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Hello all, the soil in my raised beds is heavy clay type and the level has dropped since I put it in (spring 2008) so I topped them up with well-rotted manure last November. I am attempting to operate a 'no-dig' policy and hoped the worms in the compost would do the work for me.
The compost is actually so well-rotted that the worms had moved on so it hasn't really worked in to the soil. Bearing in my mind I don't want to damage the structure of the soil by digging, should I just rake it level and sow / transplant straight in to it?
Also, I haven't sown yet and am considering covering each bed with clear plastic in order to warm up the soil for the next couple of weeks - is this a good idea whether I dig the soil or not?.
Finally, I have one bed for root vegetables which I covered with autumn leaves rather than manure (to prevent forking/splitting). I covered this in plastic garden mesh to hold them in place so it was fully open to the elements but the leaves haven't decomposed. What should I do with these?
The compost is actually so well-rotted that the worms had moved on so it hasn't really worked in to the soil. Bearing in my mind I don't want to damage the structure of the soil by digging, should I just rake it level and sow / transplant straight in to it?
Also, I haven't sown yet and am considering covering each bed with clear plastic in order to warm up the soil for the next couple of weeks - is this a good idea whether I dig the soil or not?.
Finally, I have one bed for root vegetables which I covered with autumn leaves rather than manure (to prevent forking/splitting). I covered this in plastic garden mesh to hold them in place so it was fully open to the elements but the leaves haven't decomposed. What should I do with these?
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