I have a large pile of clay on my driveway from post holes. I could not even pay anyone to haul it away so I decided to ammend it and put it into a large ornamental garden. I have added huge amounts of shredded leaves, compost & horse & goat manure mixed with hay. I have been waiting forever for it to dry out enough to till it together. Can I add a couple of bags of fine crushed stone to create air spaces so it will drain better?
Are you able to turn it at all to add your compost material? or is it water logged and too heavy to dig. If you can, dig it off the mound. Try layering it with the compost and sand and turn it every couple of weeks. Create a temporary compost pile. When it is managable then put it where you want to build the bed. Covering it might help to dry it out as well. Liz
Thanks for the help. Lessons I have taken away from this; 1. Never use a rototiller on an asphalt driveway. It chews up the driveway. 2. Never pile clay soil on the driveway in the first place!. ps. I wonder what effect a little asphalt & motor oil will have on my plants.
Will return to original structure as organic matter decomposes and leaches out, unless additional organic matter is dug in periodically. Small amounts of sand or fine gravel will not be adequate to change texture. More than half sand by volume needs to be incorporated before the texture begins to change - unless a significant proportion of sand is already present in the soil. Best use would be to fill in a low spot. If there is another place where it can be spread over the top of similar soil, it can be made suitable for planting by mulching with wood chips afterward and waiting for those to have some loosening effect - from above, as occurs in nature.
