Clay-Like Soil

well, i've started the digging over having spent the grand total of £10.87 on plants i want (photos to follow) but i've got a bit of a problem... the soil is made of some blumming good clay, now i can get rid of it by selling it to the local school, but as i kind of need the soil, any other suggestions that don't mean i turn into a school supplier?

please note the sarcasm in the school suggestion, but i really need some help with this one, as i'd love to spend a ton on compost but my missus would summarily hang me!

i'm digging it through with my brand new shiny spade (woohoo!) and i used a brand new fork (woohoo) and it bent (not woohoo)

please help :-(

 

Have a look at this thread

http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/garden-projects/21870-improving-clay.html

 

The usual advice for clay soil is to dig in loads of garden compost or FYM.

Does you local council have a green waste collection programme? if so you could probably get the resulting soil conditioner quite cheaply (or even free) from them.

Now, the fork - you say it is new, - were you using it properly - not levering up boulders, roots and the like?

If a new tool fails in normal use you should return it to the retailer for replacement, as both they and the manufacturer have a reputation to maintain.

a-a

 

thanks ziggy... next time i'll use the search function. lol now all i need to do is find the local stables, and hope the neighbours won't complain about the smell! lol

 

fork was brand new, but it was made of something similar to tin foil... bought it mainly for just turning over - and my autistic stepson was using it before i'd realised what he was doing! can hardly complain to the company lol - would be a bit unfair.... it only cost 99p! lol

 

Hello, glad to know there are others in the devillish 'bent fork and clay club'. There are lots of hints and helps to get it nicer, but frankly unless you have a tiny garden or tons of soil conditioner I'd get used to it if I were you. I spot condition my soil which makes it less discouraging

Toil and a sore back awaits but the results will be worth it :D

Good luck.

 

i already have the sore back from the house renovation! have a look at the photos so far, and the finished articles should follow monday all being well... gotta get back out there in a min, cos it's dark now and i'm off to a meeting tonight at 7:30pm.

 

Clay's not all bad. Holds on to nutrients very well. I'd learn to love it if I were you!

It's only really a problem if it gets very wet or very dry.

 

Horse manure only smells when its not ready for general use in the garden. If its stinky, its still acidic.

That said, I'd have no qualms about digging fresh horse poo into freshly dug ground. I just wouldn't expect to grow very much in it in the first year, so I'd fill it with spuds, which love horse poo no matter how fresh (in fact, the best crop I've ever seen was one that my dad and I grew when I was a kid, we grew it in pretty much nothing but stable scrapings. Some of it was still steaming when we put the seedies in ).

 

So, grow and cook your spuds at the same time...!!!

a-a

 

they're in!

well my fruit plants are now in guys! i have:

Blackberry
Gooseberry
Tayberry
Redcurrant
Raspberry

they now fill the left side of my garden, where the sun starts the day, and keeps it there til gone 3 in the avo in the winter (i've only been here for a month, so i know nothing of anything other than January!)

next to get out there is the flowers for the right hand side - i've got some really nice ones from the 99p store, and it's an awesome bargain over there - i'm gonna be able to do my entire garden for £30 or less from bulb / seed form.

question for the plant-bods of you... Tayberry looked tasty, but i have no idea what the heck it tastes like... so how long before i get to find out... planted from bare root form, it's about a foot high, with a little bit of new growth on it.

and yes, my back feels like i've bench-pressed the same weights as arnold shwartzenegger !