Re: Rocky, clay soil
Dean, those photos are very helpful. Dig to a depth of at least 2 feet. Fill the holes half-way with water, mixing in about 1 cup of liquid gypsum (or 1/2 cup powdered gypsum) per 5 gallons of water and let it soak in.
For the excavated soil: remove all rocks larger than a golfball. Normally for your situation I would recommend 1/4 native soil, 1/4 quarter-inch pumice, 1/4 washed sharp sand (base-pack for pavers), 1/4 composted organic material. However, it appears you have gravel in your soil. So you could go with 1/3 native, 1/3 washed sharp sand and 1/3 composted organic material or even better - ground coir. Also add 2 cups of a humus-based soil conditioner (NPK of 3-3-3 or 4-4-4 at the maximum) per cubic yard of soil. If you don't have access to a humus-based soil conditioner you could substitute Kellogg's N'Rich for the 1/3 organic material.
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