[chasechicken]

Hi all

I have a small vegetable patch in the garden - sadly we have clay soil.  I've added quite a lot of horse manure and worked it in but it's still quite clumpy.

I don't really want to do a raised patch so is it just a case of keep working manure and compost in?  Any other advice?

Many thanks

[Ice]

I think you have answered your own question.  Lots of manure and compost.  I have clay soil too and I also add sharp sand.  Potatoes will help break up the clumps.

[chasechicken]

Great, thanks ice!  That's what I'll do then... more than anything I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't wasting my time trying potatoes...

[Ice]

Clay might be a bit of a b****r to work with but it is nutrient rich.

[woodburner]

Ngah, I nearly had a rant yesterday about people complaining about having "only"  12" of topsoil, over clay. No, no I will resist.

Lazy beds are great for clay soil, I've only had them for one season and the soil (yes, I have clay soil too) in the beds is wonderfully crumbly, whereas the paths are as horrible as ever (obviously) and I never put anything at all on it, other than cardboard!
To be completely fair, it was uncultivated and overgrown for many years, and the last of the weeds also rotted in situ (under the cardboard) so they didn't really need manure/compost anyway.

[andreadon]

i grow potatoes clay too - doesn't seem to do them any harm - just get big lumps of soil attached to them when you pull them out!
plenty of organic matter breaks it down eventually.... just keep adding it!

[Paul Plots]

Clay might be a bit of a b****r to work with but it is nutrient rich.

That seems to be very true. I took over a 1/2 plot right next-door to my dad's old plot. His has fantastic soil after 50 years of adding compost but the plot next-door would have been great for brick making.

Once I had cleared the weeds (and junk) I dug it and put in spuds. Had a great crop.
Harvesting was interesting - Could have done with a fork-lift truck to heave the top layer off which liften in "blocks" but underneath the spudS were big and plentiful!

The soil is better this year. I'm sure the spuds (and many barrow loads of compost) helped.