16 replies to this topic

[shepherdscove]

Hi. We've found a piece of land which appears to have most things we're looking for. But the soil is mostly clay under weeds. We plan to keep animals (livestock) and want to grow veg. Have been looking into "no dig" gardens so that may be an option. Any other thoughts or advice please? Thanks

[billie]

we too are on clay, raised beds are a good option,large quantities of manure/woodchip etc,will create very good fertile soil

no dig method works well once you have the drainage sorted.

 

wish you good luck with it

[adrian007]

Clay can be fertile too. check that and it's Ph. Make sure that is the only problem you are dealing with.

 

You will have added costs - drainage in winter, watering in summer. Animals may not be able to left out all winter etc etc.

 

However, we have altitude and exposure to high winds, others have steep slopes... there is little out there that is perfect.

 

Check it for flooding though... that would be a red line for me.

[bramblebasher]

Like Adrian said, so much depends on the lay of the land, if it's flat probably forget it unless you're willing to invest a few grand in a pumped drainage system, even then is there somewhere for the water to be pumped to? 

 

Check out this guys site, he is a no dig enthusiast and is working on clay on a northern slope!

 

http://www.charlesdowding.co.uk

[respectedponydriver]

I had rented  clay land once.never again,it strips the hair off any livestock,it is either like concrete or so wet and clingy that it is impossible to use it.

 

Just my experience.

 

Good Luck

 

Pony

[adrian007]

watering in summer - check a borehole map to see if there is a liklihood of getting a borehole - free water is better than paid for. 

[shepherdscove]

Thanks, your answers have been most helpful. We got in touch with the owner and the land regularly floods so we have decided against this plot. Shame, it was beautiful!

[adrian007]

"Beautiful" and "right" are different while you are looking for land.

 

But, when you find some land that is right, you will see it's beauty, and many other qualities.

 

Keep heart.

[j and H]

as above…the right place will come to light, with our slope , we will be adding a couple of small ponds to help if needed in summer, there is often a way to get over things..flooding can be a massive issue though

[shepherdscove]

Ah, so I'm beginning to learn. Head, not heart, head not heart..head....!!

[elegantstorm]

We're on clay - just means we can use the land all year up until about Christmas and then the livestock come in until Spring

[Cornish Gems]

We too are on clay. The worst thing that happened was that we lost a lot of our pigs due to erysipelas.

 

The council after one of their visits added on their website that this land was subject to surface flooding! However, when we dug a pit for the Tricel6 unit, we discovered that it was just a bit too close to the borehole and had to dig another one 5 feet away. We never filled in the first pit and it used to fill up with water which we would then pump out and into the drain. It certainly kept the surrounding area drier than it used to be.

[shepie]

Clay is a nightmare unless you can house your animals for 7 months of the year and even then in summer it can be impossible to make hay or silage
We sold ours and moved to dry ground
10 acres of dry is as good as 20 wet ones !!

[Groundhog]

Unless your a watercress farmer

[shepie]

I think the cress beds in the Home Counties are concrete and fed by chalk down land water :-)
You should know GH

[Groundhog]

I know  A mere phlipant attempt at humour

[shepie]

I know same here maybe we should both try something else