Sowing and Planting in Hard, Dry, Clay Soil

Sowing and Planting in Hard, Dry, Clay Soil

It’s a peculiarity of the heavy clay soil on my allotment and of our fields in general that after a wet spell the ground is unworkably muddy, making any kind of cultivation almost impossible but, within a week of dry weather the ground has dried out into solid brick-like lumps, equally almost impossible to cultivate.

However, for many seeds and transplanting there is an optimum time for sowing and planting and that is around April. The time for sowing seeds can usually be extended somewhat but, for transplanting, it is not so easy. The young plants will quickly outgrow their seed beds or little pots.

A colleague and I [on our association committee] were discussing, yesterday, that several of our members had not yet begun to cultivate their plots and we remarked that if the work is not started in April it was probably not going to be done at all. Like many allotment sites we have waiting lists for plots and it does seem a shame that uncommitted plot holders are not prepared to utilise this precious space while others are champing at the bit to have the opportunity. I don’t often discuss my feelings on this in my blogs but it is very pertinent at this time.

I did get my potatoes planted during the very muddy period but, now I must earth them up it is difficult to work enough loose soil to cover the emerging shoots. I have found a Chillington hoe excellent for this purpose [ they are a bit like mattocks and come in different shapes and sizes to suit users and task].

Some of my cabbage plants – brought on in a seed bed in my poly-tunnel - are definitely at the best planting-out size. They could sit for another week but, there is no guarantee that ground conditions will improve, and I have several other varieties of brassicas which will need to be transplanted in a week or so. I got around the hard earth problem by watering  the necessary strip really well to allow me to remove weeds and break up the ground sufficiently to transplant the young cabbages. Brassicas are not fond of finely tilled earth anyway, preferring a heavier ground to give them a firm foot-hold, so-to-speak. Of course I needed to cover the little plants to keep pigeons off – they do enjoy a row of nice young brassica plants!

In a similar fashion, I got around the seed sowing problem. Leeks, beetroots and parsnips should all be sown now. I watered the ground well, weeded and broke it up again using the Chillington hoe and created shallow trenches. As it was impossible to gain a fine tilth for sowing, I half filled the trenches with bought compost, watered well, sowed the seeds and topped them off with a further layer of compost, watering again really well. I have used this method successfully before but it is important to keep the compost well watered until the seeds have germinated as the compost dries out very quickly.

I didn’t exactly do a rain dance but, I am pleased that it is raining gently today with more forecast over the next few days.

My leeks have now pretty much finished. The last few have ‘bolted’. Although they are still useable they are not so nice. Fortunately, my asparagus bed is now starting to produce a crop. It’s a bit early yet for asparagus beetle but, if other plot holders around you also grow asparagus, this is one little pest to watch out for – they can be very destructive.

Interestingly, I did read somewhere that growing asparagus on heavy clay ground was a waste of time but, I have been growing it successfully for several years as have many of my allotment neighbours.

In the Garden and Allotment in mid April

The Garden and Allotment in mid April

The weather this week has been glorious. Although foggy in the mornings, the fog has cleared to give mild sunny days.

I guess it is now the start of the main sowing time. As I go to my plot with my bag of seeds and my plan for the day, I am aware of how much I should have planted but, the ground is just not ready for all of it.

My tomato plants also need to be moved to the poly-tunnel as they are becoming a bit leggy but, I am afraid of a late frost which would kill them, even in the protected environment. Perhaps I will pot them on and take some to the poly-tunnel and keep some at home for a little while longer.

Yesterday, I sowed 4 rows of peas [ Hurst Green Shaft]. They have the merit of being particularly good for freezing and mature more-or-less at the same time which means I can pick and freeze over the space of 4 or 5 days and clear the crop ready for brassicas. I still have a few tubs from last year but I’m looking forward to my new crops.

I also sowed some leeks [Musselburgh]. This year I thought I would try seed tape. I’m sure leeks should be easy but my germination rate has been a bit dismal in the last few years.

I see my early potatoes are already showing above the ground so I spend some time ‘earthing or ridging them up’ – heaping more soil over the emerging plants. This process helps to protect the young shoots from frost and encourages more potatoes to develop up the underground stems.

I planted out a row of spring sown broad beans [Imperial Green Longpod] which I had sprouted, potted up and  ‘hardened off’ [set outside for increasing times during the days to allow the plants to be more tolerant of colder conditions]. Spring sown broad beans are more prone to black fly than the autumn sown seeds but I do like them and want to extend the harvesting period.

Over the last couple of years I am increasingly moving my culinary herbs to my back garden so that I can pick them fresh as I need them rather than picking a lot and string in the fridge.

