New Allotment Waterlogged - Advice?

[JanetG]

Hello

I'm a complete novice and need some advice! I've just got my first allotment, and went up there yesterday to take a good look. It was rotavated by the council a couple of months ago, and has a few weeds growing through, but that's not a problem.

The problem is that it is completely waterlogged. It is a clay soil (I think ) and the second we stood on it, we sank! My son actually got stuck at one point and we had to squelch over and pull him out

We tried to do a bit of digging, but it was almost impossible. At the moment, I'm struggling to see how we are going to be able to plant out all the veggies that we've started off!

Is it just a case of waiting for a dry spell to see if the soil dries off a bit? Or is there anything else we can do to assist / improve it?

Any suggestions and advice gratefully received!

Thanks
Janet

[nick the grief]

Hi Janet - don't give up, whatever you do Don't give up!! Firstly the soil.
Quick way to see what it's like is pick some up & knead it in your hand, Does it feel gritty if it does you've not got clay more likey to be a sandy loam.

If it doesn't & it feels sticky and you can make the surface shiny then it is clay, but all is not lost. What you need to do is keep of it till it dries out. If you go walking over clay you'll end up with a pond! That's how they sealed the canals, driving herds of sheep thru the clay to compact it!

once it's dried out a bit you need to work in as much manure as you can, this will help break the clay up.

In the future I would go for raised beds if I was you, they'll help drainage, warm the soil up & you won't have to walk on them!

Clay soil is'nt as bad as you think, honest.

As to sinking in it, that could be down to the fact it was rotavated. It fluffs the soil up & if you stand on it you'll sink, all the rain we've had will make it seem worse. Go and have a talk to some of the other plot holders & ask their advise, if they can grow there so can you!!

and finally, as we always tell everyone, take your time. You can't do it all in one go otherwise you'll end up witha bad back.

Hope this helps

[nick the grief]

Hi again Janet,

I've done a flow chart of the above info & posted it on our lottie website.

http://warkcom.net/live/cme2052.htm

It's called soil type's

[Lesley Jay]

Janet I know what it is like. I have two plots and at the moment I can't even walk on them. We are on clay soil and rotavating really does help but the ground afterwards is really soft. All you can do is wait for the rain to stop and it is surprising just how fast the water drains away. Does the council deliver piles of leaves to the allotment site? If they do digging these leaves in will help with the soil.

[andrewo]

Rotavating fluffs up the soil but you need to check if the site has drains, it may be necessary to add plenty of humus, compost and grit. If it is bad clay, you will know is summer as the soil will crack in the sun.

http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile...clay_soils.asp

These guys have clay
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/suttonelms/VEG1.HTML

http://www.which.net/gardeningwhich/...heets/clay.pdf

http://www.veganorganic.net/pdfsnew/3_claysoil.pdf

[Green Great]

As everyone has said it is possibly a clay soil, certainly heavy anyway, its simply mentally to sort but physically is a back ache. You will need to incorporate a well rotted organic matter like Straw manure from a horse stable preferably or where ever you can get it cheapest and just fling it in. Once done leave for about 2 weeks and then rotivate as the straw will be relatively broken down by now.

[andrewo]

People give clay a bad rap. It is actually quite a good soil to grow on if you incorporate some humus, straw as mentioned above is great, but once the roots get down into the soil, plants love it - I noticed when I had clay soil and still do about two foot down, that pumpkins and courgettes did well.

Another thought, have you considered raised beds? You could bring in new soil and muck and let the worms do the job for you.

[JanetG]

Thanks for the advice and links everyone I'm fairly sure that the soil is clay, but I will go up there sometime this week and check.

I like the idea of raised beds. My husband has 'acquired' some pallets from work and we're slowly dismantling them at the moment. We're hoping to use the reclaimed wood as the edges for the raised beds.

I have a friend with horses, so I'll ask her whether we can have some of the manure. Not sure yet how to transport it the 6 or 7 miles from her stable to the allotment though!

Looks like the rain is set in for the next few days

Janet

[nick the grief]

You'll do it somehow Janet, Usually Clay soils are rich in minerals, it's just the fact that all the particles are the same size & pack together easier so thats what they do. Once you start working it you will see the improvement in no time at all. It just takes time & a bit more work.

If you have a look at the other plots up there, I'm sure they will all be growing stuff OK, so you know that you'll be able to as well.

When it comes to the back end of this year, you might want to dig it & leave it all rough & then the frost will break it down for you over the winter.

Always try to work with nature cos you won't beat it

[NOG]

JanetG dont let it dryout before you start work on it cos if it is clay it will set like cement. I would go round all your neighbours and collect all their grass cuttings and any leaves. Then bung the lot on the plot and dig it in. It will keep the clay open. The clay will form little balls coasted in the cuttings. It will call compost in the ground but you will be able to plant.

The more you put in the better.

[noshed]

raised beds

If the soil is that heavy I wouldn't worry too much about wooden edging - mine seem to be OK just piling up the compost in a pile about 1.2m wide (4ft). It's easier to weed anyway. I just mark the beds with string. The paths compact quite quickly - all you need is something to stop you skidding - sacks etc.
Compost really is the bees knees for breaking up heavy soil and you end up with a much better result than if you had to start with very sandy stuff.

[JanetG]

Thanks for the advice Noshed. It's drying out nicely now, so we've started digging beds, and even done a bit of planting this weekend. Still lots to do though!

Janet

[JanetG]

Thanks to NOG too!