Topic: Should we hire a rotovator?

[vjm63]

Hi all,

I'd love some advice, please, from those more knowledgeable than us!

We have just bought a new house with a massive vegetable patch (   ;D   ;D ) but when we actually started digging, the ground is clay, has a lot of stones in, and clearly has not been dug over much if at all - the ground is really hard. I was able to stand on a spade and it did not sink in, to give you some idea...

I have suggested it would be worth getting a rotovator, probably hiring one. OH said that the stones would just blunt the blades, so better to just plan for raised beds, which obviously would certainly take longer (I admit, I am impatient!).

What are your views? Would it be worth hiring one or even buying one, or would it just damage it too much and be a waste?  Any other ideas?

[sunloving]

Hiya
I feel you pain my first allotment was a thick pan of clay (with maes tail through it) It is very hard going and takes a long time to get to a friable soil.

I would say that if its thick clay then it will be very hard going with a rotovator no doubt but it might save you some time. However have a look at what kind of weeds are in it. if you have perenials such as mares tail couch grass then dont do it as youll double the weeds in a single afternoon.

What will help a lot whether you dig or rotovate is to have a supply of manure /grass clippings/sawdust anything ready to mix in to it , becuase you dont want it all just to settle on the next rain shower back to what it was.

If it was me i would just cover it all with black plastic and pick a meter to dig over and manure then move to the next one.

One last thing clay is very heavy on the spade and it is easy to put your back out digging it this first time. Be really protective of your back. take thin slivers at first with your spade.
My clay allotment did for my lower discs which have never recovered.

Good luck , the fab thing about clay is that its a really fertile kind of soil and will give you great crops if you can get it up to scratch!
x sunloving

[RenishawPhil]

If its clay

Then get lots of Cow manure which will help break it down:)

i am currently digging a pond at the allotment and deeper down its solid clay which i find quite easy for digging out as it comes out in slices!

[grannyjanny]

If you can get hold of enough well rotted manure just put it on top when you've taken the perennial weeds out & plant through it. The worms can do the digging for you ;D.

[vjm63]

Thanks for the comments - seems like finding some manure if we can would be best - better talk to the new neighbours for ideas if we can!

Oddly there do not appear to be too many weeds in one large sections, so I think previous people had already covered it in tarpaulin for a fair while. Other parts are grassy and with nettles and dandelions (dock as well I think, if remember correctly from my childhood). 

Now I just want to make my mark and start growing!!

[RenishawPhil]

You will be best of just finding your nearest farm and asking for a trailer load of manure.  What area of the country are you in? Also what kind of farming is carried out near you

[Kleftiwallah]

Don't want to have to say this.  .  . .but if you google 'Double Digging'  it will repay your efforts in the long run.   Taking short cuts when initially preparing ground for veggies will come back and bite you on the posterior later on.   :o

Cheers,    Tony.

[gavinjconway]

As Tony above says... do it right this first time and you wont regret it. Double dig it and add loads of manure... try the local stables or farmers. The rotovator wont touch hard ground so dont waste your money in hiring one.. Also it will cut up the baddddd perennial weeds and you will just get loads more growing from all the small bits!!

I took over a ramshackled plot in November and took a few months double digging about 2' deep in places and added loads of horse manure.. now to get things growing. see my progress at my blog.. www.gavinconway.net

[RenishawPhil]

I would avoid stables and get proper cow manure. Far better. I've had about 20 tonnes this year!

[davyw1]

I would take Tony,s and Gavins advice, take your time and double dig it, getting all the weed roots as you go. You may also find out that it may not be clay but compcted soil.
Do it properley at the start then you will break its back before it breaks yours

[persecuted unlimited]

Gavin just had a look at your pics you have worked hard to get it to the condition that it is in now, well done

[gavinjconway]

Gavin just had a look at your pics you have worked hard to get it to the condition that it is in now, well done

Yep... loads of double digging and huge amounts of roots and bad weeds removed and burnt. I still have 4 wheelie bins full waiting for winter to dry and burn.. I have no space now to lay them out to dry - all space is booked for planting..

[Robert_Brenchley]

Single digging will do the job if you can't manage double! Just take it a bit at a time, cover the rest with black plastic, or at least keep it strimmed, which kills most weeds over a season. Be careful to get all the weeds out of the bits you dig, and don't tackle more than you can cope with at one time. To improve your soil, keep working in organic matter. Not potting compost, but autumn leaves, grass cuttings, manure, anything you can get.