A lot of us have toiled in our gardens working the hard compacted clay trying to eke a few vegetables or flowers. With the right soil amendment, clay can be a great ally.
What is the Best Soil Amendment for Clay?
ClayMend is the best soil amendment for clay. Other amendments can improve clay but are often difficult to get into the clay and short lived solutions. Clay has the ability to hold nutrients that other soils can’t. ClayMend is a liquid that is easy to apply and get down into the soil. It encourages microbial activity that ends the destructive dispersing effects of sodium and transforms clay from its normal hard dense structure to a lighter more porous structure.
The microbes open the soil to create pathways for air, water and nutrients to flow. The nutrients can then be stored in the soil where the plant will have access to them over time. As the soil opens it also invites better root development where they can access the nutrients previously locked away in the soil.
Why ClayMend?
The reason ClayMend is the best soil amendment for clay soil is that some of the improvements it makes to clay are permanent where as other amendments such as gypsum, compost, etc. are only temporary. Since ClayMend can permeate into the soil it is effective where other amendments are impractical to use. Where other amendments target a single issue with clay ClayMend addresses several issues.
Gypsum
Gypsum works to control sodium in the soil but also adds calcium. If your soil has an alkaline pH the calcium can make it worse. It can be beneficial to red Georgia clay. Its effects on sodium can be temporary. ClayMend works to control the sodium permanently and as the microbial activity increases it helps improve soil pH.
Sand
Sand is used to increase particle size in the soil in an attempt to improve soil structure. It has to be physically mixed in with the clay. Over time the small clay particles surround the sand and the structure can become even worse than before. ClayMend encourages microbial activity that works to physically restructure the clay. The small clay particles flocculate or gather together to form aggregates that are the size of sand and silt particles. Since those particles use the small clay particles so they are no longer available to fill in the air pockets and the soil becomes more open and porous.
Lime
Lime works to change acidic clay or a clay with a low pH to a more neutral clay. Most clay soils are alkaline so adding lime can have a negative effect. However, acidic clay such as red Georgia clay can benefit. The clay can be leached out of the soil over time with rainfall. ClayMend encourages microbial activity that works to more the soil toward neutral and the organic activity can be more stable than lime. Repeat applications of ClayMend will help maintain good microbial activity.
A Better Easy to Use Solution
As we see other soil amendments may improve clay for the short haul, but ClayMend help make more sustainable improvements and repeated applications of ClayMend can result in a continues improvement to the clay soil. Though turning the soil can help accelerate your results ClayMend will penetrate the clay soil and work to restructure it without any digging. That makes ClayMend the best soil amendment for clay.
