New allotment! Covered in weeds and grass and on clay

[ethelb]

I'm very, very excited about the new allotment plot (5 rods) I just went to visit. It is a 15 min walk from the house (5 min bus ride back!) and we have a good even plot that has full sun all day. it also has loads of strawberry plants all over it, which were one of the first things I wanted to put in, so first job done!

However, the bad news, which I was admittedly prepared for, is that it hasn't been used for a year (previous tenent has had poor health for a while and has just given it up). It is covered in grassy weeds and thistles.

Very nice council rep suggested covering it in damp proof black plastic and removing that as we plant it up. That sounds fair enough, but how much effect will the black plastic have and is there any thing else we can do? Where can I get it cheap?

Plus, what grows well on clay? I want to grow quite a few herbs, tomatoes, lettuce, radish, salsify, parsnip, psb, black kale, chinese kale, kol rabi, pak choi, cardoon and runner beans. Are these ok to grow on clay soil, is anything else good?

I live in a heavy clay area, but I dig in a lot of organic matter such as manure, mushroom compost and home-made compost. Over the years, the soil structure is now amazing.
So depending on how good or poor your soil is; you can add bulky organic matter, or grow in raised beds and growbags for this year, try for this year and not be disheartened if the crop is not as magnificent as you hoped for.
Black plastic or old carpet works well. Long ago, I remember my dad burning out weeds and digging the remains into the soil.

you can get black plastic from ebay. mine stopped the weeds over the winter. get fairly thick, so it doesn't break and you can reuse it.

suggest speaking with other plotholders about what is growing well and get a book. dr hessayon is the one i like.

I got an allotment 2 years ago as a complete beginner. I love it!

Mine was totally overgrown too. YY to plastic...it's not a miracle cure but it really helps. And digging in manure etc repays the effort ten-fold in the following years: my soil is really lovely this year.

Plant what everyone around you is planting, they'll know what works in that soil/location. Most allotment holders are really helpful and happy to advise.

Right off the first year as an experiment to see what works...don't get disheartened, mine was a disaster in nearly every way! Year 2 went much much better as I learned what worked on my plot.

Potatoes are great for breaking up heavy soil and even if they don't yield much in Year 1, they will have done a useful job.

Thanks for all the tips. I like the idea of coffee grounds i was going to use that any way as a slug deterent.

I will also try and get as much compost into the beds as possible. There is a giant unused compost heap I want to tackle!

Clay isn't all bad news - it is usually quite rich in nutrients so if you dig in loads of compost/manure etc to improve the structure then you should be pretty successful.

In our last garden we had certain bits where I swear I could have made my own pots out out of the soil! We dug in tons of compost and composted bark and ended up with lovely crumbly soil. It's probably a good idea to keep mulching it with more compost (after you've done the original digging bit) - just spread it thickly over the top of the soil and let the worms do the work

Damp proof membrane from B and Q is much cheaper than any other type of weed control - about £20 for an enormous piece. We've had ours about 7 years and it still hasn't disintegrated - it's very thick plastic.

Brassicas (so your PSB, kale etc) grow well in clay - or at least they do for me. I haven't had trouble growing many things, but took a few years of work before I could grow carrots and parsnips (the soil was just too heavy and sticky until it had had a few seasons of manures and mulch) but a couple of cheap veg bags filled with compost does the job beautifully as a stop gap measure.

Potatoes are a great idea. They break up the ground fabulously. Not very exciting but well worth it in the long run! You can use the time to snoop out what everyone else is growing - and what grows best. You'll have a much easier time next year! I used black plastic and cut holes through for the plants to grow through. Secure the edges well though

Not that it applies in this case (I hope) But potatoes are a good first crop if the ground is dodgy, or contaminated.
Back in the 70s, friends who were going self-sufficient used to plant potatoes as a first crop, and then bin them, as they'd take up a lot of the lead (from petrol) arsenic and pesticides from the soil.
The clear test was. apparently, if you grew green beans in the soil and they thrived.