RoseBlush1 said:
@CaliFlowers, Ken ... Are you saying I should not put a layer of gravel between the clay at the base of the bed and the amended soil ? It would be next to the block wall.
I'm not Ken but gravel at the base of a planter under finer soil actually impedes drainage of the top layer. This is because water doesn't cross the interface between finer material overlaying coarse material until the upper layer is saturated. So it has the opposite effect of what one would intuitively think. Sooo, based on that, it would make the planting soil hold more water. This phenomenon is called a "perched water table".
