I'll have a six-pack again.

[Ricard with an H]

Maybe by the end of summer after all this digging. Ok-Ok, a huge sigh of despair from anyone who's keeping up with my progress of four steps forward and three backwards. "Get it right first time" has always been something I drilled in those who worked for me or alongside but I'm afraid this is a case of "Do as I say, not as I do".

So I'm shifting earth to make room for ex-met, the earth goes into what was my cold-frame. That has ex-met already laid down.

Then I'm sowing grazing rye in both the beds in the hope of bulking-up the soil which is a mixture of clay and sand.

As if I don't have enough to do, as a rest from digging I'm painting windows frames, then back to digging. As a punctuation for those two tasks I'm cutting grass before the downpour we all badly need thats scheduled to start about now but mostly overnight.

[Motherwoman]

Crikey Richard! Your grass is still green.... Is it gaillardias that you've tied up out of the way?

MW

[Ricard with an H]

I have been watering the beds, not the grass though. I also watered grass around the barn though mostly to water-in the 6X.

Yes, it's giallardia. I didn't cut them back last year so they went very leggy. It looks like I'm going to do root cuttings as I lift them to make way for the grazing rye.

I'm really glad I disturbed this bed because the soil is quite the worst soil in all my five beds, lots of clay and subsoil mixed with sand to loosen it a little but it's still very sticky and heavy. My choices were to grow a green manure or to buy New Horizons soil improver, the latest KG magazine helped me make the decision because of an article about the range of green manures and how to use them.

The surrounding farm often uses this method of green manuring as well as spreading muck. first they kill-of the seed bank growth, plow that in then sow grazing rye. Then put sheep into the fields before plowing it in and sowing wheat that they use to feed their mostly dairy cattle.

[Elaine]

Hello Richard. The soil in my smaller greenhouse on our allotment had never been used for borders and was almost all clay...horrible stuff. Not being able to get any decent horse muck, I bought a bag of Manure from the garden centre. I can't remember what it's called though...memory is having blips these days!
It smelled like manure but looked like compost and I didn't have high hopes of success so chucked a load of pelleted chicken manure in as well and dug it all over thoroughly, then left it over the winter.

I cannot believe the difference it made! The soil is now good and workable, doesn't bake into a hard block any more and grows good stuff.

Just a thought for your beds...it isn't very expensive either.

[Ricard with an H]

Hi Elaine.

That is what I did with the very last bed I built though it was probably 50/50 between soil and the soil improver which is what I think you're describing to me. Then I laced it with chicken manure and it's given me a very good crop this season and still going strong.

I decided to try the green manure method in the hope it will save work. It's certainly a lot cheaper but of course I have to wait for the stuff to grow, then dig it in.

I bought a kilo of grazing rye seeds for less than £9 plus delivery of £3.95. 100 grams will probably do both those beds so a massive cash saving compared to35bags of soil improver. (I think)

Like you, my memory doesn't work well all the time but the bags were delivered on a pallet.

Even the bed I'm moving worked well with chicken manure in the soil but I had allium rot and the soil is still to heavy and stony. I'll de-stone the top six inches next year after I dug-in the grazing rye. I'll de-stone it with my Rotosieve. (Thank you Geoff)

[Ricard with an H]

I've been doing as much reading as I can about this green manuring process, mostly very simple but I am getting tired of making mistakes I could have avoided just by asking or using the internet.

Lo and behold, this turned up about the grazing rye I'm about to use. When it's finally dug in this grazing rye continues to release a chemical that stops seed germination for about a month. It doesn't effect plants, just seeds.

What a clever devise, I wonder how many other plants have this method of preventing invasion by other growing things.

I must have been on quite a few websites discussing the use of grazing rye but only the one warns about this.

[Motherwoman]

Buttercups exude a seed germination inhibitor.

Good luck with improving the soil. I used my compost heap content over about 10 years in my last house to improve brick quality clay. It did work but I avoided any deep digging, just kept forking the surface. That clay was rock hard in summer and sodden in winter, there were a couple of 'windows' of opportunity between for working it and if you missed them...that was it.

MW