Kitchen Garden Forum

Hi all, I had my plot flooded on 17th March of all days lol! & the soil is heavy clay, it was claggy for ages then eventually plantable, only problem now it has no sustenance in it, I have thrown on some growmore but, don’t know what else to do? Any ideas please?

Hi Connie
Sorry to hear of your flood. Here in the Chilterns we have clay and chalk, but as I am on the upper section of a slope, excess water runs off, so I have no direct experience.

How about liquid feed added as you water?

Welcome to the forum Connie777!

I would just focus on the planting holes to support each plant then work on the rest of the beds out of season. Time is ticking for planting so treat each individual plant to what they need, like make sure all the compost from the pot is in the hole (& a bit more), then support them with a foliar feed of seaweed as well. If sowing direct put some compost in a dug out trench to get them started. Clay is pants to us, but they will have moisture & nutrients below & the roots, if supported when tiny will go down to find it!

Have you tested your soil if not you may get a surprise ,welcome to the forum from myself

Have you looked at No Dig? ...Add 6 inches of compost and get planting.

Hi All, some good advice there, thankyou for taking the time to reply, actually I have been considering no dig? & maybe green manure in the Autumn? Someone on the site near me did a soil test in early April & found the soil to be low in nitrates?? So for now I have resorted to a natural Plant food , made from a powdered compound i got from Marshalls seeds

For now Connie I'd concentrate on the planting holes as others have said - adding your preferred nutrients as you go, then you can top up with mulches as suggested above around hungry plants such as squashes and in the autumn either dig in or just lay over the top plenty of well rotted manure or garden compost if you have it.

Nitrates are easily washed from the soil - flood or not - and so you'll need to top these up as the crops develop. A liquid feed is one way eg home-made nettle feeds or Miracle-Gro etc from the garden centre, but don't overdo it or you'll get lots of leaves at the expense of crop. A more balanced feed such as a tomato food might be better for a big range of crops.