[peter and jean]

Hi all. It has slowed down a little for the last few days due to (stinky) work but still managed an hour here and there. I have read that if I stack all the grass/topsoil it will eventually turn into loam. What exactly is loam, should it be stacked a certain way and how long does it take to break down? Also can I chuck it all in the compost pile? Thanks P & J

[New shoot]

I've moved you over here so more people see your post 

Loam is the term applied to growing soil.  People talk about well-drained loam, or fertile loam.  It is your growing ideal - nice soil that turns over well.

Stacks of weedy grass and topsoil turn into lovely loam    Just turn it green side down and stack into a mound.  It also does well to cover it to prevent weeds growing into the surface.

[peter and jean]

Well it's all stacked (chucked) and covered. How long should I leave it before I can dig it into our heavy topsoil?

[Goosegirl]

If you use a black-coloured cover it will retain more heat than a white one. Heat will assist the breakdown of your grass/soil mix into something you can later add to your clay soil, so I'd leave it covered until late spring.

[JayG]

The so-called 'perfect loam' consists of roughly equal proportions of silt, sand, clay and humus, which means you have the best compromise possible between the best and worst features of having too much or little of any of them (but it still won't be perfect for absolutely everything you want to grow.)

How close your stacked turves come to turning into perfect loam therefore depends on what sort of soil the grass was growing on, but it will still be better than almost any soil improver you actually have to pay for in a garden centre. 

[peter and jean]

thanks for all the replies. tomorrows job therefore will be making a lovely tidy pile of turf and covering it over. cheers J & P

[BumbleJo]

I've moved you over here so more people see your post 

Stacks of weedy grass and topsoil turn into lovely loam    Just turn it green side down and stack into a mound.  It also does well to cover it to prevent weeds growing into the surface.

I understood you have to stack it alternately, i.e. Grass against grass..

[New shoot]

I understood you have to stack it alternately, i.e. Grass against grass..

You may be right, but I've always just done green side down and it works fine 

[snowdrops]

I've moved you over here so more people see your post 

Stacks of weedy grass and topsoil turn into lovely loam    Just turn it green side down and stack into a mound.  It also does well to cover it to prevent weeds growing into the surface.

I understood you have to stack it alternately, i.e. Grass against grass..

I think that maybe if you're not going to cover it. It would exclude light from the turves to prevent regrowth. Covering is the best bet I think

[peter and jean]

So I made my loam "pile"  today amongst other things. The council dropped off some wheelie bins so I spent the best part of 2 hours filling them up with glass. 5 hours in total spent on the allotment today and it looks like I've achived * all.

[New shoot]

5 hours in total spent on the allotment today and it looks like I've achived * all.

The glass picking is a thankless task, I'll give you that, but better it be in the bin than in your fingers.  Your loam pile is like banking futures for lovely soil to grow in.  You can look on it in pride and say 'I made that'    Don't even get me started on the wonders of building up a compost bin