tina wrote:

Well thats about 1/4 of the pebbles dug up & put to one side. Having
recently been diagnosed diabetic i can tell you all that digging is a
fantastic way of lowering ones blood sugar.

Ditto. I'm done too .... Take away diner tonight. How grand is that ;o)
I thought of you actually. I've made my parsnip/carrots bed this
afternoon - crumbly and yummy patch which took me 2 and a half years to
achieve, on a clay area.

Would you advise me to remove all the pebbles first before digging
into the clay to mix in the pebbles or a trench at a time. (the clay
looks rock hard) :-(

You see, I didn't mention the pebbles before to you because I'm not
sure how big they are. I'm for ever removing stones in my plot/garden,
and I wouldn't advise to mix your good compost (which you didn't
mentioned before) with lots of pebbles.

I would remove all the pebbles, and use the grit instead and I would
break down the clay, that's for sure, and then add manure and then
compost, fork it in and let it rest for a couple of months. Let the
soil do it's stuff with the frost and the snow, hardening it and then
crumbling it. Also because of the grit and the stone, the clay has
harden. The exposure to it now with the new compost and manure will
help break it down. It will become easier to work. Then from the end of
January, when you get a good day, I'd start turning it over and add
more compost to top it up. Decide on your paths and then I'd plant.