True on the bowl thing BUT in a hot climate the normal soil wicks the water upwards where it evoporates this one of the best reasons for avoiding dry salt type chemical fertilizers as the salts remain in the bowl. If you are dealing with 'hard pan' with good drainage below the pan just punch some holes throught the pan otherwise think about where you can run a ditch.FarmerJamie said:Grow buckwheat or another cover crop, and then till it under. Compost, definitely....and most importantly, TIME.Happy to be Me said:We have very heavy clay soil on land that was just cleared of trees and brush. What should I do to start improving it for a spring garden? We live in Southeast Alabama, so the winter is very mild. Don't know if there is something I could plant over the winter that could be turned under in the spring?
Drainage itself is important. If you carve out a garden in a plot heavy clay soil, you could find yourself, after a few seasons, creating essentially a clay "bowl" filled with your good soil that then fills with water after every rain.