This spring’s sowings of parsley have germinated well and when They are a little bigger I will have to thin them vigorously. Last year’s are starting to grow again so, hopefully I will have a crop until the new plants are ready to harvest.

My chives, rosemary, thyme, mint, tarragon, oregano are all putting on healthy new growth.

As I write this there is none of the usual birdsong around our gardens but a sparrow hawk circling the sky above us.

The bluetit in my nesting box is still busily building her nest.

On the Allotment in April

April on the allotment

- it really is springtime now, or it ought to be but, who is to know in these times of changing climate. We must adapt accordingly. I do realise that you may not be from the UK or even the Northern Hemisphere and so my thoughts may not be appropriate. This year, March has been particularly miserable but now in April it is looking a little kinder. I am hopeful that the blue-tits really are going to nest in my nest box. I can see through the camera that they are now lining the nest with fur and feathers.

We sometimes think of springtime as a season of bounty - new lambs and calves in the fields and lots of planting being done but, in fact March and particularly April are really the 'lean' season. Unless we have had a kind winter and have planned our crops very carefully, our overwintering crops have finished or are close to finishing and our stored fruit and vegetables have either finished or deteriorated beyond use and little is ready on the allotment - back to the supermarket!  I have to admit that I do get very tired of purple sprouting broccoli and even asparagus in this season. Friends and neighbours think I'm amazing generous to give bunches of asparagus away but, really I just can't face another meal of asparagus and broccoli. One of my asparagus beds starts producing in March but, I was given the plants so, don't know which variety they are. They are all female and many sites I read that female plants are not so highly thought of. However, I find that these plants give me very superior spears - fat and flavoursome. 

Maintenance around the plot – what we need to do to keep established plants healthy and pest free;

·         keep the plot tidy;

·        cut grass on paths around your plot, unless the weather is very cold the grass will now be growing vigorously and will need to be cut regularly;

·         weeding - like the grass, those weeds which love your soil will now be taking hold and weeding will be a regular task, especially around seed beds and on newly planted beds;

·         tidy fruit cages - many of the fruit bushes will have flower buds on, make sure they are weeded or that the grass and weeds are kept under control.. The same work will be needed around perennial plants and fruit trees and bushes;

·         compost old plants or those which have finished producing;on many allotment sites, including mine, bonfires are no longer allowed.

Preparation and planning for the coming season –

·         looking after perennial plants – probably too late for pruning, depending on where you are in the country, ensure all perennial weeds are cleared from around them, feed and manure as necessary;

•  re-digging beds ready for planting out;
•  dig in compost and/or well rotted manure;
•  preparing seed beds;
•  top–up raised beds with fresh compost or soil.

Sowing and planting what can be sown or planted now?

in a propagator – aubergines, courgettes, cucumbers, peppers and chillies, pumpkin and squash, tomatoes.  Herbs - basil;

·         under cover [in green house, poly-tunnel, cold frame or cloche] – brassicas (Brussels sprouts, broccoli/calabrese, winter cauliflower), celery, celeriac, lettuce, peppers and chillies, pumpkin and squash, rocket, runner beans, spring onions. Herbs – basil, chervil, chives, parsley rosemary, savoury, thyme,
outdoors – [do wait a couple of weeks for the ground to be less cold] – broad beans, beetroot, brassicas [broccoli, Brussels sprouts, summer cabbage, winter cabbage], carrots, summer cauliflower, garlic, kale, leeks, lettuce, onions, shallots, parsnips, potatoes, early peas, radish, rocket, spinach and Swiss chard, spring onions, turnips.
As bare root plants can only be safely transplanted when they are dormant, it is now probably too late in the season except in colder parts of the country where the plants have not yet started growing. If you are buying plants in pots to plant out on your allotment or in your garden, while they can be transplanted at any time, it is best to wait until the ground is less cold.

Harvesting –

• Fresh from the plot, greenhouse or poly-tunnel – early varieties of asparagus, spinach, some types of broccoli, spring cabbage/spring greens, Swiss chard, winter cabbage, winter cauliflower, kale, early lettuce, salad onions, radishes, sorrel, rhubarb, oregano, rosemary, bay-leaves and last year’s parsley plants should be growing strongly now before they start to run-to-seed.
• Autumn sown broad beans may well have now set their pods during late March or early April can be harvested as young pods and cooked and eaten like Fine Beans [albeit with a slightly ‘hairier’ texture – an excellent source of a fresh, healthy vegetable in the lean period but, do leave enough to grow on to maturity.