Heavy Soils in Home Gardens

Clayey and other heavy soils may be made lighter by adding vegetable matter such as manure,  leaf mold, compost or cover crops; by digging or  plowing in late fall and leaving the clods or furrows  unbroken for the frost to break up; by adding sifted  coal ashes, especially during winter; by applications  of "agricultural" (hydrated) lime or hardwood ashes  to the surface after plowing or digging but before harrowing or raking (1 pound to 10 sq. ft.) and by  mulches of fine materials such as buckwheat hulls,  commercial humus and shredded peat moss during the  growing season and turning them under when the  ground is dug or plowed. 

Copyright Information: Gardening Short Cuts

See Also: Soil Sterilizing