Allotment Digging

[muck lover]

Sounds like your soil is very much clay. Adding organic matter in a layer and adopting no dig approach might be worth considering. Even in a few beds to get you started and see if it helps. And covering the soil with membrane or something like Penelope says. My couch grass lifts out very easily in a year or two of this treatment although my soil doesn’t sound nearly as claggy as yours.

[greenishfing]

If I walk on my soil at it's worst I end up with a solid layer at least an inch thick stuck to the bottom of my boots. It's like walking on stilts. It has improved somewhat over the years however with the addition of organic matter.

[Snadger]

After much experimentation I don't Autumn/Winter dig anymore. If I am at the plot for another reason I sometimes hoe off some weeds purely for aesthetic reasons.
If I want to plant summat I may do a bit localised hoe-ng and tickling of the soil, only in the area I need. Luckily, my plot is 90% full of winter crops so digging isn't really an option anyway.

[chillithyme]

To add to my previous post,I agree with others about covering, I also covered large areas with cardboard from Tesco’s, sourced from evening and night staff who have cardboard to get rid of and also used sheeting to keep it under control until I got round to it.

[ESBkevin]

Mark and Ameneo I think the answers been largely given.
Organic mulch will over time improve the drainage and frieability of the soil, but be prepared to shovel a lot of that instead of digging. A great start could be had by covering beds with brown corrugated cardboard and then a thick layer of compost/soil improver/mulch material. By spring you will be able to plant straight in withour further digging and the soil will benefit each year you do that.

[bikermike]

Another no-digger here. But as others have said, it doesn't get you out of spade-work, it's just a different one.

I found coffee grounds really seem to help with the soil texture in my clay soil

[Thelma Sanders]

Another no-digger here. But as others have said, it doesn't get you out of spade-work, it's just a different one.

I found coffee grounds really seem to help with the soil texture in my clay soil

It's not just spadework - there's all the wheel-barrow pushing as well!!!!!!!

[ameno]

Another no-digger here. But as others have said, it doesn't get you out of spade-work, it's just a different one.

I found coffee grounds really seem to help with the soil texture in my clay soil

Have you ever had an problems with coffee grounds inhibiting the growth of your plants?
I feel like it ought to be fine as long as you don't put on too much as once, but I hear things and can't help being concerned...

[bikermike]

I haven't done any scientific tests, but I have good yields from everywhere I have put them, including the best courgettes I've had in 5 years on the plot (and they got the most coffee grounds).

I certainly can't recall anywhere that has had less good growth this year that has had coffee grounds on it.

[Snadger]

I haven't done any scientific tests, but I have good yields from everywhere I have put them, including the best courgettes I've had in 5 years on the plot (and they got the most coffee grounds).

I certainly can't recall anywhere that has had less good growth this year that has had coffee grounds on it.

I noticed B&Q are flogging logs made from coffee grounds for the woodburner.

[muck lover]

I sprinkle coffee grounds around on mulches, feed them to the worms but most of all I put them in the rotary composter. They do seem to really get it to heat up and it’s weed free. Mine was 55c this morning. Not bad for November. The compost will be spread on new beds and then left until spring. Which brings us back to improving soil!

[Penellype]

Have you ever had an problems with coffee grounds inhibiting the growth of your plants?
I feel like it ought to be fine as long as you don't put on too much as once, but I hear things and can't help being concerned...

When I first filled my raised beds at my allotment I used a mixture of rotted horse manure, leaf mould, shredded paper, grass cuttings and coffee grounds, layered to make a lasagne bed and topped with used compost from crops at home. I planted various crops in them and expected excellent growth. I had many of the same plants planted at home as insurance because I didn't know what was lurking at the allotment.

To my immense surprise, because the allotment was sunnier and the plants had had so much organic matter to grow in, the onions and peas in particular were slow to establish compared with those at home, and the brassicas had unhealthy looking yellowish-pink leaves. I gave them all a good dressing of bfb and most recovered, although the pea crop was rather poor. Plants grown in the tunnel (including more brassicas) which were grown in soil and without the added coffee grounds, grew normally.

I don't think this was weedkiller from the horse manure, because I also grew excellent crops in a hotbed made from manure from the same source. I am inclined to blame the coffee grounds and have not used them this year, when I didn't have the same problem at all. I intend to get some, but they will be restricted to the compost bin where they can rot down without causing any problems.

[toomanytommytoes]

From what I recall, the studies showing that coffee grounds can inhibit plant growth all incorporated the grounds into the soil/growing medium. One study showed that the inhibitory effects disappeared after 12 months or when an equal amount of horse manure was incorporated into the soil. Another study showed that lower amounts (2.5% of the growth medium) had no negative effects on plant growth, whereas higher amounts (more than 10% of the growth medium) did.

Our raised beds get about 1/2 an inch of coffee grounds in autumn, not dug into the soil but spread on top as a mulch and covered or mixed with another layer of compost/grass clippings/leaves. By the time spring comes around the worms and soil microbiome seem to have processed the coffee enough so that plant growth is not negatively affected. During spring/summer I prefer to use them as a thin top dressing as thicker layers can dry out and form a water repelling crust.

Our lasagna beds containing lots of coffee grounds haven't had any signs of poor growth, but then both were built in autumn and left to rot down until planting in spring. If planting into a lasagna bed straight away, you'd probably want a topping of at least 6 inches of compost/topsoil.

[ameno]

When I first filled my raised beds at my allotment I used a mixture of rotted horse manure, leaf mould, shredded paper, grass cuttings and coffee grounds, layered to make a lasagne bed and topped with used compost from crops at home. I planted various crops in them and expected excellent growth. I had many of the same plants planted at home as insurance because I didn't know what was lurking at the allotment.

To my immense surprise, because the allotment was sunnier and the plants had had so much organic matter to grow in, the onions and peas in particular were slow to establish compared with those at home, and the brassicas had unhealthy looking yellowish-pink leaves. I gave them all a good dressing of bfb and most recovered, although the pea crop was rather poor. Plants grown in the tunnel (including more brassicas) which were grown in soil and without the added coffee grounds, grew normally.

I don't think this was weedkiller from the horse manure, because I also grew excellent crops in a hotbed made from manure from the same source. I am inclined to blame the coffee grounds and have not used them this year, when I didn't have the same problem at all. I intend to get some, but they will be restricted to the compost bin where they can rot down without causing any problems.

Depending on the quantities and how soon after making the bed you planted into it, the shredded newspaper may also have been to blame. Paper will rob the soil of nitrogen in the same way wood will.

[Penellype]

Depending on the quantities and how soon after making the bed you planted into it, the shredded newspaper may also have been to blame. Paper will rob the soil of nitrogen in the same way wood will.

The coffee grounds and paper formed a fairly small part of the contents of the bed, which was mainly rotted horse manure and leaf mould. I split a large bag of coffee grounds between 8 3ft x 2m beds, and probably used less paper than that. I think I planted them up fairly quickly but as its nearly 2 years ago, my memory may be defective.