Organic material is the best thing! If you are buying it, look for "soil conditioner" in Home Depot or Lowes - it is very finely ground pine bark. If you can get compost (like from a county facility such as Cobb), that is quite good (or you can make your own of course).

If you are planting a large area, it is best to work it in across the whole area (consider renting or borrowing a tiller).

Once you plant the area, mulch the area with an organic mulch (wheat straw or grass clippings for a vegetable garden or pine bark, pine straw for ornamental areas). This mulch will break down over time (and attract beneficial creatures like earthworms that will help improve the soil for you); you will occasionally need to add to it, but it is worth it because it is enriching the soil as it goes.

Hope that helps.

I dont know what part of the state you are in..but I would recommend composted horse manure with woodshavings..It is some great stuff and really enriches the soil without burning.. I have 6 horses..so I have access to lots.. We age it and mix oak leaves with it.. You can usually find it free or cheap..(free for fresh...cheap for composted) in the Market Bulletin..Good Luck
Casey

Judy, where are you near? That will help. There are some places that "make" fabulous ammendments and it is so much less expensive to purchase them bulk and not in bags if you live close by.
And sometimes there are even places to get free amendments (like horse or cow).

I second most of what was said here

You will find a gaggle of suggestions if you search this forum for terms like: amend clay, amend soil

Good luck!

Ditto...
Also, consider raising garden beds a bit. The mostly clay structure does not have good drainage. Raising beds can also prevent run off water getting into your garden.
Most garden veggies do not like their feet wet all the time, especially garden herbs like sage, parsley, thyme, oregano, onions. You may also consider adding some sand.

Do no expect to get a near perfect soil in one year. You will have to keep amending for couple of years or more to condition that clay soil.

Don't dig a hole in the clay and fill it with ammended soil and plant. The clay basin will fill with water and drown the plant's roots unless you provide drainage for the hole such as on a slope, using a raised bed or even a trench with gravel in the bottom.

When I first moved here, I turned the soil once about 6-8 inches deep. I broke up the clay clumps, added large amounts of compost (finished and unfinished), leaves, and mixed it all together. My first year of gardening was a little disappointing, but that is typical for a first year. The plants grew but not much yield, again this typical. However, my second year was awesome. Try not to turn the soil too much after the first time, just rake in your organic matter and let the worms and beneficial bacteria do their thing. They will keep the clay soil from clumping too much.

I have had the same method and experience as tifbee.
It worked.

I would suggest you take a look at /www.squarefootgardening.com/ his method is just perfect for our red clay. I have been using it for 3 houses in red clay, great veggies from the first try. You only need 6 inches of good above ground soil to grow, you just add it on top of the clay and go on planting your veggies, much easier than digging clay :-)
Happy Gardening

On Sunday, i did some pruning and stuck my turning fork into the red clay for the first time, to dig out some weeds. It seems daunting, and I'm just not sure I'm up for it. It seems it would be easier to excavate to at least 12", than try to work in the amendments to that depth. I only have the front yard so far, the builders landscape, the shrubs and roses seem fine, but I need to add in perennials and hopefully groundcovers. What are some perennials, shrubs and trees that will survive in the clay with out too much added? I only do boxed raised beds for veggies, and any other perennial beds will be terraced in the back yard, but still an overwhelming job. Does the pine straw or bark lower the ph at all? About the square foot gardening, my friend just put in her first raised bed veggie garden last year using Mel's Mix, it far exceeded the expectations. and WOWED everyone.

Good ol' lantana has done well for me in soil that is less than perfect. Rather than the small, puny stuff that is dead after a frost, I like the hardy bush type (that will come back every year.)

It gets REALLY big and is pretty spectacular, especially when covered with butterflies.

Another suggestion is to get a book called "The Southern Gardener's Book of Lists." I seem to remember it has a list of plants for clay soil! It is a super book -- I've used it a lot!

Good organic gardening practices will help bring the critters to your clay soil and they will help: organic mulches, compost, leaf litter, pine straw ... they attract worms and small beetles that eat them and poop out nutrients. Pine straw and mulch will not significantly affect the soil pH.

One good annual that I've found for clay is annual Vinca - can't find it in the stores much before May but it is unstoppable. Don't forget that clay helps hold moisture so that having some clay is not a bad thing at all.

And of course my favorite recommendation for trees and shrubs - go native!

Here is a link that might be useful: Landscaping - plants of the Georgia Piedmont

If you live in a county that gives away municipal compost (not sewage sludge but composted yard waste) that can be a nice free source of organic material to lay over the clay. I've had good success laying that over newspaper and letting it sit for a year while the worms do their thing. You can plant in it right away, but the nutrients are better if you let it rest a while.

Also, wood chips from tree trimming companies are free, but you have to be willing to let them break down for at least a year before you can plant in them. They do make good mulch on top of already amended soil.

I have had very bad luck digging clay and planting without amending. It just bakes to concrete and is really hard to water. You could try digging it, planting, and then mulching thickly with chopped leaves or wood chips BEFORE it gets re-wet and settles into cement. That's worked really well for me in the past and is easier than mixing the amendments right in.

I second the free woodchip idea. If there is an area you don't expect to get to this year, then put a 3"-4" layer of wood chips there and the earthworms will work it into your soil for you.

Has anyone heard of Granite something (dust...don't remember the second part of it) that is considered best soil ammendment for clay soil.

I had read it in newspaper several years ago.

If anyone knows anything about it or has used it, please let me know. I would also like to know the source to buy it from.

Thanks much!

Granite dust is a good ADDITION to composted organic matter in a garden, but alone, it is not enough.
I buy #2 chicken grit to add as granite however, I only use this in areas I particularly need it such as under bulbs, rosemary, lavender and things that need the extra drainage, and also in my vegetable garden because it raises the vitamin content in vegetables.
Re-mineralizing the soil here in general is an excellent practice.
You can also get granite dust from places like LaFarge. You will need to call to make sure it's at a 250 screening which is the correct "crush" size.

WHILE YOU ARE DOING ALL THIS, CONSIDER RAISING THE BEDS
AND MAKE SURE NO RUN OFF WATER WILL COME TOWARD YOUR BEDS.
ON A FLAT LAND WITH CLAY SOIL IT IS DIFFICULT TO MANAGE DRAINAGE. BUT ON SLOAPED LANDSCAPE YOU CAN PROVIDE TRENCHES, DIRECT RUN OFF WATER AWAY FROM YOUR GARDEN AREA.

judy, I did what tifbee did. Clay is good and bad. It's good because it will hold water and does have organic material in it. It's bad because it can get as hard as concrete if not mulched and be difficult to work with. I know you are anxious to get out there and plant stuff, but if you can be patient and take this first year to prepare your soil, you will be much better off. A spade fork works wonders! You can break up the hard clay and amend using a tiller. I've found that composted manure, natures miracle (available in HD) or just plain top soil or garden soil mixed in helps. The next most important thing is mulch. You cannot leave clay soil unmulched. If it's dry, it will become hard, if it rains, it will wash away.

Once you plant you plants, the soil will revert back to its original state in a year or two anyway, but by breaking it up prior to planting, you will give your plants a better start to spread their roots and get nutrients. And by mulching you will add a layer of topsoil that is needed. You can also just keep mulching every year or so to build on that topsoil.

For veggies, you may be better off doing the raised beds with all amended soil for tomatoes and such. Since tomatoes are really annuals, they would do better with very rich soil.