Improve compacted garden soil

When to do it

When an empty bed is moist and workable, never saturated.

What you need

• Fork and gloves
• Mature compost if appropriate
• Defined paths

How to do it

1. Compare the hard patch with nearby soil and review foot traffic. A dry clay bed is not necessarily compacted.
2. Make access possible from the edges so you can stop walking on the growing area.
3. In an empty bed, insert a fork and gently rock it to open the compacted layer without repeatedly turning the soil. Stop near roots, pipes or other services.
4. Apply mature compost as surface cover where suitable. Keep the bed covered and let roots and soil organisms help rebuild structure.
5. Check infiltration and plant growth over the next season. Persistent deep compaction or poor drainage needs local assessment.

What success looks like

• Water enters more evenly and roots can explore the bed.
• The growing area stays free of foot traffic.

Watch out for

• Working wet clay into a smear.
• Adding a little sand to clay and expecting loam.

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