[TGPLANTER]

What's the best material to warm the soil of a 5m square plot of currently very wet, clayey allotment?

[Snoop]

Wouldn't you do better to leave it to dry a bit first and then, perhaps, turn it over?

[3759allen]

agree'd covering it will hold the moisture in.

if you can walk on it with out making too much of a mess you make lots of holes by pushing a fork in and wiggling. this should drain the water quicker.

i suppose scattering a layer of straw on the ground and covering with plastic may absorb some of the water. rake off the damp straw and repeat the process if needed. if you can it may be worth uncovering it during dry spells and cover before it rains. you can rot the straw down for compost or dry it to protect fruit and veg from the ground. this is just a theory that i'm thinking out load, have no idea if it would work.

[fatcat1955]

Black polythene sheeting will warm the soil but as previously stated , it needs to drain first.

[cadalot]

Small areas can be done with cloches and I'm using a Pop Bottle cloche to warm up one bed on my plot 

[gavinjconway]

Wait for the sun.. honestly it will come out and then dry it and you can then plant and have a good crop. Last year we were a month late due to the long winter and I had the best crop ever.. 588kg from 165 sq mt..

[TGPLANTER]

Thanks for all the pointers. Ground still very wet but weather forecast "promises"!! some warmer weather over the next week or so.