In article ,
Bob Hobden wrote:
"Nick Maclaren" wrote


My kitchen garden is being foul to dig this year, because it is
badly compacted. It seems that everything that was bare ground
was compacted by the rain nearly as badly as if I had walked on
it. A couple of questions:

Has anyone else encountered this?

What green manure can I sow (late in the year) to reduce this
effect?

I would like something that is dense enough to discourage grass
etc. from growing and setting seed.


Yes, our Thames clay/silt went like concrete when it dried out after the
tempest and we had to wait for it to rain again before it could be dug.
Earthing up the potatoes shows it is still saturated a few inches down.
I don't use green manure after a disaster using it, it made things worse,
but one of our plot holders (he has 6 plots!!) uses a lot of it, this year
he used which has interesting properties ...
http://www.sowseeds.co.uk/store/cali...-manure-seeds/

This may be of interest too ...
https://www.cotswoldseeds.com/files/...ures_final.pdf

Thanks. It turns out that rye and many clovers inhibit seed
germination for up to 6 weeks after being dug in, which rather
conflicts with what I want them for!


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.