Topic: newbie with questions

[demelzah]

hi all, i have just taken on a new allotment. the plot has had weeds kept on top of but there is a few so i was just going to pull them out be hand.
the soil is very sticky clay soil?? it has been raining alot here they week but i want to get start with it or am i best to wait?
what sort of stuff grows well on clay soil?
what do i do to improve it?
i wanted to grow thing like potatoes, bean, peas, carrot, salad and some cabbage will those be ok?

[Robert_Brenchley]

Most things will grow well on clay, but let it dry out before you work it.

[sheddie]

Hi,

tatties are pretty good at breaking the ground up, but I'd just try to work in as much good organic matter as you can get your hands on - again, I'd wait until the soil is not so 'claggy' otherwise you'll break your back and soon be cheesed off!

One of my beds had loads of clay but a few years of working in manure has done wonders.

good luck ;D
Sheddie

[betula]

I had a clay allotment and found it a nightmare,when it rained it was waterlogged.

As soon as you put a fork in you had an underground pool.

My answer was raised beds,great results and could concentrate on growing...............

[pigeonseed]

That sounds like a bit of a nightmare, betula. But don't let that put you off, demelzah, clay doesn't have to be like that. I garden on heavy clay and it drains ok in most places. It is heavy at this time of year though.

Add manure, compost from your compost heap, bag up leaves in the autumn to make leaf mold...
It will get better each year. Even in year one you'll still get some nice crops, even if you don't have access to tons of manure and compost.

The great and marvellous thing about plants is how well they just grow, given soil, sunlight and water! Improving the soil, however little, will enhance that!

[saddad]

Welcome to A4A Demmelzah...
as another clay sufferer it will take some beating into shape but it holds onto nutrients and moisture better than any other soil... once broken in...  :)

[ipt8]

I think raised beds are a good idea so you do not walk on and compact the growing area.
The beds do not necessarily have to be edged with wood.
I just read a good book entitled  "Organic Gardening - the natural no dig way by Charles Dowding." He has practiced no digging for many many years and also done comparison plots that were dug. I am going to try it having initially got rid of all the weeds and turned the soil/rotavated once. I got my plot late last year so this will be the first full season.

[betula]

The other thing about clay is when the ground does dry out boy is it dry.

If you have good access to soil improver you do not have too much of a problem,on my last but one Allotment the council delivered plenty of supplies of such stuff so no problems but if like me on the last allotment you were having to import all this stuff it is a grind.

Personally found that raised beds were the answer because once set up you could get on with growing veg. :)

[demelzah]

i have turned over one bed today about 12ft by 5ft. tomorrow i plan to add manure to it that is about 3 years old. then i will start on another bed and so on. my think was if i started small beds at a time i will not get cheesed of with it.

[pigeonseed]

yes definitely bit at a time. That's the advice everyone gives new gardeners isn't it!

Mind you there's a woman on our site spent the entire last growing season clearing, building raised beds, building compost bins... didn't grow one bean. Normally I'd say that is a sure sign they'll get fed up and leave, but this year she's still here and ready to plant. So some people really do like to have it all pristine before they grow.

But they are wrong  ;D

[lottie lou]

Wish mine was pristine.  I spent the last five years trying to get all the perennial weeds and couch out - the little devils are still coming back

[schmelda]

My plot is really heavy clay too.  I've had it since October, and haven't yet had a day where the soil hasn't stuck to my boots (and tools).  I'm a little worried that I won't get it cleared in time for putting seeds/plants in!  My latest plan is to clear space as I need it - I have a map showing where everything will go.

I'm also really keen to get some paving of some sort of the 'paths'.  At present there is black matting with bark chippings on top.  However, the bark is breaking down, and the mud is getting everywhere!  At least with paving I'd be able to brush/wash the mud away!  Not sure where to get the paving mind - my finances can't stretch very far  ???

[pumkinlover]

I  Not sure where to get the paving mind - my finances can't stretch very far  ???

Scounge!!! we look out for every skip, anyone who looks like they are having building work. So far have managed to do 4 and a half full paths on our site. (top to bottom) Only paid for a few which were re-cycled and cheap. 
Don't be afraid to ask people often happy to give away. If they say no- so what you've not lost anything. most people prefer to give things away rather than throw in a skip ;)

[Digeroo]

Paving sounds very expensive have you considered straw or even newspaper.  Skips sound like a good idea a few cracks will not matter.

I do not think you need to worry about not having it all prepared yet.  I would suggest a prepare and sow method.  Starting with Broad beans, then onions when moving on to carrots, parsnips salad and brassica seed bed, then there is potatos by which time you can have things ready for the courgettes and beans, and finally the space for the brassicas to be planted out.    (The carrots and salads are better sown a little at a time over quite a long period).  I don't think you need to be in a rush you can spread the work over four months.

....like to have it all pristine before they grow.

 ???  May be they should clean out the soil afterall it is very dirty stuff and gets up your finger nails. ;D

[Robert_Brenchley]

Sometimes you strike lucky when someone's lifting old slabs. Someone on my site has recently gained some magnificent paths that way.

[jimtheworzel]

Hi,

tatties are pretty good at breaking the ground up

the spuds do nothing, its you digging them up that does the work

[artichoke]

It used to annoy me when everyone said potatoes break the ground up. But I suppose digging is more rewarding when you have the pleasure of turning up potatoes as you do it, rather than just mud and weeds.....so I grow lots of potatoes (too much last year, I think, looking at the sacks in the garage).

Digging is also more rewarding when planting the potatoes and tucking them in comfortably with manure and compost, and watching strong leaves breaking through and reaching for the sky. So I still think it is good advice.

[taurus]

Look on your local free serve site.  Lots of gardening bits and peices for free as well as slabs.  Like you I'm also on clay.  I have a few raised beds for things that dont like it to wet/dry.  Then I lift them in the Autumn and dig in the compost.  Slowly improving the soil over time.  Good luck.

[caroline7758]

Look on your local free serve site. 

I think Taurus means freecycle. ;)

[demelzah]

i'm not doing to bad so far seeing it has been raining most of the week. i have one bed 5ft by 14ft dig over for potatoes, also a bean trench dig out and another bed of about 5ft by 5ft dig over. so i don't think i am doing bad, oh and we made a compost bin today.