Things You'll Need:
- Power tiller
- Compost
- Bark
- Pepper seedlings
- Hand cultivator
- Straw
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Step 1
Till the garden bed to a 12-inch depth using a power tiller. Remove any rocks and large roots uncovered by tilling.
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Step 2
Place a 5-inch layer of mature compost on top of the bed, followed by 3-inch layer of wood chips. Till these amendments in to a 12-inch depth.
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Step 3
Plant pepper seedling to the same depth in the amended clay bed that they were in the nursery pots. Space seedlings 12 inches apart in rows that are 3 feet apart.
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Step 4
Provide 1 to 2 inches of water per week to each pepper plant. If water begins collecting on the bed and not draining work in 1 to 2 inches of compost around each plant with a hand cultivator, taking care not to damage the roots of the plant.
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Step 5
Remove the pepper plants after the final harvest in fall. Amend the bed with a 3-inch layer of compost and bark, tilling it in as before. Cover the beds with a 5-inch layer of straw mulch afterward.
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Step 6
In the spring, till in the straw, which will have begun to break down over the winter. Amend the soil with 5 inches of compost and 3 inches of bark as before, then plant new pepper seedlings. Over time, the repeated additions of these amendments will continue to improve the clay soil.
