SHREVEPORT, La. - At Akin’s Nursery in Shreveport, owner Jennifer McGimsey says one of the biggest challenges local gardeners face is right under their feet: Northwest Louisiana’s heavy clay soil.

There are many different types of soil in our area, but clay seems to be more abundant than are others. On the one hand, clay soil is heavy, hard to work unless the moisture level is just right, and ...

In a perfect world, we’d all have rich, loamy soil to grow our favorite flowers, perennials, shrubs, and trees. But in many yards, the soil is clay. Typically, if your soil tends to stick like putty ...

Not every gardener gets good dirt. In fact, the coveted sandy loam is uncommon in this area. Most of us get dirt with too much clay or too much sand -- and that creates a challenge when it comes to ...

While spending hours working on your garden can be a joy, it's always nice to have some plants that grow and thrive with little effort on your part. But if you have especially clay-heavy soil, finding ...

Clay soil can present several challenges to gardeners due to its density. One way to amend compacted clay soil is with a ...

Clay soil can be difficult for gardeners to work with because it is slow-draining and compacts easily, causing plants to suffer from root rot and other fungal diseases. While some plants can thrive in ...