u/Savings_Car361

Moved into a place with heavy clay and spent last season alternating between watering a bit every other day and doing one deep soak once a week. My tomatoes and peppers clearly thrived on the deep soak, roots went deeper and I saw less blossom end rot, but my pots and newly sown lettuces sulked unless I gave them small frequent drinks. Now I stick to deep infrequent for in-ground and hand-mist the pots, but I’m still fuzzy on exact timing and how deep is deep enough in clay. If you garden in clay or use lots of containers, what schedule actually made the biggest difference for you and how do you judge it's working?

Bought a cheap electronic stud finder and it freaks out every time I get near outlets or plumbing, so I can't tell what's real and what's metal. I already tried calibrating on a blank patch, scanning slow, flipping it vertical/horizontal and lowering sensitivity but still get false beeps. Thinking about getting a magnetic finder or just using outlet edge + 16" rule and small pilot holes to confirm, but don't want to spend money if there's a simple technique. Tell me what you actually do when outlets/pipes confuse the unit and which models or tricks actually work for you.

I gardened for two seasons treating soil like nothing more than a place to stick plants, using bagged mix and a quick feed when things looked sad. Last spring I started layering compost, mulching heavy, and planting a cover crop, and by fall the beds were visibly richer and my tomatoes actually tasted better. It took about one full season of consistent soil work before I stopped thinking of it as just dirt and started planning around building soil instead. What was the turning point for you and what was the first change you made to your soil?