ground-breaking veg/plants

[bikermike]

hello

What's good for breaking up soil? I know about spuds, but there is a limit as to how many even I can eat...

[WPG]

I've found the green manure phacelia is brilliant for breaking my heavy clay soil, although it's probably too late in the season to sow it now.

[bikermike]

next year is good, I'm not looking to plant anything now.

[Thelma Sanders]

It isn't that the potatoes themselves are ground breaking, but rather the digging to plant, the earthing up of the rows and then the digging to harvest that breaks the soil up. So you can dig any area, settle the soil, plant anything you like and then fork over again after harvest - and get much the same result

Phacelia leaves lots of tiny roots in the soil after the tops have died off, but here, I still need to fork over the bed before planting anything.

[rary]

Why don't you try cabbages as they like firm soil, leeks are supposed to be good for breaking up soil but I think its as Thelma said about the potatoes more because you are working the soil, I would recommend you try covering some of your plot with cardboard then compost etc. on top and let nature take its course.

[Jay-ell]

Basically sow anything - chop it down - dig it in will break upo the soil.

Any plant roots will work their way through it eventually and if you leave them in twisting the plant out of the ground instead of pulling it up the roots will break down and in a couple of weeks break down.

There's no over night cure this will take several plantings to have the organic matter work it's own way through the soil.

If you want to do away with the digging then search for no dig on the forum and you'll get loads of hits. That was you can let nature do the soil breakup for you over time.

[ESBkevin]

Any organic matter will do this, digging in in the first instance may help although is not required, but if the issue is time/effort/energy/health then pile it on the surface as thick mulck and leave it be, the worms and other soil organisms will delight on doing your cultivation for you.
Depending on the state of the composting already tacking place determins whether or not you can plant straight into it or wait 3-6 months. Now is a great time to mulch heavily and leave it. Come spring you may not need to dig at all, just plant and go.
Check out Charles Dowding on yootoob.
Once you have commenced this process the soil gets better and better, within two growing years you'll have all but forgotten the thick clay or whatever you started with. My mother in laws garden at her OAP home is on a heath, it's like sand but we applied lots of organic mulch this year and it's already looking a bit darker and more soil like as well as producing a nice flower garden this summer. By the end of next summer I expect it will be a fine loam with the aid of more compost and rotted horse manure. So it improves both heavy and light soil, just lots of organic material and let nature have it's way.

[Zelenina]

I've read that daikon radishes are very good for penetrating and breaking up hard soil. And if you live where the winters are cold enough to kill them, they also provide lots of organic matter for the soil micro-organisms. But you might prefer to eat them. It's a very popular vegetable here in central Europe. And the roots and leaves are good fodder for livestock.

[bikermike]

thanks all

I definitely noticed the spud bed was much easier to dig after the planting.
Noted re organic matter, maybe I'm not putting enough on (and I don't have any more), but I'm not seeing that benefit yet.
Anyway, I have taken over the rest of the plot, so anything that limits digging is favourite with me...

[Zelenina]

Here's an American farmer who uses a mixture of daikon radishes, Austrian winter peas and chickling vetch as winter ground cover and green manure. https://youtu.be/Wn-sDX95H84

His radishes are a variety bred specially for the purpose (called tillage radishes) but ordinary daikon/mooli radish would probably be fine too. And you could use other kinds of leguminous plants for nitrogen fixing if you can't get those ones in the UK.

[ESBkevin]

thanks all

I definitely noticed the spud bed was much easier to dig after the planting.
Noted re organic matter, maybe I'm not putting enough on (and I don't have any more), but I'm not seeing that benefit yet.
Anyway, I have taken over the rest of the plot, so anything that limits digging is favourite with me...

This time of year there are lots of Autumn leaves, try to avoid the roadside becaus eof the filth and salt. Find local parks or churchyards where they have just gathered them all up for you or take your own black bin liners and fill them up. Brown Corrugated cardboard, shredded paper from the office, the green uncooked veg waste from cafe/works canteen etc. Used coffee grounds. You can't run out of these things but you do have to be creative as to what you can gather and store.

[bikermike]

12 bags of leaves collected this year, 4 bags rotted down and put on this year, all uncooked kitchen waste in the compost heap, cardboard composted where I can, leaves collected from work.

The magic ingredient I don't have for the others is time... (and space to store)

[ESBkevin]

12 bags of leaves collected this year, 4 bags rotted down and put on this year, all uncooked kitchen waste in the compost heap, cardboard composted where I can, leaves collected from work.

The magic ingredient I don't have for the others is time... (and space to store)

Appreciate the time factor bikermike, something there is never enough of (along with land). I've learned to be opportunistic throughout the year and accumulate when and where I can, after 3 years on the plot I've now got so I know I have enough compost for this year and am now working on next years accumulation. It all helps and saves having to do all that digging between the rain showers in the winter.

[bikermike]

I'm hoping next year will be easier - if I can get some of the new plot growing green manure, there'll be more material

I'll shove the spuds in anyway, and I shall try the radish idea. I've got some ordinary radishes in forgot to harvest, I'll see what the soil is like round them.