Well I say clay soil, but really it is just clay. I'd probably be very
happy if I was a potter, but for growing veg I am finding it a bit of a
challenge.
My 6m x 9m veg plot is very heavy clay and the land has been unused for
some years. Last summer I dug out all the weeds and rubbish (a skip
full of rubble too). I started to double dig the plot but gave up 1/3
the way through and just single dug the rest (starting with a mattock
for the really tough areas).
I then put 2 tonnes of fresh horse manure on it and left it until
Christmas at which point I was fortunate enough to borrow a rotovator
and gave the ground a good going over.
By Easter when I came to plant the ground had compacted again.
Undeterred I carried on. In went the spuds & shallots (which look to be
doing well) and as the ground is too firm to "rake to a fine tilth" I
used a bulb planter to remove little cores of clay, fill with compost
and plant the carrots and parsnips. Everything else is starting life
under glass and being transplanted out when established.

A happy glance over the plot shows my spuds are doing well so I have
earthed them up. My peas and runner beans are doing well so they have
canes and nets to help them along. My carrots and parsnips (the veggies
I am most looking forward to) don't look to have done much and the weeds
are starting to take hold in what should be nice uniform rows. So out
comes the hoe. Problem is the ground is too hard to hoe. On top of
this some rabbit has helped himself to my brocolli and brussel sprouts
(ignoring the pac choi that I have plenty of and I can re-grow quickly
- even though that is planted closer to the fence just in case I had
problems with rabbits) and I think a few birds have been flying past the
bird feeder and tucking in to some tasty shoots.

The rabbit I can sort out (have put some better fencing in), the birds I
can (hopefully) deter. But the most important thing, my soil, is a
little more difficult to deal with.

So all this rambling for a simple question....

What is going to do most good for my garden - a couple of tonnes of
horse much every year, or this year should i try a couple of tonnes of
sharp sand in the hope it will make the soil less claggy and more sandy?
Or is there something else I could try to add?
How long might it take to get the soil workable?

I was thinking of raised beds filled with nice compost (next door has
gave up on his veg plot and now has nice raised beds) but the plot
slopes so it would be a bit too challenging for me.

I am also thinking of buying a rotovator (i I can find the 400 quid the
look to cost) so that I can rotovate it 3 or 4 times a year - including
just before planting. Would that help?

And on a related note - I am putting a path the length of my garden to
my green house and so will be lifting a load of turf. The turf is
firmly backed with some top quality clay. If I shove it on my compost
heap will nature do its work or will I still have strips of turf in
there at the end of the year?


Thanks for any advice.


Mike