[upert]

"Sand to clay throw money away" is an old adage. It can cost a lot and take a lot to improve clay with sand. I still tried it where it was free. Very hard work. I have used woodchip and leaves as it was easier to shift, close by and plentiful and free. Opened the ground up nicely yet came with some problems.

What you have to realise is there's no quick fix and that you should try not to do yourself in doing it all at once. I speak from experience. I greatly improved my plot over a couple of years yet I'm left with permanent, painful damage to my elbows.

How long was the plot vacant? Soil eventually reverts to type even when you manure it. I took on a plot that had lain fallow for eight years and it was compact clay yet the site is almost one hundred years old and no doubt someone must have added manure or compost at some point.

Try sourcing well rotted manure and incorporate into your soil then plant into that. Otherwise settle in for the long haul and enjoy it.

[mumofstig]

Mumofstig- are you referring to horticultural fleece?

No weed control fabric commonly called Mypex or Yuzet

[Gardener and Rabbit]

Giving a foliar feed would be a good way to boost the plants that are already in - it's easy to do, fast acting, and overcomes the problem of water simply running off the soil surface when it's very dry. I often do this on my soil which is low in nutrients. I just use dilute tomato food, and add a single drop of liquid soap to help it wet and spread over the leaves rather than run off.

[AnneB]

My soil is exactly as you described and I've had to amend it with literally tons of organic material!
One other tip, if possible is to never walk on the beds you are going to grow in, it really helps reduce the compaction of the soil. I've got woodchipped paths in between marked/ raised beds and it's helped no end.

We have a heavy clay soil too, and underneath that is an impermeable granite like rock!  We too have gone down the raised bed / woodchip path route and that works for us too. I don't dig the soil except to dig up potatoes.  We get bulk supplies of horse manure delivered to our site which I rot down and cover the raised beds in autumn.  I don't manure the beds I am going to use for carrots and parsnips the following year.
After 9 years the soil is now in pretty good health although it is prone to flooding in winter and I lost some of my asparagus this year to waterlogging
We get good healthy crops and I am sure you will too before long.

[Plot 1 Problems]

My soil is exactly as you described and I've had to amend it with literally tons of organic material!
One other tip, if possible is to never walk on the beds you are going to grow in, it really helps reduce the compaction of the soil. I've got woodchipped paths in between marked/ raised beds and it's helped no end.

We have a heavy clay soil too, and underneath that is an impermeable granite like rock!  We too have gone down the raised bed / woodchip path route and that works for us too. I don't dig the soil except to dig up potatoes.  We get bulk supplies of horse manure delivered to our site which I rot down and cover the raised beds in autumn.  I don't manure the beds I am going to use for carrots and parsnips the following year.
After 9 years the soil is now in pretty good health although it is prone to flooding in winter and I lost some of my asparagus this year to waterlogging
We get good healthy crops and I am sure you will too before long.

Yep this year we're really starting to see some dramatic improvements in yield quality, despite the late Winter switching into dry Summer. I'm not a No Dig acolyte by any stretch but feeding the soil and leaving it to it's own thing does seem to be working.
Mercifully I don't flood as my plot is the highest one on the site. The poor * at the other end of the allotment can't overwinter crops because of the flooding