what plants can i grow in my clay soil garden

fifi35

Hi

I have a spare bit of land in my garden. Well its a border realy. It is about 6ft long and two feet wide. I would like to use it for growing veg or fruit in however the soil is really heavy clay. I do have an Azelea bush that has been growing there for years and appears to be doing ok.

I have some fruit trees from Aldi and some Rhubarb and Horseraddish. I also have a blueberry tree.

The spot gets the sun during the afternoon.

Do you think the above veg and fruit will do ok. The clay soil can't be too bad as there a lots of juicy fat worms were I have been digging.

Can you recommend any other type of fruit or veg that may grow in that soil.

Thanks.

Fifi.

cubegame

fifi35 wrote: »

Hi

I have a spare bit of land in my garden. Well its a border realy. It is about 6ft long and two feet wide. I would like to use it for growing veg or fruit in however the soil is really heavy clay. I do have an Azelea bush that has been growing there for years and appears to be doing ok.

I have some fruit trees from Aldi and some Rhubarb and Horseraddish. I also have a blueberry tree.

The spot gets the sun during the afternoon.

Do you think the above veg and fruit will do ok. The clay soil can't be too bad as there a lots of juicy fat worms were I have been digging.

Can you recommend any other type of fruit or veg that may grow in that soil.

Thanks.

Fifi.

If you can wait to plant you could use a mixture of digging, clay breaker (gypsum) and green manure to help break down the clay.

angelavdavis

Clay soil is usually quite fertile as it was originally sea bed, so the plants should be fine. Your main issue will likely be drainage and of course it being heavy when dug, so if you want to grow more in the area, I would ensure you dig plenty of compost/manure into it, and also some gravel to open up the structure of the soil. Personally, I would grow brassicas and peas/beans, rather than parsnips or carrots as the heaviness of the soil will create problems for root veg. If the soil isn't prone to being too waterlogged, you could also try growing potatoes to help break up the soil.

In fact, the fruit trees should be fine and may even help over time as they require quite a lot of water.

Although your soil must have some acidity (due to the azalea doing so well), I think it is too wet for the blueberry which I would keep in a large clay pot with acid free draining soil.

I would plant the horseradish in a pot in the soil as it can take over the area easily like a weed and is a devil to get rid of!