Sallygarden Smallholding - The Forum For Sustainable Living

We are using about 1/3 of the available space for veg this year (because I am pregnant and didn't get started as early in the year as I wanted and therefore don't have a huge amount to put into the ground). However the ground is just muck. It is completely waterlogged at the moment and is FULL of stones (most bigger than chicken eggs). I bought myself a rotary sieve to try to mix in some compost (garden composter & wormery) and some horse manure.

I went out there today after a dry day and to say it was just clogged muck is an understatement.

Any suggestions about what I can add to the soil to try to liven/loosen it up a little before my winter veg go in?

How about a few spades of coarse sand per metre and/or raised beds ... not what you want to hear when expecting!

The plan is for raised beds next year after we get the tunnel in but not something we are in a position to do this year. Sand sounds like a good idea.