Shadegardener said:I have dug amendments into that soil in the past but it seems like I would have to do it consistently as the benefits tend to decline over time.
It helps if some of the amendments aren't organic, like crushed stone, grit, very coarse sand or possibly Perlite. Compost is digested very quickly. Bark lasts longer, and coarse coir fiber seemed to last longer. But grit is forever!
Even then, the "loft" or air spaces tend to settle or slump and fill up with clay and silt.. That's why I turn deeply every few years, at least in the beds that are still very heavy and clay-ey. I try to "whip up" the soil like whisking air into an omelet. A broadfork does for top few inches what I try to do more deeply by turning and forking.
