Clay garden quandary

Hi guys, newby needs some advice....

Have a 16m x 5m garden, last people didnt care so much so it consists of trampled mess - algae covering waterlogged surface and moss as far as the eye can see. No grass. Few plants or weeds.

Was planning on basically starting again, putting some drainage channels in and hiring a rotovator to turn the lot over. The queries:
-- should I take the moss off and tip it, kill it, or just mix it in with the rotovator?
-- will the drains help? (the clay is slightly sandy with a few cobbles and worms!)
-- Should I mix in some grit as I go?
-- turf or grass seed?
-- Am I wasting my time?!! Or should I resign myself to a waterlogged clay pit and just buy plants accordingly....

Any advice appreciated!

 

Hi, Cheshire Cat, and welcome!

Sounds like you're in for a lot of fun, and lots of exercise here!! :rolleyes:

I'd take the moss off, although I expect it's not strictly necessary.

Drains would help, but might not be necessary. The main thing, as you've realised, is to improve the drainage. I come across this problem a lot, and in most cases, cultivating the ground, removing any large stones, builders' rubbish, etc, incorporating lots of compost (get rough stuff from your local recycling depot, it's great, and usually cheap, or even free if you're lucky!) and some sharp sand - that all makes a tremendous difference.

After that you should be able to plant all sorts of stuff. As for grass, well, have a look at the RHS advice on lawns, and see what suits you best, whether turf or seed. Turf takes faster, but I prefer seed.

http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0900/lawns_seed_turf.asp

All the best with it - it's never a waste of time, and you'll be so chuffed with yourself for creating a garden out of that lot!! Take loads of before, during and after photos, so you can show everyone what you did!

Clay is a very good soil to start with, so long as you get it draining well - so it's not all bad news :D

 

Hi Cheshire cat - I'm a relative newbie too, but just wanted to say best of luck. The allotment I had was heavy clay and I have to admit it was hard work digging, but a lot of work and plenty of manure or fairly coarse compost (should've probably added sand or something too but I was skint and clueless in roughly equal measures!) and it grew fantastic crops, and the great thing about it was that it did keep nice and moist even though we had a fairly dry summer - and i had the flattest abs I've ever had! I'm sure it will all be worth it in the end.
If you can work out at the beginning where you will put paths I'd recommend marking them out and trying to walk on them rather than the rest of the soil as much as possible once you start working, as the clay will squash down again really easily if you walk on it, undoing all your hard work!
I always forget to do what Dendrobium suggests with the photos and always wish I had done it as it'd be so nice to look back at progress :D .

 

I agree with Dendro. I started a garden from scratch a while ago, which was very waterlogged clay like yours in a garden not much bigger than yours. I added several tones of gravel (10mil) and sharp sand and as much compost, of all sorts, as I could lay my hands on. It has made the world of difference. You can get gravel and sharp sand by the ton from a builders yard - much cheaper than little bags from garden centres.

I dug my garden over by hand (by foot really) and just dug all the grass and everything else in at the same time. I think you want to dig as deep as you can, and I suspect that manual digging goes deeper than a rotovator. Now is the time to do this when you have a blank canvas. You will never be able to get at it again once you have planted things.

 

Making raised bed will also help, they don't have to be very raised when we had a clay garden our beds were raised 6" and that did the trick. The lower soil was treated as the others have suggested then to new soil was well manured, it worked well.

 

Clay soil needs plenty of grit and manure added to it, that makes drainage better. My soil is clay loam, which is the best soil to have especially with a ph of 6.5.

 

ooh, looks like i'm in for some hard work! Thanks so much for advice, keep it coming!! I shall investigate recyling depot's and builders yard's.....

And try and rope in my parents......

and my sister....

and the neighbours......

 

I have always had clay gardens - my first 80 foot of compacted soggy grass. I wouldn't change it, as once worked, it is great for plants - holding both nutrients and indeed water.

From the sound of yours, last year it got nicely compacted - which usually makes if bit boggy when wet. I wouldn't take off the moss the more organic matter that is dug in as well as fine grit the better. What you are seeking to do is to introduce substance to reduce the soil particles from sticking together.

For me - plan out what you want where i.e. beds, lawn, compost heap, veggie patch, - then map it out with sand and pegs. Don't even think about the lawn bits until after you've prepared the beds. Otherwise all you end up with is a ruined lawn from tramping over it.

With a garden that size I wouldn't use a rotavator, I would use a spade and double dig it - by going down two spades depth, you'll be preparing a decent depth, for all kinds of plants. Then fork in as much organic matter - compost, well rotted manure etc and fine grit as you can. BTW - one thing I find useful, is to ensure I always tip any spent compost from seed trays and containers onto the beds.Every little bit helps.

Plant up with your chosen plants and shrubs - infill with annuals - remember roots to help break a clay soil up. Then turn your attention to the lawn/or paths whatever you chose. Ensure you prepare it well, fork in some fine grit, but more importantly use a fork and aerate, before turfing.

 

Great advice that Fran. My soil was in very poor condition when I moved in 12 years ago. I have done all but added grit to mine. Perhaps that's what is lacking. Where do you get the right sort of grit from?

 

My garden is all clay too :( . One option (I used this for a small flower bed in the front garden, and it is not the answer for the whole garden) is to lay cardboard over the area required for a flower bed (this kills any grass and weeds and encourages worms, which will break up the soil), top this off with lots of top soil and plant bedding plants (they only require shallow planting down to the level of the cardboard). I did this last spring and this year all the cardboard has rotted away. I dug the bed over, and the soil underneath had improved enough for me to easily dig a hole and plant a small tree .

It's an idea called 'no dig gardening' and can be used for vegetable plots too. :D

 

What a super idea D1zi. All that useful rotted cardboard fibre. Recycling at a premium.

 

There is a fad in America called lasagna beds. Which is a bit like using the cardboard. It consists of digging an area out fairly deeply. Then covering it with cardboard or paper, then a layer of say grass cuttings, then some soil, then more paper, then a layer of whatever, and some more soil and so on. And then leave for a while. What you are really doing is creating an in situ compost heap. I have no doubt that it works, as long you put in a balance of material, and not say all paper.

 

I remember doing that years ago Peter. I wonder if I got the idea from my Dad. He was a yank and left when I was 6.