[RJR_38]

I got my first allotment in December - and an uncultivated weed patch would be being generous I think. I spent December battling with waist high stinging nettles and brambles but 75% of the plot is clear now. I have made a raised bed at the front and have edged 2 other with pieces of wood the plot was littered with. After finishing edging the 2nd bed today I am beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel as it is starting to look like an allotment and not a dumping ground now!

I think I may have to alter some of the plans I made of things I wanted to grow though as the soil is very clay-heavy (today it was just sticking in solid lumps) and also very stony. I am removing stones as I go but the sheer number of them means this is going to be a long process and looking at other plots I can see most people don't even bother.

Anyone got any experience of growing on this type of soil? Any good tips? I have been waiting to get a plot for 3 years so I am very excited!

[allotmentann]

Congratulations on your plot and welcome to the site. You may find that your clay is not as bad as you think when the weather changes. My soil is heavy clay and really quite nice, but there is no way I would work it at the minute, it is just too wet. Remember this has been the wettest year on record. You may be pleasantly surprised.
If it really is too bad you could consider either putting in drainage or building raised beds.
I can't think what you can do about stones other than remove them by hand. Are they so bad that it will stop you from growing things? I know things like carrots and parsnips are not supposed to like stoney soil, but I shouldn't think that most veg would find it a problem unless it was really bad.

[RJR_38]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. What you have said about the soil has cheered me up slightly - let's hope w have a drier year this year! I am hoping that it won't be too stoney for most things  - as I say other plots don't look like they have removed all theirs. I have removed anything bigger than my fist (and have 4 big bags full of stones in the corner of my plot now... I will probably then just start to remove the medium sized ones as I plant etc. I was hoping to grow carrots and parsnips but I know they dislike stones....

On a positive note I have just bought a pallete stripping tool so I can strip down the pallets I have and finish edging my other 2 beds. Then I can decide what to make my paths from. At the moment I am leaning towards weed membrane and wood chippings but I haven't found a cheap source yet

[yaxley]

Hi and welcome think that most people are struggling with the wet conditions at the moment 2012 was a very wet year when it dries out the clay wont be so bad to work with ...

[snowdrops]

Hi there sounds to me you might already have some stones that you could use for your paths :happy:

[Mrs Bee]

Hi there.Good luck with your allotment.

 Our allotment is at the bottom of a hill on thick London clay.It gets very wet and sticky.

 We are on our third year of working it after we cleared it of 6 foot high brambles.

We have built raised beds on half of it so far. With each bed we built we dug over the bottom of the raised bed and then put a thick layer of chicken straw and manure from our chickens or horse manure from the local stables and then topped it up with the free compost that we get from the council and then left it through the winter,

We have been quite succesful this year despite the awful weather.

It is much easier to plant in the raised beds with the improved soil and the drainage is coping well with all this rain too. Digging out  the veg even in the rain from the raised beds is OK too.
 

[bobr1960]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. What you have said about the soil has cheered me up slightly - let's hope w have a drier year this year! I am hoping that it won't be too stoney for most things  - as I say other plots don't look like they have removed all theirs. I have removed anything bigger than my fist (and have 4 big bags full of stones in the corner of my plot now... I will probably then just start to remove the medium sized ones as I plant etc. I was hoping to grow carrots and parsnips but I know they dislike stones....

On a positive note I have just bought a pallete stripping tool so I can strip down the pallets I have and finish edging my other 2 beds. Then I can decide what to make my paths from. At the moment I am leaning towards weed membrane and wood chippings but I haven't found a cheap source yet

Hi Try some of your local landscape gardeners for free wood chip? We have a local guy who just drops off a trailer load every so often.
Happy sowing.
Bob

[RJR_38]

I have asked a few but no luck as yet but I will keep trying. Off to clear some brambles today when this fog lifts

[Cake Lady]

I have very similar soil - clay with lots of stones, although nothing as big as my hand.  I've tried removing stones, and have a whole path made from them, but there are still plenty left.  I have grown huge parsnips this year, although the odd one had forked.

One suggestion I have to improve the clay, which you may already have read about on here, is to get as much organic matter into it as possible, even if it's on top.  There's probably still time to get plenty of horse muck on so that the frosts and worms work on it before spring, when you just need to lightly fork it in.  Also, I think I've read that potatoes are a really good crop for breaking in ground.

Good luck!

[RJR_38]

Thanks. I have 3 sets of potatoes planned so its good to know they will help. I am hoping go get some manure in ASAP - we have a delivery for our lottie apparently sometime this month.

[snowdrops]

Lots of organic matter as Cake lady says would be good but then don't grow parsnips or carrots ther e this year but next would be fine. Good to follow on from potatoes 'cos the ground gets 2 thorough diggings,once when you plant & once when you harvest.

[Christine]

It has taken me six years of adding organic matter to make my brick makers clay into something resembling workable soil. I have also grown green manure (buckwheat) which was dug in just before flowering.

It can be an expensive occupation unless you know a lot of horses, pigeons and chickens 

[RJR_38]

I don't think my soil is as bad as it could be to be fair. I have carried out a soil test as recommended by Alan Titchmarsh and it seems I have clay loam rather than pure clay which is obviously not as bad as it could be! I think it was just a shock having previously lived in an area which was chalky and the complete opposite.

[sunshineband]

Glad it is going so well RJR

Just remember not to put any manure where you intend to plant parsnips & carrots, as they will grow forky  :blink:

[Ema]

well done RJR sounds like great progress in such a short space