[Shandy]

I have just taken over an allotment that has not be used for a while but I am finding that the soil at one end is very gloopy when wet and very hard when dry.  What can I do to improve this?

[weeeed]

Do you mean its clay? If it is add lots of home made compost leaf mould grit indeed any thing you can think of to break it up. If you plant pots in it you will find they help break up the soil too.

[nobby]

sharp sand from the builders yard and lots of oganic stuf will help
plus dig down good and deep you may have a pan that is stoping the water from draing away

[woodburner]

First lottie I had, the water was held in by the compacted paths. I ended up digging a trench across one of them, stuffed a load of twigs in the bottom (to stop it getting compacted again), then refilled and replaced the turf. A drainage pipe would have been perfect but cost more.