JoeReal

I think you guys did the right thing, insane to the world, but right for plants.

when my wife first planted fruit trees, half of them died. i found out that the problem was heavy clay that is anoxic where no water almost moves through. It literally drowns the plants when they are watered

so I dug out 3 ft wide by 3 ft deep, most of the border, totalling about 245 ft perimeter distance. I then installed real drainage pipes and aerators, mixed the soil with sand, gypsum, lots of organic matter, and put the amended soil back in. Was higher by about a foot after all those amendments. Now I can plant a wide variety of plants, even those that people would say can't be grown in our city. The plants have been very healthy in the amended soil.

My wife say I was insane, but a couple of years later, she would tell me that I did the right thing.