[Christine]

I'm clearing an allotment which could be said to be derelict which I took on for some extra space as no-one else wanted it due to the state of it. Clearing the pallets and wood to get to the soil turned out to be easier done than said. No I didn't keep any as there was so much junk it wasn't possible to get onto the plot.

I planted some spare brassicas I had (more than in the pictures which aren't up to date). Looks like there could  be some club root but that's not the problem at the moment as you have to plant and see on an allotment to find out.

The real problem is that the "soil" is scarce, shallow and can only be worked when wet. It's either a sodden mass or dried solid like concrete. OK so that's raw clay. After digging over to get rid of dock, dandelion, nettle and couch roots as well as the usual interesting variety of rubbish which is a long job, it's going to be a case of soil improvements. We think that the plot hasn't been properly cultivated for about 15 years and before that the site was covered in very large greenhouses so it may not have ever been used as an allotment even if it was rented out as one.

So I'm looking for suggestions. Yes I have green manure that I can use and dig in later on. But that's not going to make much of a dent. I'd like cheap and cheerful ideas first - working up to costly ones. I'm just looking for ideas I've not considered so that I can take my pick of what to do (that includes giving it up and letting someone else worry but that's giving in though I don't really need 2 plots). It would just be nice to hand it on so that it's almost usable if that's the final decision.

[mumofstig]

Blimey, that is a horrible plot

I'd certainly be dividing it up into smaller beds - so smaller portions to improve a bit at a time, as it's going to be a struggle to get enough manure/compost to improve all of it at once. Unless you can get manure from a reliable source, at an affordable price.

Sorry if that sounds like trying to teach my Grandma to suck eggs - but don't know what else to suggest

[Annen]

Just what mum said, small beds and maybe lasagne beds? If you can find enough green waste and compost. I've been quite successful in filling my beds that way.

[snowdrops]

Does your council make compost from garden waste? I bought some in bulk over 5 years ago, ordered 2 ton & got 4, I really only paid for the transport. It doesn't say where your location is under your avatar, if you added it you might get local advice. Or what about advertising for topsoil on gumtree or free cycle, you'd have to screen it though or you might get more clay & sub soil, but pekoe are always trying to get rid of it here when they have building work done, you could just use it in long narrow beds to begin with, no need to build raised beds. There's also something called huglekompost beds or something like that.

[madcat]

Well, we are mid season so there isnt going to be a lot you can do with it this year.  Mostly leafy brassicas for the winter - they will like it rock hard and the roots are tough.  So I would go for brassicas on the best bit - to make you feel like it is worth the effort.  They may not be stars but will break up the ground and give you something.  I'd go for toughies like savoys and kale.

Green manure on the rest to loosen it up.  And then a rough dig in the winter to let the frost at it to break it down.  And the best compost heap you can - including lots of brown waste like ripped up cardboard, any grass/weeds/nettles you can harvest from anywhere .....  yes you will bring weed seeds in, but just think of them as pre compost plants.     The value of the organic bulk exceeds the nuisance value.  And of course leaf mulch in the winter ....

[Norfolkgrey]

If you don't need it I would give it up - that is very much a labour of love and will be several years before it comes right.

If I had it I would divide it into quarters. Working a quarter at a time trying to level it slightly then building beds to give a better depth of soil.

I would do a one hit wonder with weedkiller. Cover as much as possible so I can get going with the real work. Then beg, steal and borrow everything. Slabs, pallets, wood, council conditioner, chicken bedding, spent compost, mushroom compost, horsey poo, cardboard, paper, wood chippings.

Think freecycle, tree surgeons, industrial estates, building sites, council etc.

Good luck with whatever you decide 

[ARPoet]

I would cover some areas up with cardboard and then dump a load hos/cow muck and leave it to the worms. Do a bit every year until its all done.

[Goosegirl]

Used mushroom compost is cheap and the lime in it will help to bind the clay particles together to give a better soil structure. I would add some sharp sand/grit as you dig it in (dig a trench a spade's depth and fork over the bottmm and add the stuff then backfill and go onto the next section).

[andimac]

One option might be to not dig it or dig it very lightly but to build some slightly raised beds and work those instead. I did this in my garden with boarding planks about 15cm wide so I now have raised beds about 15cm high.
The "soil" in them is getting better all the time as I've added manure, compost, some wood chippings for mulching and any extra soil I can find. The other effect of this is that the soil underneath will improve over time anyway as some of the nutrients and organic material gets pulled down or percolates down.
Other things I added as they became available included sand and some green manure.

