[ptarmigan]

On heavy clay soil.  I'm improving it as I go along, and it's better than it was 4 years ago. But doesn't look like the pictures in the gardening mags of fine tilth, no matter how much raking.

[LotuSeed]

One of my gardens is on a hill that is made up of heavy clay, like the bright orange stuff pottery is made out of, the only thing that has helped to improve it has been lots and lots of deep digging and obscene amounts of organic matter. I've also added sand,topsoil and shredded leaves.   I've never gotten a fine tilth, but the soil is friable enough to plant in.  Hope that helps

[barley]

ditto what LUTO  said 

you can try adding sharp sand or stone dust both available in bulk ton bags from builders merchants
also rotovate with a tiller helps

I have been doing the above for 10 years on clay soil and am only just starting to win the battle

[Growster...]

If your soil PH allows it, some lime can help, as it helps break down the glue which binds the clay particles.

[sunshineband]

If your soil PH allows it, some lime can help, as it helps break down the glue which binds the clay particles.

and even more organic matter dug in too, which aids aggregation and allows plant roots better access to nutrients and water too. Any will do the job, including composted bark or woodchip, leaf mould etc that can often be available in very large quantities, not only manure or home made composts

[ptarmigan]

Thank you. I think that was the bit of reassurance I needed. The soil is much improved but I'm probably never going to get fine tilth.!

[Kristen]

I grow plants and plant out, rather than sowing direct, which means I don't need a fine tilth ... I find on my heavy clay soil that I cannot get on it early enough in the year to have it ready in time for sowing direct (I already have lots of seedlings coming on, under cover, but I have not yet made any attempt to get the soil ready).

In the old days, before I raised plants for planting-out, I would make a tilth as follows:

Wait for rain shower
Wait until ground had dried out "just enough"
Walk on the plot (small shuffling steps) which broke up the clods (a bit / a lot / enough)
Rake it about to improve the tilth
Wait for next rain shower "rinse and repeat" until all clods have broken down / have become "fine tilth"

Critical not to walk on the plot if the soil is sticky enough to stick to boots, or not dry enough underneath that it will compact rather than supporting your weight.

Nowadays I have 4' wide (i.e. middle is reachable from either side) slightly-raised beds which I never walk on, and never dig.  I just put some compost / manure on the top in the Autumn.

[BabbyAnn]

I do all of the above on my clay soil - that is, dig in compost, manure, green manure, chopped straw, sharp sand etc, plus rake over (with the occasional bashing to break up some clods).  The one thing I do which probably helps is having permanent "raised" beds (they are not much more than about 4-6 inch high) but it means instead of trying to improve the soil for the entire plot, I can dedicate time, effort and materials to single beds and reduce compaction by never walking on them.

Weather and season plays a part too - after the winter rains, the soil is heavy, in summer it can get baked but after a fairly dry spring or a mild autumn, I find the soil is lovely to work with and get it to a fairly fine tilth that rivals anyone with sandy soil

[Goosegirl]

I grow on alluvial silt which is similar to clay problem-wise and have raised beds. I find I only need a fine tilth if sowing direct so I make a little channel with a hoe, pop some bought compost into the bottom then water it with a fine watering-can rose. When the water has gone, I sow my seeds then cover up with more compost but don't water that so as not to disturb my seeds.

[LotuSeed]

I do all of the above on my clay soil - that is, dig in compost, manure, green manure, chopped straw, sharp sand etc, plus rake over (with the occasional bashing to break up some clods).  The one thing I do which probably helps is having permanent "raised" beds (they are not much more than about 4-6 inch high) but it means instead of trying to improve the soil for the entire plot, I can dedicate time, effort and materials to single beds and reduce compaction by never walking on them.

Weather and season plays a part too - after the winter rains, the soil is heavy, in summer it can get baked but after a fairly dry spring or a mild autumn, I find the soil is lovely to work with and get it to a fairly fine tilth that rivals anyone with sandy soil

I do most of my growing in raised beds as well. Before I did the raised beds I dug trenches in the clay and filled them with compost and planted out directly into them. I don't think I ever sowed seeds directly. That clay is heavy stuff!

[fatcat1955]

Gypsum will break it down for you.

[pa snips]

Most plasterers throw away 1/2 bags of unmixed plaster,rather than  throwing it away It can be used on the plot spread as you would lime It soon mixes in and breaks down clay after all its Gypsum
I mix a spoonful into my Watercress soil as it hates acidity
A bit unconventional but as Einstien said " Imagination is more important than knowledge"

[Headgardener22]

What do you need a fine tilth over the whole bed for?

If you're planting plants then a good soil will do.

If you're sowing seeds, I find the best thing to do is to make a narrow, shallow trench and fill it with sieved compost and sow into that. (The compost also helps to improve the soil).

[Ema]

There's no fine tilts on my plot! I've been leaving a good layer of manure on top of the soil over winter and left the worms to do the digging for me. This is helping but I think I'll need a bother 5 years before I get anywhere near fine. I sow a lot of things in paper cups and then use a bulb planter to drop them into the soil. Saves my back from digging the heaviest areas.

[Growster...]

Despite the potential problems of a crust forming on a raked bed, we are tilling every bed in anticipation of planting and sowing, as we've found that hoeing is a doddle when everything is level, but not so satisfactory if areas are still rough-dug and just knocked down.

Before we had individual beds, I used a wheel hoe everywhere, and it was all so easy, but not really now, as I can't get a good 'run-up' on an 8' x 4' planting bed!