Improving clay soil - Lost Garden Newbie

[woody21]

ive had a bit of a dig in the 2 areas i wish to plant up this year. i wanted to have a better look at the soiland reasses it.

in my area surrounded by bricks which has had years of heavy leaf litter protecting the surface the soil is clay but breaks up quite nicely and does resist compacting into a clay ball. the clay seems to be broken down compared to further down the garden.
at around 8 inches deep i have a lot of clay and stones.
heres some pictures.

[woody21]

further down the garden its much more cloddy, this area hasnt had leaf littler decomposing and protecting it so much.

makes solid balls of clay/mud when squeezed and takes a bit more effort to break up

[Two_Sheds]

Your garden looks cracking, and I love your enthusiasm and positivity towards our comments: some people ask for advice but get uppity when they receive it

PS. your photos are maybe a little too large for some people's screens ... ? They're sliding off mine a bit

PPS. Guinea poo is good stuff, I have two girls myself, they keep the lawn mowed and eat most of my veg peelings

[Two_Sheds]

The area you've got sectioned off by a raised wooden edge: it looks pretty big for a raised bed. You don't want to walk on it, ever (once you've forked it over and removed perennial weeds that is) ~ do make sure you can reach all areas of the bed from the outside (you could put a couple of paving stones in the middle, I have)

[di]

Am rather envious of your growing area. I'd love to have that outside my back door.

Again, good luck.

[woody21]

Your garden looks cracking, and I love your enthusiasm and positivity towards our comments: some people ask for advice but get uppity when they receive it

PS. your photos are maybe a little too large for some people's screens ... ? They're sliding off mine a bit

PPS. Guinea poo is good stuff, I have two girls myself, they keep the lawn mowed and eat most of my veg peelings

im willing to listen and take in all information and advice anyone has to offer and so glad i posted here as the advice is amazing.

im lucky to have such a large garden, most of it gets a lot of sun too.

the photos should look ok on most screens now, i have resized them to 640x800 so they sit nicely with the forum layout.
i forget as i have a large screen myself.

next door has 2 male pigs', he found that out last week when he put them together and had to separate them getting a nice deep bite in the process.
all the bedding i can get is a fantastic freebie.

The area you've got sectioned off by a raised wooden edge: it looks pretty big for a raised bed. You don't want to walk on it, ever (once you've forked it over and removed perennial weeds that is) ~ do make sure you can reach all areas of the bed from the outside (you could put a couple of paving stones in the middle, I have)

the raised bed area as i call it is 24x11 foot, it was already there from the base of a large cage that sat on top of the row of bricks.
prize for anyone who can guess what animal lived in the shed and cage
Begins with 'R' and it wasnt rabbits!

i was thinking of putting a central path down the length of the bed and also slab 3-4 foot at the end of the sheds.
i would have 2 beds 4ish foot wide and 20 foot long giving me access from all sides making it easy to keep off the bed.

[woody21]

Am rather envious of your growing area. I'd love to have that outside my back door.

Again, good luck.

Thankyou,

im very lucky, but guilty of wasting it for so many years, i never thought it would be so rewarding getting stuck into clearing it but im enjoying it which has been a big help and kept me going.

[Creemteez]

Smashing looking garden, Woody, and, honestly, your soil looks to be really quite good! Dividing your growing area into more manageable chunks IS a good idea. Believe me, when you weed a 4x8 bed, you feel like you've achieved something. If you weed the same area on one big growing space, it looks like you've been shirking all day! It makes life easier when organising your crop rotation too!
You are going to have SO-O-O-O much fun!

[Dynamo]

Stick some taties in the ground. That will break it up.

[woody21]

Stick some taties in the ground. That will break it up.

i will deffinately be growing some potatoes this year, i need to get a move on before i miss out on the seed potatoes. suggestions on variety welcome especially those that possibly do better in clay soil.

i see first earlies are still availiable everywhere, when are they likely to sell out? and how late can they be planted.
i would like to aim for the end of this month at the latest on the potatoes.

i need to get out there and start digging it over and get out roots and stones.

i will be splitting my bed into 2, so potatoes in one half earlies and half maincrop.
any suggestions for what to do with the area once my earlies are finished, different veg crop or green manure?

any suggestion for the other bed alongside the potatoes? brassicas, legumes or root? which would stand a better chance of success im my soil this year while im working on improving it.

[taff]

you've got to get this idea that your soil is bad out of your head right now. It's clay, but as long as you dont stand on it and compact it, or let it dry out, it'll grow anything you like because it holds onto nutrients, and it gives you a firm base for anything that likes it firm around the roots.
My soil is like that, I love it.

[woody21]

you've got to get this idea that your soil is bad out of your head right now. It's clay, but as long as you dont stand on it and compact it, or let it dry out, it'll grow anything you like because it holds onto nutrients, and it gives you a firm base for anything that likes it firm around the roots.
My soil is like that, I love it.

i am seeing my soil very differently from when i first came here asking for advice. what i have is very workable and im looking forward to getting growing in my nutrient rich clay.

ive been out there and made a good start on digging over the area to the depth of my fork which is about 8 inches, in 2 hours ive done about a quarter of it removing plenty of roots and the odd large stone. cream crackered already but well happy with it... and i needed the exercise.
it really looks fantastic seeing a large area dug over, its given me more confidence in what i have. its so much more workable than i imagined just the roots making it a bit tougher.

this mornings rain was just enough to soften it without making it all a sticky mess, and so many worms in there.... soil smells wonderful barely any smell at all just a very slight fresh earthy smell and slight fresh clay smell .. looks, smells and feels very healthy and fertile my dirt big smiles here today

i have also learned just now much i need to keep off it, i sink a good 2-3 inches if i step anywhere ive dug over. quite impressive how much the soil 'fluffs' up.

fingers crossed it doesnt rain much tonight and i might manage to dig the rest of the raised bed over.. and its not going to take me even half the time i thought it would, no rotavators to be seen here.

[Two_Sheds]

Grow ... what you like to eat

[Dynamo]

i will deffinately be growing some potatoes this year, i need to get a move on before i miss out on the seed potatoes. suggestions on variety welcome especially those that possibly do better in clay soil.

I wouldn't know which taties grow better in which soil. Maybe someone else here does. What I will say though is that I was always told as a youngster than you should always use proper seed potatoes. However, last year I planted shop bought spuds that were left over from a few weeks before and had started to chit themselves. The taties tasted superb, even better than the original shop bought ones, so I'm doing the same thing this year. If you have any potatoes in your veg rack in the kitchen that are going to seed, get them in the soil.

[Creemteez]

ALL potatoes like clay soil, so think of the spuds you enjoy most and plant them! I always go for a Pentland Javelin as not only can they be harvested as "new" potatoes, but if you leave them in, they turn into nice big spuds which fluff up beautifully for baking and mashing AND roast and fry to crispy perfection. If you want a laugh when you harvest (and who doesn't?), then try a few Pink Fir Apple. They are a "new" main-crop. Waxy, great flavour - store very well AND the shapes they throw are really comical - don't look like potatoes at all!!
As to what to sow/plant after them, a good rule of thumb is to follow something that grows below ground with something that grows above. I usually follow my potatoes with leeks - which I start about now (Ooh! That reminds me!...) and grow on in a pot till required. They will stand all over the winter and the same with a brassica of your choice. They'll be quite happy in a bed recently vacated by potatoes, though if you've used a lot of well-rotted farmyard manure on your tatties, it might be worth adding a bit of lime to the bed before planting cabbage et.c as they prefer a less acid soil...
Lord, there's so much to take in, isn't there!!