New allotments Telford - hard soil

[Fayzie]

Need to ask a question!  I have just got an allotment on a new site which has only ever been a playing field.  I have so far taken the turf of 2 beds and the soil is compacted and solid underneath.  I really do not have the money to rotivate so was wondering if a light forking and manure over winter would do much good?? ??? ???

[Fayzie]

[ceres]

Welcome to the forum Fayzie!  I've removed your double post so you get all your answers in one place.  Stick around - you'll get lots of great advice here.

[plainleaf]

a light forking will not do much

[Melbourne12]

I sympathise.  Although on a smaller scale, we have patches of compacted soil which are extremely hard to dig.

Obviously the deeper you can break up the soil, the better.  Otherwise you'll find that you'll create a thin surface tilth with the rock hard pan underneath.  It won't drain well, and may even flood after heavy rain.  Root veg won't grow properly.

If you can break through the hard layer with a heavy duty fork, and at least loosen it into large chunks, the the frost will help you by breaking it up a bit more.  On some of our "concrete soil" bits, I had to use a pickaxe.  A "Chillington hoe" is another useful tool that is easier to use.

Once you've broken the surface, you still have the problem of breaking the chunks of hard soil into something that you can plant into.  We love our 4-pronged cultivator http://bit.ly/spG4Nz known as "the twizzler".

If you buy one it's worth glueing the handle to the shaft with epoxy, otherwise the bolt eventually wears an oval hole in the metal, and the tool breaks.  But at under a tenner one shouldn't complain, I suppose.

Manure?  Any soil conditioner will be helpful.  If you manure now, many of the nutrients will be washed away over winter, but if you've got a plentiful supply it'll certainly help to create a usable tilth.

[goodlife]

Manure is good..more the better. When your ground has been under 'heavy' use previously and now solid..you will need some 'heavy' treatment too to open the structure back up.
Rotavating is not answer neither...as domestic rotavators would not be able to tackle it.
You will need good portion of porridge, bucket of coffee and handfull of bickies for breakfast before you start... ;D..it is quest for the elbow crease.
Depending how much depth you have in the soil..deeper you dig in first time the better. Once you have broken the compaction from whole of the depth..you are unlikely never ever needing to do the thorough job again.
So...here we go..dig a deep trench, put that soil aside and put a layer of manure and anything else of 'good' stuff you may have (grass clippins, straw, home made compost, shredded paper/cardboard), and fill the trench back up with the soil from the trench that you are digging next to it...and so on. The soil from the first trench will back fill the last one you dig.. ;)
It is sloooow job and back breaking so don't do too much in one go..half'n'hour at the time if you are not used to digging...OR YOU END UP WITH KILLING BACK PAIN AND NOT ABLE TO DO IT FOR LONG WHILE AGAIN!!!!!! Ideally think it as major work out...bit of stretching and warming up the muscles would not hurt and certainly is not over exaggeration.
Some areas where you are going to grow something quick and easy like salads and radishes..those don't need thorough digging this year..save the hard work for crops like potatoes... ;)
Maybe it is easiest to start by what you are planning to grow next year and where..then do the areas accordingly to the crop. That way you don't need to do the hard work all in one go and still get some crops. How big is your plot?

[aj]

Or....cover in cardboard for the winter, grow in modules, plant the resulting seedlings through the cardboard and over a couple of years the cardboard, growing and worms will loosen your soil alot.

Make your holes in the cardboard the night before, water well and plant out the next day. Or use a heavy duty bulb planter.

I am very wary about shoving manure on due to Aminopyralid - so although it is good in theory - it can be bad in practice.

[galina]

I'd also go for cardboard and there is another brilliant soil lightener available free just now when you need it - leaves!

Pack them under the cardboard and also mulch on top.  Also any grass cuttings you can lay your hands on.  

