[cindieloo]

I have recently got an allotment. Very exciting.

It is heavy clay soil but I have been digging like a *, and the frost is def improving it each day.

I have four beds with a crop rotation worked out. But what can/ should/ shouldn't I add to the soil. I have bought some peat, that has rotted manuer in it, and some mushroom compost. Is it too late to add this, will it be too rich for planting in March?

Any ideas would be great....

Oh and the beds are potatoes/ legumes/ roots/ brassicas

[noshed]

You will probably be OK adding compost to all the beds now. Put a thick layer on the top and fork it in before you plant things. Carrots etc don't get on well with manure - unless you want some Esther Rantzen rude ones but if there's not a lot of manure in the compost you could risk it - you may get some amusing ones, you never know.
I admire your organisation, my 'crop rotation' is a bit more shambolic.

[cindieloo]

Ok, so there is no risk with it being too rich? I thought stuff like potatoes cant be planted on recently composted soil?

Sometimes there is so much information...its hard to know what to do.

[MarkG]

Hi Cindieloo,

I'm new to growing veg to. Got my first allotment in January. I'm sure there will be some experienced hands along shortly, but for what its worth here's what I started doing at the end of January.

Dug compost into plots for potatoes and legumes. I raked roughtly 1 bucket/square yard over the plots and then forked it over. I'll be digging in more compost into a trench for my runner beans shortly.

I didn't put any on the brassicas for a few reasons. Firstly I read that brassicas like lime and its not good to lime and manure in the same season. I also read that they grow best on a plot that was manured for a previous crop (so the previous season). However, I've read contary to that too, so not sure whats right. In the end I didn't manure the brasicas, but did lime the soil. Tested the pH first and spread lime according to instructions in books and on the packet of the lime.

You said your compost is peat based. Peat can be a bit acidic, so it will be great for the potatoes, but maybe not so good for the brasicas. I'm sure someone else with more experience can advise.

I think roots are best grown on a plot that was manured for a previous crop, otherwise the roots fork.

So what I did:
Potatoes: compost in january.
Legumes: compost in january.
brasssicas: no compost this year, but dug over and limed.
Roots: no compost, just dug over the ground.

Hope that helps. All based on absoloutely no experience.

[John]

Potatoes are very greedy - they make a lot of top (foliage) and tuber (spud) so they need a lot of food. Carrots and parsnips aren't so greedy and if there's a lot of manure they chase it giving multiple legs and rude ones

The other really greedy crop is the cabbage tribe - they love lots of nitrogen to help them make all the leaves. Hope that helps.

Incidentally, I know what you mean about too much info - the hardest bit of the book was knowing what to leave out. Thank goodness for the editor!

[Trillium]

Keep in mind Cindieloo that you're digging either a long deserted or a new plot, and the soil needs all it can get for now. In a few years then you'll need to be more selective about what you put where for crop rotations. My newer beds get all the manure I can throw at them simply to loosen the clay and start feeding the soil, which is always your ultimate goal. I figure in another year I can use less manure in most areas, and none where the carrots and parsnips will go - and this is after 4 years of work.

[ParsnipPete]

I have recently got an allotment. Very exciting.

It is heavy clay soil but I have been digging like a *, and the frost is def improving it each day.

I have four beds with a crop rotation worked out. But what can/ should/ shouldn't I add to the soil. I have bought some peat, that has rotted manuer in it, and some mushroom compost. Is it too late to add this, will it be too rich for planting in March?

Any ideas would be great....

Oh and the beds are potatoes/ legumes/ roots/ brassicas

My first post. Hello everyone!

Clay! I've been working clay land for twelve years.
My land is so heavy it cracks in very dry weather. The cracks are large enough to put your fingers in.

I use pigs to turn it over. If I leave it too long after the pigs are moved it sets like concrete.

If this sounds like your soil I suggest the following-
 
Dig in tons and tons of sand. It totally transforms clay into a delightful medium.

Plenty of lime and/or wood ash.

And you can never have too much well rotted muck.

Pete.

[ditchdigger]

I didn't put any on the brassicas for a few reasons. Firstly I read that brassicas like lime and its not good to lime and manure in the same season. I also read that they grow best on a plot that was manured for a previous crop (so the previous season). However, I've read contary to that too, so not sure whats right. In the end I didn't manure the brasicas,

             If you dig in manure leave about 3 months before you lime or lime first and add manure after about a month when its weathered in. personally I would allways give brassica's PLENTY of muck and a topdressing of lime once they are well established and on their way.

[digby]

One of the guys on our allotment last year planted a load of potatoes and dahlias in what was left of an old muck heap, not sure he was supposed to as it wasn't on a designated plot (not even sure who it was) but they all looked to do ok.