[stompy]

I havn't done much since getting my new plot other than transporting everything from my 0ld plot to the new one and Glyphosating the whole plot.
All weeds are now Dead.

So what to do now, as the weather has been so wonderful and sunny but dry, the ground is like concrete.

Would i be wise to dig the whole plot? or just dig where i'm going to plant and break the clods down to a growing consistency?
If i dig the wole lot i will be left with large clods with no frost to break them down and i will be unable to break the whole lot down for growing.

.

[Kleftiwallah]

I would just dig and rake to a tilth where you want to plant.  Not forgetting that brassicas prefer hard consolidated ground.   Cheers,   Tony.

[Alastair-I]

I've been working my way up the plot (also our first year) and I still have a couple of areas to finish digging.  I've found that an old piece of carpet laid over the area for a week or so will trap dew and draw moisture from below ground so that the ground is much easier to turn over with a fork.  I've been pulling the carpet a meter or so up the plot at a time and digging the area newly exposed.  If the ground is already set like concrete, a bucket or two of water before laying the old carpet over would probably speed things along.

[katiekate]

Last year our field rep advised us to dig a small trench about 6'' by 6'' in our hard lumpy excuse for a bed and fill it with compost. Then we could sow or plant out into that. By the time the plants outgrew the trench they were big and strong enough cope with the clay.

Worked well and I started to feel a little more hopeful!

[sion01]

I took a rather more agricultural approach about 10 years ago when I wanted to reseed this place when I moved here.It was bone dry and when I tried to rotovate it the rotovator just sped accross the ground at high speed with an idiot attached to it(me).Not to be beaten by such a small thing as concrete hard ground I remembered a bloke down the road with a mini excavator.with the offer of a little veg,fish and beer tokens he was quite happy to come and dig.He had the top 12 inches dug up in no time and the rotovator could handle it well then.