Planting out in fine tilth ?

[Argonaut]

Slighlty out of my normal sequence ..... I had to empty a couple of compost bins to move them, and the black fully rotted stuff, and the contents of my growing medium in the greenhouse (compost & perlite) all went into an empty veg bed. (empty of crops that is)

Fully incorporated and then run a Mantis Tiller over it so nice black fine tilth for top 6"

Normally left empty over winter then planted in Spring. However, my Onion, Garlic & shallot sets just arrived ..... is it OK to plant in this 'loose' tilth ?

[Snoop Puss]

Six inches is quite deep, yes, but if were in your shoes, with those beds prepared and empty, I'd be more than tempted to plant the garlic in them, as garlic goes in deeper

I'm not so sure about the onion and shallot sets as they are planted more shallowly and will be very exposed when the soil settles around them. Not just to weather conditions but also to birds, which will readily dislodge them or pull them out, thinking them to be potential food. For these I might tamp the soil down a bit before using the back of the head of a rake and provide some kind of protection for the bulbs against birds.

Sounds like you're very pleased with your soil conditioning. Best wishes for a great harvest next year.

[Vince G]

Defo get your garlic in that lovely rich soil Argo. I did similar today, my garlic has been planted in a nice mix of the usual free draining soil at the allotment plus homemade compost out of my daleks and a generous sprinkling of allium fertiliser raked in. 80-ish cloves planted, might have to get some more tbh!! Maybe give it a decent soak though