A heads up for anyone trying to grow tomatoes in heavy clay soil

After two seasons of pitiful yields, I finally switched from just digging in a bag of compost to building a proper 12-inch raised bed filled with a 50/50 mix of topsoil and compost, and the difference in root health and fruit production this year has been absolutely night and day.

3 comments

3 Comments

daniel_wood28d ago

Raised beds are a total game changer for clay soil because they let you control the drainage completely. You can even add a layer of gravel at the very bottom for extra insurance against waterlogging. It's more work upfront, but the payoff in healthy plants is totally worth it.

verawhite28d ago

Honestly, I built my first raised bed last spring and the amount of clay I dug out could have started a pottery studio. Tbh, I was so proud of it I took like a hundred pictures. Ngl, my back still hurts just thinking about moving all that soil, but you're totally right about the plants. Everything just went nuts in there compared to the sad stuff in the ground.

alex30727d ago

Did you try @daniel_wood's gravel tip at the bottom?