The Poultry Keeper

sasha.p · Joined: 04 Sep 2005 Posts: 469 Location: gwent

just wondered would any veg survive in this type soil?

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 6914 Location: isle of lewis

i'll get better results if you improve it first Wink

suz

Lisa · Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 4:29 pm Post subject:

I hope so or my allotment plans are up the creek Laughing

I agree with suz tho', will do better, and grow a much wider range, once its improved...

How much clay are we talking? I'd say my soil is a clay type, but its not as bad as my Mum's garden. Go down 6" there and you get solid grey clay that I'm sure you could dig straight up and make pots from. In fact, I'm sure I tried when I was little Embarassed

IIRC its actually quite a fertile soil once you get it going though (well the weeds seem to grow well in it, no probs).

I'd suggest thinking of what you want to grow, and then either try to get the soil to those conditions, or grow varieties suitable to your soil. Eg it might be hard to grow long carrots in a heavy soil, but shorter, more stumpy ones would grow better... Or if you want to grow parsnips you can push a stake in and wiggle it about to make an hole for the parsnip to grow in, fill the hole with seed compost, and plant the parsnip there. Then the root should have a nice area to grow big in. Hope that makes sense...

mojo · Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 8:28 pm Post subject:

just to say to those who know why mrs mojo is planting freebies

summayah · Joined: 14 Apr 2005 Posts: 4289 Location: luton

They are the best type to grow mojo

mojo · Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 8:50 pm Post subject:

surely are ....folks are so kind aint they

Timbo · Joined: 03 Mar 2006 Posts: 191 Location: Cranfield, Beds.

I'm on Clay soil - 'Oxfordshire Blue' to be exact. I add as much garden compost and rotted horse manure as I can get to give it a little more humus. I use the wood ash from the fire around berries and fruit trees for the pot ash and the rest gets saved for my onions once they are going. I find it's hard to get seeds started (often the ground gets solid when dry, and holds water on the surface when wet) Most of my veg I'll start in very small individual seed tray pockets then transplant out, or sprinkle compost into a drill before sowing. The toughest part is raking into a fine tilth - usually ends up a bit too lumpy to cover seeds well...

But... when things get going... there's allot of nutrients held in the soil and they grow well. I have raised beds (as I'm on a slope and this creates level steps of veggie plot)

I've grown a wide variety but I haven't had much luck with Carrots. Everything else I have grown seems to have done well. This includes my annual favorites of Courgettes, Onions, Garlic, Spinach, Chard, Beans - French, Runner and Ying-Yang to dry for the winter, Celeriac, Artichokes and even outdoor Tomato plants from the greenhouse overspill...

Potatoes help to break up the soil and a rotovator has saved me hours of back breaking work as it's not the easiest of soils to work!

I would say my grey 'pot' Clay is 12- 18" down depending on the part of the garden you dig in.

The soil is quite friendly around here and after a short walk in the wet, you get 'moon boots' and have to keep stopping for a scrape every ten steps!

summayah · Joined: 14 Apr 2005 Posts: 4289 Location: luton

Timbo, have you thought of using newspaper pots for your seeds and plants and onions ~ that way you won't need to disturb the roots just plant the whole thing and the newspaper will degrade.

Timbo · Joined: 03 Mar 2006 Posts: 191 Location: Cranfield, Beds.

Hiya Summayah,

Yes, I use those 'peat?' pots (although I believe they are not peat as I try not to use peat with the destruction of the peat bogs etc) and have more success with things like Celeriac. There are few seeds I sow directly into the ground - Exceptions being Spinach and Chard which seem to do well whatever.

One of our local farmers said to me a few weeks ago that he finds it's really hard to get things started on the clay soil but once it's going, grows well. This is exactly what I find.

Dug the garden over this afternoon and plan to pop the onions in if the weather holds - have started them rooting in small pots = Amazing there are close to 1/2 inch roots on them in a week with no 'putting back in' the ground in the pots...all are firmly embedded Laughing

summayah · Joined: 14 Apr 2005 Posts: 4289 Location: luton

No, Timbo ~ the pots I was talking about you make yourself from newspaper, Same idea as the 'peat' pots but cheaper ~ especially when you have a free newspaper every week

Timbo · Joined: 03 Mar 2006 Posts: 191 Location: Cranfield, Beds.

Ah, ok - cheap - now we're talking!

How are they made? I guess a kind of chip cone?

Just come in for a coffee - I'm putting the finishing touches to a new portable run that's going to move around the veg plot with the 2 Light Sussex pullets in it... they have to earn their keep too!!

George · Joined: 14 Apr 2005 Posts: 5661 Location: London

http://www.hidden-knowledge.com/garden/may97/paperpots.htm
gives an example

summayah · Joined: 14 Apr 2005 Posts: 4289 Location: luton

I think if you're only doing small ones, you don't want to use a jam jar. You want something slightly larger than a herb/spice jar. Roll the paper round leaving an overlap of about the diameter of whatever you're using. When you've wound it round a few times, fold the underneath under the bottom and with the jar or whatever still inside, press and turn it round on a hard surface (preferable inside a lid like a coffee jar lid which isn't much bigger than the size you're making) and it should lock itself together without the need for tape.

Timbo · Joined: 03 Mar 2006 Posts: 191 Location: Cranfield, Beds.

OK thats great, I'll have a go soon. Thank you both for the info.

summayah · Joined: 14 Apr 2005 Posts: 4289 Location: luton

Or you could buy a pot maker
http://www.sanctuarygreen.co.uk/Home.aspx