On Jan 31, 6:08*pm, "'Mike'" wrote:
"Dave Hill" wrote in message

...
On Jan 31, 4:03 pm, harry wrote:





On Jan 31, 11:21 am, mogga wrote:

On Mon, 31 Jan 2011 02:56:24 -0800 (PST), harry
wrote:

On Jan 31, 10:13 am, mogga wrote:
We've been told we can't go on until after contractors have been back
in February. We've already got a good idea that the soil is clay so
what's the best plan of action?

I've read that digging clay in spring is a waste of time as it'll dry
out and turn to bricks on the surface ... and that mulching is the
way
to go...

So what would you do with a clay allotment for the first year
assuming
we get on in March.

(And there's no water to the site at the moment)

--http://www.bra-and-pants.comhttp://www.voucherfreebies.co.ukhttp://ww...

I had the same problem. You need to get lots of organic material dug
in. I f you can get something like a few tons of horse/cow shit,
rotted down if possible or maybe mushroom compost, if locally
available.

I had ten tons of sharp sand delivered. You need to throw it about and

Our site is about 1 acre - how much would we need? I suspect it's tons
and tons..

rotovate it in, Most rotovators don't really go deep enough but it's
a start.

Even so, it takes years of compost and digging to make the soil really
good.

A major problrm can be drainage, you get water puddling on the
surface. The only way round this id deep digging ie two spade depths
in the effectd areas.

Regular digging needs to be done in Autumn, the frost breaks up the
lumps.
I also chuck any worms I find in there, it all helps. :-)

--http://www.bra-and-pants.comhttp://www.voucherfreebies.co.ukhttp://ww...
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An acre is big for an allotment, certainly more than you can dig by
hand unless superfit & lots of time/helpers.
If you are just starting out why not fence part off and have pigs?
They dig it up wonderful, eat all the weeds and crap everywhere. You
need a good fence with barbed wire along the bottom to keep them in. A
couple of years of pigs fixes most of your problems & provides a
wonderful soil.. If you can stand the stench. :-)- Hide quoted text -

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I should think that the OP is talking about the alotment site, not just his
alotment

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But don't you think he might be asking questions for the benefit of others?
Not everyone is of the 'I'm all right Jack' nature. I know that from what I
do in life :-))

Mike

--

...................................
Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive
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Very possibly, but pigs would be a drastic idea, they would hava a
whale of a time if they got into a planted area.
I would want to see just what the soil was like, some peoples idea of
clay is others lightish soil.
In Hastings we had true clay, if wet it stuck to your spade, if dry
you could build a house with it, but it grew good Veg.
David Hill