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Fixerupper 12-10-2012 20:24:41 100.42.82.30 Report to Moderator

You aren't going to cure it in one year no matter what you use but it can be made into good soil over time. You need to get organic matter in there to loosen it up. Manure it heavy with manure mixed with a bedding material that will break down into organic material fairly fast. Corn stalk bedding breaks down decently fast but the cobs will take a couple of years. Straw sometimes does not break down as fast. Wood chips will take forever and will tie up nitrogen. Anything composting in the soil will use nitrogen so you have to take that into account if you grow grass type plants like corn. I have revitalized several sites where buildings were buried and the bulldozer left heavy clay on top. Lots of bedded hog manure for several years did a lot of good. I grew alfalfa on one site for several years and the roots did a decent job of loosening it up. Come to think of it, I've read about some farmers using tillage turnips to loosen soil and raise organic matter. These turnips aren't edible and grow fairly big. When they die there's a void in the soil after it decomposes. Won't give you a garden next year, but it's another option. Jim [Reply]   [No Email]