>> it's just simpler to do it the way we do.
I believe it! And your soil quality must be excellent, as compared to "less awful than pure clay", which is the state of many of my beds at this time.
>> I have tried mixing sand with the clay and it was just a big mess.
I agree. Unless you add at least 20% compost, sand doesn't help clay. Clay seems to need 50% or more compost if you only add compost. And I have to renew the compost often.
The combination of compost PLUS sand seemed to help clay more than either one alone.
BUT, it seems to me that with my clay, adding only 20% compost with NO sand doesn't help much, and as soon as the compost decomposes, I'm back to pure clay pudding.
It seemed that when I added not-enough-compost, even a little sand really helped the clay stay friable and less pliable. I imagine that it helped the amended clay stay as discrete clods or peds after I "fluffed it up". Pure clay just flows and deforms and glues back together until it's all one continuous puddle.
I haven't done a comparison test of clay-plus-bark-fines-only, compared to clay-plus-compost-only or clay-plus-sand-only. . Now I just add as much compost as I can afford, and as much fine bark and grit-sized bark as I can afford, then add as much very coarse sand or grit (crushed rock) as I can afford and carry (HEAVY!).
Your idea of starting with a matrix of 90% dime-and-nickle-size bark sounds wonderfully aerated AND organic.
