Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: m1ckz on March 11, 2011, 04:58
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i swaped plots this year , for a bigger one,ive got it dug over but.its dryed out in hard lumps, as good as concrete,is this clay,it was neglected for a while befor,also full of twitch roots,any advice ??
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Sounds like clay :(
When worked on it can eventually make a great growing medium :)
Try putting a small lump in a glass jar, fit the lid, shake it and let it settle out overnight. It should settle down into 4 sections: - sand at the bottom, then silt. then clay then organic matter. If its clay you will have a larger proportion of silt and clay. The ideal is to have roughly equal parts of all 4. So if too much silt & clay add loads of humus like compost, manure etc. If its low on sand had some sharp grit sand which can be bought cheaply at your local builders merchants (not building sand but sometimes called concreting sand).
Note - it is sometimes difficult to determine the difference between the clay and silt levels and organic matter may float on the top.
Don't forget to add water to the jar :wub:
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thanx fisherman, ill try that today
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need to add water to jar.
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Builders call it "Sharp Sand"
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Moist clay soil can also be rolled out into a sausage and curled around on itself 'whiting style' to form a torus (ring doughnut). Mud pies for grown-ups!
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You'll need to work clay while its still damp because when it dries, it's a beast. My neighbours sometimes wondered why I was gardening with a pickax (honestly).
It'll be a constant routine of adding amendments like sharp sand, compost, rotted manure, shredded leaves, shredded hay, etc for a few years. Eventually you'll get something quite decent.
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thanx all,ill have the water an jar test in about 6 hrs lol,ill let you know the result
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need to add water to jar.
Thanks Snowdrops
Don't you just miss the obvious :wacko:
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I was told years ago that adding lime was an answer.
It seems that academic thought mentions that this isn't chemically correct, but what lime tends to do is make the clay form smaller lumps.
But you have to keep it moving around - i.e.digging with compost.
And more digging!
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i checked the jar today
on top was a little organic.next was water,on the bottom it lookes like soil.
so what do you think,
regards mick
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When you say soil. . .clay will be a light brown layer without anything to see. loam will include tiny bits of leaf and twig, maybe straw. Cheers, Tony.
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M1ckz: I've merged your previous thread with your new one given that it's the same subject and the results part follows on naturally from your orginal question.
Your test seems inconclusive; surely having dug it over you have an idea what it's like (if it's heavy like clay, sticks to the spade like clay, and can be moulded into sticky lumps when wet then it no doubt is clay!) :)
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clay will be a light brown layer ...
Or grey ... or blue ... or red...
Post a picture :D
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yes its clay,i can roll it into a sausage and make a ring, yes its heavy,and sticks to spade and fork,,thans all,ill need to work on it lol
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yes its clay,i can roll it into a sausage and make a ring, yes its heavy,and sticks to spade and fork,,thans all,ill need to work on it lol
No great shakes. With a bit of work and some nice organic matter & sand dug in over the next few years, you'll have wonderful soil again. :)
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yes its clay,i can roll it into a sausage and make a ring, yes its heavy,and sticks to spade and fork,,thans all,ill need to work on it lol
Good luck and keep at it.
We made a raised bed a couple of years back out of a small area, 12ft x 12ft, that had never had much growing on it.
Area was in shade under a 20ft high Cotoneaster tree, tree cut down as it was too close to house.
Dug out barrow upon barrow loads of clay and skipped it, removed base clay down a full spit, added sharp sand, homemade compost, purchased MP compost and manure.
The new raised bed made on new soil base to extra 9 inches depth.
Was great, lovely drop of soil, grew spuds first year, beans & peas second year. Well pleased with our efforts.
Dug it over last week, was right disheartening.
clay has moved up through it. Was awful to work.. Have added more sharp sand and more compost & manure.
Nil Desperandum
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Clay may be difficult to work to start with but it is usually a very fertile soil. Whilst digging i sometimes find chuncks of pure clay, I have even made a rough pot out of it! I keep my netting pegs in it in the shed. ???
Still get some gret crops and fab exercise out of it though.
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i checked the jar today
on top was a little organic.next was water,on the bottom it lookes like soil.
so what do you think,
regards mick
I think that tells the story Mick. Sounds like its made up of mainly silt and clay. Plenty of digging ahead and adding of much humus as possible and if you can get hold of it some sharp sand as well. Get a compost heap going as soon as pos which will help out in the long run.
Good luck.