topping with compost when I have some finished, or organic mulches.

msrie, when you build lasagna, you have to water the hump as you build it. With each few inches of height, you water it. After it's finished, keep watering from the top daily to avoid having it dry throughout. If the material is dry to start with it really is impossible for water to penetrate. It works great when done properly, so consider trying again some time. Building the lasagna in fall and letting it sit through winter works great.

Karen

All great ideas. Thank you guys. I do try to spread organic material (kitchen stuff) throughout the year too. I also bury some in holes without any plantings in them to speed up the process.

I have been top dressing as well, but because the garden is still young, and the clay is still a bit hard to dig, I tend to amend as I go.

Would it be a good idea to add some aged grass throughout the garden durning the summer as the summer progresses? If so I promise to water it as well. Thanks KQ. What do you guys think about that?

Would it be a good idea to add some aged grass throughout the garden during the summer as the summer progresses?

Yes, just don't let it get too thick, or, again, water won't penetrate well. A thin layer is good. In fall, consider mulching with a thin layer of leaves. And if you don't compost, you might want to consider starting.

Karen

Msirie, I can't afford to buy a lot of stuff right now, and have a LOT of amending to do - big time clay soil here, too. So yes, I do amend my planting holes, and spread around as much half-finished compost as I have, as close to plants as I dare (half finished compost can burn). I throw in some MG potting soil, sometimes a little topsoil - whatever I've got. I use grass clippings to mulch, and shredded leaves when I can. Not the best approach, maybe, but better than nothing.

@KQCRNA
I do add a little earth-friendly fert in the planting hole. In recent years it has been mostly one of the Espoma products- Plant Tone, Flower Tone, one of those

What is this? Where do you get it? Is it expensive?

@Drippy
Yeah, that's pretty much what I do. I wish us both luck. I know it's not the best approach, but if I were to wait until my garden was ready, I would be missing out on too much winter sowing fun.

I am starting another bed and I am trying to do it the right way this time. I just laid the card board boxes this morning. I might start to plant some annuals for now, but it's really for this fall to plant some of the goodies I wintersowed in December.

We have clay soil here to. I bought some fairly decent soil for 16 a yard. I amended with peat moss and some bags of bumper crop.

My Main garden gets amended with rabbit meal during the summer. I put peat, seaweed, & bonemeal during the fall. I always soak it with Fish emulsion to increase soil fertility.

I use rotting pine shavings with rabbit poop in them for plants that like nitrogen. I have two pet rabbits so I use the dirty bedding from their cages to help my red clay soil. One year I had a large pile of rotting shavings in the corner of my yard, absolutely NO dirt in it. I planted tomatoes in the poop and pine shavings and had a bumper crop. I had more tomatoes than I could give away!

You ladies rock. Ladyrose, where do you get all that stuff? I certainly don't see then at the big box stores.

@Erinlisa, pine shavings? Is that from pine trees or pineapples? Rabbit poop? Wow. I learn something new every day.

Mrsrie, Espoma makes a large line of ferts. I don't know that any are OMRI certified, but if you read the label they're made of largely organic stuff (feather meal, guanos, manures, ect.) They're sold at a lot of places, pretty cheap at places like Home Depot.

Karen

Here is a link that might be useful: espoma

I usually never fertilize, I don't ammend my soil. I usually feel good if I have all the weeds pulled.

This year I have been fishing quite a bit, well one day we came in late, so we were dressing the fish by flashlight. After I fillet my fish we didn't feel like taking the guts off. So we buried them where we plant our veggies, bone, scales and all. About 2 weeks later I needed to plant, so I dug up the guts and spread and worked them into the entire bed. So far so good!

I have never done this so I don't know how it will work, but if it works well then we will probably do it again cause I love to go fishing.

I usually never fertilize
You lucky duck you. I have been fertilizing, amending and mulching like crazy. I am trying to get everything just right so that when summer finally gets here, I won't have much to do. Still having a rough time of it.

I've heard some good things about amending with anything fish related. You should get a bounty of crop this year.

Msirie, Kqcrna is right Epsoma carries a lot of organic fertilizers. I use a lot of their products. Except the blood meal, it attracked vultures like crazy.

I got bumper crop from a small nursery.

Seaweed I get at an Asian Food market. I try to get it on sale.

Alfala meal, feed store or rabbit meal at a pet store.
Fish emulsion HD or Loews, anywhere.