Topic: Help with digging a bed

[Producer]

Hi all,

On our overgrown plot I marked out a 3m by 1.5m bed and decided to dig it over and at least get something growing.  So I broke up the ground (which was solid) with the spade and turned over the huge clogs of earth.  Some weeds and grass I pulled out, but essentially got the ground broken up and left it in the hope that I could come back the next week with a fork and start breaking up the clogs and then taking out bits of weed as I find them.

HOWEVER, went to the site today and the clogs of earth were like concrete!  Im presuming because it has not been cold enough on a night??  So I tried my best to break them up with the fork and spade, hitting them and splitting them. Also used a hoe to try smash them up.  It was really difficult though.  I watered the bed which seemed to make it easier, is this a good idea?

Anyway, the soil in the bed is now more granulated and fine, but there are still lots of small clogs of soil that are hard like cement and even bigger ones just below the surface. What do you suggest I do?  How fine do I need to get it, I presume it should be really fine? Also I could continue getting the very top layer fine and broken up and leaving the rest of the clogs a few inches down alone.  Or should I try get it all fine - I originally dug over the bed to about the depth of the spade because thats what it said in a book...  How many inches deep do I need to have the fine granulated soil?  I dont think I'll get frost now so stuck as to what to do. Particularly as I want to do another bed.  Would it be stupid just to add a bag of compost and a bag of topsoil to what ive done?  I want to do it properly so that the bed is prepared for long term use.

Any help appreciated.  Thanks!

[Uncle Joshua]

Sounds like my soil, I think it needs more work and adding a little manure would help.

Pictures always help with this kind of question.

[betula]

Sounds like you have clay soil.This is very difficult to work.You can improve the soil by adding lots of muck and compost and this will over time make it more workable.In my experience I found I needed such huge quantities of soil improver I resorted to making raised beds ,they are a joy and I wish I had made them ages ago. :)

[manicscousers]

if you can get some well rotted muck, plant spuds in it, they'll help break it down and the muck will become incorporated when you earth them up, or pile it up, cover with either weed suppressant or plastic, cut crosses in and plant squash, or pumpkins in , again, the muck will be worked into your soil by the worms  :)

[kt.]

Sounds like it could of dried out too.  After all, there has been no rainfall this past week or so.  Maybe it will turn and crumble better 2-3 days after some rain 8)

[Producer]

Are the bags of maure you get in garden centres wel rotted? Am confused about when manure should be added, thought it was the winter or otherwise it would burn or hurt the veg?  I have a bag of compost and top soil, should I just add them and keep watering, turning and bashing the bed up?  And how deep does the bed need to be in terms of broken up fine earth?

[Flunky]

i had same problem and have done what you did. I then trampled the heck out it under foot and just kept raking and raking. In the end (about 2 hrs) It was fine. I just kept using rake and trampling. I finally just forked it over again and now its very fine. going down again at weekend to give it one more rake/forking over then will start to plant. Just took time for me to do it. Definately worth it.

[Crystalmoon]

My soil is like this too. I have to water any area of my plot I want to work immediately beforehand, this makes life alot eaier. I hoe the ground first & break up as many lumps as possible then rake it over many times. I havent sieved my soil because the old timers warned me against it because it is windy on our site & very fine soil just blows away  :o
I have had plenty of success so far in soil that has small lumps & bumps in it. Im using potatoes in really tough areas & adding cut grass to 'earth' them up which will rot down & be dug in once I lift my spuds. Im planning to grow winter green manure crops too to help soil structure.
I have made raised beds by lifting the topsoil off the pathways & adding it to beds I have marked out with canes. I havent added wooden edging etc as Ive only had my plot for a couple of months & dont want anything too permanent incase I want to change things for next year.

[Tee Gee]

Sorry to hear about your 'blocky' soil makes me appreciate my fine soil.

I think a lot depends upon what you intend to plant/sow.

If I had that type of soil, in the first year (as you are now) I would follow this regime;

For sowing; form a 'Vee' shaped trench with my spade and fill this with commercial compost then sow my seeds into this.


For planting; I would form a planting hole of a size suited to what your planting and fill this with commercial compost and plant the plant/s

Plants are quite resilient and generally providing they get off to a good start you will have a modicum of success.

After the harvest I would dig in as much farm yard manure or similar into the beds leaving the clods quite rough then let the ravages of winter work on it.

Then hopefully next spring all you have to do is rake the beds to a fine tilth and away you go.

