The Affordable Kitchen Essential That Can Loosen Your Compact Clay Soil

Clay soil is often misunderstood as bad, which is perfectly reasonable when you see waterlogged patches all across the yard. However, although it's heavy and difficult to work with, clay soil can be packed with nutrients, resulting in ground that's very fertile. For example, although root vegetables may not grow well because they can't push through heavy, compacted soil, there's a whole bunch of tasty veggies that will grow quite happily in this medium. 

Unfortunately, clay does make it difficult for seeds to get started, so gardeners often look for solutions that will help break it down. Regular digging or tilling alone won't do, and can actually increase compaction, making things worse. You could skip the problem altogether and start a raised bed garden, but that involves a lot of work, and all the soil would need to be brought in. Thankfully, you can avoid that expense with an affordable kitchen essential you may already have in a cupboard: cornstarch. Although you might usually use it to thicken sauces or soups, out in the garden it can do just the opposite, opening up the texture a little and helping spread moisture more evenly. Apart from being cheap, cornstarch is also organic, of course, so you're not adding anything to the soil that would do harm if it got into your food.

Cornstarch should only be added to soil a little at a time. Add too much right away, and it will clump together and leave a soggy mess. It's also a good idea to do a test patch to see how it reacts with your soil before committing to a larger area.

It's important to note that amending clay soil with cornstarch is not a quick fix, but rather one that will help improve the structure of clay soil over time. You should also consider things like adding compost, leaf mold, and green manure. Organic matter will not only enhance the structure and add valuable minerals but should also provide a home for beneficial microorganisms that will accelerate the soil improvement process.

Working with compact clay soil is never easy at first, but there are a number of effective and affordable strategies that will help you improve the soil, so you can eventually create the garden of your dreams. You might also find that cornstarch crops up again from time to time as a gardening essential. It's remarkably versatile, and there are more than a dozen other ways it can transform your yard and how you work in it.