"tina" wrote
We have a northish piece of land. Its currently 1 spades depth of grit
& pebbles & then what looks like clay. We would like to have a go at
growing veg.

If I remove all the pebbles & grit (1 spades depth) & break up the
clay, mix in loads of compost & buy some soil, will it be any good for
growing veg?

Thanks for your help & advice.

p.s. I know its not a good time for growing veg but at least if you
experts think its possible I can get on with digging up all the
pebbles & preparing the soil it will be ready to go when the weather
warms up.

Its 10m by 5m in size.

Good size to start with, not too big but big enough to grow some serious
veg.

Depends what sort of clay, but if it's a clay soil it is a very fertile soil
as it hold on to any nutrients and does not let the rain wash them away.
Whilst it can be slow to warm in the spring and a pain in the back for the
gardener, my experience is that with some effort it becomes an excellent
growing medium. One tip is to choose the time for digging carefully, too wet
and you will not achieve much except a visit to the doctor, dry and it will
be like concrete.

Are you sure you need to remove the grit? It would help break up the clay
and aid drainage if you incorporated it with the clay sub soil.
Get as much organic material, compost, old manure, old potting compost etc
worked into the clay soil and a rotovator is excellent for this as it chops
up the soil and aerates it.
You will also need to test the pH of the soil and cheap kits are available
for you to do this, if the soil is too acid then you will need to use lime
to raise the pH towards 7 which is neutral and OK for most veg. Lime also
helps break up the clay for a couple of years, gypsum has the same effect
but it lasts longer.

Planting veg is an all year round thing, whilst there is a frantic period in
spring/early summer now is about the time to plant Garlic, Broad Beans in
January, and the shallot and onion sets go in in February/March. :-)

Whilst I'm not an Organic grower (I'd rather spray than lose a crop) a book
I can recommend is "The Complete Manual of Organic Gardening" edited by
Basil Caplan. ISBN. 0 7472 7830 X. Out of print but copies are still
available. Read it and you will learn so much in a short time.

Do remember it's meant to be fun too, so experiment with different crops and
varieties and if one doesn't work try something else. Best of all ask on
URG. :-)


--
Regards
Bob H
17mls W. of London.UK