Breaking up your soil - Claire's Allotment Part 4

[32ewing]

ah the older woman even better lol

[32ewing]

wow yummy red head x

[clairesallotment]

@32ewing It's all natural. No grey hairs yet, but I keep checking.

[Carneysmachine78]

I need to stop watching your videos Claire but they are a lot of fun so I'll stop for the night. When you finished turning your soil you sounded just like me earlier today, a tad out of breath. Please keep up the great work, I am learning a lot.

[clairesallotment]

@Carneysmachine78 I work very hard at the allotment, so when I was turning the soil over it was tough. Now it's mainly weed free there's less of the back breaking work to do. If I'm not breathless I've not been working hard enough! Have fun on your plot.

[59acres]

Cool vid Claire.Might I suggest you look into a Broadfork for your digging.they are about 2ft wide so are a real time saver.I use one a fair bit on my market garden farm.Cheers.

[clairesallotment]

Don't know if I'd be able to lift it when it's full of soil. Sound great though.

[richardpeej]

All that digging keeps you fit Claire. I am hoping for some potatoes in the next few weeks.

[clairesallotment]

No going down the gym for me. They bore me anyway, and are too expensive. Hope you're enjoying your potatoes.

[kokonutbaby1]

Claire, I thought about covering my patch w/manure and then put thick cardboard over it...this would encourage worms and keep the weeds back plus it biodegrades..what do u think?

Angie

[clairesallotment]

The manure needs to get very cold in the winter and the bugs need to be killed off. Cover with cardboard from the middle of February to the beginning of March to keep the soil warm for the first planting.

[yusufzeeshan]

claire u r so Pretty, good looking, fit and lovely ............

[yusufzeeshan]

I dont prepare beds in my back yard , i just found 2 onions growing in my cabinet in my kitchen so i put then in the ground and made an Omellate twice by now from 2 spring onions ..... they keeps on growing back ..... one of them is giving flowers this time

[caiuscam]

Hey there,

Great videos! I have a problem with wireworms. Is there a cheap and effective solution of getting rid of them? (nematodes are quite expensive)

Kind regards

[clairesallotment]

They tend to attack potatoes, so if you can plant your potatoes when the soil is warmer. Wire worms prefer cooler soil and cause most damage in early spring. Nematodes work very well, but yes they are very expensive. I don't know of any other way to get rid of them.

[Katjarina]

first of all: do sow green manure so that the soil is not naked in winter - it will prevent the nutritions from getting washed out.And if you sow mustard that will apparently help against wire-worm as something in that crop makes the ww unable to hatch ..

good luck!!

[kokonutbaby1]

To Katjarina..do u mean mustard greens?

[maccaoilte]

I have a small back yard and would love to start a small veggie patch. Should I just dig it and manure it and leave until next year? I just want a nice variety of veg and a few spuds. Love the videos.

[clairesallotment]

You could cheat this year and buy some ready grown plants, just to get a small harvest this year, but it may be best to do the above.

[maccaoilte]

Hi Claire,

I have a small back yard and want to start a small veggie patch. Should I just dig it and manure it and leave it until next year? The soil shouldnt be too acidic. Id love to just grow a few spuds, and the like. Love the videos,very helpful.

[clairesallotment]

It's getting too late to put many veggies in now. So what I would suggest is yes dig the patch you want, and put about 3-4 inches of well rotted manure on top, cover with thick black plastic (this will keep the weeds at bay and also rot the manure even more), leave until the Spring when you need to uncover and dig the remaining manure in and start planting.

[spalding26]

i have a lotment i been growing some nice veg you have a good a lotment

[clairesallotment]

I've worked very hard to get it the way it is, only takes a couple of years to get the soil in a really good condition. Hope your veggies grow well this year.

[gillygeorge]

Claire I'm really enjoying your allotment vidoes, I think I'd like one but no chance in this area! Still picking up lots of tips from you, thanks for taking the time to do this

[clairesallotment]

You can grow lots of stuff in pots if you have any room. Even a balcony can provide some space. Do you have any growing space at all? Let me know and I'll see what I can suggest.

[crewlla]

you can even garden in a spare bedroom with pots and lights and a stand.

[yusufzeeshan]

yeah u can do that .......... mostly people use this method for planting drugs .....LOL ......no offence

[bleyendfaith]

claire your very inspiring. So enthusiastic. I live in Canada and I have a thick clay in my yard. What would you suggest I use to help break it up a bit and make it a bit more workable.

thanks

[clairesallotment]

Well there's only one thing that will make it easier to use and improve drainage as clay retains the water sometimes too much. MANURE and loads of it!! Fork it in and each autumn put a 2inch layer on top and let the worms do all the work over the winter. Find a local stables, watch the manure video for more info.

[yusufzeeshan]

u can use it to make duck sclupturesss ....then bake it in the oven .........paint it ........and sell it on the ebay......i m serious