Sticky clay - any advice

[Storming Norman]

Hi All,

Can I pick your brains for some ideas?

My additional bit of plot is definitely at the low end of the site and floods for a few weeks every year [all of it this year].

Its not been dug properly for maybe 10 years so is compacted and this is making the water worse for all of us us with new and less cultivated plots than those that have been at it ages.

It's really nice sandy clay when not wet through, so needs bulking up to make it drain faster. I've pinched as much of the leaf heap we get left every year as I dare to dig in to lighten it up but it might take a while this way.

Have you had this experience and what did you do to sort it out?

My garden floods this way as well - but drains in a matter of hours - not weeks.

[Pies]

I'd try to make raised beds and add anything organic to improve the soil,if you dont want raised beds add lots of organic material

[Nicos]

Oh yes- we could have made pots with the soil from our first lottie!!!

We bought bags and bags of hops from the local brewerie ( Robinson's) and loads of bags of mushroom compost from a local mushroom grower- plus bags of sand.And trailer loads of cow - and horse -muck!

Raised beds were a new thing then- but we still made areas of 'special' soil!!

remember that at the point you stop digging with clay, you create a 'pan layer' where the water just sits- and no roots can grow throgh. Do some research on what you want to grow- and make sure that the new soil depth is deep enough!!

[organic]

How deep is the clay? If there's a layer of well draining earth below the clay you may be able to make the area drain better without too much effort.

Square Foot Gardening: A New Way to ... - Google Books

Have a look at pages 55 and 56 to see the text and page 57 for the drawings to illustrate.

A combination of them might do the job on an allotment. Maybe the trench solution to move the water to one end and then a few holes down through the clay - if it's not too deep.

It might work, anyway.

Even if you do decide to go for raised beds, they may benefit from having one of the drainage methods in that link under them so the clay below doesn't keep the soil too damp.

[SarzWix]

I'd consider double digging, and incorporate lots of pea gravel into the second spit and organic matter into the top spit. Well, that's what I've been doing on the worst of our 2nd plot, and it seems to be better drainage on the bed that's done One bed was really bad last winter, and the soil was taking on a greeny tinge it was so often wet. This winter, although we haven't had quite the same level of rain, there hasn't been any water sitting on the surface once the rain stopped. I'm really pleased with it Just got to do the bed next to it, if I ever get time...

We found the pea gravel wasn't too expensive from the builder's merchants, and we added manure and spent mushroom compost to the top layer.

[Bigmallly]

Thanks for the link Organic, I hadn't heard of Google books before........brilliant.

[Storming Norman]

Thanks for these ideas folks.

My husband is now putting in really strong raised beds for me but I so wanted to have some apple cordons in this patch. will have to see if they would be any use - they would have to be higher and very long lasting to do the job properly.

The pea gravel is a great idea - it will be rather hard to barrow in to the end of the site with my foot condition but I can do one bed every few months and gradually sort out a bit at a time.

Double digging is not possible presently - I don't have the foot strength to balance and use enough force to lever with a spade so going up it is then!

I like the idea of digging through the clay - wonder how far down that would be then? Another one I will have to get the other half to help with.