What Are the Characteristics of Clay Soil?
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA image by dirtydancer from Fotolia.com jQuery(document).ready(function(){ jQuery(‘#jsArticleStep1 span.image a:first’).attr(‘href’,’http://i.ehow.com/images/a06/2s/ld/characteristics-clay-soil_-1.1-800X800.jpg’); }); Clay soil is a challenge to gardeners. Clay soil is often referred to as “heavy soil.” Gardening in clay soil can pose a major challenge primarily due to the poor drainage in the soil. Clay soil also tends to compact and become cloddy when it is tilled, walked on, or worked when it is wet. Clay soil that becomes too compacted can take a long time to restore to a good soil structure. The inherent wet quality of clay soil requires the addition of large amounts of organic matter such as green plant material, animal manures, leaf mold and compost to improve its structure. Physical Characteristics Contrary to sandy soil, clay soil has very small particles with tiny pore spaces or micropores. Since there are more pore spaces, clay soil has an overall larger