Jane Ransom wrote in
:

In article , Martin Sykes
writes

What I was saying was, improve the drainage of the clay by digging in
gravel. The pea gravel and sand you removed would probably be ideal.
Then, try raising the level of the soil by about 6 inches by putting
new topsoil on top. This should keep the plants out of the worst of
the damp, but allow their roots to get to the mostly nutrient rich
clay.

I have to disagree about how nutritious that heavy grey/blue clay is,
Martin. Have you ever actually seen it, felt it and tried to work with
it?? You can certainly throw pots with it but it is all but impossible
to grow things in, even after years of back breaking work ((

Also, because this plot is at a low point in the garden, it will not
'drain'. As Cormaic always used to say "the water has to have
somewhere to drain *to*".


Raised beds, as Anne suggested? My old clay garden was on red, not grey
clay, but having experimented with both digging it and just piling the good
stuff on top, I'd now take the 'pile on top' approach every time. That
squelch you get when you try to pull the spade out of clay is *so*
depressing.

You don't even need to raise the bed with planks if it's wide enough, just
make mounds like barrows and plant into the top. Might not be ideal for
carrots and parsnips, but works like a good'un for beans & strawbs.

Victoria