Clay Breaker Use - Knowledgebase Question

Leicester, No
Avatar for kcolegrove20
Question by kcolegrove20
April 11, 2009
I live in Western NC and our ground is ALL clay. We also have steep areas that I can't use a tiller on. So working top soil or compost in manually is very hard. Can I use Clay Breaker where I already have established plants to help prep for new plantings?


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Answer from NGA
April 11, 2009
Clay-breakers are chemicals that actually change the structure of the soil. They change the molecular structure so that soil particles will clump together and open up spaces between them so that water and nutrients can flow through and air can enter. Clay soils often have a poor structure. They are often compacted and there is very little in the way of pore space. This means that it is hard for plant roots to push through the soil and they also cannot get the water, food and oxygen they need to grow properly. Digging up the soil, adding gypsum or organic matter and encouraging earthworms may all help to improve the structure of the soil, but where this is not possible, a clay-breaking product is a useful option.

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