How do I improve my soil in Spring?

[nimo]

Hi,

I received my allotment in March this year and am making great progress digging it over, but the ground is like concrete in places. It was used as a bit of a dumping area and has been seriously compacted down. There seems to be very little organic matter in the soil. I'm told that the surface weeds had been sprayed with weed killer whilst it was not in use for a few years. The clods are dry and very hard, and have to be forked over many times to break them down and get them crumbly. The only thing growing are bind weed roots to about a spade's depth.

I've read that manuring can only be done in autumn/winter in preparation for spring planting. Is there any reason not to manure now or will I have to wait and put off growing legumes and brassicas until next year? What's the best way to improve the soil structure and fertility now?

ANy suggestions/advice please?

[fiveravens]

You can add manure to - and improve - your soil at ant time of the year. The only answer to your problem is just that. The more well-rotted manure, garden compost, leaf mould etc. you can get into the top layer, the better. Don't dig it in too deep: spread it on top and fork it in. Good luck!

[peanut]

Hi Nimo, Welcome to The Vine!!

I would buy some Farmyard Manure, Mushroom Compost, Multi Purpose Compost and maybe some grit if it's really solid, mix it up and dig it in.

Anything will be good to add organic matter and improve drainage.

[crichmond]

Manuring can be done now as well, the main reason for doing it in winter is so the worms can pull it into the soil.

To make it easier to dig do it after its been raining for a day as it will soak it up and make it easier to dig.

Just dont manure where you are putting jour carrots and parsnips etc.

Cheers Chris

[fiveravens]

Forgot to say: you can plant brassicas, legumes and everything else (except maybe carrots and parsnips) this year - no need to wait till next year.

[Snadger]

I would just echo what fiveravens has said! I added muck to a bed today after taking out some winter cabbage and before I planted onion sets. Only to the top as a mulch though, let the worms dig it in for you. Until they do, you will have a moisture retaining layer on the surface slowly leaching nutrients into the soil and improving it's structure.

[jackie j]

I have bought Growers choice soil conditioner from our local Fermoy's it is 99p for 40 litres at the moment dont know if it is any good. The soil is good on my plot anyway but I didnt get any manure to put on.

[ClayGarden]

As well as the good advice here (anything organic), i would also recommend adding some sharp sand. Helps with the drainage slightly.

[muckdiva]

Try this experiment on one of the worst patches. If it's dry, give the area a good watering first, then put down a layer of wet newspapers, cover with a couple of inch deep layers of straw, manure, grass clippings, home made compost, green waste compost if you can get it cheap, leaf mould - anything organic really until the whole thing is about 6 - 12 inches high. (Like a lasagne!).

Then cover with some black plastic and plant spuds through holes in the plastic. By next season you should at least have had a respectable crop of tatties, and the worms will have done some sterling work in carrying the organic matter into the soil and improving it for you. You may need to be a bit careful about slugs - sometimes the mulch attracts them, but I haven't found that to be too much of a problem myself. I did this with one very overgrown area last year, and digging it over this Spring was soooo easy, and the soil looked marvellous.

You can also grow crops like beans and sweet corn though the black plastic too.

Good luck

[Mikey]

Try this experiment on one of the worst patches. If it's dry, give the area a good watering first, then put down a layer of wet newspapers, cover with a couple of inch deep layers of straw, manure, grass clippings, home made compost, green waste compost if you can get it cheap, leaf mould - anything organic really until the whole thing is about 6 - 12 inches high. (Like a lasagne!).

Do you fancy coming and doing some of mine too, muckdiva, sounds all David Bellamy ooohh lovely!!!

[nimo]

Thanks to everyone, some excellent ideas there to try out. So it's safe to manure now. Great stuff. The roots will go in without of course, but as it's not been cultivated for a few years it ought to be fertile at least. Love the 'lasagne' muckdiva. Might have to try that one. Thanks again for the advice.

[Two_Sheds]

I wouldn't worry too much. It's an allotment yes? Therefore crops have been successfully grown on it previously - it's not a wasteland in other words.

Just crack on, get sowing and growing. I've never put manure on my plots because I can't get any, nor have I ever bought in anything to improve the soil - but I do make my own compost in a heap and a Dalek. You can't beat it.

[muckdiva]

Thanks to everyone, some excellent ideas there to try out. So it's safe to manure now. Great stuff. The roots will go in without of course, but as it's not been cultivated for a few years it ought to be fertile at least. Love the 'lasagne' muckdiva. Might have to try that one. Thanks again for the advice.

You might like to see if you can borrow this book from the library Nimo. I'm a bit of a convert to it (lazy!)
Amazon.co.uk: Lasagna Gardening: A New System for Great Gardens: No Digging, No Tilling, No Weeding, No Kidding!: Patricia Lanza: Books

[brooklynodog]

I have similar problems with the soil on my new lottie (40 plots, not all mine, lol). Recently ploughed and like concrete in big ridges and furrows. Mine however was farm land that has been left for 5 years without cultivation as it was in an awkward area to reach with a tractor. The farmer sprayed roundup 6 mths ago, and ploughed it 3 months ago, I am really struggling to dig it over. Any advice?