Topic: Digging 'Concrete' Soil - any tips?

[EnglishRose]

It's me again, back with another very basic question......

I've finally been given the key to my allotment and managed to clear the 5ft high grass off one of the beds on my plot on Sunday  :)  My next task is to dig over the soil to make sure that I've got all of the roots out.  However, to say that the soil is like concrete at the moment is putting things mildly.  I can barely get the fork into the ground, even when I put all of my (very considerable) weight onto the fork.

I suspect this may be a combination of a) lack of rain and b) lack of cultivation.  Is there anything that I can do to make the soil slighly easier to get a fork into?  Or should I wait patiently until it rains and the soil is softened up naturally?  I don't want to use a rotivator yet as I know that there's quite a few grass roots still in the soil - I'll probably rotivate the soil once it's dug over to really loosen things up.  Any suggestions gratefully received, as always!

[Chrispy]

Get a hose on it, give it a good soaking and then cover with cardboard to keep the sun off so it has time to penitrate.

[brownowl23]

we spent hours soaking it with watering cans, no hoses here, and as chrispy says cover it and go back once penetrated. once its been watered it should be quite easy to work.

[lincsyokel2]

These lottys are on a limestone escarpment 180ft above sea level. It means if my allotment ever floods then its also submerged all of Lincoln apart  the main spire of Lincoln Cathedral too   ;D

The snag is the soil is between 3 and 14 feet deep to the bedrock, so its very stoney, and when it dries out, it dries like concrete. Weve learned that you dig and rotavate only after a good downpour has softened it up.

[brownowl23]

English ROse

where is your lotttie, im in Sidcup, noticed your south East London. Im going to be very jealous if you say HArland AVenue LOL

[GRACELAND]

Its a matter of waiting and covering up with cardboard or black plastic  :)

[EnglishRose]

Sounds like I'd better do a raindance then  ;D

Mind you, how is my soil going to get lovely and damp if it's all covered in plastic/cardboard?

[GRACELAND]

Sounds like I'd better do a raindance then  ;D

Mind you, how is my soil going to get lovely and damp if it's all covered in plastic/cardboard?

It sweats   try it  honest it works

[pigeonseed]

I have found using a digging hoe/azada works well. I couldn't do much with compacted soil when I used a fork or spade but if you bash it with an azada, it does work. I've found I can clear much worse ground very steadily since I bought one.

There've been some threads about them on here before and this site has some info and pics:
http://www.get-digging.co.uk/

They go under different names in different places as well:
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,29478.0.html

[BarriedaleNick]

I wouldn't be without my azada/Matocks or whatever they are called round your way.  Perfect for breaking up heavy clay - one of my beds was concrete and even the mattocks was glancing of the surface until I wet it down a bit..

[ACE]

I wouldn't be without my azada/Matocks or whatever they are called round your way. 

B&Q have the heads in a bargain bin at the moment £6.00 I know you will need a pick handle as well but the heads they have on offer are really large ones and worth the money. Their pickaxe has a handle which is interchangable with the mattock. It is also cheaper than some  ironmongers charge just for the handle.

[Digeroo]

I started with concrete last year.  I found that a pick axe was too heavy I borrowed one and I could hardly pick it up.  I used a chillington hoe quite a lot until someone pinched it.

I found wetting a diggable area at a time was the answer.  When I left each day I soaked the next square meter with a can full of water, and then it was ready to dig the next day.   

I found potatoes/courgettes were excellent.   They did a lot of digging for me.  I just dug holes and filled with manure and planted something on top in quite large areas.  I was amazed at how easy the soil was to dig when they came out.