A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2003 Clay instead of dirt

Help!

I have a bank about 8 feet high between my house and the neighbors.

It is red clay, like most of East Tennessee.

I need a solution for planting on it.

I have tried topsoil and plants, they just wash away.

I need a native Tennessee plant that likes clay and is hardy because of the incline.

Any suggestions??


Oh by the way, I know NOTHING about gardening!

Welcome to the forum. I read your other post, I'm so sorry for your loss.

Thank you so much for the response, the ideas, the link and your sentiment.

I am amazed at the support you all offer so openly.

Thank you, and I will keep you posted on my progress.

Hmmm i grew up in tn.kinda familiar with your clay.they always made good mud pies& can form objects with it too..LOL
that good ole tn red clay is good for useing as a soil in pond plants....it won't wash out..LOL
currently guideing my mom through this.if you got the hard clay that you use a pick axe to get into you are going to want to amend and being fall is a good winter project for ya.when you rake up them leaves just go on and lay out on that clay hill.check with the city and see if they do recycleing program with tree trimmings stuff they will usually give it away for free.if not call around for some top soil.i'm not good on measurement stuff i just look and add myself.but then you want to rottertill it in.i'd do at least 5-6 ft of it deep clay drians slower.but one you do all that........you can grow anything
and being a hill....my mom has hill in front yrd and they have used rail road timbers.she had a slight problem with soil washing out last rainfall last week so think they added another row of timber& told her to incline it back a lil& not plant soil to the top of it.your county ext office can give you a list of plants good for your area and can give you list of plants to help with erosion control moms lower middle tn& has heavy shade to partial shade,she don't get much sun in that yard.
I actually talked her into trying to grow in the ground instead of all those containers.shes the queen of containers in /tn(shes real proud of this hole in a bed in her backyard it has plants growing in it...tried telling me she don't grow all in containers.......the ground formed a container....she dug 2 ft of soil out and put in miricle grow and planted impatients in it)


I love my sandy soil.......but do like clay sometimes....like when did my pond after moveing.went to hill for red clay.had 3 inches of sandy soil from pond plants.plants were roots in container...i know where my sand was when eptied to move.

I live in NC. Red clay too. I also have a hill, we call it a burm, in front of my house. It's about 4 feet tall. I have planted guara on it. They are very drought tolerant, but not evergreen. I have also put some coreopsis, and candy dianthus. In the spring I sprinkle cosmos seeds and marigold seeds on it and they seem to do pretty well. None of this is everygreen, but looks pretty in bloom. We planted holly trees across the top to give it some green in winter.

Hi Gardener,
Hope you don't mind that I left out all the 'g's. I live in Maryland and we have lots of clay soil. I've found that the best thing you can do for clay soil is to add lots of organic matter. The best way to do that is with compost. You can make your own (I can give you helpful sites if you would like), you can buy it in bags at places like Home Depot and Lowe's or you can buy it in bulk which is usually less expensive. You don't need added manure, especially if you are considering using native plants. You will find that over time the worms from the organic matter will help to aerate the soil and mix the organic matter in. You can start with a 2" or 3" layer. Mix in as best you can.

Ground covers will also help to keep the soil in place, so my suggestion would be to plant your area in layers with maybe an small accent tree, shrubs, perennials and then groundcovers that grow in clumps instead of running all over the place. I call those plants with good garden manners. Here's some sites that should be helpful.

Click on the catagories in Table of Contents here.
http://soils.usda.gov/sqi/soil_quality/soil_biology/soil_biology_primer.html

http://www.nationalgardening.com/articles/scripts/articles.taf?id=1354
http://www.nationalgardening.com/articles/scripts/articles.taf?id=1359

For native plants for your area.
http://www.se-eppc.org/states/TN/landscape.html
http://www.lib.utk.edu/agvet/agriculture/native_plants.html

TENNESSEE
Tennesse Native plant Society
c/o Department of Botany, University of Tennesse
Knoxville, TN 37996-1100

The Wildflower Society
Goldsmith Civic Garden Center
750 Cherry Road, Memphis, TN 38119-4699

http://www.cedar-grove.com/calculator.asp

For groundcovers, this is a great site for ideas.
http://www.stepables.com/

Don't forget to mulch once you've planted. :-)
http://faq.********* .com/faq/lists/soil/2000054440018388.html
http://www.atstecks.com/mulch.htm

Hope this helps,
Newt

Thank you!!