Late allotment acquisition

[redser]

Thanks for your wonderful replies. In that case I will stop panicking about being late planting. I will fork over the rest tomorrow and rake it over. I fancy trying the cardboard! What are your thoughts on raking through some bags of compost?

A big tub of fish, blood and bone as a general fertiliser will get your through until you raise the soil fertility and starting building enough of your own compost.

[Anwen]

I don't eat rhubarb but willing to give it a go! I am sure my mother will approve! I've so many seeds that say sow march April or may! I will certainly concentrate on sorting out the clay first.

[horticultural_hobbit]

Perhaps work on patches of the plot, rather than the whole thing. I learned that the hard way. Sow regardless. If you don't try it, you won't know. Heavy clay has is positives and its pit falls. Lots and lots of organic material too. I used newspaper and dead weeds. Didn't do too badly.

[Barking Postlethwaite]

Lots of sensible advice on here; I've got nothing much to add, but from my own experience I would certainly sign up to:

1. Clay shouldn't be despised, its water-retentiveness is a big asset and there aren't many crops (even root crops) that won't thrive;

2. Potatoes are a good first season crop; you can get away with fairly shallow planting and minimal earthing-up (or plant through some form of membrane), and forking over the plot will happen automatically when you come to lift them;

3. Start your own compost, don't buy in. It will be very expensive (and a lot of hard work) to incorporate enough to make a difference, and there will be enough stored nutrients to see you through one season anyway;

4. Set aside some limited areas to rake to a tilth to create some areas for seeds & seedlings. It's quite intensive but you will get there, however you don't want to be overly ambitious in how much you take on. A plot largely covered with spuds, peas and beans (all of which you can get going without too much preparation) rather than anything more "fancy" and demanding is better than bare soil.

I took on a virgin plot in the middle of April last year (and by "virgin" I mean permanent pasture, turf over clay - you are way more advanced than I was). I had to cut lots of corner to get things going but nonetheless I got some really good returns from it, and I flatter myself that this season it actually looks like a cared-for allotment.

[Anwen]

Thank you for that response it was really helpful. I aim to try and sort out the ground this weekend and see how it responds to raking. I agree that I think this season I will stick to spuds and peas and beans rather than anything else at the minute, though I will plant some carrots and see what comes up. Thanks again its a really useful post.

[Snadger]

I don't garden on clay but if I did and wanted to create a tilth to sow seed in I think I would just add compost to the narrow area where seeds are to be sown if it wouldn't rake down to a seedbed without.
Starting stuff off in modules in a makeshift cold frame would also work.

[Snadger]

Thank you for that response it was really helpful. I aim to try and sort out the ground this weekend and see how it responds to raking. I agree that I think this season I will stick to spuds and peas and beans rather than anything else at the minute, though I will plant some carrots and see what comes up. Thanks again its a really useful post.

Just noticed this............you will really struggle with carrots on clay.

What you could do is:- Decide where your carrot row is to be. Put a stringline along the row.Next......get your spade and push it in in line with the stringline, lever it back wards and forwards to create a deep 'vee'. Carry on along the row to create a continuos 'vee'. Its then a simple matter of adding compost (preferably a John Innes compost because it has soil and sand in it) along the row and sowing your carrots in the compost.
This way the growing carrots will have an easy medium to penetrate as they grow and you shouldn't get the unsghtly dark areas on the carrots caused by clay soil.

[Anwen]

Fab, I will definitely do that. Thank you!! Same with parsnips I assume?

[alldigging]

Fab, I will definitely do that. Thank you!! Same with parsnips I assume?

Yes - some people make a cone shaped hole with a metal rod or dibber.

[Barking Postlethwaite]

Just noticed this............you will really struggle with carrots on clay.

Not necessarily. I have no problem growing carrots in a quite heavy clay without any special preparation or deep digging. Provided you have some decent topsoil to create a seedbed in which they can germinate they have no difficulty in forcing their way down to produce 9" roots. I'm not saying this will happen in all clays, but my experience is that they do fine.

[rustylady]

I've so many seeds that say sow march April or may! I will certainly concentrate on sorting out the clay first.

What sort of seeds? Lots can be started in modules at home and planted out when they are a bit bigger.

[rustylady]

What about courgettes and squash? Raise plants at home in pots and plant out when big enough. The foliage will shade out weeds and you will have a useful crop (presuming you like courgettes and squash)

[Snadger]

Not necessarily. I have no problem growing carrots in a quite heavy clay without any special preparation or deep digging. Provided you have some decent topsoil to create a seedbed in which they can germinate they have no difficulty in forcing their way down to produce 9" roots. I'm not saying this will happen in all clays, but my experience is that they do fine.

I don't garden on clay, I'm only going off what other plotholders who do have told me, and it seems to work for them.
My soil is a silty loam but I still grow my carrots in a seperate medium.

[Anwen]

In answer to the seed question, I have a variety that I have been given or bought:

Cucumber, broccoli, spinach beet, green squash, coriander, pumpkin, basil, sweet pepper, beetroot, swede, radish, mangetout, sweetcorn, sugar snap peas, sprouts, purple carrots, cauliflower , spring onion and lettuce.

LOTS!! People seem to have seeds from everywhere!

I will plant my carrots in the deep rows I think and see what happens. May even throw a few seeds into a small patch of normal clay and see how they do.

[Two_Sheds]

What are your thoughts on raking through some bags of compost?

That you have more money than sense?

You can chop and drop your (non-seeding) weeds on the surface of the soil. The worms and the elements will quickly disappear it into the soil, the worms will dig it as they go. It's a very quick, very effective method of composting. It's transformed my soil in less than a year

A big tub of fish, blood and bone as a general fertiliser will get your through until you raise the soil fertility

Clay is already very nutritious

I think this season I will stick to spuds and peas and beans rather than anything else

You'll soon get bored with those. Sow everything, and that way you'll find out what works and what doesn't. If you don't try them, you'll never know

Lots can be started in modules at home and planted out when they are a bit bigger.

... and that way, you're also adding little parcels of compost every time you plant something out. You're also digging (a small hole at a time, rather than the whole plot)

Cucumber, broccoli, spinach beet, green squash, coriander, pumpkin, basil, sweet pepper, beetroot, swede, radish, mangetout, sweetcorn, sugar snap peas, sprouts, purple carrots, cauliflower , spring onion and lettuce.

Get 'em started. In modules or 3" pots, then harden them off and plant them out