Persevere or demand a new plot?

[SlugLobber]

I moved in with my OH two years ago, so I'm coming to the end of my second season there. When I moved in, his father kindly said I could use one of the chicken runs as a plot. Reasonable size and fenced off and of course, well fertilised!!

The thing is, despite using a rotavator (Sp??), the soil remains rubbish. It dried instantly into a rock hard crust again. This I could deal with, as I had to improve the soil at my own house. However, on top of the soil issue, the plot doesn't get an awful lot of sun. On one side, it is bordered by a panel fence, behind which there are mature trees. The path of the sun follows those trees, meaning that some of the plot gets all of the sun, but about 2/3 gets about an hour before sun set, as there are trees at the bottom of the yard, too.

I know that FIL would be open to me trying another plot, but I feel like I should be doing something else, but not sure what! So far I've tried growing french beans, onions, potatoes, garlic, strawberries, chard, sweet corn, courgette, lettuce, spring onions, carrots, parsnips and probably others that I've forgotten. The onions have come to nothing both seasons. Last year slightly better, but this year I had to rotate due to the bad blight, so the onions were in the shadier part. Spring onions germinated then did absolutely nothing. Carrots were minute, parnsips pretty much the same. Beans wouldn't germinate in the ground (sown May and June). Greenhouse raised seedlings have been poor, with about half being eaten by rabbits, which didn't help (I know I need to rabbit proof!). Strawbs were utter rubbish. Just starting to establish, so may be hopeful for next year. Courgettes are rubbish for the second year running, too. Others in the yard (FIL's) are prolific, but mine have produced three courgettes between three plants!

Would you persevere and just grow brassicas/similar and ask for a further plot for the sun-lovers? Or should I just abandon this plot and put the chooks back on it? Ideas welcome.

Oh, I'm in Edinburgh for a conference, so might not reply for a few days. Not ignorin the grapes!!

[SarzWix]

A few thoughts...

You say the soil is rubbish 'despite' using a rotavator, but it may be rubbish 'because' of using a rotavator. If you break down certain types of soil to a fine tilth all it does is make it settle together really firmly when it rains. Might be better to dig it to clods and add coarse matter like straw and leaf mould to keep it open?

Also, have you talkedt to your FiL and asked his opinion? Better to involve him in the discussion/decision I would think. I'd be inclined to put the sun lovers elsewhere though if it's an option, and either keep brassicas, salads, and edge of woodland fruits like blackberries in the shady plot, or move everything.

[zazen999]

What sort of soil is it?

[Glutton4...]

What sort of soil is it?

Compacted Chicken sh!t, by the sound of it.

[SlugLobber]

Doing a naughty login during a boring lecture on peptide delivery. Shhhh! The soil is clay. It was only rotatavated once, at the beginning of 2012. There was no other way, as I broke my arm in December 2011. Digging was therefore impossible, then. In this year's potato plot, I did use straw mulch, so could always dig that in for the winter and try onions once more and add further mulch to the rest of the plot. Yes, I know I need to speak further with fil, his plots are right next door, so he does know that things aren't growing well, there, due to those 'over the allotment fence' conversations.

[Kirk]

Sounds as if you have rotovated it and so chopped it up but I cannot read a lot else - I may have missed it. Depending on the size it sounds like you need to add a fair amount of other material to alter the clay nature of the soil. Chopped up clay reverts fast to solid clay.

Really sounds like a case of compost, manure, fine mulch, fine aggregates and dig it in. No idea if you can get bulk supplies and as said no idea of the plot size - would useful. If not overly large get bags of farmyard manure and compost from a garden cemtre and put that on.

One garden centre around me is doing 5 bags for £16, so 3 bags of compost and 2 of manure in the car every visit would be a good mix ratio. Just keep adding to the plot as required, you may need several trips. Section the plot into managable chunks and do one at a time with 5 bags as above if the deal is available.

[alldigging]

Manure will help the worst of plots.

I have lots of clay on my plot. I used a good layer of bark, then manure and small amount of soil and lots of mulch on top to grow potatoes. I've dug some up from this area yesterday and I have lots of lovely soft crumble organic material on top of the clay. It's much improved! The potatoes were ok too - anya and lots of funny shapes. Wish I'd done more of the beds like this now as it's made a fab difference.

[SarzWix]

I've got a particularly shady bed on one of my plots, and it makes rotation a PITA... Onions weren't great in there, potatoes did okayish. Squashes/pumpkins/sweetcorn rubbish. Peas okay, beans not great till they got tall enough to reach some sun. Raspberries and blackberries are happy in one end, salad, spinach and the brassicas are happy, except calabrese which just bolts. Leeks did okay because the tree which shades the bed is deciduous.

If you can get another patch, it would be worth it, just depends whether you end up using two patches or completely moving the whole shebang. I wouldn't see the soil condition as insurmountable, but the shade is not helpful...

[SlugLobber]

Sorry, I should have said that I have added manure to the plot (horse - endless supply, there!). I use poo from the previous season, so it's compost consistency, not fresh.

Potatoes are currently in the sunnier bit and seem to have done ok, this year, under the straw mulch. Beans are over, courgettes may as well not have bothered. Onions fell long ago, so have been pulled. I don't tend to eat an awful lot of brassicas, as OH doesn't like them, so it looks like a new plot is in order. Haven't actually seen FIL since I last posted, so just need to talk to him properly about it.

I think you're right, Sarah. Soil is improvable, but I can't really chop down trees or change the path of the sun! People might talk.

[Glutton4...]

If you can't take the tops off the trees, I see no other viable option, as the shady area will remain just that. Unless you can move all your compost bins, sheds, greenhouse, storage areas etc to the shaded area and leave the rest for growing in, I don't know what else to suggest. Good luck!

Good to have you back, too!

[Glutton4...]

Just a thought; are the plots running along parallel to the tree boundary, or perpendicular to it?

If the former, could they be changed so you all get a shorter shady patch?

[SlugLobber]

It's a square plot, G4, so no matter how I lay out the beds, half will be in the shade. FIL's plots are fenced off separately - mine used to be a chicken run, hence the separate section, so no turning all our plots around. I'd simply have to take over another part of the land or nick one of his plots - which as he's 75 might not be a bad thing!!! Greenhouse is right up the yard and compost heap is in with some of the chooks, so the plot is all plot!

[taff]

Go for another plot. Most veggies need sun and it sounds like they're not going to get it there.

Why were the chickens there originally?

[SlugLobber]

There are chickens in a few places, Taff. At one point they had about 18 chooks and 8 geese!! For a chicken run, it's a great plot, as it provides shade and sun.

[Glutton4...]

Get some Chooks!

Then nick one of FiL's plots.