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To dig or not to dig? That is the question

PlantyPruPlantyPru Posts: 142
in Problem solving
At the very top of our garden, underneath the neighbours giant conifers we have a patch I'm making into a bed but it's very much clay. I would like to be planting out at the beginning of May at the latest so do I cover it with compost and let the worms do their work or will they not have enough time to make a difference? Alternatively I can use the small rotovator to dig it up and add some compost into it. Any suggestions please? (Not the square with the wood around it but the part next to it)

Posts

  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    I would dig it over and pull out the weeds first. Then I would tramp on the clumps or use a Patrick to break them up. This won't work if the soil is wet and sticky so pick the right time for the tramping  Then you can add whatever to improve the soil
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • PlantyPruPlantyPru Posts: 142
    Forgot to add it's also very full of coal from where the previous occupant used to bury it all up there (along with hoovers apparently!). I've taken a fair bit out but the rest I'm just going to have to leave or I'll be here until eternity picking it all out  :(
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    I come across the odd lump now and again. When we first moved here, there was also what I suspect was cat litter. All we needed was more clay!
    I just mixed it in. 
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I don't personally think that a layer of mulch or compost or manure will do anything if you want a bed ready in two months. For my small beds I dug out about eight tonnes of clay and put in a mix of manure, top soil, compost and grit.  Obviously this isn't going to work over a larger area and it's a royal pain having to take all the clay through the house and to the dump (I don't have a car). But the pain was worth it to have rich beds in a small garden.

    An alternative might be to put in a raised bed, esp if the conifers might be taking up all the soil moisture or have made the soil more acid and the ground is full of hoovers and coal.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    edited March 2021
    I would fork, rather than dig with a spade as it's less damaging to the soil structure and its organisms and my goal would be to lift and aerate lumps of soil and remove rubbish and any deep-rooted weeds.  The next step would be to pile on loads of well-rotted manure and/or garden compost or bought-in soil improver.   

    If you can get that done in the next couple of weeks the soil and improvers will have time to settle a bit and will be easier to rake and hoe more level ready for planting.

    I wouldn't worry about the odd lump of coal.  There are slag heaps all over former mining areas which are now re-wilding with everything from ground cover to shrubs and trees.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • WatsoniaWatsonia Posts: 134
    I would fork it over as well rather than dig with a spit. I had some success in my heavy clay soil adding some specialised soil improver. I used Lakeland Gold and was very happy with the result. Not an overnight improvement, but the soil is easier to work with and doesn’t turn into cement in the summer.
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I was going to say just what @Obelixx has said. It is what I am doing in my new garden, moved house in January. But I am digging in compost as well as mulching with it. Thick clay underneath.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    If it's very heavy clay I would dig in muck and grit mixing  it up as much as possible. However if the area is full of roots a raised bed would be better. Few plants can compete with conifers.
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