Finely Prepared Soil

Granddad has just declared that he's giving up with his larger veggie plot (he actually said he was thinking of grassing it over) as it's now "too much like hard work". Though he followed that up with "then again, it's hard work to grass it over, what with levelling it and preparing it and all that..."

Of course, I'm more than happy to take over the work on this plot =)

So, I've now got a good sized veggie plot that is half empty, the other half has got a few pigeon pecked cabbages, some (unbanked) potatoes and a row of kidney beans still growing. Those are still Granddad's until he's ready to harvest them, but once that's done it's mine!
The empty half has had broad beans growing on it. They've been harvested and the stems cut off. Granddad has "rough dug" the roots into the plot.

Of course I know about as much about veggie gardening as I do about flower gardening... in other words not a whole lot :/

I do have a stack of seeds of various veggies that we enjoy and that I want to try growing. I know that most of them can't be planted until late winter/early spring. But I have got some Mr Fothergills cauliflower that says I can sow it Sept/Oct for a late crop. is it worth giving it a go?

All my seeds are telling me I need "finely prepared soil". Do I just dig and dig again until... Or is there something a bit more exact? I can't afford a rotovator so I'm stuck with manual labour =)
I did ask Granddad but over the years his care and standards have ebbed and he just said "ah, a quick dig over and that'll do".

The soil here is largely clay. He did years ago dig in lots of organic manure and old newspapers and the quality of the soil has improved - it's not sticky yellow clay anymore, but a "quick dig" does still result in fairly large clumps of earth.

 

I think Cauliflower might be a bit ambitious for a first timer, no disrespect intended but a lot of experienced gardeners fail with that one. You'd be better off with some Purple Sprouting Broccoli first off. You plant that in the autumn for a crop in the spring. More likely to suceed with that than get dissapointed when the Cauli fails to heart up or get eaten out by slugs, earwigs, hungry GC members etc.

 

If the soil has been dug for years, and manured some/much of the time, then it will be in good heart and much easier to "take on" than a virgin patch, or an allotment abandoned to rack, ruin and brambles for years ...

I have raised beds on my heavy soil, and I would recommend them to you. I never dig (other than the first time when I made the beds), and I never (just to be clear on that: "absolutely and without doubt never" !!) walk on them. The beds do get dug, in a sense, because lifting spuds and parsnips etc requires some digging, and I make a trench to prepare the soil for Runner Beans, and so on, but there is no annual digging of the whole plot in the conventional sense.

Hopefully your Grandfather won't chuck his spade and fork out of his pram! if you adopt this

For the first 5 years I didn't have any rigid edges to my raised beds - in the beginning I just dug out the paths the depth of a spade and stacked that soil on the beds - and that raised them up a bit, but the paths, being lower, added to their height, and that created the all important drainage for the clay. That method is so-called "lazy raised beds". I have since added smart looking boards around each bed.

If you fancy that then the beds should be 4' wide (no wider, and be thoughtful about going much narrower) as that is as far as you can reach from either side. My paths are about 18" - the length from knee-to-sole-of-foot when you kneel in the path to weed / harvest.

I don't plant conventional rows. I plant just a few plants that I need, and then plant some more a few weeks later (so called "successional sowing"). A row of 50 lettuce plants is not much use to anyone when they are all ready for harvest! Little 4' rows, across the bed, suit a lot of things, and plants that crop for longer (like Runner Beans) can be "along" the bed.

You mentioned Cauliflowers. I plant 4 - 6 every two weeks. We don't eat more than 4 - 6 in a fortnight, when they are ready, and once they are ready they won't "stand" in the ground for more than 14 days (after that they "blow over" and aren't suitable for use), so again a long row would be useless (unless you have time to Process and Freeze, but as a family we prefer to eat "in season" whenever possible, and only freeze a "glut"). Coupled that with Cauli's being regarded as a bit more "tricky" they probably aren't the best choice for a newbie.

My advice to a Newbie is to consider:

What do you like to eat?
What crops are high value?
What crops have great flavour if home grown? (or by choosing varieties not available in the supermarket)

that way you are only spending time growing things that you are likely to enjoy eating and that might save you some money. Then if things don't go 100% ideally you will, hopefully, still have enough up-side that you want to carry on.

Whereas if you grow something experimental, spend hours growing it, and then don't like the taste you'll resent the time you spent! Start experimenting in year 2or later when you have the actual growing-food thing down to a fine art.

"What do you like to eat" only you can answer

"What crops are high value?" - consider what things are cheap/expensive in the shops. Main Crop spuds are dirt cheap in the shops, I wouldn't waste space growing them, and then trying to store them through the Winter. However, First Early spuds are expensive, and taste fantastic straight from the ground (more so than shop-bought, the Sugars start turning to Starch as soon as they are picked, so there is a real advantage to being quick between harvesting and cooking)

Runner Beans are expensive in the shops (i.e. time consuming to pick) , and very prolific to grow.

