3 2009-08-30T22:03:27Z false One reason I built raised beds is that my backyard is very rocky. On one side, it's so rocky that a shovelful of dirt will yield more rocks than dirt. I don't know if there was ever any topsoil to speak of here, or if it has all washed away -- but I don't have any now. But on the less rocky side of my yard, the dirt was mostly compacted clay. It was very hard to dig in. I built my Northeast raised bed on that side, right over the grass and clay. This spring, when I worked in new amendments to the bed, I noticed that my shovel was going down really deep, past the bottom of the bed and into the formerly compacted clay. I was pleased that the lasagna-type layering I did had created such nice, easily dug dirt down there, but didn't think much more of it. Yesterday, while I was getting my beds ready for Fall planting, I noticed that the dirt in that bed had a kind of sandy consistency. Not that it's turning into sand or anything, but it's a bit grainy, totally unlike the soil and compost I've used to fill and/or amend the bed. I poked around a bit, and the dirt everywhere in the bed uniformly has this grainy/sandy texture. My theory is that it's that clay soil underneath working it's way up into the bed through the action of earthworms -- this is also my one bed that has a decent amount of earthworms in it. I found this interesting. Clay is said to be very nutritious soil, for plants and for people, because it has lots of minerals that the plants absorb. I'm happy to have more of it, in moderation, in my beds. 6 false 67722 false false false Entry 2009-08-30T04:00:00Z DMY Public 2009-08-30T22:03:27Z 1713 Sunny 86 F