7

Someone gave me 1 sack of rice husk and multiple sacks of clay soil. I've been thinking if just planting in a pure clay soil is enough or do I really need to mix it to rice husk?

  1. If I need to mix it, what are the ratio?
  2. What are the cons and pros of mixing and not mixing it?

Right now I try to put pure clay soil and after watering my plant it looks like mud to me.

Cary Bondoc
  • 1,266
  • 1
  • 10
  • 25
  • Clay soils are not ideal for plants. Mixing organic matter such as rice husks, compost etc will help, but really the clay needs to be broken down and decompacted. Gypsum is a good option but can take a long time to act. – Viv Mar 15 '16 at 00:43
  • Oh, I realized that maybe it's not clay soil because it seems to absorb water well. It is brownish and looks like mud to me when it is wet, but whenever I watered the soil it absorbs the water. – Cary Bondoc Mar 15 '16 at 01:18
  • 1
    Clay absorbs water very well. The 'problem' tends to be getting it dry after – GardenerJ Mar 15 '16 at 11:53
  • Ah, yes. That's exactly the reaction of the soil when watered. – Cary Bondoc Mar 15 '16 at 23:54
  • What are you growing? It makes a huge difference. Clay isn't necessarily undesirable. Also, where do you live? – Brōtsyorfuzthrāx Mar 17 '16 at 05:27
  • I am planning to use it in carrots, garlic, tomatoes and potatoes. If possible I have also herbs like basil and parsley – Cary Bondoc Mar 17 '16 at 23:49

1 Answers1

3

Loam, a soil type considered by many to be the optimal garden soil, is composed of 45 percent sand, 25 percent silt, 25 percent clay, and 5 percent organic matter.

Clay is composed of the tiniest of soil particles. Sand and silt are larger soil particles. If you're starting with 100% clay, and want to make it into loam, then it's a task that most people will not attempt. You're talking about adding silt, sand and organic material to make it usable, and being able to mix it adequately.

Adding organic material doesn't help much as you haven't changed the soil type. And once that organic material (humus) is gone, it's just clay again.

You could try adding the clay to a sandy soil if that's what you have, but it's hard work getting the two to mix well enough.

Graham Chiu
  • 23,044
  • 5
  • 36
  • 92