"What crops have great flavour if home grown?" my No. 1 would be Sweetcorn - you can't get that flavour from a shop - again the sugar-to-starch thing is the reason as the shops can't get them to you, and into your cooking pot, fast enough. However, there are lots of vegetables where the supermarkets sell varieties that make their life easier - thicker skins on Tomatoes [so they don't bruise], longer shelf life, plants where the whole crop comes all-at-once for ease of mechanical harvesting. Quite often what the Supermarket wants comes at the cost of Flavour. I recommend that you grow several different varieties of each crop you grow (or a couple each year, and then one that you like plus one other "trial"), and over time you will find varieties that you like that have far superior flavour to the shops. Folk here will advise on varieties, of course, but some things are personal preference - discussing the flavour of varieties of First Early Potatoes on here is like WAR!

Having said that, its a lot easier to adopt that philosophy at the start of the [next] year when you are setting out everything that you want to grow for the whole year ahead.

Right now the choices are limited.

You could grow stir-fry type vegetables - including Chinese Cabbage, Pak Choi, Mizuna and so on (they grow very quickly), and you could grow some salad vegetables, but sadly there isn't much else.

If you have parts of the plot that will remain unused for a while then make sure you keep the weeds under control (just cutting the tops off with a hoe, or pulling them up by hand if there aren't many, will be fine). As the saying goes: "One year's seed = seven years' weed" :(

You could also consider planting a "green manure". This is a crop that you plant and then chop down and incorporate into the soil. The varieties are things designed to help improve the structure of the soil. You need quite a lot of seed for this job, so I recommend you don't buy tiny packets of "green manure" seed at the garden centre as it won't go very far! Have a look at a bulk supplier like Moles Seeds.

Lastly, you need to practice Crop Rotation. Divide the plot into 4 sections if you can, or 3 if the plot is too small for four sections. Then in section 1 you grow, say, roots like Carrots and Parsnips. In year 2 they move to section 2 and so on. This means that the bugs that like Carrots (and which may lay their eggs in the soil over winter) won't have any Carrots to feed on in year 2 ... also moving the carrots to Section 2 in the second year means that there are fresh trace elements in the soil that Carrots need (whereas Section 1 will have less because that's where Carrots were last year). A good rotation will follow crops with things that complement each other - Peas and Beans put Nitrogen into the soil, Cabbages and Brussels Sprouts need lots of Nitrogen, so they follow the year after Peas and Beans.

I recommend the book "Vegetable and Herb Expert" by D. G. Hessayon. Its not a detailed Teach Yourself book, but it is an excellent reference book of what to do when, and how to look after each crop. Have a look when you next see it in the garden centre - or perhaps your Grandfather has a copy

Sorry, got a bit carried away typing, hopefully of some help

 

Thanks Zigs and no offence taken
That said I do like a challenge.
Purple Sprouting is one of Granddad's regular crops so I can go with that.

So, do I just dig over this "rough dug" area again (and again and again, etc.) until it's broken down small enough? Or is there some special technique that I need to practise and learn to give my veggies the best start?

Thanks Kristen =)
The plot has been dug yearly, so I'm not having to deal with lots of weeds and such (I know I'm lucky). And no, Granddad won't throw his tools out the pram, I think he's happy in his own little way.
I do like the idea of raised beds, it's been an idea hubby and I have thrown around when we talk of "when we have our own garden..." so definitely something to consider.
The things we love to eat are sweetcorn, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, radish, beetroot, onions, peppers, tomatoes.
As you say potatoes are cheap in the shops although I was considering something a like charlotte or other smaller potatoes.
I've got Bright Lights radishes I want to try and some rainbow carrots and an heirloom variety (Chioggia) of beetroot.
Like I say I'm up for a challenge =)
Crop rotation hasn't been Granddad's strong point - onions often in the same place, kidney beans, broad beans, potatoes all in the same place each time, so hopefully my different tastes will make rotation easier.

 

Yeah, special technique

On Clay soil conventionally you dig in the Autumn, and leave it rough. The frost (if we get a hard-ish Winter) them crumbles down the top, and you rake it over to get a fine "tilth" suitable for seed sowing etc.

And/Or you can walk on it to break the clods. The walking technique is specialised too! First foot down, second foot with the heel in the instep of the first. Move the first foot half-a-foot forwards matching heel/instep with the second foot. And so on ... you shuffle forwards treading down each bit in a set pattern.

But ... you have to walk on it at just the right time between rain and shine. It needs to be dry enough so that it doesn't stick to your boots, and doesn't compress with the wet, but if its too dry you can jump up and down all you like and the clods won't break - in mid Summer with no rain they will have set like concrete.

But its the rake that gets you that "finely prepared soil" for sowing seeds into. (and you need a rake with fixed tines - they look a bit like a row of 2" nails - not those spring-tine rakes which are good for collecting leaves off the lawn)

Personally I think that anything that compresses clay soil, during the growing season, is a bad idea. Hence I sue raised beds and never walking on them. My soil is fluffy for the roots to easy grow in. (However <sigh> the Cabbage family needs the soil really firm to grow in, so I am careful about that. I don't disturb the soil at all following previous season so it has time to settle.)

