Clay soil

I've just taken over a garden with heavy clay soil. It had been dug and mucked in the autumn and I've rotivated the plot several times and it looks in good condition...... I've been asked to roll it before sowing.... but the books say this is not now thought to be good practice.... any thoughts?

 

Hi Quercus. You don't say what the ground is to be used for ? Sowing what ?

 

Skip that, it's the 'Allotments' forum :D Thought it was in 'General'. Well, myself I can't see any point at all in rolling it. You've spent all that time opening it up, only to roll it down again? I'd leave it as it is (apart from raking it). Cheers...freddy.

 

I imagine it used to be a method of breaking up the clods ... the farmers do that on the fields around here.

I have heavy clay soil, and I wouldn't want to help it compact down under any circumstances (other than my lawn).

You haven't put enough muck on yet though (however much you have put on!!). Four of Five years of generous mucking before you get some decent soil I reckon :thumb:

 

That's what I thought, but the owners are insisting that it "needs" rolling, but the clods are nicely broken... breadcrumby....down to at least a spit down.

The Veg' garden here has been in continual cultivation for at least 50 years (and perhaps hundreds)... so the soil is lovely, but heavy, and we've got horses and there's lots of dairy farms around.... so muck's a plenty!

I've never gardened on such heavy ground before... I know that it dries to concrete and cracks, The owners are telling me that rolling stops the cracking.

Things certainly seem to thrive on it... I'm eating the previous gardeners parsnips,,..... they are huge and as sweet as honey!

 

Hi Quercus. I guess if that's what they want and the current crop (parsnips) looks ok, then better go along with it. Let us now how it turns out. Cheers...freddy.

 

Quercus, if you are paying for this plot, and you don`t want to roll the gound, then don`t. I can`t think of any reason ( unless you are going to lawn it ) why it should be rolled. You are paying, you garden YOUR way.:thumb:

 

Maybe Quercus is looking after it for the owners??

 

It`s an allotment.

 

Don`t quite understand that remark.

 

It's not so much an allotment as a large, private, kitchen garden. I'm being paid to do it... but still think that it's not only a waste of time... but counter productive.

Would anyone think of a reason to roll, apart from keeping the boss happy?

Sorry if I confused folk by putting it on this forum

 

"apart from keeping the boss happy?"

Works for me!

 

First of all, if you are being paid to do it, do it.

But.

I can understand rolling to crush the clods, but this should only be done when absolutely dry otherwise it will compact the clay (not a good idea). Cambridge Rolls were designed for this purpose, these are cast iron wheels on an axle, the wheels have a sharp ridge on them to crack the clods. They are only used when the clay is dry.

I have seen and worked heavy clay, eight miles West of Cambridge is an area of heavy clay, a mixture of Kimmeridge clay, Oxford clay and Boulder clay. I have seen a very large crawler tractor (tracks 24" wide X about 10 feet long, that's about 40 square feet of contact) with the tracks spinning when ploughing a compacted headland. The six furrow plough had to be reduced to four furrows before it could get a grip. That's heavy clay.

 

Not sure if this will help, but if as you say the soil is breaking up nicely then I do not see the need to roll it. I am no expert but if your soil is heavy clay and you roll it you will compact the soil and as it dries out even slightly it will start to crack, your growing garden needs air and drainage. I am also surrounded by farmers where I live and the ones with cattle only roll the ground before the animals go back out to pasture after being housed for the winter one of the main reasons is to knock down any lumps caused by the animals the season before thus making the ground a little safer. On the other hand the lads planting the fields roll the ground after they have ploughed so when they follow along with the seed drill it has a level clearance for seed delivery. If I was seeding a lawn in most cases it would have been dug over and raked etc at this point I would roll the ground to find the low spots and level or grade as as necessary if not the ground would settle all over the place, not nice for a lawn but no problem for a growing area. I have heavy clay soil here and have made raised beds with lots of additives from the same farmers.

Regards Russ.

 

I'm paid to be a professional gardener... using good horticultural practice.... I never like the "You're not paid to think" mentality!

The farmers round here all mainly diary farmers (Cheddar is just up the road)!, so the ploughing and seeding they're doing is for grass... which is different to veg gardening.