Hello Michael,

I just want to share some insights in your query that might somehow help you in your farming endeavor.
Clay type of soil is very suitable to irrigated rice farming because it has capacity to hold water. If you have irrigation either NIA system, a shallow tube well (STW) or open source, then you can develop your area into a rice field.
You can also grow other crops like corn or vegetables depending upon the location of your farm (lowland or highland). There are techniques however, that you can practice to improve your soil to make it suitable to the kind of crop you wish to grow.
Please contact your Municipal Agriculture Office for further information and support.

Thank you very much for visiting our site. We look forward to your continuous interaction.

Ma. Norma G. Maddalora
ATI-RTC 02
Cabagan, Isabela

Mr. Montuya,

Generally in lowland areas, rice can be planted in clayey soils. The characteristic of clayey soils, which has more water-retaining capacity than the other soil types, is suitable to the rice plant which requires considerable amount of water for its growth and development.

There are also some vegetables that can thrive in clayey soils. The pole sitao, for one, is recommended by PCARRD since it can be planted in areas that have clayey soils.

For better advise, I recommend that you visit your local Agriculture Office in your city/municipality. The Agricultural Technologists there are in a better position to recommend what specific crops can be grown in your area. You can also ask them to have your area analyzed for soil fertility.

Aureo C. Martinez, Jr.
Online Corn Course Developer
ATI-Regional Training Center 01
Tebag, Sta. Barbara, Pangansinan

Cultivating Clay Soil...

Clay soil is a soil that is composed of mostly clay particles. Soil that consists of over 50% clay particles is referred to as “heavy clay.” But even clay soil has some good qualities. Clay, because of its density, retains moisture well. It also tends to be more nutrient-rich than other soil types. The reason for this is that the particles that make up clay soil are negatively charged. They attract and pick up positively charged particles, such as calcium, potassium, and magnesium. In addition to the drawbacks mentioned above, clay also has slow draining ability, slow to warm in the spring, compacts easily which makes it difficult for plant roots to grow, has a tendency to heave in winter and a tendency to be alkaline.

Improving your clay soil will take a bit of work, but the good news is that the work you do will instantly improve the structure of your soil and make it easier to work with. Most of the work is done up front, with some annual chores to continue improving your soil.

It is best to improve an entire planting area all at once. When you dig a planting hole in clay soil, then plop in a plant and nicely amend only the soil you use to backfill, your plant will be happy for a little while. But what you've essentially done is make the planting-hole equivalent of a flower pot. Eventually, the plant will start sending out roots, but when they reach the limits of the nicely amended soil you backfilled with, they will have a hard time expanding into the hard clay around them, and will start circling around in the planting hole instead. You'll end up with a perfectly root bound plant, and it won't grow as large or as healthy as it should so it's best to improve the whole planting area at once. ^^

To improve your soil, you'll need to add 6-8 inches of organic matter to the entire bed. You can add any organic matter you can get your hands on. Grass clippings (as long as they haven't been treated with chemicals), shredded leaves, rotted manure, and compost are all perfect choices. Spread your organic matter on top of the soil. Here's where the manual labor comes in. The organic matter needs to be mixed into the top six to twelve inches of soil. Digging it in and mixing it with a shovel is a great way to do this, as it moves a lot of earth without pulverizing the soil particles the way tilling can. However, if digging is just too hard on your back, using a tiller is a fine method.

When you're finished, your garden bed will be several inches higher than it was originally. It will settle some over the course of a season, but the soil structure will keep improving as microorganisms in the soil work to break down all of the organic matter you've added. The bed can be planted immediately, however. You'll be adding more organic matter on the top of the bed once or twice a year. This will continue the process of improving the soil's structure and offset any settling that happens.

Plants for Clay Soil...

When clay soils are wet they are very sticky, lumpy and pliable but when they dry they form rock-hard clots. Clay soils are composed of very fine particles with few air spaces, thus they are hard to work and often drain poorly - they are also prone to water logging in spring. Blue or grey clays have poor aeration and must be loosened in order to support healthy growth. Red colour in clay soil indicates good aeration and a "loose" soil that drains well. As clay contains high nutrient levels plants grow well if drainage is adequate.
Example... Weeds...
Blue Star (Zones 5-9)
Butterfly Weed (Zones 4-9)
Aster (Zones 4-8)
Tickseed (Zones 4-8)
Coneflower (Zones 3-9)
Sea Holly (Zones 5-10)
Swamp Sunflower (Zones 6-9)
False Sunflower (Zones 5-9)
Ox Eye (Zones 4-9)
Daylily (Zones 3-10)
Kansas Gayfeather (Zones 4-9)
Blazing Star, Gayfeather (Zones 4-9)
Canadian Wild Rye (Zones 3-8)
Eulalia Grass (Zones 4-9)
Switch Grass (Zones 5-9)
Fountain Grass (Zones 6-9)
Indian Grass, Wood Grass (Zones 5-8)
Prairie Cord Grass (Zones 4-7)