Ok. So the advice of Blewit has added a different tilt to my plan. But I sort of understand it. Thanks Blewit. I would like to clarify with you the point you make about covering it as asap. My only possibility would be to try getting a delivery of well rotted cow manure before the standard time for this, which I hope would be possible. Today I was informed by one of the other plot holders that my part of the allotment has quite sandy soil, and it certainly looked this way to me. The village of Little Irchester, Northants, was for many years central to iron ore mining and I could see in the colour of my patch that it truly looked a throwback from this. I was also informed not to expect the worm population to be high, at least to start with. So, if my plan changed to asap, spreading 4/6 inches of manure over whatever area my delivery will cover, maybe a good soaking before, if I was lucky could my patch be ready for next spring. Needless to say, I could also give regular soakings to the ground after the manure is spread. Also GG, I will dig a bit of a trench and fill with water. It's interesting for me to see what happens.