[Floody]

I agree with Norfolk Grey.  As you say, you don't really need the plot, and it's going to take years to get it in a decent state...so why bother?  Life's too short! 

Good luck with it though if you do decide to give it a go. 

[RJR_38]

People here are far too negative!! My plot was an absolute mess when I took it in 3 years ago. Hadn't been used in at least 5 years (although they thought possibly 10) and although it thankfully didn't have the rubbish it had a lot more weeds to deal with in terms of an encroaching woodland (nettles, bramble, ivy, bindweed plus all the usual annual stuff). I found that by digging it up and marking out beds as I went I Dr much more in control. My beds I loosely edged in scrap wood/logs I found - more as a guide for me where to plant/focus future rounds of weeding. I have gone for a more natural approach and my paths have become grassed so as they are becoming more established the edging gets removed and used in the area at the back which I am currently working.

I found that the best time to do the serious digging is the autumn and early spring months - not much ground cover, roots slide out easier as the ground is wetter and if you do it in the autumn the winter weather helps break the soil down further (mine has clay tendencies). Because of the location of our plots large scale delivery of anything is not an option (we cross a small foot bridge to get to the site) so I have used the 4 barrows of annual allocation of manure we get (which we barrow across the bridge) and have relied on chicken pellets, fish/blood/bone, homemade compost and liquid seaweed feed occasionally. I have been having great successes so far and each year the plot gets more manageable. I die a diary I started when I first took it over although I haven't updated it for about a year and should probably get round to that.

[Norfolkgrey]

People here are far too negative!!

What made you say that?  I know a couple of us said give it up if you don't need it, but I see that as being sensible rather than negative. Most allotmenteers and veggie growers have had more than their fair share of hard graft, only to do it all over again at a later date - I think that is why most gardeners are known as nutters 

[Christine]

Loads of useful lines of thought from you all. Thank you.

I've got brassicas in at one end (red cabbage, PSB, calabrese, savoy cabbages, dwarf kale) and they either will or don't thrive. As madcat says, you need something and these wouldn't fit in on my other plot. We shall see how well they do - I did add loadsa chicken pellets, bone meal and calcified seaweed to the beds. Test beds.

It's been sprayed to remove the worst before I started with the spade - and I've had people in taking pallets and wood to clear the space as well as a free trailer to get rid of the pallets with polystyrene in, the scrap man has been along. I've had one bonfire and there will be another when the wind is in the right direction to avoid the neighbouring houses.

I wish not digging was an option andimac but unfortunately there's a lot of buried treasure like carpet and large amounts of plastic bags/sheets so needs must. Oh and the dock roots are classic. The grandson was giving a hand the other night after the weekend rain and got a real corker which would have won a prize in the champion parsnip class in the town show. 

With the number one plot being pretty much in tip top condition I've a few spare hours to attend to this plot. I'm with Norfolkgrey on the beg, borrow and steal ideas. Taken in conjunction with the suggestions for improving the soil well things could possibly be cheap at least if not easy.

I've bought a good quantity of various sorts of green manures will which go on the spaces I've cleared in the next few weeks.

Shame I forgot to take a picture today to show how far things have changed - but it's still a work in progress. Oh we are discussing one metal item - is it a car jack, is it the part of the ventilation system from one of the very old greenhouses ... Various theories.

You have all cheered me up no end - the fact that you all have ideas makes me think that it might be possible.

[Floody]

People here are far too negative!!

What made you say that?  I know a couple of us said give it up if you don't need it, but I see that as being sensible rather than negative. Most allotmenteers and veggie growers have had more than their fair share of hard graft, only to do it all over again at a later date - I think that is why most gardeners are known as nutters 

Again, I have to agree with Norfolk Grey.  My plot was untouched for a decade before I took it on.  It's 200 square yards and every weekend for a year, with the exception of two or three, I spent many hours digging up weeds.  It's because I know how miserable that process can be  that I suggested walking away from the plot in the pictures.  If one doesn't need the plot, what's the point in breaking one's back to try to sort it? Saying 'no' doesn't automatically mean you're being negative! 

[Bernard]

I used to have clay soil and I wish I still had it. It loses nothing and all veg grew much better than ever since.