Clay soil

[wolfieman]

As a newcomer to the world of allotments my partner and I took over an allotment that had not been cultivated for a few years. While its true to say that aching muscles have been the order of the day, its been very satisfying bringing the plot back to life, however...... its solid clay!

The ground has been seriously compacted and while we have done some soil cultivation we still have huge lumps of clay that the winter frosts failed to break up.

Sure, my recently built compost heap is stacked with horse manure but its nowhere near broken down enough so any short term hints on getting the soil workable.

Thanks

Johnnie

[wolfieman]

[supersprout]

welcome wolfieman, you're not alone!
lots of people discussed conditioning clay soil at http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/joomla/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,57/topic,17196.0. You'll find lots of tips and ideas for starters - and people with similar soil - on this thread.
Hope you enjoy this forum, look forward to seeing more of you :)

[wolfieman]

Thanks very much, having read the first post of the link I want a bag of magic dust as well  :)

[lottief]

We had the same problem last year and double-dug in loads and loads of mushroom compost which seemed to do the trick (but was very hard work!).

I am a newbie to all this so I don't know if that would be the textbook plan but the veg seemed happy enough and it was not too expensive - our local mushroom farm lets you have the compost for 50p a bag if you fill it yourself.

[sandersj89]

Organic matter is the way to go long term and you have that in hand with the manure.

If you can get hold of mature manure then do so but if you cant there are a few other things you can do. Even digging in some cheap general purpose compost might help. Depending on your local council you may be able to get it free from them, I think Somerset are giving the stuff away at the moment for instance.

To help lighten the soil you can dig in some well washed garden sand, this will increase drainage.

You can also add stuff called Clay Breaker:

http://www.vitax.co.uk/productshome.asp?product=HOM070

This is basically gypsum I believe and helps break up the clay to some degree, I have used it so cant comment on it's effectiveness.

I have very heavy clay but have used mature manure for a few years now and it is lightening up very well and is far more workable, and don't forget clay soils are very fertile on the whole and you can get very good crops of nearly everything.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

Jerry

[John_H]

If you don't have enough organic stuff to make a big impact over one year, you can also have a think about planting stuff in an 'organic oasis'. In other words improve spots big enough for the roots of transplants which you have grown in paper cups or small pots and dig just a few v shaped trenches for root crops, which you can then fill with good topsoil and fine sand. Once you have done this you can sow your seeds on top.

Also think about raised beds, check the wiki section marked 'methods of cultivation', which will help you keep off the soil when it is wet.

Welcome to the site Wolfieman