DutchFox Posted May 25, 2023 Share Posted May 25, 2023 (edited) those growers dont come back....due to time of year...( and they left the wires like this... ) plant your plants no dig....4get about pots... its too good to 4get this plot......and here virtually all spaces are used to grow some time ago... succes! Edited May 25, 2023 by DutchFox 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dingo bingo Posted May 26, 2023 Author Share Posted May 26, 2023 Been back there today to have a little dig, the soil is a heavy clay - trying to break it up to put in the pH test tube was like moulding play dough. From my limited knowledge it seems like young plants will have a hard time getting going in it - so I guess I'll need to add a lot of compost/manure. I was planning on getting composted manure but would that be too hot for young plants? I was thinking of using a 40 or 50L bag for each plant ideally. I could then add some more later in the season as a topdress. How does that sound? Did a few pH tests there, was going to take some photos of them when I get home and let them settle for a while but they're still the same colour. Am I right in thinking I will need to increase the alkalinity? Add Lime? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindSoup Posted May 26, 2023 Share Posted May 26, 2023 Just looks like muddy water in a tube to me . That sort of soil is a bastard to grow in. If you just dig a hole and fill it with compost you could get in trouble. If there's persistent rain it acts like a sump, all the water runs down through the compost and has no where to escape so the plants get waterlogged. I'd go back to where the nettles are myself. Take the cages from this spot and use them where the soil is better. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dingo bingo Posted May 31, 2023 Author Share Posted May 31, 2023 On 26/05/2023 at 5:50 PM, MindSoup said: Just looks like muddy water in a tube to me . That sort of soil is a bastard to grow in. If you just dig a hole and fill it with compost you could get in trouble. If there's persistent rain it acts like a sump, all the water runs down through the compost and has no where to escape so the plants get waterlogged. I'd go back to where the nettles are myself. Take the cages from this spot and use them where the soil is better. Thanks for the warning and saving me from a lot of likely disappointment. I went back yesterday for a short visit and to clear some of the nettles etc to check the soil. There's still a lot of clay in it but it does at least crumble instead of feeling like play dough. There's old dead brambles under the nettles so I'm wondering if someone else has previously cleared this patch of the brambles, allowing the nettles to grow in their place. Anyway, here it is.... Gonna go back tomorrow/Friday to clear it all and dig over the soil. How thorough do I need to be when removing bramble roots? I tried really hard to remove them all where I previously had a GG plot but it seemed like a ballache of a never ending job. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindSoup Posted May 31, 2023 Share Posted May 31, 2023 Yeah that looks a fair bit better. If you back fill the holes with 60:40 ish compo to native, you should have a good mix that will drain well enough but also hold moisture in drought. You can be as thorough or as lazy as you want really. As long as they've got a good 30-40cm cube of root space they should be fine, you can just give everything a good trample back down when you go for a visit. If it's a good spot then over winter you can invest more time and get rid of them for good. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dingo bingo Posted June 1, 2023 Author Share Posted June 1, 2023 12 hours ago, MindSoup said: Yeah that looks a fair bit better. If you back fill the holes with 60:40 ish compo to native, you should have a good mix that will drain well enough but also hold moisture in drought. You can be as thorough or as lazy as you want really. As long as they've got a good 30-40cm cube of root space they should be fine, you can just give everything a good trample back down when you go for a visit. If it's a good spot then over winter you can invest more time and get rid of them for good. Thanks again MindSoup. Was thinking of adding some Bonemeal, FB&B or Growmore to the soil soon too so it's got 2 weeks or so before I plant - do you think that's worth it? If so, which? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindSoup Posted June 1, 2023 Share Posted June 1, 2023 (edited) FB&B was always my go to, as long as there isn't foxes in the area as they sometimes like t dig it up. Just small handful per plant. Sooner the better, as like you say it needs to break down, but the compost will have enough for the first month or so anyway Edited June 1, 2023 by MindSoup 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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