"Periproct" wrote in message
...
Excuse me taking the easy way out and coming straight here.

Total beginner at growing anything and working with a garden that has been
neglected for years.
I've cleared the weeds and started work with a fork breaking up the very
hard earth.

I presume I need to break the earth up until it is quite fine. Not the
big, hard lumps I have at the moment. I'm guessing the next step will be
mixing in some kind of fertiliser before I plant.

Can anybody recommend a easy way of breaking up the soil because with the
fork it is still in big lumps. Secondly, what should I add before I start
planting. (Herbs are my first venture and they are in pots at the moment).

Regards

A driver who was lost asked a local how to get to a village a few miles
away. The local thought for a moment and replied "If I were you, I wouldn't
start from here."

And that's the advice I would give to you. Don't start now. Wait until
you've had some rain to soften the soil. If you have hard soil (and I
assume that means it has a high clay content) it will be backbreaking to
work it into something decent at this time of year. Don't think that a
rotavator will help - if the soil is baked hard and compacted it will simply
ride over it, and you will use more effort trying to keep it down and
cutting into the soil than you would use with a fork or spade! Also, if it
has been neglected for years it is possible that bricks, concrete lumps,
scrap metal, or other stuff may have been thrown out on it and lost just
beneath the surface. Your rotavator blades will not like these at all.

Once you can get into the soil relatively easily (probably around
mid-September) then you can add spent mushroom compost and mix that in using
the rotavator. Then it would be best to leave it over winter to allow
frosts to work on the soil and break it down further. If you are in a hurry
to get something in, then just plant what you want in a few square yards.
Maybe concentrate on breaking up this area of soil with a fork and spade,
mix in sharp sand and grit to increase the drainage, and then plant your
herbs.

Good luck!

--

Jeff