[daisy1990]

any organic material, grit or ash from a fire helps break up the clay.  Well done you are doing a great job already.  Agree with earlier comment- how can these plots get so bad when so many people are keen to take them on!

[Gareth J]

As for your weeds - I'm most upset you have have no mares tail - thats not fair 

  you can have some of mine 

[Rich]

how can these plots get so bad when so many people are keen to take them on!

It seems that our council is a bit slow in forcing access to plots that have been lying idle, as to why, who can tell? Even now there are some badly overgrown plots and a waiting list as long as your arm.

[Rich]

I have clay soil and have rough dug a large bed for my taties, now even after another good digging and composting/manuring the bed is comprised of hard clay bricks that would probably resist anything but a rotovator.

Should i:
 
plant my taties in it anyway to help break up the soil?

get more compost/manure/coarse grit in there? (if so how long, if at all, should i wait until planting said spuds?)

get the rotovator on it? (again is there a waiting period before i should plant?)

cheers in advance

[ferreter51]

I have clay soil and have rough dug a large bed for my taties, now even after another good digging and composting/manuring the bed is comprised of hard clay bricks that would probably resist anything but a rotovator.

Should i:
 
plant my taties in it anyway to help break up the soil?

get more compost/manure/coarse grit in there? (if so how long, if at all, should i wait until planting said spuds?)

get the rotovator on it? (again is there a waiting period before i should plant?)

cheers in advance

I has similar soil when I started.  Like you I manured and rotavated the plot but the clay was still quite solid.  I dug it over again when the soil dried out, which helped a little, and planted potatoes.  I got a reasonable, but not outstanding crop.  I dug it over and manured again in the autumn, putting in raised beds, then I got some thick black plastic sheeting, cut it to size and laid it over the beds.  When I stripped them  off, the soil condition was much better.  Obviously that's no good for you this year, but worth remembering when you do your autumn digging.

[Rich]

Cheers for that, will give it a try when i put the plot to bed for the winter

[Christine]

Patience is a great thing to grow when you have brick makers clay Rich. It's taken me nearly five years, organic matter, green manure and organic matter to improve things.

The best advice I was given was that I'd get a little the first year, a little more the second, more the third, a good crop the fourth and have a productive allotment in the fifth. Well I'm eating the last of the peas and cauliflowers from last year at the moment and this is year five with everything ready to go.

Believe me, the bulging muscles are not Popeye's spinach but a lot of work moving organic matter.   

Whatever you get this year besides the satisfaction of a clear plot will be bunce. Build a compost heap and go foraging for compostable items and manure.