Breathe, on the clay soil thing - I've got pretty hard baked clay soil. What I do is spread grit and compost a few inches deep over the soil, and then just get a fork in deep and lever upwards so the soil 'cracks' - breaks up. Heft the the soil up and down with the fork, and otherwise encourage the compost/grit to get into the cracks.Finally top up the compost mulch. And leave the worms to do the rest.
The theory is A) this is much easier and preserves the soil structure while avoiding bringing weed seeds up to the surface. Although I just do it because I am lazy, really.
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour".
Yeah I am a slug squasher too so I have to live with all sides of me Dovefromabove!
Oh WillDB that's another method to consider then. How long roughly has it taken for your soil to 'improve'. Do new plants cope? Mine seem to look unchanged for a good 6 weeks then put on a growth spurt- or fade out! I guess reading plant labels for how much sun isn't enough- I'll have to just replicate what DOES do well in my patch.I was thinking about 2 year rotted manure but my local city farm only has it rotted for 6 months, not sure I have the patience to look at a bag of it on patio for 18 months!
I did one border last September. The soil was a lot better straight away for having been 'broken up'... it no longer resembled concrete. The plants I grow are pretty robust - geraniums, foxgloves and that sort of thing. You soil may be different to mine though so it might not work as well. But you can't really go wrong getting organic matter into the soil! I used the contents of cheap grow bags from B&Q.
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour".
maybe what you did was a little similar to what I read about( but couldn't find explained on youtube) whereby ridges are made up for the winter to allow frost to work on clay.
I can get a spade in pretty easily but if spare soil gets left on paving slabs it can form into canonballs.and many's the time i thought i dug out a stone only to find it was a lump of clay, compressed! .
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Don't!!!
One of the wonderful things about gardening is that in the grand scheme of things, a bit of neglect doesn't really matter 
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Breathe, on the clay soil thing - I've got pretty hard baked clay soil. What I do is spread grit and compost a few inches deep over the soil, and then just get a fork in deep and lever upwards so the soil 'cracks' - breaks up. Heft the the soil up and down with the fork, and otherwise encourage the compost/grit to get into the cracks.Finally top up the compost mulch. And leave the worms to do the rest.
The theory is A) this is much easier and
preserves the soil structure while avoiding bringing weed seeds up to the surface. Although I just do it because I am lazy, really.
Yeah I am a slug squasher too so I have to live with all sides of me Dovefromabove!
Oh WillDB that's another method to consider then. How long roughly has it taken for your soil to 'improve'. Do new plants cope? Mine seem to look unchanged for a good 6 weeks then put on a growth spurt- or fade out! I guess reading plant labels for how much sun isn't enough- I'll have to just replicate what DOES do well in my patch.I was thinking about 2 year rotted manure but my local city farm only has it rotted for 6 months, not sure I have the patience to look at a bag of it on patio for 18 months!
I did one border last September. The soil was a lot better straight away for having been 'broken up'... it no longer resembled concrete. The plants I grow are pretty robust - geraniums, foxgloves and that sort of thing. You soil may be different to mine though so it might not work as well. But you can't really go wrong getting organic matter into the soil! I used the contents of cheap grow bags from B&Q.
maybe what you did was a little similar to what I read about( but couldn't find explained on youtube) whereby ridges are made up for the winter to allow frost to work on clay.
I can get a spade in pretty easily but if spare soil gets left on paving slabs it can form into canonballs.and many's the time i thought i dug out a stone only to find it was a lump of clay, compressed! .