[caroline7758]

Mulching always helps. If you dig over a dry patch and bring the moist soil underneath to the surface, cover it with a mulch to stop the surface drying out again. Anything will do- cardboard, newspaper, straw, hops (my favourite), balck plastic, carpet if you are allowed and if it's not going to be there for long.

[Producer]

OK so if I keep watering the bed, smashing it up with the hoe, spade and fork, then raking it over, it should get finer...  Shall I dig in some compost and topsoil that I bought from local garden centre?

[betula]

This is why I went the raised bed route,yes you can keep adding compost and topsoil and muck but you will find you will need very large quantities to improve the soil.This is fine if you can get your hands on it and have the time and energy to do it.

Yes you can use the stuff from the garden centre,Ideally in time you will have your own compost.

[Tyke]

I started on my plot this year. Very heavy waterlogged soil. I dug a trench and found that the turf and topsoil i dug out and put to one side set like concrete like you said. Essentially what you create is a (very) raised bed with no improvement - and the ants love it.

However, even after the baking hot sun we had the other week, when surface was solid, i found that below a couple of inches of untouched earth, the soil was moist and very workable. I found an enormous difference by double digging -  putting turf to one side, taking out top soil, putting turf back in upside down with manure, before finally adding topsoil and manure. Mix manure, some sand and topsoil. Bloody hard, slow work! However, soil texture is lovely and it stays moist.

My advice would be not to leave unimproved, heavy soil on the surface, without some kind of mulch - it will bake...

[cambourne7]

report to the director ;D

I have the same problem with heavy clay but i did not dig mine over in this way i know people who have and they have just kept digging it over and over again. Some have added clay breaker to help break there soil down but i cant see the point in the expence.

Potatoes are the easiest way to break your soil up so my advice is to get some straw and cardboard on your paths. Then on your beds i would dig them over again adding compost and horse manure as you go and then plant spuds. In the beds that your not planting spuds then just keep digging and weeding if you want to sow directly then when you have dug the bed over and its not a fine enough tilte then just add a dressing of topsoil or compost and sow into that.

But good luck  ;D

[Producer]

Thats why I thought of adding some compost and purchased topsoil cos Im not planning on doing spuds in the bed, but carrots and parnips.

As I said, it was a nightmare at the weekend to find it all like concrete, but after half an hour of watering and smashing up the clogs it was looking better. Surely if I do this again a few times; watering and breaking up, it will get even finer, then I can just add some topsoil and compost, dig it in a bit and rake it over.  Surely that will give me a decent bed.  Im not going to border the bed with wood or anything, but might dig little trenches around it like the lazy bed idea, and just raise it naturally over time with compost.

Obvioulsy next winter I can dig it over again and let the frost get to it, thus further improving  and airiating it.  Im a complete beginner, but surely watering, breaking it up, ading compost and raking it will get me to a point where I have a decent bed that I can sow in.  Im hoping that I can get this done at the weekend and get something sown in it.  Or am I missing something?

[cambourne7]

sounds like you have everything in hand you just have to make sure you dont walk on the beds as this will undo all your good work ;)

[elvis2003]

i found that it comes down to seriously hard work,no way round it,i go at it with a spade or fork first,getting the weeds out best i can,then use the cultivator,(the long handled tool with 3 vicious looking prongs on it)then finally the rake,its a lot easier when the ground is wet,so yeah,id pour a watering cans worth over it first,good luck and all your hard work will be well worth it

[bupster]

Hi, Director,

Do you know whether your soil is clay or not? When you do get to a workable bit, is it sandy and friable (crumbly) or does it look like you could make pots out of it? If the latter, then what everybody else said.

If it's ok, then it's just the dry weather. Wait till after this weekend's rain and try again. I have beautiful loamy soil but the bits that were hard packed and overgrown are pretty much unworkable if I rough dig and then leave them during a dry spell. Don't panic! one idea for planting carrots and parsnips in a bed that's a bit rough is to dig a v-shaped trench and fill that with compost, rather than trying to get the whole bed to a fine tilth.

[Producer]

In terms of the suggestion about digging a vshape channel and filling with compost, do the plants not need actual topsoil?

Also when it comes to adding manure, I notice people say to add it in autum, is this so it has time to rot further - would it be unsafe to add manure to plant beds at any time of the year?  Ive heard people going on a bout it burning crops, but is there anything else i.e. to do with toxins...