Growing Tomatoes outside is a bit of a late crop, and then they come in a rush. Longer harvesting season if you grow them in a greenhouse. Many people say that outdoor ones taste better.

Peppers are a bit hard to get a decent crop outside in a UK Summer. Again, much better in a greenhouse. You might want to avoid them initially, or risk it (in which case I suggest you buy plants from garden centre at the appropriate time - not too early, a late frost will kill them - so that they get a flying start)

The rest are fine.

Suggest you start with Onion Sets, rather than seeds, initially.

Look out for the F1 Supersweet Sweetcorn varieties. Don't grow more than one variety (and if neighbours grow sweetcorn too then club together and all sow the same variety, if you can. If they cross pollinate (and they do that easily) it can muck up the flavour); its more of a problem on Allotments than home-gardens. (I grow "Swift")

Charlotte is a second early. Definitely worth growing, great taste IMHO . You might want to also grow a First Early variety. (They can all be planted at the same time, First/Second Early and Main Crop just refers to how many weeks they take to mature). We also grow Pink Fir Apple which is a weird looking "salad" potato. Not sure I've ever seen it in the supermarkets, but all my cooking friends think its a good'un

If you buy your seed potatoes at a garden centre you can usually get them "loose", so you would be able to get some-of-this and some-of-that - rather than having to buy a whole 5kg or similar bag of a single variety. Once you know which ones you like then buy from wherever suits you (I use JBA Seed Potatoes)

Rainbow carrots eh? I avoid all that stuff nowadays. The novelty wears off and I'm more interested in flavour (not that the two are mutually exclusive), and the kids often won't eat, or not as much, things that are the wrong colour, even if they taste the same with your eyes closed. I wish I hadn't planted yellow Raspberries now ...

When the time comes you'll need to use very fine netting to keep the carrot fly off the crop

Suggest you grow a second variety of Beetroot as a comparison. Well ... I suggest you do that with everything really - except Sweetcorn of course!

Unless you have a huge plot its very difficult to do precisely. Most people need far more space for the Cabbage family than anything else, 'coz most need to be planted 2.5' apart ...

I have two cabbage sections. One is rotated with my veg on a 4 year cycle, the other is in a rotation with my cut flowers

But its not hard-and-fast, if you have good intentions on crop rotation that's better than not doing it at all. If you crop Onions in the same place each year you are more likely to get White Onion Rot, and that is 6 or 8 years before you can crop them in that soil again :(

 

P.S. With raised beds I pull a cultivator through the soil to loosen the top bit (4" say) and then rake it smooth. That's it. But only possible because it isn't compacted down from being walked on.

Cultivator (the left one of the two):


Suitable rake:

 

Thanks Kristen,

Loads to read and a great deal of help.
I'll re-read a few times to take it all in, and you've given me lots to think about.

We've rakes, forks and spades coming out of our ears. Hubby and I had a tidy up in the garage and shed when we moved here and found no end of garden tools here, there and every where =)

 

Others have already got in there with the very good (as always) practical advice, so I'm going to come in from a different angle.

I think you have a fantastic opportunity here, nothing at all to do with veggie gardening. Here is an all too rare chance to get to spend quality time with your grandad and really get to know him. The garden will serve as an equaliser, completely eliminating the generation gap so you can really get to know each other and enjoy your time together as you work on the plot, because I have no doubt your grandad will be spending time there with you even when its your plot.

Too many of us don't realise until too late that our grandparents are just normal humans. It looks like you've got that rare chance. If I had that chance again I'd seize it with both hands.

 

Hey Clueless

I understand what you're saying and I'm in not so common position of having being bought up by my grandparents so I've lived almost 2/3 of my life with my Granddad and have just recently moved back. I've also been fortunate enough that I knew his father and brother too.
I got interested in doing our family history a few years ago and realised early enough that I needed to get all those "stories" out of them before it was too late. It meant that I was able to write a really interesting eulogy for Grandma because I knew so many stories about her life even before she met Granddad.

Granddad 's not much of a talker when he's doing something and when he does it's very much in the way of assuming that the other person in the conversation has the same knowledge that he does.
Over the years he's got to be more and more... I'm not sure what the word I'm looking for is but he doesn't seem to care as much anymore and looks to cut corners where he can (not that I can blame him for not wanting to do so much manual garden work at 87).
So, I want to start off on the right foot and not cut corners that are going to end up with me doing a bigger job later on.

 

Its probably just that he's lived enough to realise that while there's time for thinking, sometimes its better just to do it

There's an old saying I once heard. "Life is the thing that happens to you while you're planning what to do with it".

 

I'm often guilty of that too.

Thats a very moving story JustKia. Thanks for sharing. We'll try to make sure you're doing yourself and your Grand Dad justice

 

Great thread...

Just out of interest, what size of plot are we talking here?