Start composting anything and everything suitable.  Grass, nettles, kitchen peelings, shredder paper, torn up cardboard.  Think green layer, brown layer, green layer, etc cardboard cover to keep moisture and heat in the heap.  When you start growing next spring you will need as much compost as you can make for extra mulching.  Pallets make decent compost bins and are generally foc.    The upturned turves will be a good compost start too.

Next spring it will be much easier to dig if you want to grow crops that need direct sowing, like carrots, parsnips, turnips.  But the majority of your crops like potatoes, tomatoes, squash, courgettes, beans, cabbages and leeks can be planted straight through the cardboard which will be nearly disintegrated and incorporated into the soil next spring anyway.
Potatoes will need a good mulch, if the seed potatoes aren't planted down into the soil.  Google 'no dig garden' for a lot of information, not because you won't ever be digging, but because at the moment digging is difficult.  

Yeopods are another way of dealing with compacted soil.  Find or beg large plastic pots, such as the ones that roses or fruit bushes are sold in, or make your own.  Even large meat trays or fruit containers from the supermarket can be pressed into service.  Cut their bottoms off and stick firmly into a cut-out in the cardboard.  Fill with decent compost and plant into that.  By the time your plants are big enough and need more compost, their roots are strong enough to penetrate the compacted layer below.  At the end of the growing season, just tip the pots out spread all over the growing area.  Yeopods were thought of by John Yeoman, here is a brief summary.  Yeopod gardening takes some elements from 'container gardening', but at the same time incorporates your imperfect soil as much as possible.
http://www.gardeningguild.org/m-yeopod-basics2.php

Good luck and welcome Fayzie  :)

[betula]

Is it Council?.............what a shame they could not have turned the land for you.

If it really is that bad maybe the plot holders should all get together and clear a bit on each plot to get you all going.No wonder so many plot holders give up.

[Digeroo]

Welcome Fayzie,  What sort of soil are we talking about?  I had an undug plot and was very difficult to dig.  It was just like concrete.  Those people who rotavated found the rotovator just bounced off.  I have several suggestions.  I wet the soil first this can make it easier to dig.  Only dig essentail amounts.  I dug a few strips of carrots etc.  Courgettes, potatoes, etc etc were put in holes dug for each plant.   A bit like growing in invisible pots going downwards.   Their roots did a good job of breaking up the soil.    The first year I covered the allotment with produce but actually only dug 25% and that took me most of two months.    I have been adding loads of biomatter. 

I like the description of the Yeopod except I am not sure in my soil type what good pouring two gallons on water down the hole would do.  It might top up the water table by a miniscule amount but it will do nothing to water the plant for several weeks.

[Fayzie]

Since taking off the turf I have managed to turn over about 4" deep with the soil.  It has a lot of clay in it, a couple of holders on the site have used heavy duty rotovators but it has basically dug as deep as elbow grease. 

Many on the site have put wooden boards round and filled with more top soil and manure so I feel this might be the better option and just hope after a few years of good use will break up the ground underneath.

All my salads at the moment I am putting in raised beds which are half filled with the turf (upside down) and topped up with top soil and manure.  A winter of this and hopefully some good frosts will kill any bugs or insects.

Thanks for all the advice and I think I will try putting cardboard over anyway to see if it will do any good first then put the top soil over in the spring.

[MattD]

My advice is to take it slowly and don't try to get the whole plot cultivated in year 1.  Time, weather and organic matter are probably your best friends.

Manure or leaves will help.  Dig it in to trenches as others have suggested if you can spare the effort, but even putting it on the surface will help - the worms will incorporate it into the topsoil.   Covering it may help a bit - keeping the worms active a bit longer.   

I spent the first 2-3 years adding organic matter and in some places I think I've doubled the depth of topsoil over the underlying clay.  Although I admit mine had been cultivated before it was neglected, so it wasn't hard.

Where you have to dig, a mattock is great for breaking up hard ground - but take off small 'bites' with it and do a little patch at a time or you risk injury.

If it was a playing field, I presume that means you don't have a head high bramble forest to remove......there's always a positive side to every situation......