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Avatar for JamrockBox
Oct 9, 2022 1:21 AM CST
Thread OP
Surrey, United Kingdom
Hello

I have just taken on an allotment. The soil is clay, but there are raised beds with a few inches of softer soil on top of the clay. I'm adding manure and wondering i should just mix this with the existing top layer of soil (and leave the clay undisturbed) or if i should dig into the clay and mix all of this up, so that i have a deeper base of softer soil?

I've just cleared weeds and old carrots from the previous tenant and found it very difficult to pull out some of the old roots which had grown into the clay!

Kind regards

Lee
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Oct 9, 2022 7:53 AM CST
Name: Sally
central Maryland (Zone 7b)
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I think you want to dig into the clay as you say, and have more depth for plants to root into.
Plant it and they will come.
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Oct 10, 2022 8:26 AM CST
Name: Christie
Central Ohio 43016 (Zone 6a)
Plays on the water.
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If you are planning to grow root crops, you might want to dig into the clay a bit. If no root crops, then it might not make any difference.
Plant Dreams. Pull Weeds. Grow A Happy Life.
Avatar for RpR
Oct 11, 2022 5:17 PM CST
Name: Dr. Demento Jr.
Minnesota (Zone 3b)
Dig into the clay for a better base, over time (years) it will become more and more like loam than clay.
Avatar for Pyewacket
Oct 15, 2022 10:37 AM CST
Name: Pyewacket
Texas (Zone 7b)
I wouldn't bother with manure at all at this point. Digging things into heavy clay is a waste of time and effort. You're in the UK, I'm guessing you're on an allotment? My preferred method of alleviating clay soil is to plant half in a cover crop and the other half as my "garden. Buckwheat is a good cover crop, I once got 3 crops in a single season in OH, not sure what your growing conditions would allow. I liked the buckwheat because it would set seed and I could just mow it over or weed whack it down after it set seed, leaving the stems where they fell, and it would self-sow another crop. Then the next year I would switch sides. It takes some time but so does double digging. Or digging at all.

Second option if you don't have the room, time or energy for plan A, is to lay down cardboard. If you have lawn clippings or other compostable material lay those down first then cover with the cardboard. Then cover the cardboard with whatever type of mulch you have at hand. I used to use spent straw or hay (understanding this can bring in CONSIDERABLE quantities of weed seeds which doesn't matter if you layer it deeply enough, but does if you are putting down thin layers), now I use wood mulch (undyed, that's a thing in the US, hope its not a thing in the UK).

Just plant your plants through the cardboard. I wet the cardboard before laying it, also the ground should be moist but not waterlogged. Then immediately cover with mulch. I use drip irrigation, either the drip hose or the solid hose with emitters space where the plants will be. It can go under the cardboard or between the cardboard and the mulch. In dry areas, under the cardboard. In more humid areas I've never had a problem just putting it under the mulch, and 100% just under the mulch if you're using emitters and not soaker or drip hose.

The only issue I ever had was in a very humid area where there were sluggs. I say sluggs to convey the ugg factor there. See how I did that. LOL! Anyway that's the only time I had issues doing his in 30+ years. That's what slug bait is for.

I use plain brown cardboard boxes broken down (like from amazon). I use to spread them out one layer thick but now I just open the tops and bottoms and put them down 2 layers thick. Less work for me, they last longer in the garden. I've seen single layer cardboard disappear in one season in the past. Worms abounding. The cardboard is more for weed barrier, and will need to be replaced every year or two, the mulch on top probably does more to make the area habitable for my wormy friends. I mean friend that ARE worms, not friends that HAVE worms. Anyway.

I have also used shredded paper but if you do that, be sure to cover it with something dark. I couldn't figure out why my garden wasn't thriving and pulled back the shredded paper I had mulched with and the ground was COLD. It was reflecting the sun and cooling the soil too much - which could be a good thing in certain circumstances but usually is not.

Whichever method you use the worms will come and dig your garden for you. The last time I had to garden in heavy clay soil (new construction that had been backfilled with 3 different kinds of clay, I dug through layers of grey, yellow, and red clay and never hit dirt) I did the whole double-digging-work-organic-matter-into-the-soil thing. The next year, I did it again - only to find the stuff that I had dug in the year before nearly perfectly preserved, like those folks unfortunate enough to have died in a peat bog. So I went to cover cropping, and then to the cardboard with mulch on top. It never takes more than 3 years to end up with lovely friable nutrient rich soil instead of something that gladdens a potter's heart.

The worms are happy. My plants are happy. I am happy. Even my son is happy because now that I am old and decrepit he doesn't have to double-dig my garden for me, LOL!
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Oct 17, 2022 11:16 AM CST
Name: Christie
Central Ohio 43016 (Zone 6a)
Plays on the water.
Amaryllis Permaculture Sempervivums Roses Bookworm Annuals
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I used newspaper and cardboard when I had a lot of mint I wanted to get rid of. It had lots of runners and was impossible to dig up. I laid down rather thick newspaper and then cardboard on top. Over the coarse of a year it killed the mint by not allowing any light to get to it, but did enrich the soil. And the earthworms loved it. So I do think cardboard would attract earthworms to your garden with would help a lot with the clay soil. I have clay soil and have been working on it for years.
Plant Dreams. Pull Weeds. Grow A Happy Life.
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Oct 30, 2022 3:02 PM CST
Taos, New Mexico (Zone 5b)
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There are also numerous plants that you can grow that will break up clay soil. You'll have to research them to find which ones will work best in your climate but this list should help you get started:
https://www.thespruce.com/plan...
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Oct 30, 2022 3:32 PM CST
Name: Lee-Roy
Bilzen, Belgium (Zone 8a)
Region: Belgium Composter Region: Europe Ferns Hostas Irises
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While disturbing the soil (digging/tilling) is no longer advised, somethimes it is for the better to start with a clean slate (and resist the urge to afterwards).

Manure from some animals can contain alot of viable weed seeds though, so don't be too surprised come spring when that happens. Some herbicides are also able to make it through and can pose long term problems to your plants as they are systemic and long lasting. Do your research.
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Nov 21, 2022 12:47 PM CST
Name: DAVID or PRUNNR RETALLICK
MILLBROOK ONTARIO CANADA (Zone 5b)
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Mushroom compost and wheat straw has improved my clay soil over the years . We have been gardening the same ground for 70 years and it is better now than ever . Animal manures unless it has been well aged helps with water retention and better composition .
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