[m1ckz]

hi,,my allotment soil is not cly but very heavy  ie   wen i dig it ,,it dries out and is rock hard,ive had it 2 years and have added muck each year,,how can i make it nice and crumbly,,hate all the hard lumps,so hard to break down,any advice wellcome  ty all

[BabbyAnn]

it dries out and is rock hard

sounds like clay or maybe the sub soil brought up to the surface.  Keep digging the manure and compost in every year and breaking up the clods as you go along - eventually the soil will be nice and crumbly but it does take time, even years but one day you'll realise just how lovely the soil has gone.  Where I have seams of clay, I've found adding builders sharp sand as well has helped - after a good harsh winter, the soil in spring has been lovely to work with.  Rotavating might be the answer, but for some of us without one, I've found raking very useful (it drags the bigger dried lumps to the surface which I break up)

[fatcat1955]

If it is clay the cheapest way to break it down quickly is by using Gypsum. The cheapest way to incorporate Gypsum is plasterboard obtained free from skips(ask first) The best tool to use is a mattock for digging the compacted soil over and incorporating the Gypsum.

[potatogrower]

had the same issue and mine was sticky when wet. best to use a rotivater and add sharp sand while you do. it does wonders to the soil quality and breaks it up

[m1ckz]

thanx all,,,i do have a rotovater,,ill give it a go 

[goodtogrow]

And another thing, mickz, is that after all the rain we've had some soils are difficult to break down until they've drained a bit.

Assuming that clay is part of the problem on your plot you could try rotovating part of it this week, then another part next week, and see if next week it breaks down better.

I know that farmers are very careful about ploughing clay-based soils, and that they delay working them until later in the season.

Good luck

Tom

[mumofstig]

but they would wait till they're already baked hard 

[goodtogrow]

Yes, mum, baked hard at the surface, which clay soils do in dry (and windy) weather, but not below the surface.....

It's said that clay-y soils need careful cultivation, avoiding digging when it's too wet, cos then it smears, and when it's too dry, cos then it forms rock-hard lumps, but if you time it well, somewhere in between
wet and dry, it breaks down into a small crumb, assuming there's enough organic matter in it to help the structure....

Anyway, it's interesting to hear about other people's soil, particularly about those with varying proportions of clay in them, cos just like the plotholders themselves their soil is different from someone else's, and ultimately only the plotholder really understands what they've got, usually after a load of trial and error 

Tom

[Plot74]

Different type soils grow grow some crops better than others. I remember as a lot younger than I am now my dad used to grow exceptional onions and brassicas but that was on heavy clay soil.
Some plants prefer heavier ground some lighter so untill you get the ground as you would like it there is still plenty of options.raised beds are easier to break down so you can add a few while working on the rest of the plot.
John