[bazh]

I can't get hold of any manure and my hen poop needs to mature so is it ok to buy bags of compost to mix in with the soil on the plot, or is there something else I can add, the soil is clay but with a good digging over is quite nice, I am not sire how long its been since the plot was used so I am not too sure about the quality of the soil, I also have home made compost at home but its not quite ready yet and lots of bags of leafmold in various stages of rotting down

morbidia don't worry about your soil this year just grow what you want and see how it goes, at times I wish I had a clay soil, please don't buy compost

Right oh I will just go for it and see how it goes, I'm just panicking because I'm not too sure about what I am doing so I am a bit overwhelmed at the moment 

Don't be overwhelmed, pant and grow what you want to try...........just don't spend loads on compost please......

[morbidia]

I promise I won't buy any compost , I didn't really want to I was just worried in case I was supposed to, but I am quite happy now to wait for my homemade stuff to mature, I am going to have a poke about tomorrow to see what its like

[bazh]

Right oh I will just go for it and see how it goes, I'm just panicking because I'm not too sure about what I am doing so I am a bit overwhelmed at the moment 
[/quote]

Don't be overwhelmed you've got a bit of mud to grow veg on so..... if you get stuck come here or a few other websites {better not advertise} or even better buy dr hessayon's book

[davel831]

like what has been said on here is get a ph kit and test the soil...

As for manure look for local riding schools, or even the police..

We get a load ever year delivered for a tenner, and the load is huge!!

  Dave

[gremlin]

tenner?   wow !  We pay £40 for a big load of rotted manure (2-3 tones)  It's good stuff but goes nowhere on a 10 x 10 plot.  Still growing in 12" of talcum powder dust on solid clay. If I dig on a dry windy day, my plot blows away in the general direction of Slough !

I know about the danger of over-manuring, so it will be a10-year plan to turn the soil structure around.  

[morbidia]

I had a good poke through the compost bin at home and it looks better than I thought, I was able to take some out and gave the rest of it a good stir, its a bit on the dry side so I have left the lid off tonight as it is supposed to be raining at some point

[makedoandmend]

Folks,

I live next to a former sandstone quarry and so you can imagine what my soil is like. Twice this year I've had to pump out the garden from flooding which isn't good news BUT....

I have transformed borders and the veg plot beyond all imagination using a combination of a few simple things. After searching on the internet and digging up some old papers written on the subject of clay soils - some > 100 years old I have used the following;

Sharp sand - not much needed really a good covering and dig in.
Horse muck - 6-8inch layer over winter and dig in.
Coffee grounds - just add when you can get them from Starbucks, Costa etc.
Hops - local microbrewery has helped out here.

Where I could, I have dug out the clay with a pick axe and shovel and replaced it with whole bales of straw and replaced the topsoil.

The coffee seems to have an immediate effect on helping to break up the clods and the hops and sharp sand improve drainage by leaps and bounds whilst still retaining moisture.

My soil tempertaure is much better, and despite the flooding the veg patch and the borders drain almost immediately.

The lawn is the biggest drainage issue, if I had my way I would dig it out and repeat my cure - more room for the veggies too!!

You do have to watch the pH though - all this organic matter can push you to the acid side  and doesn't really help the veg.

2 years ago I struggled to turn the garden with a small spade, I can now plunge my arm into the veg patch almost up to my elbow and I've never seen so many worms!

Best of luck,

Make do.

[yorkiegal]

thanks for the tip about the coffee grounds. I have a mate who's a supervisor at our local starbucks so I'll have to pop in and sweet talk him.

[makedoandmend]

Yorkiegal,

I've found that as long as you give them a clean container and collect it regularly, they're more than happy to let you take it. In fact they have a company policy to encourage customers to take it home for composting - the worms breed like mad on it.

Make do.

[morbidia]

In my local Star bucks they have a bin with bags of coffee grounds in for customers to take away,I will have a look when I next go in