Help Digging New Clay Allotment

[madgirlipswich]

Hello

This is my first post so thank you for your patience.

Just started a new allotment. The site used to be allotments but has been left for a few years. The soil is heavy clay.

Reading back through other posts the general suggestion seems to be wait until October to dig but I want to get something in the ground asap.

We're having difficulty though figuring the best way to cultivate the soil by hand.

Starting off by skimming with a spade, then forking over. But this is leaving large lumps which get very hard and are difficult to break up further.

What's the best way/the best tools/the best order to prepare the soil so you get something soily enough to plant in?

Advice much appreciated.

Cheers

madgirlipswich

[Baldy]

I'm not an expert with clay soil - someone who is will be along soon - however in general I think the more organic matter you can add the better, that's probably the thing to do though its a bit 'long-term'
Maybe put some raised beds in - doesn't have to be anything fancy could literally just be a few bags of compost or growbags emptied out to raise the growing surface by a few centimetres - your seedlings then get going in that and are a bit bigger when their roots hit the clay.
Its not all bad news with clay soil:
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=620

Welcome along to the Vine btw

[Snoop Puss]

I had terrible clay soil when I first started. It felt like dreadfully hard work and I almost gave up. But looking back, I grew some of my best ever cabbages, onions and squash.

What I did was dig the absolute minimum possible and just pile on as much organic matter as I could find on the surface of the soil. I was lucky in that I managed to get hold of a lot of hay that I laid down a few inches thick as a mulch. It made a huge difference the following year. There was no point trying root vegetables but I tell you, I'd love to be able to grow now the cabbages and sprouts I had that year.

Have a look at this link as well:
https://www.growveg.co.uk/guides/gro...ay-soil/?redir

[Jay-ell]

You might want to Google no dig gardening and have a look through the videos on YouTube.

It's basically lay down cardboard, pile compost on top and plant into that.

Check your local council for municipal green waste compost - they may be able to deliver a waggon load for a reasonable price if you can't collect.

P.s how rude of me if forgot to say welcome so welcome to the vine MGI

[veggiechicken]

Hi and welcome. Anyone Mad will fit in well here
I agree with the others - try No Dig methods. Lots of information at Home - No Dig Organic Gardening

[TrixC]

My soil is clay and I really despaired the first year. I couldn't really break it up at all so I just got a few bags of garden compost, spread it on top of the soil and planted into that. And the next year I discovered an amazing tool called a Chillington crocodile hoe which really helped with clearing weeds and breaking up the soil. After a couple of years of liberally applying organic material in a no dig system I have a productive plot. I find I have to work with transplants rather than direct sowing seed, and it's important to keep up with the watering, but otherwise clay is fine. Keep going.

[fishpond]

No dig, just a load (4" minimum) of organic material.
Again utube--Charles Dowding, trust me, it works.
Clay soil is brilliant-it just needs organics laid on top for the worms, bacteria, nematodes etc to do their bit.

[Jungle Jane]

We haven't had rain for a long time & with the sun we've just had,my clay's like rock at the moment but after the rain it'll be easier. I dig some old compost into the bed when I'm planting out so it's well mixed in & the plant has a little bit of compost contact as well as the soil.

[flynch]

Rent a rotavator and add as much compost and sand as you can. Mine was the same and that's what I did much easier and can get a large area done in a dat

[1Bee]

Our soil is clay with nails, glass and perennial weeds... Because of the weeds we can't do no-dig. I run a spade round the edge of any space I want to clear, then fork over to create manageable clods, then get down on my knees and break them up with a three-pronged hand cultivator tool, pulling out the nasties as I go. It's time-consuming but works. If the clods are too hard I water them!

Then it's lots of organic matter, including mulching with grass clippings.

There's usually one bed I don't manage to dig properly, so I cover with cardboard and/or weed membrane and create planting holes through that.

Good luck!

[Bex2012]

My soil is clay too, at the moment its dust and heavy lumps! I put some manure down a few weeks ago, but im seeing improving the soil as a long term thing. Im planning on putting bags of compost and manure down (as funds allow), and trying not to walk on it in the meantime, hence the series of paths and edged beds that we've put in. Things like fruit trees and roses love clay soil, so not all is lost.

[madgirlipswich]

Getting somewhere

Thank you everyone that replied.

1Bee has taken the prize though. I've found that getting on my hands and knees to break up the clods and take out the perennial week roots is by the far the most productive and rewarding in a really hard work kinda way.

[Twynyrodyn]

I pick up large sacks of shredded paper from work and dig that in. I think it will be a never ending project. My soil went from something I could make pottery with to rock hard in days. There didn't seem to be anything in between! Covering with weed membrane helped. I am also just trying to plant everywhere, in the hope that this may gradually break down the soil.

[The poly tunnel poet]

You say you want to plant something, such as?

Find some of the fellow allotment users and ask for their help. I reckon you will find yourself in a community of wonderful people. My advice dig a hole add compost, and plant your chosen plant. Over time you will ameliorate your soil as you make compost. throw it on let the worms help. Remember this clay is heavy when wet, hard when dry, but under a detritus layer, a nutrient rich layer holding water and nutrient for roots. and if you want to grow something, try a green manure, all helps as you grow, too! Enjoy your space.

[MarkPelican]

The poet has the best idea for the short term, dig as little as possible and add as much compost where you do dig.

From my own experience, define where you want to grow things and where you want paths, dig and compost where you want things (you'll need lots of compost) and cover the paths with weed suppressant or something similar, there's no point in digging or composting them.